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Bountiful Botanicals Exhibition at Lincoln Cathedral

Bountiful Botanicals Exhibition at Lincoln Cathedral

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Last Monday the Lincolnshire Textile groups Bountiful Botanicals exhibition was opened to the public in the Chapter House of Lincoln Cathedral. We always feature a central group piece and this year it consisted of a large vase framed by a floral arch which was adorned with individual flowers created by our members using a wide variety of materials, colours and techniques.

This can be a tricky venue for displaying textile art due to the fact that the Chapter House is not brightly lit and very little natural light filters through the stained glass plus there are limitations regards hanging the work. That said the team putting up the displays always do a wonderful job and once again we’ve had some fabulous feedback from visitors. These are just a few of the pieces that were on display…..

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There was a wedding taking place in the Cathedral yesterday and the members who were stewarding were paid a surprise visit by the Bride and Groom who had heard about the arch and were keen to pose for photos under it. I’m only sorry I cant give the happy couple a name check but if by any chance its you and you see this post we wish you all the best!

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to visit this years exhibition, the images I’m using have been to sent me from another member, so it was a lovely surprise to see several beautiful pieces on display that members had created as a result of attending my Tall Trees workshop in 2024

 

My submission was this wired 3d Tyvek fabric Iris.

Also this week I took part in two competitions that were held at the annual Lincolnshire Show. This is an event I used to love to attend when I was younger but at some point it must have lost its appeal as it dawned on me that it must be forty years since I was last there! Anyway, my friend Lucy told me a couple of months back about a craft competition she was taking part in with all entries featuring as part of a two day display in the huge Floral Marquee. Everyone entering a piece of work would automatically be sent two free Show tickets, it wasn’t dependent on winning, simply entering any of the numerous categories would ensure your free tickets so that sounded like a win-win idea to me! Each theme had its own criteria regards size and all entries were to be created using mainly plant based materials. Loving a challenge I chose to enter two categories, the first being “If The Shoe Fits”, which Lucy was also entering, plus a category to create a Necklace titled “Cartier, Tiffany, Chanel or….” We were given a huge list of what “plant based” materials would be accepted including cotton fabrics & threads, paper & cardboard, all cellulose fibres, wood, etc, and there were a few things on the list that wouldn’t have occurred to me including latex balloons, birds nests, cereals and pasta!

So knowing I wanted my two pieces to have a woodland theme I began with a walk in the local woods looking for inspiration and foraged various plant based bits including different types of tree bark, acorn hats, small twigs and tiny fir cones.

Having measured the length and width of one of my shoes I knew it would just fit in the space allocated so used that as a template to create a padded, stitched cotton fabric sole. One of the little twigs found on my walk was the perfect shape and size for the heel so that got added next. I spent a while cleaning up pieces of Birch bark and then applied acrylic medium to make it supple before glueing it on as the shoe insole, along with a little bit of moss. The leaves were all made using free motion stitch on water soluble fabric and by ensuring some of the glue remained on the stitching after rinsing I was able to form the shape I wanted the leaves to be by wrapping them around my “real” shoe. Once the shoe had been assembled the little flowers were created from frayed cotton fabric and wired in place.

 

There were some impressive entries in the Shoe category, and sadly my submission didn’t get placed, but it was great to see that Lucy’s amazing “paper” Walking Boot won first prize. In fact it looked so real that I overheard a lady telling her friend that someone had “obviously simply pasted paper on to a boot!” I was so pleased I could put her right and say I saw it being made and the whole thing was entirely made from paper! The look on her face was priceless!

As the deadline for submissions was looming I realized I didn’t have time to procrastinate over the design of my necklace. This would have to be a very quick and easy project so I made a base of soaked Kozo fibre and attached some of the bark and other left over bits that were on my table. The asymmetrical shape came together very quickly but it was lacking a bit of bling so I used a little gold and bronze metallic paint to bring it to life.

With it being a rushed job I didn’t think for one minute it would receive any votes so it was nice to discover it had taken third place!

I’ll leave you with the stunning exhibit that won first prize under the theme of Catwalk Queen and also won Best in Show…….

 

 

 

Anyone for Kinusaiga – a crash course?

Anyone for Kinusaiga – a crash course?

