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Author: Karen Lane

British Quilt & Stitch Village

British Quilt & Stitch Village

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Last Saturday I drove over to Uttoxeter to meet up with a felting friend for a visit to the British Quilt & Stitch Village Show. Although this show has been running for 7 years, and has been in my list of places to visit since I started crafting, this was my first time here.

The event is held at Uttoxeter Racecourse and spread over several buildings so, for anyone planning to go next year, I would recommend buying a programme to ensure you don’t miss any of the exhibits.

Most of the traders were geared for quilting and patchwork, naturally, with lots of fabrics and notions and familiar names including Monkey Buttons, Hannah’s Room and The Little Lavender Patch.

There was a good mix of traditional and contemporary quilts on display…..

This is a detail from “Hole Cloth” by Birgitta Scheuller which was overall winner…..

This one, Plastic Ocean by Kathy Unwin, was one of my favourites….

As well as the patchwork and quilting there were several groups of mixed media textile artists exhibiting and it was these ladies we had really gone to see.

This piece was created by Catherine Howard, a member of On The Surface. This garment has been torn seven times and stitched back together in a random, sometimes messy way. It celebrates the imperfections we all have, how life’s struggles leave their scars and shape who we are. On The Surface are a mixed media textile group who support, inspire and encourage each other to develop their own unique styles and preferred ways of working. The group consist of Anna Barrett, Catherine Howard, Deb Day, Jackie Harley, Judith Rowell, Nadine Tabberer, Vicki Townsend-Gee.

The following mixed media work, which we found particularly inspiring, was created by members of the group Un:Hinged…..

There was very little felting on display so it was good to round the corner and get to meet two of the members of Traverse who are feltmakers. Traverse is a group of textile and mixed media artists who came together in March 2017 after studying Experimental Textiles. They began exhibiting in 2018 and the members are Dia Martin, Deb Day, Cath Tyler, Bernice Hopper, Becca Birtles and Vicki Townsend-Gee. unfortunately the light wasn’t wonderful in this part of the building so apologies for the quality of the images…..

We spent a good three hours at the show and met some lovely people so I can certainly recommend it if ever you get the chance.

Sweet Nothings Retreat

Sweet Nothings Retreat

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Sweet Nothings Retreat

I am thrilled to announce that I will be offering two wet felting workshops in France this coming July. The workshops will be held at Sweet Nothings Art and Crafts Retreat in the beautiful Charent region. The retreat is owned and run by husband and wife team Natalie and Lawrence, originally from the UK, and you can read how they came to be running a business in rural France by clicking here.

During each six day retreat there will be three workshop days and, with a maximum number of six students per class, there will be lots of opportunity for one to one time. A small class also allows for lots of flexibility so we can tailor each project to suit the individuals specific wishes/needs rather than all having to work on the same design or template. This also means we can accommodate absolute beginners alongside those of you who may have experience of Wet Felting but want to experiment or develop your technique further. 

15th – 20th July Nuno Scarf /Collar – In this workshop we will be working with Superfine Merino and silk fabrics, learning the basics of Nuno Felting, to create a beautiful, soft scarf/collar. Each student will work at their own pace and, once finished, you have the option of relaxing or putting your new found skills to practise on another item such as a Necklet or Bracelet. Being both practical and decorative, the beautifully soft, extremely lightweight Necklets bridge the gap between a scarf and a necklace and are ideal for wearing under a jacket on cool evenings. The bracelets introduce another technique, differential shrinkage, which allows us to create interesting, undulating surfaces on a flat plane. Once again, each of the additional projects will be totally unique and these can be further embellished with hand embroidery and beads. It’s your retreat…you decide!

Nuno Scarf/Collar
Nuno Necklets
Nuno Bracelets

22nd – 27th July Wet Felted Wallhanging – In this workshop we will be covering a variety of techniques including wet felting, needle felting, free motion stitch and hand embroidery to create our own unique wall hanging. It is suitable for any ability from absolute beginner to the more experienced felt maker as well as being a great introduction to free machine embroidery for those who haven’t yet tried it. 

Wet Felted Wallhanging

Using photographs or sketches as our source of inspiration we will begin by designing our layout and colour scheme. There will be examples to look at as we explore the different techniques we might use to create our pictures. The main body of our work will be wet felted, using loose fibres to “paint” our pictures. We will also explore the use of our own hand made pre felts, needle felting, hand and machine stitching to add areas of detail. Students can work to any size they wish, working on a large scale and concentrating on the one project, or working to a smaller scale and having the choice of an add-on felting project or simply enjoying more “free” time! 

