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Author: ruthlane

When I discovered felting in 2007, I finally found the creative outlet for which I had been searching. I love that the versatility of fiber allows me to “play” with a wide variety of materials including wool, silk, fabrics, yarns and threads. Creating one of a kind fiber art pieces to share with the world fulfills my creative passion.
Multi colored clamp dyed cotton velveteen drying over chair back
Clamp Dyeing Fabric

Clamp Dyeing Fabric

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I am happy to report that our floor is finished and we finally have all of our furniture back. I am still unpacking and rearranging but we are definitely near the end of this mammoth project. I’m happy with the new floor and perhaps at some point, I will completely forget the experience of having it done.

New floor at Ruth's house with painted and caulked trim and painted doors.

My local art group had another get together in the midst of the floor redo and we did some clamp dyeing. I didn’t take any process photos but I do have some of the finished pieces.

Assortment of clamp dyed fabric drying on patio table.

We had five pots of acid dye on the stove including bright yellow, yellow ochre, brick red, dark turquoise and purple. You can fold your fabric however you want or not, and then you clamp different objects to the fabric to create a resist for the dye. You put the clamped fabric into the lightest dye pot first. Then you can unclamp, reclamp in a different pattern and put it into a different color. You work from lighter colors to darker colors. You can dip the fabric partially or put it into soak. The variation are endless.

We used a variety of fabric too. The wool we were using was a very thick, hairy wool blanket. It really had to be clamped tightly and the results weren’t as crisp as thinner fabric.

These pieces are cotton velveteen which actually worked really well with the acid dyes. You can see that the thinner fabric took the dye differently.

Green and yellow clamp dyed fabric created with metal bird sculpture

This piece was done with two metal bird shapes that are the same. They were clamped to the folded fabric on either side.

Multi colored clamp dyed Kraftex

This is a piece of Kraftex that was folded and clamped, then dipped into various colors.

Green, blue, red, and yellow clamp dyed silk fabric

This is a piece of silk that was folded up tightly and clamped and then dipped into various colors of dye.

Two pieces of wool blanket that has been clamp dyed

Here’s a few more pieces of wool blanket.

Birdie supervising the fabric drying process

And Birdie was supervising the drying process on the porch!

We’re planning on using these fabric pieces to create fabric books. We will be working all year on creating the fabric, then the different pages with other techniques and then putting the books together.

Marketplace Mondays Recap

Marketplace Mondays Recap

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I am still in the midst of my house/floor redo and I’m missing all my furniture and applicances. The floor is complete but the company that is supposed to bring my stuff back has failed miserably. I almost forgot to post at all, so I thought I would do a recap post of Markeplace Mondays that I did over ten years ago. Hopefully, there will still be some useful information for people.

Introduction to Marketplace Mondays

Memorable Products

Cohesive Line

Diversify Products

Product Presentation

Hang Tags

Business Cards

Silent Sales People

Complementary Displays

Booth Displays

Approaching Sales Venues

Real Life Product Presentation

Approaching a Gallery Part Two

Pricing Part One

Pricing Part Two

Pricing Part Three

Finding Venues

Wholesale vs Retail

Wholesale Catalog

Selling on ETSY

One of a Kind Wholesale?

Production Calendar

Selling Wholesale and Retail

Finding Wholesale Shows

Artist Statement

Alternative Holiday Sales

 

Please remember that these posts were written in 2011-2012. Some of the information is probably out of date or maybe not even relevant. Hopefully, this will provide a list of  information and ideas that will improve the business/marketing side of your work. I owned a fine craft gallery for 20+ years so if you  have any specific questions, feel free to ask. The comment button is at the top of the page if you are not a subscriber or clicked over from a Facebook post.

Edgar on moving blanket in the middle of the living room floor.
Slight Delay in Art Production

Slight Delay in Art Production

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In July, our water heater decided to start pouring water all over the floor. But it was a bit sneaky because instead of on top of the floor, the water went between the wood laminate and the sub-floor. We didn’t notice it right away until the edges of the wood laminate started deforming. Oh no… Because of the way our house is made and the inability to replace 20+ year old wood laminate, we have to replace the entire floor. Our house is only on one level and everything needed to be removed from the house. When the house was built, the paint used was not very good and the trim and doors were all painted the same color as the walls, a tan color. This post has little to no art/fiber in it, so feel free to quit reading if you don’t want to hear the rest of the floor removal/replacement saga.