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Recently, a friend of mine mentioned that she was heading to a class to explore Joomchi. It is something that I would be interested in learning about but I have enough rabbit holes in my life at the moment. Curious (for future reference) I asked about the venue and headed online to check it out. I was scrolling through the lovely website and I came across a different course, one offering a three hour session on Kinusaiga. The photos of the finished work were really attractive but I got a bit of a shock when I saw the cost, which I considered prohibitive to most people. So out of principle, I decided to give it a miss. But my curiosity was roused at that stage so I googled the term and found many videos on YouTube. I can’t attribute my new knowledge to just one of these videos as presenters had their own view of what to look out for when making Kinusaiga. So this post is an amalgamation of my learning from my short visit into the rabbit hole.

Kinusaiga originated in Japan and is a form of fabric collage. It is a great way to use up fabric scraps and I found the whole process quite meditative and enjoyable. The process involves drawing a simple pattern which is transferred onto a foam block which has been covered in double sided sticky paper. Each section of the design is treated as a pattern piece which is used as a basis for a shape cut from fabric. You add on extra fabric to the shape to allow for tucking into the foam block so that none of the raw edges are showing. The sticky background holds everything in place. I think it’s probably easier to explain if I go through it step by step. I improvised with my materials as I wanted to produce my picture from stuff I already had. This might suit but you can buy kits online – I checked some out but I found them very expensive for what was on offer.

Materials:

  • Foam board – I used leftover scraps from the board I use when I am framing pieces but thicker is ideal if you have it to hand as there is less likelihood that you will pierce the back of the board.
  • 2 sided sticky paper. One side will stick to the board and one side to your fabric to keep it in place. I used some 2 sided sticky tape that I had left over from sticking down a floor rug.
  • Craft knife.
  • Metal nail file (one with a pointy end) or sharp small scissors (like an embroidery scissors).
  • Paper and pencil (for drawing your pattern)
  • Marker (for example a Sharpie pen) to outline your final drawing.
  • Fabric scraps (I used fabric I had left over from my mask making days of the early 2020’s)
  • 2 Scissors one for paper and one for fabric cutting.
  • 2 sided selotape

The how to:

Step 1

Sketch a very simple design being mindful that each outline is going to become a cutout. I used a two sided felted mobile that I made some years ago as my starting point:

My inspiration was based off a felted mobile I made some time ago

Here is my outline:

simple recreation of the chosen design

Step 2

Now number each section that you are going to cut out and take a photo of this for reference:

Here I numbered all the pieces and took a photo for reference

Step 3

Stick the two sided sticky paper or tape to the foam board, leaving the protective cover on the top layer of the paper/tape (I did not take a photo of this but you can see it in the next photo)

Step 4

Place the drawing on top of your covered foam board and secure. Cut through each of the shapes using your craft knife. Be careful with the knife and make sure it pierces through the sticky paper/tape and through the foam BUT that it does not pierce the back side of the foam board. Set aside each of the cut pieces of your design (now you can see why it is helpful to number them).

The drawing was secured on the foam and each section was cut out
with an imprint left on the foam block

Step 5

Choose fabrics from your stash that you feel will look pleasing together

my selection of fabrics

photo

Step 6

Start cutting out your shapes making sure that you allow extra fabric so that you can push this down the side of the corresponding cut in the foam board. Remove the cover off the sticky paper/tape (my tape was blue so it is easy to see this in the photo)

Inserting the first shape (the blue is the sticky tape)

Step 7

Align your shape so that you have enough fabric to push down the side of the foam board. Use your metal nail file or your small scissors to do this. Carefully trim off any excess if you find that the allowance is too big.

first piece inserted

Be sure to work methodically when securing the fabric. It makes it easier to complete and you can see your picture build up, which is nice. I was unhappy with one of my fabric choices when I laid them down initially so I was able to change them – the materials were very forgiving. One of the photos has an arrow on it to show where I changed my mind about a particular fabric.

  • first piece inserted
  • building the picture

Step 8

Finally secure the overhang at the side of your picture to the back with double sided sticky tape. Add a frame if you fancy. My fabrics were chosen at random from the stash so are a tad garish. It’s far from perfect but not too bad for a first try. Also, looking at the last photo I see I could have ironed some of the fabric before I used them, but sometimes it is good for me to leave precision behind and just go have fun.

finished picture

I hope this is a project you will try. It is fun, mindful and quick to complete. Let me know what you think and be sure to post your work so that we can include them in the gallery.