Wet Felted Wallhanging

If you would like more information about the workshops I will be offering please use the contact form on my website to get in touch www.lincsinstitches.com  If you have any queries regarding the accommodation or would like to make a booking please do that via the Sweet Nothings Website.

Abstraction

Abstraction

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Last weekend I took part in an exhibition at The Creative Craft Show held in Manchester’s EventCity. I attended as a member of Jeudis, a mixed media textile group who meet monthly in the village of Rothley, Leicestershire. The group work to a different theme each year and each member creates either a large piece of work, or a series of small pieces, in their preferred medium. The current theme is Abstraction and so far I’ve made three pieces, two framed pictures using Merino fibres, Lutradur and sheer fabrics and a wall hanging in Bergschaf. As they are all on the large side I had to select just one to exhibit and went for the Bergschaf “Rockpool”.

Abstraction – 72cm x 40cm mixed media
Abstraction II – 80cm x 40cm mixed media
Abstraction – Rockpool 53cm dia Bergschaf and found objects

This is the work created by the rest of the group…..

Sue also works in fibre and created these wonderful pictures enclosed in tree bark
Christine is a book maker and creates mixed media collagej
Gill created a large bowl incorporating fabric, paper and stitch
Cathy’s work is very geometric and often features architectural imagery
Linda used her interested in yoga and the various associated symbols to create this colourful quilt
Hazels hand coloured and embroidered scroll
Jeans mixed media with fabric, paper and stitch
Elaine’s piece is hand painted and stitched on pelmet vilene

We had a lot of visitors to our stand and some great feedback which was very encouraging. It also led to me designing more “rockpool” inspired items for the sales table…

These are just a few more photos from the show…..

Joseph Banks Challenge

Joseph Banks Challenge

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This weekend sees the launch of the latest body of work by Lincolnshire based textile group LINQS.  The group, which welcomes any gender and any ability, is now in its fourth year.  The only criteria for becoming a member is that you must reside in the county of Lincolnshire.  Members are given an annual challenge to make a quilt, or quilts, based on a particular famous person, place or theme.  It was being invited to join LINQS in 2014 that first got me started on the path to textile art so I have a lot to thank them for!

Our first challenge was Inspired by David Hockney.  The group had a terrific response from local ladies and secured a national tour with Grosvenor Shows with our quilts being displayed up and down the country.  Our work visited venues from Ardingley in the south to Edinburgh in the north and various places in between.

These are just a tiny number of the quilts in the first exhibition…..

By Wendy Skinner

By Mary Jackson

By Textile Lincs

By Carol Parkinson

Being completely new to this medium I was fired with enthusiasm and produced four quilts.  The first was a small black and white take on the painting “Woldgate Woods”….

My next attempt was based on a photograph taken by the river in Horncastle, keeping with Hockneys recurring theme of “trees”.

The third one was my take on a 1954 mixed Media self-portrait….

By now I was gaining confidence and moved on from making small quilts (30cm x 40cm) to making my fifth quilt which was 30” x 40”…..

The following year it was decided that in future we would make our person, place or thing “Lincolnshire” based and Isaac Newton, being born in the county, was selected.  These are a few of the quilts from that show created by four of the members…..

By Karen Lane

By Mary Jackson

By Jean Proud

 

By Pat Cave

Our third challenge was to make quilts inspired by the famous Botanist and Explorer Sir Joseph Banks whose family estate was at Revesby.  The first showing of this body of work will be this Friday at “The Village”, Lincolnshire’s only living museum, which is in Skegness.

Banks became the president of the Royal Society in 1777, where he remained until his death in 1820. He was known as a prominent endorser of travelers and scientific men. Many voyages of discovery were approved and carried out under his supervision. He was the first person to introduce the Western world to acacia, mimosa, eucalyptus and Banksia, a genus named after him. About 80 other species of plants were also named after him.

While researching Banks I came across an image of a Banksia Seed Pod which had been charred in a bush fire.  Anyone who knows my preferred colour palette will recognise why this provided the inspiration I needed for my Banks quilt!

I began by making a background using cotton fabric and painted tea bag paper……

Next came the individual “pods” (no idea of the proper technical term for these bits!) which were cut from painted interfacing free machine embroidered and wadded with thick felt…..

The main body of the Seed Pod was wet Felted Norwegian fibres, free motion stitched before adding the “bits” on top.  My finished piece measures 48cm x 30cm.

I can‘t show you anyone else’s work as I don’t have photos as yet but if you are in the Skeggy area this weekend why not drop in and see them for yourself.  For everyone else I will post an update very soon.