Picture of Ruth's studio before remodel

Here’s a picture of part of my studio room before this happened. I had just cleaned it out to accomodate the new work table given to me by my friend Deb.

Here’s a couple more photos showing how much stuff I have in this room. And it all had to be removed. I decided that since everything had to be moved out and this room had not been repainted since the house was built, I would paint it with bright white to hopefully make it feel brighter.

Ruth's studio with furniture in center of room and repainting in progress.

Here’s the room after the first coat of white was completed. If you look at the closet door on the right side of the photo, you can see the original color of paint. I was just planning on painting the studio but ended up with a much bigger painting project than planned.

Back of moving truck with some of the studio furniture inside the truck.

We had a removal company (that is being paid by the insurance company) come and remove everything from the house. Here you can see some of my studio furniture being take away.

Photo of the living room with furniture being removed and damaged floor to the left side.

Most of the furniture is gone and you can see on the left side where the floor was damaged. For a little fiber relief, my umbrella felt tree is on top of the wall unit holding the television.

Edgar on moving blanket in the middle of the living room floor.

Edgar had a hard time with all of this. People were stealing his furniture and everything is out of place. We’re now staying in our camper in the driveway with winter coming on fast.

Ruth's living room floor, wood laminate removed, showing sub-floor.

Here’s the living room with all the base trim removed and the old laminate torn up. The sub-floor has been sanded and hopefully, by the time this post goes live, the new flooring will be in.

Door painting station in Ruth's main bedroom.

Here’s my painting station. I am repainting all the inside doors (11) in the house. They were painted the tan color and need two coats of the semi-gloss white paint. So it is  taking me a while. I am also painting any base board that wasn’t white (all the closets) and also several doorway moldings that hadn’t been painted. Another bit of fiber is on the wall (right side of photo) that is usually over my bed. These are two needle pointed pieces, one that was stitched by my dad and the other (right) by my mom.

I have another three days at least of painting doors but the good news is how nice the house will look after this is all finished. This definitely wasn’t in the plan for this year but I’m finally getting these doors painted correctly after 23 years! Hopefully, next post, I will be back to fiber/art production.

Ruth's stitched down branch with fly stitch leaves.
Hand Stitching on Paper

Hand Stitching on Paper

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Our group meeting this month was inspired by some Instagram tutorials that we saw by Neha Sachan. Here’s her Instagram if you want to see the videos we followed.

We started with white or painted heavy watercolor paper cut into approximately 5″ x  7″ pieces. I had collected a variety of twigs and sticks. Everyone chose their twigs and our friend Deb had donated some dried grapevines that were such fun shapes we had to use some of those too.  Then on to punching holes into the paper and stitching. It’s really fun and relaxing to sit and stitch with a group of friends.

Louise stitching back stitch through previously stitched fly stitch with small branch couched on paper.

Here’s Louise doing a bit of stitching. She’s doing backstitch in between her fly stitches.

Louise's branch with lichen couched down and fly stitch leaves.

Here’s Louise’s finished piece. I love the lichen that’s growing on the branch.

Louise's grapevine stitched down to blue watercolor paper and seed pod attached with stitching..

Here’s Louise’s other stitched down vine. The seed pod was a separate piece that she added as it seemed to fit perfectly. Not much stitching here besides couching down the various pieces.

Sally's two stitched pieces on paper. Top paper with branch couched down, fly stitch and back stitch. Bottom paper with larch branch couched down.

Here are Sally’s two pieces. She hadn’t finished the bottom piece but had attached a twig from a Tamarack/Larch tree.

 

Paula's grape vine couched down with back stitched branches and one branch with French knots.

This is the beginnings of Paula’s piece. She has since added a bunch more French knots but I don’t have the finished picture.

Close up of Paula's French knots

Here’s a closer view of the French knots.

Here’s photos of my piece with the twig, fly stitch and back stitch. I made it into a greeting card. I tried to send it in the mail but got it back as it was “unmachinable”. I had to add more postage to get it sent. Always fun at the USPS.

Ruth's grapevines couched to watercolor paper painted blue with "cotton" bolls.

Here’s my final piece with grape vine and little balls of wool stitched down.

We had a great time stitching together and once you have the holes punched in the paper, this is pretty simple. We have decided that this coming year, we will be working on creating a fabric book. We will be doing quite a few dyeing and surface design techniques to create our book pages. Our next meeting, we will be clamp dyeing on felt.