Helene x

Medieval Spinning

Medieval Spinning

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I took a Class in Medieval spinning with a distaff last Thursday. I originally signed up for the class before the COVID-19 lockdown.  So I have been waiting a while to do this class.  This was a 2-hour evening class.  We were learning 2 things at once. How to spin in hand and how to use a distaff. Our teacher Judy said it’s like patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time.

First, we got some distaffs to dress. This means we had to tie the fiberbatts to a stick. Judy had a couple of nice wooden ones, but mostly we had forked branches she had taken the bark off.

Judy brought several spindles with different whorls. The whorl is the disk that adds weight, so the spindle spins better. The whorls are removable. Once you have some yarn built up on your spindle, you can remove the whorl.

First, we practised twirling the spindle with the leader.  You have to make a half hitch on the end of the spindle and then twirl it.

Judy showing us how to twirl our spindle

Lucie is seeing if it is easier standing up.

Then we practised the drafting and the twirling at the same time. milking cow motion on the right and twirling on the right. This is the patting your head and rubbing your tummy part. The only thing we had to bring to class was a belt to stick the distaff in. I do not own a belt, so I got some bailer twine and braided myself a belt for the night. You can see this great fashion piece below.

Then we started spinning. It’s hard to know where to look, at the hand that’s trying to twirl correctly or at the hand trying to draft the fibre down from the distaff.

Here I am winding on. The idea is to make a football (rugby ball) shaped cob on the spindle.

Here’s a close-up of twirling and short suspension. You can let it drop a bit on the last twerl before winding on. Usually, you need to keep it in-hand so you can twirl it again.

Here is what I managed to make by the end of the class. It’s lumpy and thick and thin just like the yarn I made when I first started spinning. I was just starting to wind off when I remembered to take a picture. I haven’t decided if I will ply it or not. First, I have to find my spindles.  I’ve seen them recently in their little case. Of course, I couldn’t find them before the class. I will find them again when I am looking for something else. I hope I will be smart enough to grab them and not think I will remember where they are.

Mixed media painting "Forest Keeper" on watercolor paper - tree spirit with Mountain Hemlock
Essence of Nature

Essence of Nature

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In my recent art and design class, I painted a series of tree spirit portraits. In researching tree spirits, I found many photos of young women with ‘beautiful’ faces. I thought that if a tree had a spirit, it would be the same age as a tree, which can live for hundreds of years. I decided to base my tree spirits on the beauty of older women, with wrinkles, grey hair and wisdom shining through. Once these were painted, I decided to create tree spirits in felt and stitch. I will be continuing with this series as I found stitching and creating portraits a challenge.

I printed a copy of the original artwork and found a piece of deconstructed screen printed fabric that worked for the background. The fabric was silk organdy and I nuno felted it to a dark green wool. Then I taped a piece of water soluble fabric to the artwork and traced it on the light box.

I pinned the traced outlines of the face and the pinecone down to the nuno felt. Then I used a dark green to stitch the face outline and a dark brown to stitch the pinecone. It’s not shown here but I used a white thread to stitch the outline of the hair. The tree on the left hand side was developed free hand as there was already dark green in the background fabric that reminded me of the shapes of the tree branches. Once the outlines were stitched, I dissolved the water soluble fabric and let the piece dry.

Then on to stitching. This will probably seem like an exercise/game of find the differences as some of the photos seem very much alike. I used 1-2 strands of cotton floss and stitched in a distorted cross stitch. Unlike regular cross stitch, this is a very loose form of cross stitch where the stitches do cross but they are different lengths and directions to fill the space. It is a fairly easy way to shade for darks and lights without doing precise stitching such as long and short stitch. I started with the eyes. I have found when stitching a portrait before, that I stitch the “important” areas first. If I don’t like the eyes, I can either re-do them or start over without wasting loads of time on the rest of the face.

I continued using various shades of green and developing the face and then on to the hair. It was a really interesting process as it seemed like I would add more dark into an area and then find that I needed to add more dark to other areas. There are many layers of stitched threads and hours of work in the final piece.

As you can see, I didn’t take many photos of the tree development or of the pinecone stitching. But I continued with the distorted cross stitch for these areas too. The pine needles were done with stem stitch.

