Felting and Fiber Studio

I’m working on some floral type pieces that I want to incorporate stems into. There are lots of choices out there to make cords or plain old stitched stems, but Sue Spargo started selling a tool called a Mini Cordsmith that makes I-cords. I’ve made I-cords using knitting needles before but this little tool intrigued me. Would it be easier than using knitting needles which I find kind of fiddly to work with??  I had to see for myself so I sent off for one.

When it arrived, I was excited to try it out. I had a hard time figuring out how to use it at first but once I got the hang of it, I was off to the races, sort of…

Here is my first attempt. Look at all those humps and bumps and poor tension! Yikes! Well…no stem is perfect in nature anyway, right?

Once I got the hang of looping the yarn more consistently around the tines, I tried out several different yarns and threads that I had in my stash.

You can make round I-cord or flat I-cord based off how you place the thread or yarn around the tines. After trying several of my yarns and threads, I felt that the Mini Cordsmith was a bit limiting in the yarn size that it would accommodate.

Shiny yarns made into round I-cord and flat I-cord:

Shiny metallic thread:

Sock yarn (I’ve got LOTS of sock yarn)

Then I saw Sue Spargo had an Original Cordsmith that was bigger!!! I had to buy that one as well because I was having trouble using yarn larger than sock yarn with the Mini. I also had to make a trip to a local yarn shop to see if I could find some yarns that might make interesting I- cords. Always a fun thing to do, right??

https://www.suespargo.com/shop/cordsmith-sue-spargo-exclusive-58699?category=141&search=i+cord#attr=45752

There are videos on this link showing how to use the tool.

I think the Mini will work great for stems on smaller pieces and the Original may produce some interesting larger I-cord pieces that can be incorporated into mixed media pieces. I am thinking I can also machine zig zag over some of them and add another layer of threads or yarn to give them more texture and color. More exploration needs to be done in that arena!

This yarn was used with the Original Cordsmith. It looks like it would make great stems using it straight from the ball although it is quite soft and fluffy and may be hard to stitch to cloth without losing some of its structure. I was surprised how lovely it worked up into the round I-cord shape and I really like the variegation flowing through it. The flat I-cord could work for the stems on some larger flowers. Merino wool. Yummy stuff.

These tools are also very portable.

I hope to show you how I used some of my I-cords on a future project!

Happy Fall everyone!
Tesi Vaara

This is a guest post by Dani D. Her information is at the bottom of the post.

Hi again! Way back in February, I started a series of guest posts with tips for taking photos of your artwork. We talked about composition and telling the story, with basic tips about taking digital photographs of your textile art. It took a little longer than I expected, but I’m here to continue the series today with a key element – perhaps THE key element – in taking successful photographs. Let’s talk about light.

Light has many characteristics: the direction from which it comes, its intensity, whether it is harsh or diffuse, and its temperature will all affect how your subject looks in the photo. In this post, we’ll look at how to use available light to make flattering photos, and a few DIY hacks you can use to play with light in your photography. You’ll see that for these example photos, I’ve used samples from my summer project, weaving on rocks. It’s been fun experimenting with it.

Lighting conditions can affect colour, shadow and which details the eye is drawn to

Learn to evaluate the light by noticing whether it is harsh or diffuse. Harsh light occurs when the photo subject is directly in front of the light source, like when you point a bare bulb at something or place it in direct sunlight. It makes deep, dark shadows and can wash out colour. Diffuse light happens in the shade, or near a bright window but out of the direct sun. Diffuse light is often more flattering because the contrast – the difference between the brightest and darkest parts of the photo – is reduced. Diffuse light often makes for richer, more saturated colour.

What is ambient light?

In this post, I talk a lot about ambient light. Ambient light is the light that’s already in the room, whether from electric room lights, or a window, or outside. You don’t need any fancy equipment to take well-lit photographs, as long as you learn to read and manipulate the existing light. Play with lots of different light sources to see how they affect your photo: use a lamp, move closer to the window, or move outside.

Before we talk about how to use the light, we must first ensure that there is enough light. If your light is too dim, you risk a blurry photo. Your camera / smartphone will keep the shutter open until it decides enough light has hit the sensor, but if you move even a tiny bit while the shutter is open, you will have movement blur in your photo. Or, your smartphone will try to compensate for the lack of light by raising the ISO, and a byproduct of this is a photo with a lot of noise or grain (see photos below). Ideally, always aim for the most crisp, well-lit photo you can make with no blur and no noise.

Tip #1: if you’re having trouble finding enough light indoors, try finding a spot to take your photo outside, in the shade or on a cloudy day. Or move right beside a window out of direct sunlight. The difference in ambient light indoors and outdoors is huge, though we often don’t notice it because our eyes have a much larger dynamic range than most cameras do. Photos taken outside in the shade or on a cloudy day usually have even, diffuse light. However, you may prefer the brightness of direct sunlight. Just make your choices thoughtfully.