Registration Now Open for Hanging Felted Spiral Online Class

Registration Now Open for Hanging Felted Spiral Online Class

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Helene is teaching another session of her Hanging Felted Spiral online class and you can register now. Registration opens today and class begins on October 18.

This is a four week online course and you don’t have to be present at any certain time. You will have access to videos and Helene’s support throughout the four weeks and will be able to download the PDF’s for future reference.

 

Have you wanted to learn more about sculptural felt? This is a great way to learn about how to layout fiber for more elasticity, how to use a book resist with multiple “leaves” and Helene’s ideas on how to further these ideas into future projects.

Here are a few of Helene’s students own spirals. Aren’t they fantastic out in nature?

Jump into spring and learn to make a spiral with Helene. Online class starts on October 18. Learn more about the class and register here.

 

Helene also has an ongoing class, Wet Felting a Vessel Using a Simple Resist which can be taken at any time.  If you know the basics of wet felting but want to move forward into creating three dimensional objects with a resist, this is the class for you. Click here for more information and to register.

If you are a beginner and want to learn the basics of wet felting, our beginner class is always available and you can sign up here. This course has unlimited access and is a great place to start if you want to know how to wet felt.

Ruth's book cover
Altered Books – A Glimpse Inside

Altered Books – A Glimpse Inside

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In my last post, I showed you how we finished up the binding on our altered books. I didn’t manage to get photos of Louise’s book as she was still working on adding to her inner pages. Sorry, Louise. Here are the inside photos of the rest of the books.

Altered book cover with mixed media birds nest.

This first book is Paula’s and this is the back cover. This is her bird’s nest; part of her theme was birds. She had picked several words to base her pages on when she was creating the book.

Altered book with page of painted magpie by Paula Rindal

Here’s a page inside Paula’s book with a painting of a magpie.

Altered book with antique photo of building with men in front by Paula Rindal.

Paula has a bunch of antique photos that she used throughout the book. She also has some wonderful antique papers which you will see in all of our books as she is so generous.

Altered book with two painted landscapes, old book page and fabric strip.

These are some of the mini landscapes that Paula painted.

Altered book with antique photo of men playing cards on porch and stitched leaves.

And another of Paula’s photos with stitched leaves.

Sally's book cover

Now on to Sally’s book. This is her cover and Sally is planning on adding to her inside pages but hasn’t completed that yet.

Altered book with antique flower end paper and music paper.

Here’s Sally’s end paper on the left. Perhaps you can see the dark brown fabric where she stitched her signatures? The first page is from some old music sheets that Paula gave us.

Altered book with mix of papers including old typing paper and dyed paper towel.

Sally has a mix of different kind of papers in her signatures just waiting for her addition of eco printed paper and fabric.

Here are a couple of other examples of the type of paper that Sally used in her book signatures.

Altered book with original end pages kept in place of map of forest regions in the US.

This is the inside cover of my book. I didn’t want to take out this lovely map from the original end papers. So I left it the way it was. I then glued my end paper to cover where the signature had been glued in on the back side of the right page shown here. The map is what is stopping me from putting holes in the front cover to stitch some embroidery.

Altered book with screen printed paper on left and word printed fabric on right by Ruth Lane

Here is the end paper on the left that covers the glued binding. This piece of paper was screen printed with the deconstructed screening technique. It was my original inspiration for the color scheme for the book. You will have seen the fabric on the right if you read my prior post about how we printed the “backwards” writing.

Altered book with painted book page and handmade paper by Ruth Lane

Here’s another one of my pages. The addition of extra paper in the signatures splits up some of the page spreads that I made but to me it adds some interest. I am thinking about adding some poems and quotes about trees on some of the blank pages.

Altered book with pinecone original book page and antique ledger paper.

This page spread in my book shows the back side of one of the book pages that I didn’t change and an old ledger paper from Paula. If you didn’t see all my page spreads that I created for this book, you can see them here and here. Most of them made the cut for the final book layout.

Altered book with collaged papers on left and painted handmade paper on right by Ruth Lane

I really enjoyed creating this book and I’m looking forward to the project that we will work on in the coming year with my art group. We don’t have a plan as of yet but I’m sure we will come up with something!

Stack of signatures with holes made for binding.
Annual Art Retreat 2025

Annual Art Retreat 2025

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My local art group had our annual retreat and enjoyed a wonderful weekend. One of our members that had moved to Wisconsin over three years ago came this year so it made the retreat extra special. Mainly, we worked on our altered book journals.