I changed the hair multiple times. I had added stem stitch curls but those seemed to stand out too much. I went back in and stitched over that with a variety of shades of lighter green to make the hair look more natural. I also worked on deepening the wrinkles around the eyes and mouth.

Nuno felted and hand stitched artwork of a tree spirit.

I probably could have kept working on this piece but decided to stop.

Once I was satisfied with the face, I needed a background fabric. I had linen that had been screen printed at the same time as the silk organdy. I tried an overlay of blue green silk but ended up choosing the linen for a background. The nuno felt was stitched to the linen background and laced over a matte board. The final piece is 10″ x 10″. I was planning on framing it but couldn’t find the correct size frame for it. I ended up covering a 10″ x 10″ canvas with green felt and stitching the edges of the fabric matte to the canvas.  Sorry that I don’t have a photo so that you can see the edge of the canvas and how that looked.

The piece is named the Essence of Nature and will be in an exhibition in May at 4 Ravens Gallery in Missoula, Montana.

 

A Catch Up

A Catch Up

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In my last post I mentioned several pieces I was working on and some events that were coming up and I thought I’d use this post to update you on how those went.

I’d made several superfine Merino pendant samples in preparation for a wet felted workshop I had been asked to run for IFA Region 8 in Arnesby, Leicestershire. I had tried to cover options for all abilities from a very simple design that didn’t require a resist, through to a complex design requiring multiple resists. As it turned out all of the samples proved useful because between them my 10 students chose to make one of each of those designs. I was too busy on the day to remember to take progress photos (sorry) and nobody got fully finished before we left but these are some of the images Ive received since…..

One of the ladies, Leah, enjoyed making hers so much she’s gone on to make two more in a style very much of her own which I love!

Another project I’d been working on was Passage of Time, a wet felted Wallhanging inspired by a huge sandstone slab, for the IFA’s online exhibition “Time” which launched in March. You can see the exhibition here. I’d rushed to get this done to meet the deadline. It wasn’t as colourful as I’d intended and I knew it was far from finished! This was how you saw it last…..

After submitting it I continued to embroider and decorate adding colonial knots, free motion stitched mussel shells, machine wrapped cords and embroidered barnacles. As well as needing more surface texture I felt it should be larger and more irregular in shape so wet felted and embellished a second piece to hang adjacent to it. It’s now approximately 1m x 50cm and I’m much happier with how it finished up…..

The exhibition at Harding House in Lincoln went better than any of us could have imagined! Five months of planning and two days of setting up with my friend Jo resulted in an event that we were all very proud to be a part of. Fourteen out of the eighteen participating members travelled from various parts of the midlands to attend the launch party on Saturday 14th March.

We tried to cover as many different techniques as possible with our exhibits and included an “Education Station” with info boards, “touch” samples and the new promotional material advertising the International Feltmakers Association. We also ensured there was an artist in residence every day for the two weeks, either wet felting or needle felting. This meant visitors not only got to see felt being made but they had a point of contact if they wanted to learn more about the art they were seeing, about the IFA, or about Feltmaking in general.

We had a steady footfall throughout the fortnight we were there and it was wonderful to get to meet and speak to so many interested visitors, the feedback received was fantastic!

Earlier this month I travelled over to Risley in Derbyshire to spend the day with Material Girls and the talented, and very entertaining, textile artist known as Mr Finch. Finch creates enormous 3D fabric sculptures of animals, birds, insects, fungi and other fantastical creatures such as this owl and an onion complete with arms, legs and clogs!

He also brought along this Badger and I have to say that the photos really don’t do justice to these fantastic sculptures. To touch them they are rock hard and incredibly weighty, it’s hard to believe that they are stuffed with polyester stuffing! It was fascinating to see close up how he’d made the joints and details such as the paws and fingers.

Finch provided lots of laughs and kept the ladies entertained throughout the day as we learnt his tips for designing templates and creating fabric sculptures. If I’m completely honest I was disappointed that we were hand stitching and not using machines during this class so I’m looking forward to creating another hare very soon using cotton fabric and my machine, putting in to practise some of the useful tips and ideas I picked up from Mr Finch. I think you can see from the photos how much fun we had!

