New Book on Needle Felted Pictures
I am so sorry, I have been rather derailed since surgery. Last week I had the post-surgery oncology doctor visit. All reports have come back good so maybe I will stop stressing and shaking. I did get to work on my moose bag landscape while waiting for the appointment to start. Glenn, who was my driver, just had a nap. I am pretty sure, even so stressed before the appointment, I had more fun felting than he did napping. Today is the end of week 5(?) so at least 3 or more weeks to go, just in time for spring?
1)Picture of bag in progress (there is still more to do but it’s looking like a landscape now!)
To cheer myself up, I ordered a new needle felting book I had spotted online and a clover tool, since I could not find where I put mine. I found it after I ordered a new one, it was at the bottom of the moose bag…. What was it doing hiding there?
What I had spotted: Create Beautiful Needle Felted Landscapes, everything you need to know to create stunning needle felted pictures, by Helen Winter. The cover looked good, but I know you are not to judge a book by its cover. The reviews looked good too, so maybe the cover is correct? I ordered the paperback edition and went back to bed. It arrived Feb 22 before my appointment. Let’s have a look. Although this book focuses on 2D pictures, its introduction also mentions needle felting 3-D as well.
2) Cover of new book
To give you an idea of the scope of the book, let’s look at the index
The Index:
Page 1 Introduction
Page 3 About This Book
Page 5 To Get You Started
- Why Needle Felting?
- Get Comfortable To Needle Felt
Page 7 Understanding the Needle Felting Process
- What Is It?
Page 9 Tools And Equipment
- Types Of Felting Needles
- Identifying Needle Felting Needles
- Other Needle Felting Equipment That Will Help You
Page 12 Different Types Of Wool
- Choosing The Right Type Of Wool For Needle Felting
Page 15 Colour Theory And Composition
- Understanding Colour Theory
- Colour Wheel (Needle Felted Wool)
- The Role Of Light And Shadow
- Composition Techniques
- Practical Application In Needle Felting
Page 19 Tips And Techniques
- Needle Felting Action
Page 22 Projects
- Warm Up – Blue Surf
- Sunset Over Sulby
- Ballaugh Curraghs
- Port Erin Bay, Isle Of Man
- Smaefell From Agneash
- The Headlands, Peel
Page 115 Embroidery Stitches
- Straight Stitch
- Back Stitch
- French Knot
- Chain Stitch
Page 118 Mounting Suggestions
- Embroidery Hoop
- Pieces Of Driftwood
- Wooden Frame Without Glass
- Wooden Box Frame
- Professional Mounting And Framing
Page 122 Frequently Asked Questions
Page 124 Resources
- UK Suppliers
- USA Suppliers
Page 125 Next Steps
Page 126 Acknowledgements
As you can see, she has an overview of needles and other tools, wool options, and a quick overview of colour.
For Needles:
She has a quick overview of the most common shapes that are presently available. A bit more info on gauges and when to use which needle would be helpful if included at this point. It’s a good start on needle information, and later in the book she does list what needles she uses as she explains the projects.
Fiber and Fiber prep:
3) diagram of fiber
Looking at one of her photos, again there is an odd interpretation of what is “Roving” which seems to be confused with combed top. She is a very good felter, she may not be a spinner who has used combs for fiber preparation. The problem of inconsistent vocabulary goes back to those who are selling/re-selling prepared fiber. We have been told by sellers that Roving is a rope like fiber preparation, and all long rope like preparations are roving. Unfortunately, there are two rope like presentations of prepared fiber. If you are a spinner or felter you will quickly notice there is a big difference. The spinners likely have been taught the difference between the two.
Combs produce a strip of parallel fibers which, when spun, will create worsted yarn (smooth, think of the fabric in an expensive men’s suit). While carding (whether on a drum carder, hand carders or pet brushes) will create more disorganized fiber, and when spun will produce a woolen yarn. Think fluffy sweater yarn.
When needle felting, the disorganization of Carded fiber will make fiber entanglement easier. Combed top can be used, but if you disorganize it (use one of the carding tools or hand blend it), the fiber entanglement will happen much more quickly. If you are trying to create a sculpture with a long fur coat, then combed top such as alpaca or blends with silk will work wonderfully since the fiber is less inclined to felt to itself and can be added in shingle like layers to build up an outer fur coat. So don’t write off combed top as useless to us, it just takes a bit more persuading to felt and some fiber types can make beautiful fur for sculptures.
Projects:
She has found inspiration in the Isle of Man and its diverse landscape. There are examples of sky, sea and land. At the start of each project there is a note about the image, what tools will be needed, and wool colours will be required. The step-by-step instructions for her project are full of explanatory pictures, which are clear and should be easy to follow. There are also good descriptions of what she is doing and why. She suggests working with small amounts of fiber in layers, which is similar to the watercolour like effects I tend to work with in wisps of fiber.