Inside Kiwanis Lodge on Little Bitterroot Lake in Marion, Montana

Luckily, we have a beautiful place to go each year, the Kiwanis Lodge at Little Bitterroot Lake in Marion, Montana.

Landscape of Little Bitterroot Lake with pine trees, the lake and distant mountains.

We had gorgeous weather this year and it wasn’t smoky yet. The following week was really smoky from wildfires in the northwest US and Canada.

Inside the lodge with Paula, Deb and Sally.

We worked on our altered books and Paula (left) showed us how to do a traditional book binding. There were a lot of steps and I had never done a book binding like this. It wasn’t particularly difficult, just a bit fiddly. For anyone who is an expert at this process, please ignore the fact that I don’t know all the correct terms for each of the processes/parts of the binding.

We used the cover of our books and took all the “guts” out. We had to make signatures to fit the size of the book out of the pages that we had already made. You mark the signatures and put holes to stitch through. You also need a piece of fabric with a marked piece of cardstock matching the signature holes. The cardstock is glued to the fabric with PVA glue.

This is my book, the photo on the left is that stack of five signatures (groups of pages) that have their holes punched. The middle photo shows the signatures and the top header thingee (forgotten the name but it’s at the top left of the signature pile) and my tools. The right photo shows my marked cardstock glued to the fabric where the signatures will be attached.

Stitched signatures being attached to book cover.

I got so involved with the process that I forgot to take photos of all the steps. This is Paula’s book after she has her signatures stitched in place and one side is glued down to the cover. The striped pieces are her headers.

Booking binding in process

Here’s a photo of Louise’s book in progress.

Once you have the signatures glued down to the covers, you need to use “end papers” to cover the inside of the book cover. Paula used different pieces of fabric and then used a portrait she had drawn/painted as the end cover on the front inside cover.

Paula's book cover

Here’s Paula’s front cover after she got it all together. I am not sure if she is adding more to the cover or not.

Sally's book cover

This is Sally’s book, she hasn’t glued down the cover piece yet but thinks she will be using various eco printed pieces to fill her book. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of Louise’s book as she was still working on the inner pages.

Ruth's book cover

And here’s my book. I was thinking about doing some surface embroidery on the leaves and pine cones but I would have to put holes through the cover. This would detract from my inside end paper. So I haven’t quite decided yet. Because this post would be a bit long, I will show you the insides of the books on my next post. It was really satisfying to get this book put together after working on various aspects of it for a year.

Sunset through the trees on Little Bitterroot Lake

And my annual sunset photo.

Exciting News – New Online Classes!

Exciting News – New Online Classes!

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We have two new online classes available, one for newer felt makers and one for more experienced felt makers.

The first online class, Wet Felting a Vessel Using a Simple Resist, is taught by Helene and will teach newer feltmakers how to use a resist. If you know how to wet felt a flat piece of felt but want to move on to making 3D felt objects, this class is for you. The class is online and can be started and accessed at any time. You will have continual access so that you can keep coming back to the class videos and PDF’s at any time as you progress in your felt making. Students will also have access to a private Facebook group to show their work and ask questions of Helene.

You will learn about making resists, what materials to use, how to layout your wool, prefelting and felting over the resist as well as fulling and shaping your vessel. Helene will also show you how to progress from a simple shape to other options only limited by your imagination. Click here for more information and to register now.

The other new online class which will start October 17, is 3D Multi-Part Resist by Ann M. This class is designed for intermediate felt makers who have made vessels or other items over a resist. If you have seen more complex vessels and wondered how they were made, this class will teach you how to create a “book” resist and create a multi-part vessel.  Ann will be posting more about her class soon. If you’re interested, you can fill out our contact us form to get on the email list to notify you when registration opens.

If you are just starting on your felting journey, our Wet Felting for Beginners online class is always available. If you take this class first, you will be ready for Helene’s vessel class and then move on to Ann’s more complex vessel class or Helene’s hanging spiral class.

Flour Paste Resist Tutorial

Flour Paste Resist Tutorial

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I have been out of town and didn’t have time to write a new post. So I thought I would share a post from my personal blog that is a flour paste tutorial. I apologize for the quality of the photos. I wrote this post in 2011 and my photo taking was not really very good at that point in my life.

Put plastic over your surface on which you will be working. This is very messy so lots of plastic, much wider than your fabric. Pin the top edge of the fabric. You can see it in this photo but I have pinned the edge that is closest to the bucket of flour paste. Mix 1 cup cold water and 1 cup flour in a tub. Use cold water as to make the paste a better consistency. For this silk scarf, I used two recipes of flour paste. I forgot to take a photo before I put flour paste on but you get the idea.

