Necessity is the Mother of Invention
One of my best customers for my 3D-printed felting tools, a fellow felt teacher in the US, asked if I could make a smaller version of the wand tool for making jewellery. I had previously investigated making the wand longer and narrower towards the tip but the tips kept breaking, I don’t make a lot of jewellery or small items so the idea was abandoned.
I mentioned the request to Mr TB who suggested a couple of possible solutions for the fragile tips. He printed 2 of them for me and I have been testing them this week. I may be biased but think they are pretty good, I have been using them quite aggressively and they are still in tact and working as I had hoped.
For the tests I decided to make set of felted rings. Normally I use a bundle of pencils held together with an elastic band but this maker pen with a tapered barrel came to hand first. Pencils / pens are ideal because you can alter the size of your ring by adding more pencils to the bundle, then remove them one by one as the felt fulls and the ring shrinks down.
I made a small felted ball to finish the set and make a pendant, which layout do you like best?
The fulling tool just needs a couple of minor tweaks and a name (any ideas?), another round of testing and it will be ready to join the others.
Apologies for the poor quality of these photos, they were taken in my current studio (the garage) and the light in there is awful. The new studio is coming along well though. Another month and the floor will be tiled, the kitchenette and shelving installed and all my fluff moved from the garage to its new home 🙂
The rest of the reno is progressing too, our new kitchen is half installed, the bathrooms and deck are nearly finished and this week the builders are putting in a retaining wall.
In between painting and moving garden plants I have not had much time for felting so have been getting my “fix” through teaching…
A private, beginners bag class…
Mosaic felting at the Auckland Creative Fibre retreat…
I also had the pleasure of teaching a felted pod class in collaboration with Deaf Aotearoa last month but I’m afraid I forgot to take any photos. This was a wonderful experience and I have no hesitation in recommending teaching this way if you get the opportunity, most of the participants could lip read but we also had a sign language interpreter with us. The hardest part for me, was trying not to talk while demonstrating, I am so used to explaining what I am doing with my hands I had to keep checking myself to explain first, so everyone could watch the interpreter and then demonstrate with the wool.
I’d better get back to painting…. happy felting!
17 thoughts on “Necessity is the Mother of Invention”
Terri, everything seems to be coming along just fine….unique tools (well done Mr TB – ideal for jewellery felters), your studio, your house reno, and your teaching (with great results)….so happy for you.
Your chosen colours work well together for your pendant. Re the layout….either the first or second photo posted above. The third looks too much like an eye, which I would find distracting if someone wearing it was talking to me 🫤
How long is it now since you left these shores?
Thank you Antje, yes, I am glad we made the move, living in NZ is everything I hoped it would be and more! We’ve been here 3.5 years now and the time has flown by!
Oh yes, I had seen an eye too but hadn’t thought about how distracting that might be! Good call 🙂
Home really looking good – and great you are getting some felting in with teaching! Love the new tool addition. Perhaps you should just call it ‘Ring’ after all, that’s what it does well!
Look forward to speaking soon, though September, October and November look manic at the moment! How’s your weather? Son Thomas and Katrina took the baby to Taz last weekend for their 10th wedding anniversary and they got SNOW!
Nancy, is this you? Perhaps “r(k)ing-maker” but that might be a bit too obscure… 😉
Weather here has been mostly very wet, we have had some impressive storms with very high winds, heavy rain and LOTS of lightning. We are too far north to get snow, we rarely ever get frost. The last days have been sunny if a bit on the cold side, it feels like spring is making her presence felt.
Whereabouts in Tazzie did Thomas and family go?
I was a bit confused when I opened your blog as I have literally just scheduled my next contribution here with the title ‘Mother of Invention’. I thought I’d accidentally posted it straight away! Anyway, apart from that coincidence the new tool looks great and I like the rings. As Antje says, the final one is very eye-like though I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.
I have a serious case of studio envy. It looks fabulous. I bet you can’t wait to get in there. When you said ‘spot the difference’ my first reaction was “a hen” though I can see how much your garden is growing too as the building settles into the landscape.
Love the bags too, I’m sure your ladies were really pleased with their results.
Oh no! I guess great minds think alike, eh? 🙂 I would have thought the same if the tables were turned, it wouldn’t be the first time I hit the publish button instead of schedule!
