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FELT SWAPPING

FELT SWAPPING

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The International Feltmakers Association has been running an annual Felt Swap – setting a theme and linking members who’ve elected to join the challenge with a “swap partner” from somewhere in the world – since 2020.  I spotted the invitation to join in the 2025 swap on one of the regular emailed Newsletters and decided to have a go.  I started to write this post about the entry and remembered that I’d entered the first Swap and had posted about it.  However, when I trawled back through my posts to find the link for you, I found that I hadn’t actually written the post, let alone published it.  So we’d better start there.

The subject of that challenge was “Light”.  I thought a lot about this as it seemed such a wide subject and I didn’t know where to go with it.

To begin with I listed as many things as I could think of that could have anything at all to do with light and came up with: Light bulbs;   Bright light – dazzling – blurred;   Rainbow;   Prisms and light splitting;   Dark area with light coming in from one side;  Sun beams from behind clouds;   Fire light;   Moon light;   Lighthouse;   Northern Lights.

Clouds and especially stormy skies fascinate me and I thought that I could do something with this idea.  Initially I went for a sun low on the horizon just showing through some dark clouds but with rays going upwards behind the clouds.  For some reason this was not a success so was abandoned.

Then we had a thunderstorm and I had a lightbulb moment!  So I looked through some of Mr Google’s images just to remind myself what forked lightning looked like and then went for a storm over the sea, and used this image for reference.

dark sea, dark stormy clouds with forked lightning running from clouds to sea
Lightning at Sea

I have a collection of fibres, yarns and fabrics in my “stormy” project sack – too big to call a bag – and my first thought was to use some of those in the picture I had in mind.  I had already made a mixed media image of a storm at sea using various textiles and fibres and thought of doing something similar.

Mixed media picture of stormy clouds, rough sea, rocks, spray and wind tossed seagulls
Storm at the Coast

So I looked out some of the fabrics and yarns and other bits and pieces to see what I might use.

But in the end I decided that I wouldn’t use these for a couple of reasons: 1. this was supposed to be a “felt” swap; and 2. using the mixed media would possibly need a larger picture than I was making – we were limited to A5 size – 5.8 x 8.3 inches (sorry I don’t work in “the foreign” if I can help it).  I did use my stormy fibres though.

I was reasonably happy with the picture after it had dried, but decided to do a bit of tidying up and embellishing with some needle felting.

This is the final result

completed felt picture of storm at sea with dark clouds and forked lightning running down into the sea
The swap picture of LIGHTning

 

My swap partner, from Denmark,  sent me a felt bag, which was really good.  I didn’t want it to get dirty or damaged before I was able to use it and show it off so I wrapped it up and put it in a safe place.  So safe that …..!

Anyway, back to this year’s swap.  The theme for this one is “Inspired by an Artist”.

Again this was a very wide subject, first choose your favourite artist then find a piece of their work that sparks an idea.  I don’t actually have a “favourite” artist, I love the work of many: Constable; Canaletto; Turner; Rowland Hilder; William Morris and most of the Arts and Crafts artists and architects; Rennie Mackintosh….  I could fill up the page with names.  I trawled through works by most of these, bearing in mind the maximum size of the piece I was to make (8″ x 8″) the while.  In the end I decided that I would go with Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

I searched google and found several stained glass windows, one wall carving and a draft fabric design that I liked.

In the end though, I decided to go with a section of the last one, which I squared up and manipulated to make it the right shape and size.  The window is typical of the Art Nouveau period and “attributed to Mackintosh”.  I could not find out if it is actually his design but it is certainly very like his work.

I picked the centre of the window to work on and the enlarged and reshaped (slightly) design was printed off in greyscale and laminated.  I would be able to use the laminated design as a base on which to lay out the fibres.

a monochrome image of the window section covered in polythene sheet and the original image in colour
All ready to lay out the fibres

While I was looking through my stash for suitable fibres and pre-felts for the project I  happened to glance at the design which was inverted.  I immediately saw a face with an extremely runny nose!

the monochrome image rotated 15 80 degrees
This was when I spotted the runny nose!

Nevertheless I thought it would be fun to use the design of the face, since we were to produce something “inspired by” a favourite artist, rather than copy what s/he had produced.  This would allow me to get rid of the runny nose and I also wanted to change the colour scheme.

I had decided to use a piece of pre-felt which I had bought from Wingham Woolwork some years ago, especially as it was slightly moth eaten and I could use what I might otherwise have to throw away.  This was a lovely strong purple colour so I decided that my colour palette should be purple, turquoise and orange.

various fibres, yarns in purple, orange and turquoise, and an orange chiffon scarf
Picking colours and materials

The basic design was laid out in reverse, that is with turquoise knitting/felting yarn “face down” on  the design, with some fillings-in of orange fibres on top and two squares of turquoise where the “eyes” would be.  The purple pre-felt backing was placed on top of that and the whole wet felted.  Unfortunately this resulted in the straight lines becoming distinctly wavy – a good job this wasn’t a straight copy of the original!