Autumn Necklace

Autumn Necklace

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Although we’ve got baking temperatures and scorched grass outside, indoors I’m amassing quite a collection of Autumn leaves made from Lutradur!  I’ve decided its time to start thinking about what I’m going to do with these leaves and incorporating some of them into new pieces of work.

This particular leaf has been painted with Dylan bronze fabric paint to give it a metallic look.

The leaf, top right, before painting.

Bronze painted Lutradur leaf

I decided to incorporate it in a very simple choker type necklace.  The leaf is quite intricate so anything fussy would distract from the detail.

I began by cutting out a 4cm wide crescent shape from a piece of white superfine Merino prefelt 20cm x 29cm.

This was overlaid with Oyster Merino on the left and Antique on the right.


I made the felt quite thick and really worked it hard to shrink it and firm it up which resulted in a very textural effect and a subtle change from one colour to the other.  The leaf was sewn in place using a bronze coloured linen thread.  There is a chain fastener across the back but for now you will have to take my word for that…….I didn’t think to photograph it and I’m writing this post sitting in my B&B in Scotland while the Necklace is back home!  I will take a picture and add the image when I get back.

Lutradur Leaves

Lutradur Leaves

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In my last post I showed some of the brooches I’ve been making out of Tyvek.  This month I thought I would continue with the “man made” fabric theme and show you how I make my Lutradur leaves.

Lutradur is another exciting non woven product which was originally designed for industrial applications including construction substrates, landscaping materials, residential and commercial wallpaper, carpet backings, automotive floor mats and carpeting, and specialized filtration devices.  It is an incredibly versatile material which is available in various weights including 25gsm, 30gsm, 70gsm, 100gsm and 130gsm.  It does not fray, some weights are translucent, it can be painted with any paint medium, dyed, distressed with a soldering iron or heat gun, glued, stitched, layered and embroidered.  In fact, think of an application and you can probably use it!

Lutradur is available in packs of A4 size sheets or by the metre from various suppliers including Spunart in the UK.

My first attempt at using Lutradur was a couple of years ago when I made this leaf using 100gsm…..

I drew the shape directly onto the fabric, free motion stitched over the lines and then painted it with Inktense before cutting out the shape.

You can see how the colour altered once the Lutradur had been zapped with the heat tool.  I was pleased with the result but there was something not quite right which I couldn’t put my finger on…..until recently.

Its staring me in the face looking back at these photos, I shouldn’t have sewn around the edge of the leaf!  This is that same leaf after a little pruning of those edges and another blast of heat to curl the tips, it looks so much more realistic…..

The underside of the leaf

These are some of my more recent Lutradur leaf creations made from 100gsm…..

Lutradur provides a very stable surface for stitching into.

Each one is drawn first using a Frixion pen.  Next I use a heat resistant thread i.e. Rayon, Viscose or 100% cotton to add free motion stitching along the veins.

The fallen leaf which inspired the design.

Shaping with the soldering iron.

Once the stitching has been done the leaf is cut out using a fine tip soldering iron.  I wanted to retain most of the fabric on these particular leaves so I also used the soldering iron, rather than the heat tool, to target specific areas to cut holes.

The finished leaves painted with Inktense.

I wanted a more lacey look for this next leaf so after stitching and cutting out with the soldering iron this one was distressed using the heat gun.  I left it unpainted to suggest a frosty leaf in winter…..

The following photos show a selection of leaves made by students at my recent “forest floor” themed workshop…..

These leaves are fun to make but be warned, as with so many creative projects they can become very addictive once you get started!

 

Tyvek Brooches

Tyvek Brooches

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Later this month I will exhibiting at an arts and crafts event at the Baumber Walled Gardens near Horncastle so I’ve been making various small items, including these Tyvek Brooches, for the sales table.  Since it’s invention by DuPont, Tyvek has found uses in a huge range of situations. The fact that it is much stronger than paper and many fabrics, as well as totally waterproof, has led to it being used as a replacement for these materials in many applications.  It is widely used in the construction industry but you may be more familiar with seeing it used as packaging, FedEx envelopes are made from Tyvek paper.  If you don’t have the envelopes you can buy packs of Tyvek quite cheaply from Amazon.

Tyvek paper is extremely strong and durable and great for creative crafts as it can be easily cut, coloured using any paint medium, heat distressed with an iron and stitched by machine or hand.

I made my first brooch using this material when I was looking for a contrasting texture to use with my wet felted collars.

To make a brooch I normally cut out a piece of painted Tyvek in an oval shape approximately 4” x 3” and lay it between two pieces of tracing paper.  You can use baking parchment or copier paper but I find I get a clearer picture of what’s happening to the Tyvek when I use the tracing paper.  Once it starts to react to the heat things happen very quickly!