 

Nuno felted "watercolor" landscape with couched yarn tree, close up of branches.
Embellished “Watercolor” Landscape

Embellished “Watercolor” Landscape

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Nuno felted Kitakata paper painted with watercolor paint and water added to move paint.

I am still working on the “watercolor landscape” samples that I created. This one is nuno felted paper that has had watercolor applied after the felting process. It needs a bit more, doesn’t it?

Printed photo of landscape with tree drawn over the landscape in pencil.

I scanned the piece on my printer so I had the exact size of the piece printed out. I then drew a tree over the landscape in pencil. Instead of trying to transfer the design of the tree on to the piece, I decided to just mark where the edges of the trunk were on the top and bottom.

Nuno felted "watercolor" landscape with couched yarn tree.

I didn’t get any photos of the stitching process as I stitched it mainly while traveling. I had found a variety of grey yarn that I couched down with a dark grey cotton machine thread. I tried to give an impression of depth of the tree with the values of grey. I followed my sketch but “edited” out some of the smaller branches.

Here’s a couple of close ups of the stitching.

Nuno felted "watercolor" landscape with couched yarn tree on light grey hand dyed background fabric.

The next step was to find a piece of background (matte) fabric. I stitched the felt piece on to this hand dyed grey background that I already had in my stash. Luckily, it was a blue grey tone that matched the watercolors. The piece was then stretched and laced around matte board. Then it’s ready for a frame.

Nuno felted "watercolor" landscape with couched yarn tree framed.

Here it is in the frame and ready to go to the gallery. This piece in the frame is 8″ x 10″ and I have decided to name it “Solitude”.

Felted Vessel Workshop

Felted Vessel Workshop

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A few weeks ago, I taught a felted vessel class. A lovely bunch of ladies full of enthusiasm. As usual, I didn’t take as many pictures as I wanted, but here you can see the setup.

After everyone had their base ready, people got to work on embellishments. This is the hardest part, but also the most fun for most people. So many choices of wool and silk. They have to think about where they will cut their felt to take the resist out, to open it up, how big they want the opening and whether they want a very round pot or a flattish one. Where is the top, and where is the bottom?

I didn’t take as many pictures as I wanted to,  so we jump to the end.

Two ladies decided to cut slits and make their vessels into small bags. They need to work on the edges some more.

And one lady decided to turn hers into two small bowls. One was turned inside out so you can see the pattern better.

 

All in all, I think they did very well having never felted before, I don’t think any of them had ever handled fibre before.

 

Nuno felted dyed landscape with sheer green "hills", sheer purple/maroon trees and blue sheer for sky. Stitching and trimming completed around edge to hold everything in place.
Watercolors in Nuno Felt

Watercolors in Nuno Felt

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I have been continuing with my experiments with trying to create a “watercolor” effect in nuno felt. I decided to take a few of the pieces that were the least successful with the dye/paint application and add more. The first addition of “more” is with sheer fabrics.

Nuno felt landscape created with silk dyed flat on paper and then batched (fiber reactive dye).

This is the piece I decided to start with. It had lost a lot of its color and still looked like a landscape but I felt it could do with “more”.

Nuno felted dyed landscape with addition of torn tulle trees.

I started with adding in some torn tulle trees on the right hand side.

Nuno felted dyed landscape with addition of torn tulle trees and sheer green "hills".

Then I took some sheer green fabric and added it on the left to give a feel of hills in the background. Some of these steps might be hard to see as the fabric is very sheer but it’s the layering that achieves the final effect.

Nuno felted dyed landscape with addition of torn tulle trees and sheer green "hills" with additional green layer.

I then cut off the left edge of the green sheer and added it back into the “hill” area. This gives a bit of value change as you add further layers of sheer.

Nuno felted dyed landscape with sheer green "hills" and tulle trees switched to sheer purple/maroon trees.

After looking at the tulle trees as compared to the green sheer on the left, I decided to change the trees. Since the background was mainly yellow, I thought the addition of purple/maroon trees would give a neutralized tree color but still feel there was additional color added. That seemed better so I added in the shadows too. I added a bit of the purple/maroon on the left for a bit of foreground in front of the green hills.

Nuno felted dyed landscape with sheer green "hills", sheer purple/maroon trees and blue sheer for sky.

Next up was to try and change the “straight line” over the trees on the right. It felt too abrupt a change in color. So I added a couple of layers of light blue sheer over the trees and then a full piece of blue sheer over the entire piece.