After the piece was rinsed, dried and ironed, the remainder of the design was added by needle felting (which, together with the shrinkage during wet felting, had effectively removed the moth holes) and finally some simple embroidery stitches.

The piece has been mounted on foam board for stability.

finished face - orange eyebrows, nose and eyes with turquoise moustache, and facial features on a purple background
Finally – the Swap piece

This is the piece I received from my Canadian (Calgary) swap mate.  It is inspired by “Violet Poppies” by Emile Nolde https://arthur.io/art/emil-nolde/violet-poppy

Isn’t it gorgeous?

3 felted poppies with dark leaves on a yellow felted background, displayed in a circular embroidery frame
Swap piece received from Canada
Stitching progress

Stitching progress

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My post this month is – surprise – more stitching on my jacket. Last time I was unsure of what pattern or design to stitch on the side panels at the back of the jacket. I did think about a group of straight lines in a vague fan shape for these panels, but I wanted something that would be a little more challenging for me to do, and also, would be interesting to look at.

I saw a design that I liked very much from ‘The Green Wrapper’ on her Youtube channel – I have mentioned her work previously. I changed the pattern slightly and worked it on a 2.5cm grid, and then used a 5cm diameter circle, in a pattern, so that each circle interlocks with it’s neighbour. This interlocking of circles provides the final pattern.

         

I drew the grid, and circles with a Frixion pen; some circles are misplaced, and are clearly visible, but I did not risk removing them with the iron, for fear of removing too much of the correct marking, and having to repeat it all again. Luckily, I could clearly see the path of the pattern, and I added extra pen marks to assist. To draw the circles I used a small sherry glass, it was a touch under 5 cm diameter, but also just perfect! The two photos below show where I have made mistakes.

                

The next decision was to decide to use just one colour thread, or many colours. I went with the latter, and I did not think too much about the direction of each colour in the stitching. I used stranded embroidery floss, and a little wax to help ease it through the fabric.

Initially, I planned the pattern up to the armscye, but halfway through the stitching I decided to extend it up to the yoke. I do think it looks better having the pattern fill the space of the panel. The stitching is almost complete on this side, and I have removed the pen marks on the lower half of the panel with the iron, so that the pattern is more easily visible. The colours are not as bright in the photos as they are in real life, but I hope that you can see the pattern fairly well.

                                 

Now to decide what to put on to the other side panel, whether to do the same one, or find a different design.

Spinning with Tour de Fleece 2025

Spinning with Tour de Fleece 2025

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My husband Brian, and I, have faithfully watched the Tour de France bicycle race, for at least 30 years. It’s a crazy thing we started to follow every July, when Lance Armstrong was involved in racing – it was exciting to watch. Then, when the controversy about doping began, we became even more invested in the race. We still follow Lance, even though we were very disappointed in his unsportsmanlike actions. (After all, I think it is safe to say, we all make stupid decisions we are younger.) We’ve gotten familiar with all the commentators, the team sponsors, the athletes and where they come from: all over the world. It’s a nerdy thing – but we look forward to every July!

Imagine my surprise, when I found the fiber community figured out a way to “treadle” along with the bicyclist’s pedaling event!I’m thinking 🤔 it could’ve been an older woman, my age, who came up with this genius idea. She might’ve had a husband that VCR’d the daytime stages while he was at work – rush in the door, hit the remote and the race was on. If her husband was anything like mine, we watched the evening recap of stages with all the extra commentary too! It’s been our annual summer “holiday” (staycation) for almost 30 years! While it may sound like I am complaining, I am not in the least. It’s something we look forward to sharing each year: spending time together. I am typing this blog post right now, with the ‘Tour’ entering the Champs-Elysées, on the television in front of me.

This year’s Tour de France was a bit different. I had something to do while I watched *or rather listened to* the race! I started mentally preparing for my participation in Tour de Fleece 2025, last year, when I found the Tour de Fleece spinning group on Facebook. It was only a couple months after my course at John Campbell Folk Art School. I was so excited to hear this was a thing, I ordered t-shirts, and proudly presented Brian with his own Tour de Fleece 2024 shirt. We’ve worn them quite a bit this past year, and enjoy the chuckles we get – from people who know of the race – and our relationship with fiber. It’s been enjoyable to communicate with other spinners, who mentioned spinning along with other well known bicycle races. I joined them, in getting some practice in, through Vuelta a España, and the Giro d’Italia.