4.1-4.5) a few examples of photo instructions, they are clear and give a good indication of what she is doing.
Sewing Embellishments:
6)Sewing Embellishments
There are a couple of pages of embroidery stitches and examples of embellishing your picture with stitches. She also includes a list of suppliers for the UK and the US to get us started. I hope, in the next edition, she will include some of the Canadian suppliers too. (Olive Sparrow and Fiber Craft spring to mind, but we have other sellers in other provinces too.)
If you are interested in Picture needle felting, this book is worth a look, and probably adding to your library. It would be a helpful resource, to those reasonably new to needle felting, as well as inspire those who have been felting for a while. Although I probably will not create her Isle of Man landscapes, she has inspired me to look around locally for inspiration. I am glad I have added Create Beautiful Needle Felted Landscapes, by Helen Winter to my library.
Other books you may want to investigate if you are interested in this topic, check second hand or local book store to find a copy:
11 thoughts on “New Book on Needle Felted Pictures”
We’re glad to hear that your medical reports are all good 🙂 Onwards and upwards now Jan!
Your moose bag looks too good to be a bag – it needs framing and displaying.
Your new book looks lovely and from your photos it would seem that the author does a good job of demonstrating her techniques well and that her book is worth buying.
(We looked up Helen and she has a lot of videos on YouTube – very interesting.)
thank you both! i am feeling a lot better than even last week but its still varys day to day and i can reach or twist a bit and get yelled at. still lots of napping so its a few more weeks to go.
thankyou also about moose. he still needs to have a bit more work but i do hope to use him as a project bag or maybe a spinning bag with one of the wheels.
i did enjoy the book, (i am sure it was not just anesthetic brain)and it was not a difficult read. her photos showed what she was doing well. thankyour for the tip to check You Tube. (i have been watching a lot the last few weeks). i look forword to seeing what she has posted there.
take care and have fun felting (spring must be comeing soon, the snow looks less out the window but it could all come back again!)
Keeping everything crossed for you that you continue the good process with your recovery Jan 🤞
This book looks interesting, thanks for the detailed review. Though I still think that it’s about time you wrote one yourself, you seem to have amassed so much knowledge that you could probably make it at least two books.
Ann
thankyou! i am trying to be good but occationaly i turn, lean or reach and get yelled at.
i did enjoy this one, good photos and layout.
it would be intersting to write a book, but it would have to be translated back to english from dislexic!! spellchecking is getting better but my vocabulary still flumixes it frequently. i feer there would be a big chapter on needles and another on wire and maybe one on the pros and cons of glass when frameing. my cruiositys are not quite the same as most felters i feer. but painting with wool is lots of fun and hopefuly by looking at it from the background/persepctive of accrilic paint, pastells and wattercolours you can think about how you aply the fiber a bit diferently to create your painting. its all those years first in commertal art then in fine art trying to influence my work with wool.
i am glad you enjoyed the book report and hope you will take a peek at it when you bump into a copy. have fun and keep felting!
Translating the bits the spell check has missed is what a copy editor is supposed to do. If it comes to that you’ve got a batch of tame proof readers here! There’s definitely a gap in the market for your technical knowledge which no-one else has got anywhere near filling yet.
Something to dream about.
Ann
I second this, I have offered to help with proof reading ( step one) then someone needs to go behind me but as you say there are lots of helpful people here. I seem to remember once, that Ruth gave us some pointers after she wrote her book.
Glad your recovery is progressing well Jan. I am sending healing vibes and hugs your way.
The book looks interesting with lovely photos. I think I will take a look at Youtube as Lyn and Annie suggest. I don’t have much space to keep books anymore and they usually just sit on the shelf after one look through. So I usually just get my books from the library now.
So pleased to read that your medical reports are good. Now you can relax some and look forward.
Books all look interesting….enjoy yourself reading them
Your summary of the book is excellent and very thorough – better than what I’ve seen on on-line sites like Amazon! You have nothing to be sorry about… your health and recovery from treatment is more important than anything else! Being Canadian (I live in Fort Macleod, Alberta) I love your Moose bags and agree that the one you photographed for the start of your current entry should be framed and displayed as artwork.
We occasionally have a mother moose her children wander through town in the summer. We keep our distance when we see them and I feel awed by their majestic presence. It is lovely to see one represented in felted wool. Thank you for your shares. They have been very useful as I continue to learn this art/craft. Donna B.
Continued good wishes that your good health is filled with all positive vibes.
I love your book review, it does seem to be a very useful addition to a bookcase.
I am delighted that your medical reports are positive Jan. I will join everyone in sending healing hugs and love your way.
Great book review. I was delighted to see that I have some of the other books here in my library too.
Helene x