Nuno felted dyed landscape with sheer green "hills", sheer purple/maroon trees and blue sheer for sky with added stitching in foreground.

The next step was looking over the piece to see anything else that stood out. I noticed that the green sheer I had on the left needed a little work. It felt too straight along the bottom and there was a weird kind of ‘flag’ in the middle of the hills. So I changed those and then began stitching. It’s hard to see but there is light yellow stitching in the foreground. That wasn’t meant to add a hard line, just to hold the blue fabric down and keep the smaller sheer pieces underneath in place. I did add a broken darker brown horizon line which you can see I have started on the left.

Nuno felted dyed landscape with sheer green "hills", sheer purple/maroon trees and blue sheer for sky. Adding stitching in sky.

I continued adding stitch to the horizon line as well as the sky. Again, in the sky, I didn’t want a hard line so I used a very light gray thread, not pure white that might “stick” out too much.

Nuno felted dyed landscape with sheer green "hills", sheer purple/maroon trees and blue sheer for sky. Stitching and trimming completed around edge to hold everything in place.

The final step was to make very small stitches all around the edges of the piece to hold everything in place. I am happy with the result, a bit more color but still an abstract, dreamy effect.

Photo shows a close up of a wet felted Wallhanging.
The Passage of Time

The Passage of Time

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I thought I’d show a few things I’ve been up to since my last post in December, starting with some pendants.
A while ago I did an online workshop with feltmaker Aniko Boros to make her beautiful wet felted Fuchsia pendant.  It wasn’t my intention to carry in making more fuchsias but rather to learn Anikos technique for making complex pendants so I could apply it to my own designs. And so the fuchsia led to this yellow/grey pendant which in turn has led to a recent request from Region 8 of the International Feltmakers Association to teach how to make it.

Yellow/grey necklace

I was concerned that some in the group I will be teaching may not be used to working with Superfine fibre on such a fiddly scale, so over the Christmas/New Year period I created three more sample pendants. Two of these involve some different techniques to Aniko’s, making them easier and quicker to create than my grey one, but they will produce a similar look. The third sample is made without resists and aimed more for absolute beginners, just in case we have any attend. The other obvious difference with these new samples is the addition of beading which can be optional. I’m looking forward to teaching this class on the 8th March.

Another project I’ve been working on recently is a planned IFA exhibition of Feltmaking titled Felt Connected: Bringing People and Fibre Together. It came about after we surveyed Region 8 members as to what they wanted from their Regional Coordinators and one of our members, Jo Cook, suggested we organise an exhibition of members work. Since then Jo and I have been working together to organise the event which will take place next month in Harding House Gallery in Lincoln. We have a total of 17 IFA members taking part with the aim of not only showcasing their talent but demonstrating the versatility of fibre and what can be done with it while at the same time promoting the IFA and hopefully attracting more members. If you are in the area we will be holding a Meet the Artists session from 1pm – 3pm on Saturday 14th March and it would be great to see you there.

Examples of our members work

Earlier this month I started work on The Passage of Time, my submission for the IFA 2026 online exhibition “Time” that launches during our AGM on March 28th. When I first read the theme title I have to admit that for a day or two I struggled to see anything other than clocks! Then I had a lightbulb moment, I’d make an Ouroboros, the mythical serpent that is often represented in Alchemy art depicted eating its own tail. It’s a symbol of the cyclical nature of time, the universe, and self-renewal and represents the concept of eternity and endless return. Image source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20171204-the-ancient-symbol-that-spanned-millennia

I created my 3D mobius wet felted version using Merino fibre but when it came to photographing it, no matter what angle I took it from, it looked really dull and boring. So I abandoned that idea and instead I’ve taken inspiration from the beautiful sandstone slabs on Seahouses beach in Northumberland. Coastal erosion and fossils are both dramatic indicators of the passage of time so seemed a fitting replacement for the failed Ouroboros!