With the iron on its hottest setting I hover over the Tyvek, just touching the paper but with absolutely no pressure on it.  The heat causes the paper to shrink creating bubbles on the underside and ridges on the top side.

Bubble side

When the paper is peeled back you will find that it has stuck a little but it cools down quickly and can easily be peeled off.

Ridges are created on the top side

The underside of the Tyvek bubbles to create a pebble effect

The next step is to cut out a piece of felt slightly smaller than the brooch and attach it to the back using a hot glue gun.  This allows me to add the hand stitched knots

Another piece of felt is cut out and has a brooch back sewn onto it before being stuck in place, again using the glue gun.

I love the fact that each brooch is totally unique as this method of working means that non of the designs could ever be repeated. My only problem is letting them go as I love them all!

Nuno Felting

Nuno Felting

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When I read this week that the second quarter challenge is to be Nuno Felting I thought I would share the first of the few Nuno projects I have done so far.  I say “few” because although I trawl the charity shops for silk and chiffon scarves on a regular basis most of them still reside in the plastic box under my table!  I’ve actually done very little with them so this next challenge should see some of these lovely fabrics being put to good use!

My introduction to Nuno Felting was in 2016 when I attended a workshop at Artvango with a lovely feltmaker called Clare Bullock.  Rather than taking the easy route (silk, muslin etc) we had been encouraged to try a wide variety of fabrics, some of which were going to need a lot of coaxing to get the fibres to migrate through.  Clare kept a watchful eye on us to ensure we weren’t taking any shortcuts which meant everyone’s samples were successful.  By the end of the workshop I took home five pieces of work incorporating a variety of fabrics including fine cottons, viscose, silks, wool and polyester.

Fabrics prior to fulling

Fulling complete

 

It seemed a lot of work at the time but there was something magical about seeing the textures emerging as the wool shrinks and I just loved the texture from the green woollen shawl…pity I didn’t get a “before” picture of the green/blue fabrics.

I came across the orange and the green/blue samples again when I was having a tidy up last year and decided, rather than putting them back in the drawer, to add some very simple stitching and frame them as landscapes.

Since then I’ve made several Nuno scarves but not really taken the time to be experimental with Nuno……this next challenge should provide the inspiration I need to have a play!

Mixed Media Surface Decoration

Mixed Media Surface Decoration

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With the latest quarterly challenge being Surface Design, and “mixed media” in particular, I thought I would share a couple of the things I’ve made recently that might fit into this category.  The first is these wet felted Merino pendants with acrylic paper inclusions and hand embroidery.

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Acrylic papers in assorted colours and textures

I came across a stack of the papers while having a sort out in my studio. They had been sitting in a drawer for several years, being saved “just in case” they might come in useful! They are in a range of beautiful colours and have wonderful textures but my mind was in “use it or lose it” mode…….there was no way they were being thrown out so the pendants came into being.

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Wet Felted Merino Pendants

The second project was an experiment to see how acrylic and Inktense paints would work as a colouring medium for white Merino. I had seen an “elf” style hat and fancied having a go at making one so this became the base for my paint experiment.

Having seen on here that Ruth has a lot of success printing with acrylic on felt, and knowing that Acrylic and Inktense paints are both non toxic and colourfast when dry, (to be colourfast Inktense must be mixed with water, not used in dry form) they both seemed like a reasonable option for colouring a hat.

I started by applying Inktense to the dangly bits at the sides and all was looking good until I noticed I was loosing a lot of colour as the paint started to drip off the end of the wool and puddle on the worktop…..too much water in the mix! I blotted the dangles to remove a lot of the moisture and applied paint again but this time a lot more concentrated. It still ran a little but the wool retained more of the colour and it didn’t stiffen at all. I’m sure if I had applied that concentration of acrylic it would have been very stiff!

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Next I tackled the main body of the hat. For this I used watered down acrylic, my logic being that the more water I used the less likely it would be to make the wool stiff.  I wanted to avoid saturating the hat and having another puddle so I lightly brushed the acrylic over the wool, some of the fibres not being touched by the brush. Once the acrylic had dried I overpainted with Inktense and I really liked the mottled effect this combination created. Lastly I used thick acrylic around the base of the “tail” as I figured this is the one area that would benefit from being stiffened. After leaving it to dry for a couple of days I hand washed the hat to check it was colour fast and was relieved to find that non of the colour washed out.

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Acrylic and Inktense paints used to colour white Merino

To finish off I added a stem with leaves (coloured Merino – not painted) and some colonial knots at the base of the tail. I’m really pleased with the result so will definitely be applying paint to fibre again at some point. Have you tried painting your felt?

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