I am itching to move into the studio but not long to wait now 🙂
The “bag ladies” were stoked, most of them had never made felt before so they all did incredibly well, all generously lubricated with gin! 🙂
Teri, it’s funny that you and Lindsay are both being inventive! The new tool looks great, I’m not sure what your other tools are called and it seems like the names should somehow be related maybe? Your new studio looks wonderful and I am very envious too. I can’t wait to see how it looks completed. How exciting to be renovating and adding on, a pain when it’s happening but when it’s done I bet it will be worth the trouble.
How interesting to teach people who are deaf. I would have the same problem of talking while I’m demonstrating. And the mosaic class looks fun too.
Yes, I am thoroughly “over” the whole renovating / extending thing. We’ve been living on a building site since February and its exhausting! Just need to keep my eye on the prize 🙂
The names for the other tools are a bit random:
wand – is a ridged tapered stick
scallopini – has scalloped edges and looks a bit like the zucchini of the same name
ball – as the name suggests is a ridged ball on a stick to get into those hard to reach places
I love following your exploits down in New Zealand and like Lindsay there is definitely some envy. My husband also invested in 3-D printing, but I don’t think either of us are skilled enough to start making tools. Your studio is going to be wonderful, but mostly what I envy is the community. Like a lot of other felters over here in the US I find myself one of a handful of people who dabble in felt (and most of those are ones that I have taught🤣) and I miss being around more experienced artists. I really appreciate all of the posts that people write on this forum, I have learned a lot from them over the years and feel like I almost know some of you.
Thank you Marion. I agree, designing tools for the 3D printer isn’t as easy as you might think, I’m lucky that using CAD is part of what MrTB does for a living so I sketch and describe my ideas and he draws them in CAD for me. That said, having a CAD engineer in the house doesn’t guarantee success, all of the felting tools have been tweaked multiple times to get to where they are now.
Ruth gave me so really good advice a few years ago when I shared how envious I was of her creative textile group – start your own group! You’ll be surprised what everyone will bring to the group, techniques they already know, articles they have read about new techniques, things they have seen on Pinterest, before you know it you will be bouncing new ideas of each other.
You place is really coming along. I know it a pain while the renovating is going on but you will be so happy wen its done. The def class sound challenging. I talk lot and with my hands. I am not sure I could shut up in the right places. LOL. I like the first one of the jewellery arraignments. the eyes are to distraction/strange. How about the inside out tool for a name.
Thanks Ann, you are rigth about the reno, it will be worth it in the end just need to keep my eye on the prize! 🙂
I think “talking” with your hands is a good thing, I certainly found myself doing that a lot more, especially with the lip-readers. The hard part for me was remembering to explain what I was about to demonstrate and wait for the interpreter to finish before launching in with my hands.
I am a bit behind on reading as we have been away for a couple of days but I was tickled pink by both yours and Lindsay’s choice of title. Great tools for the rings and both pendants look super although my personal preference would be the rounder one.
Your home is looking great and you must be so pleased to finally be at this stage of the build – Kevin McCloud will be flying in to appreciate all your work. When you asked to spot the difference, the only ‘item’ I could focus on was the lovely hen in the foreground. Serious studio envy going on here too. Enjoy!
The output from your classes are stunning. Creative students in the hands of a great teacher!
Helene x
Thanks Helene, reading Lindsay’s comment made me chuckle too, what are the chances! 🙂 If Kevin is reading this, please give us at least 6 months to clean up before you come a knocking – there is dust EVERYWHERE!!
But Kevin would treat the dust thoughtfully and philosophically. I can just picture the comments …… and then the hen would walk in front of the camera ….. followed by the felines (or maybe they might be in hot pursuit!)
Hi Terri. Wow you are busy! The tools are fabulous, and really solve a felters problem. Me and mum have spent many an hour looking for and repurposing all sorts of things from around the house to get into this or that corner or bend!
I like the circular pendant best, circles always good in my opinion 🙂
And like everyone else I have big studio envy, we moved here 2 years ago and haven’t got any closer to making a work space so I’m still stuffed into the main bedroom with all my fibre! Well done you for doing the hard work and cracking on with it, it will be worth the dust! A G&T always helps I find. xx
ps – btw, it’s Annie from Annie & Lyn (rosiepink) – I haven’t got a login so I’m coming up as Anonymous, mum still not able to use computer at the mo.
Hi, I’m Kathy. from the UK, I love felting too and plan to do more. I’ve lodes of work in progress however and I plan to clear those things as well. My textile work has taken a back seat lately but I’m about to remedy that, time to find more time for the work that gives me joy. I belong to several groups of textile artists and I must say I love your studio, the people working and sharing. A slice of heaven. Thank you for the photos.
Kathy.