My inspiration for The Passage of Time
Experimental piece depicting fossils
Another fossil experiment
Work in progress
Adding free motion stitch

The base is a mix of Carded Corriedale and Bergschaf fibre with silk fabrics, wallpaper, Tyvek, free motion stitch and hand embroidery. I’ve included a piece of felt I made a few years ago which mimics fossils, it’s one of two experimental samples I made and didn’t get around to using until now. After auditioning both of them in the pre-made hole I went with the darker option, which doesn’t look as dark in the flesh as it does in the photo. I’ve submitted this piece for the online exhibition but I’ve since felted another slab to add to the first one. It will be embellished in a similar way, to create a larger piece of work for another exhibition that Jo and I are hoping to launch in July.  

I’ll leave you with a piece of work that was created by a lovely lady called Avie, also known as The Curly Sheep. Avie came to spend a day with me last month to learn how to wet felt a picture and how to do free motion stitch. Turns out she’s a natural at both as I’m sure you will agree!

 

Metal bead shaft for decorated key ring, with a small ring on one end and a small globe screwed onto the other
A Few Oddments

A Few Oddments

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On looking through my file of possible posts I have found that there are several subjects on the list about which I don’t have a lot to say, so I thought I’d put them all together.

First, my work basket.  You may recall that I told you about the craft basket makeovers that I had done some years ago https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2023/06/12/craft-basket-makeovers-part-1/  After we moved to Dorset I acquired a marketing basket, can’t remember where from now but at the time it was “in” to be seen wandering around the shops with a basket on your arm.  I didn’t use it for that for long though as I was worried about my purse sitting on top of shopping and being a bit of a temptation.  So I decided that I’d turn the shopping basket into a work basket.  At that time I hadn’t been introduced to felt, I was still spinning, crocheting, tatting, sewing and embroidering so a market basket would be ideal for that.

I used some more of the fabric remnants which I had bought from the same shop in Maidstone where I’d got those which I’d used for the spinning baskets.  I lined the basket, having attached some internal pockets to the lining and made a padded/quilted lid.  That was fixed at one end of the lining and a covered button and loop held it closed at the other end.  I had found a miniature washing basket at a charity shop and I turned that into a pin cushion and I made a small pouch to hold small accessories like cotton reels.  That was fixed to the side of the basket lining with a snap fastener.

The basket got quite a bit of use, as you can probably see from the state of the lining.  One drawback I’ve found to sewing the lining to the basket is that it makes laundering it a bit difficult!

One of the first projects I undertook once I had learned to needle felt was a challenge from a company which used to supply packs of mixed yarns – at least I think it was from them though it might have been a Guild challenge.  It was back in 2002 and as I did not make any notes that I can find, I’m not entirely sure.  I seem to have taken some progress images as I have found lots of these though unfortunately they are not of particularly good quality.

What I do remember is that I had decided that I would make a miniature of a herb knot garden but |’m afraid that my memory of how I found/chose the design is now so hazy that I can’t be precise. I do remember that when I learned to needle felt our teacher gave us pieces of old woollen blanket on which to draw a design that we could fill in with needle felted fibres.  The idea was that we could then wash the work and it would become permanent.  I have amongst the progress pictures images of the design as drawn on a piece of blanket and of the lines becoming “box hedges” and the spaces being filled with “flowers”.  I can also see from the last couple of pictures that I added a “topiary tree” in each corner.

A couple of years later, I acquired a quantity of (I think) Jacob fleece which had been carded all together so that what I had was a sort of grey mixture.  I didn’t really want to spin it as I think I had been duped into buying a bag of really rough fibres.  At about that time I had become interested in stone carvings – gargoyles (water spouts), grotesques, and  heraldic beasts – particularly the Queen’s Beasts which are statues on display at Kew Gardens.  Anyway, I decided that I’d have a go at needle felting some gargoyles using the grotty grey Jacob.  No progress pictures I’m afraid, just finished pieces mounted on fabric covered card or canvas blocks.

Finally  you may remember that Ann M told us about some sheepy key rings that she had made.  https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2025/06/13/sheep-key-chain/ These looked so good that I’m afraid I stole her idea.  I told you back in December 2024 about the Norwegian Gnomes that I made at our local Museum Shop, for sale there. https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/?s=The+Museum+at+Christmas

Ann’s idea made me think that some miniature gnomes impaled on the metal “spike” could look good as bag charm gnomes to sell in the Museum shop.  I had to change the description from key chains to bag charms because the gnomes were a bit too fragile to sit inside someone’s bag/purse, but should look good dangling on the outside.  Here are photos of the “shaft” on which the gnomes are made, and a few of the gnomes.