When composing a photo, try varying how and where the light falls on your subject to see how it changes the story. What do you want people to notice in your photo? Harsh, contrasty light will emphasize texture and shape, where more even and diffuse light will emphasize colour and subtle designs.

Light and shadow

With light comes shadow. Shadow is good: it grounds your subject, gives it texture and helps you tell your story. However, deep contrasty shadows can be a distraction, especially when they flare out behind your subject on a plain background. To minimize harsh shadows, try to diffuse your light. You diffuse light by scattering the photons, making them approach your subject from many angles instead of just the most direct one. I’ve used everything from a piece of opaque shower curtain or sheer curtain to simply putting my hand in between a bare bulb and a subject to diffuse the light and reduce harsh shadows.

Tip #2: turn off your smartphone’s flash. The flash on your phone and the one permanently attached to even the most high-end cameras, is usually harsh and flat. It’s the difference between applying paint with a brush (using ambient light) and using a bucket to throw paint on a canvas (using the onboard flash).

In an earlier post, Jan talked about setting up a lightbox. A lightbox will isolate your product or item against a white background while bathing it in diffuse light, and they’re ideal for smaller projects but not very practical for larger ones. However, you can apply the same principles by bouncing the light onto your subject instead of lighting it directly. Bounced light is also diffuse. You can bounce light onto a subject by aiming the harsh light to a light-reflective surface. You just need to tinker with the angles a bit to get it right. A piece of white typing paper or cardstock will work, and you can line one side with aluminum foil for a different effect. I have a four-in-one photography reflector that has a gold side (harshest light bounce), a silver side (moderate light bounce), an opaque white side (gentle light bounce) and a scrim (used to filter instead of bounce light). Play with different materials to see how they change the way the light hits your subject.

Tip #3: if you do want to invest a few dollars in a tool to improve your lighting, I really like those selfie ring lights that you can see in the lightbox photo above. The light is even and diffuse, and they usually have a range of both intensity and colour temperature. They’re also great for lighting how-to videos. Try to get your light as close to the subject as possible while still being out of the frame of your photo, as the closer the light is to the subject, the more diffuse and flattering the light.

So far in this series, we’ve talked about composition and light. They are by far the two most important principles in making attractive, effective photographs. Master these and you will elevate your photography to the next level. If you’d like to delve into a slightly more technical aspect of photography and lighting, my next and last post will be about colour temperature and white balance. Watch this space!

Dani Donders is a photographer, textile explorer, tarot reader, rock and sea glass collector, workshop leader, and Curious Crone. She lives in Ottawa, Canada.

Three years ago when I started my current job I bonded with two other ladies who had just started at the company as well.  The three of us shared many of the same interests and were a great team.  We all work from home but managed to meet up in the office or go out to lunch once in a while.  And we tried to support each other.

Recently our company had a layoff and one of our happy little Dream Team was let go.  It was a complete surprise.  I was upset.  To deal with my churning emotions I decided to pull out some yarn and make a shawl for my friend who was downsized.  This is the pile of yarn I started with.

Luckily I already had a black warp on the loom so I started winding some bobbins and then sat down to weave.  As I began to play with the colours and textures I started feeling better.  Calmer.  Happier.  More balanced.

In two sessions I wove the shawl.  Then I removed the piece laid it out for a look.  (I had woven 96″ on the loom.  After I took it off the piece measured 16.75″ x 91.5″)  Next I twisted the fringe and  sewed on a label.

Our little band of sisters had arranged to get together for lunch.  So I decided that I should make a second shawl for my other co-worker.  I went back to my stash, dug out some new yarns and set to work.  This time around I opted for oranges and rusts.  I also redid the threading of the warp to make the weaving wider.

Again, I spent a couple of solid sessions at the loom weaving.  I chose a clasped weft technique and also added in snippets of this bulky orange handspun to add texture and contrast.  With clasped weft you bring the shuttle through the open shed, pickup the second yarn and then bring the shuttle back through the same shed.  You can adjust where the two yarns interlock.  It is a fun technique to use.

Again, I did two solid sessions of weaving.  (I had woven 81.5″ on the loom.  After I took it off the piece measured 20″ x 72.5″) When I  laid it out to have a look at it I was very pleased with the colours and textures.  Next was twisting the fringe and sewing on my label.  The final step was washing both shawls to wet finish the fabric.  When fabric is wet finished the weave tightens up and the yarn blooms.  This can result in further shrinkage.  (I will admit that I don’t know how much shrinkage there was as I forgot to remeasure them before giving them away.) After washing the fabric was hung up to dry.

Our Friday lunch date arrived and the three of us had a lovely time hanging out together.  The ladies were thrilled with their new shawls.  And I have to tell you that creating these works and then gifting them was a real blessing for me.  The act of being creative and making something for my friends helped me to process the emotions associated with the layoff.  If you have read this far, I hope that the next time you are unsettled you consider digging out something and being creative.  It really does help.