I just pour the paste straight out of the container on to the fabric. Pour along the top edge where you pinned the fabric down. It takes quite a bit so pour generously (more than this photo).

Then use a squeegee or some flat tool to scrape a layer of flour paste over the entire piece of fabric. This process stretches the fabric and is why you only pin the top edge.

Here’s better photo of a generous pour of flour paste.

Once you have your entire surface covered with flour paste, pin the bottom edge and ends of fabric. Make sure you have covered all your edges well. I have this on my “new” print table that I made by stapling a large piece of black felt to the table. Therefore, I can pin right through the plastic and into the felt

If your table is too low, just add four pieces of PVC pipe. Works a charm to prevent your back from bothering when working.

Then let the piece dry for at least 24 hours. I had the fan going on this and it only took 12 hours to dry. It should all be the same color with no translucent looking spots when it is dry. If you look closely, you can see that almost all the pins have been pulled up due to shrinkage. If you don’t pin it down, the entire piece will curl up and be a big mess. Ask me how I know!!

This is how stiff it is when the flour paste is dry. This is an 8mm silk scarf – now turned into a flour paste plank

Here I am holding the end of the scarf. If you haven’t tried this technique, it seems really bizarre.

Next, you need to crack the flour paste. The more you bend, roll or push on the fabric, the more cracking you will get.

These are just a few photos showing the cracked flour paste.

Then you can either use fabric paint or thickened dye. I used Jacquard Textile paint mixed with half water and half paint. Paint over the entire surface making sure that your paint is covering all the flour paste resist.

 

Here’s a peak on the back after painting. This is about how it will look when you wash it out. If that isn’t enough crackling, carefully (you’ll get paint all over yourself) crack it some more and add more paint. Let paint dry for 24 hours. Most textile paints are supposed to be heat set but it doesn’t work to iron this mess. You could try it on the back but both times I’ve tried it, the paint was pretty well set after 24 hours dry time. If you’re using dye, batch like you normally do.

Then fill a bucket with cold water. You don’t want to put the water directly in the sink because you won’t want this flour paste/paint gunk going down your sink. I just rolled the scarf up into a roll and dunked it in the water. It starts loosening almost immediately and you can peel it right off. Just let the gunk settle to the bottom of the bucket.

Can you see the black stuff peeling off in pieces?

Here’s what it looks like.

Once you’ve got as much gunk off as possible, wash with mild detergent in the washing machine. Then iron and you’ll have a lovely crackled effect. I just love the look of these. I have to try some more with different colored paint. Don’t forget to pour the water and flour paste gunk outside. Do not pour it down your sink unless you have a crush on your plumber!

Here’s a few close ups. Can you see the discharged ammonite?

Here’s another look.

I get carried away.

Because I really like this effect. I certainly did not come up with this idea and I got all instructions from Jane Dunnewold’s latest book (this post was written in 2011). If you give it a try, let me know and show us some photos. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

Various green sheer fabric from my stash.
Birch Landscapes Completed

Birch Landscapes Completed

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When I last posted, I was working on two birch landscapes. I had finished stitching the branches on one and was working out what I wanted to do about leaves.

Blue and green felted background with silk paper birch trees and free motion machine stitched branches.

I stitched the branches on the second landscape with free motion machine stitching.

Two landscapes side by side before leaves are added.

These work very well as a pair. I didn’t do anything to emphasize the “lake” or “water” effect of the background. I thought each person could interpret the landscape as they see it.

 

Now for the leaves. The photo on the left shows the sheer green fabric I had in my stash. It’s a combination of polyester organza and silk organza that has been hand dyed. I ended up using the more yellow green silk organza choices.

Felted blue and green background with silk paper birch trees and cut leaves place on branches.

I cut a bunch of leaf shapes. I don’t use a pattern but just cut them out randomly. I have found that they need to be different shapes to look natural so I just start cutting shapes that are vaguely leaf like. In the photos above, I have laid the leaves on top, again very randomly, to see if I have enough coverage. I ended up adding a few more after I started stitching to fill in where needed.

Felted blue and green landscape backgrounds with silk paper birch trees and cut leaves stitched in place.

Here are the landscapes after stitching down the leaves. Now, I am going to work on stitching them to a background fabric and lacing on to boards, so they are ready for framing. What should I name the pieces? Any ideas?