This bobbin is a bit overspun
Fiber purchased NY Sheep & Wool 2016
The result is the skein on the right
My Practice Spins Before Tour de Fleece 2025

I noticed so many spinners in the group were focused on spinning epic amounts of fiber, but the group itself is non-competitive. There are spin-off groups 🤭 who have copied the idea; wearing crowns, decorating their wheels, and offering prizes. I decided to keep my goal simple; have fun and enjoy the process. It worked out perfectly for me. I purchased a nice variety of fibers, from my friends at Inglenook Fibers. They are masters of color, create unique fiber blends, and best of all assist Brian in making amazing gifts for a wife who is very particular. Every year these talented Greek Orthodox nuns, create a couple fiber pre-orders, that go along with stages/locations of the race.

This year’s pre-orders were based on the location Carcassonne: a French fortified city in the department of Aude, region of Occitania. The photo here is from wikipedia, but it gives the flavor of the color pallet. I purchased the daytime inspired, Morning in Carcassonne which goes with this photo very well.

The beautiful colors of Carcassonne, France
Inspirational Photo for Soir à Carcassonne

The blend (see braid below) of 30% Manx Loaghtan, 30% Polwarth, 30% Mulberry Silk and 10% Firestar was very easy to draft. I chose to divide the braid in half and spun it on two bobbins, offsetting the colors a bit, by pulling off a couple colors, and adding it to the end of the 2nd bobbin’s fiber. I concentrated on spinning consistency, and the result was a balanced skein in the end. The skein shown in the photo below wasn’t washed yet. After doing so, the fiber bloomed beautifully and it’s probably a nice worsted weight.


Soir à Carcassonne

This “Tickled Pink” in Organic Polwarth (photos above) was a blend I received for Christmas. In February, they offered the same color blend again. By this point in my spinning, I was beginning to discover spinning little bits of this – and little bits of that are fun to spin in practicing, but not practical for me to really use. When I saw the second chance to have a total of 11.4 ounces of fiber I jumped at the opportunity to get a second package. This Organic Polwarth gave me an opportunity to spin a very bouncy (springy) fiber. I mentioned above that I was concentrating on spinning the Soir à Carcassonne consistently…so I decided to try out something I heard Jillian Moreno discuss on a video I watched. She discussed sometimes, it’s fun to let your fiber dictate how it wants to be spun. I really enjoyed the way this Polwarth allowed me to spin joyfully. I was experiencing a stressful week, and spinning that fiber at the end of my day, was helping me cope. You can see in the photos, this fiber told me it wanted to be big and bold, and boy did it deliver. With 11 ounces yielding 206 yards, that makes it a chunky weight yarn. I’m thinking it would make a warm, squishy cowl, and possibly a pair of fingerless mitts, or mittens.

So far, I’ve discovered fiber preparation is the key to my success. For me, as a newer spinner, high micron sheep 🐑 fibers create thicker springy yarns in worsted weight or above. However, when I spin finer blends, I can get my spins down to fingering or dk weights when plied. What are my favorite thin-spin blends you might be wondering? Any low micron sheep fiber blended with 30% silk! For me, I find the longer silk fibers, help the wool fibers hold together in the twist process. The management of that darn twist is the key!

This is my current spin. I think it might make a perfect sweater!

If you’re a spinner…what do you enjoy spinning most? Leave your answer in the comments, and tell me the advantages you’ve found.

Fixing my purse

Fixing my purse

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I am in love with my large Healthy Back Bag purse.  Sadly the company has decided that they will no longer offer this size for sale.  So when my last purse died I scoured various sites so I could adopt a gently used purse.  I managed to find an affordable one in the correct size.  However, on my previous purse, the company had changed the closure on the flap pocket to use magnets.  But on my new to me gently used purse the flap closure uses velcro.  Unfortunately, the velcro was damaging my clothes as the nylon dresses I like to wear can easily be snagged/rubbed/pilled by the velcro.

I hatched a plan.  I decided to remove the velcro and replace it with magnetic snaps that I would sew on.  This lead me to do some online shopping and order a bunch of different magnetic snaps of various types and sizes.  When the order arrived July 1st (a Canadian holiday – Happy Canada Day) and so I set to work.

While struggling to get the seam ripper between the velcro and the purse I was obviously a bit too forceful and I ripped the purse 🙁  Sadness.

This required a bit of a rethink.  I dug out my large patch weaving tool and positioned it on my purse.  Then I used some strong nylon thread to create a strengthening repair of the tear.  (It is crude but hopefully effective.)

Next I dug out some embroidery floss to weave with.  I selected the dark purple thread bundle from the package on the left.  I was expecting it to weave up as a nice plaid.

Using some tailors chalk I then marked out the area I wanted to cover with my weaving on the pocket of my purse.  My goal was to roughly centre the patch of weaving, so I used a tape measure to check my lines. I was also hoping that the chalk lines would help me make a tidy square.

After planning my area I threaded the needle and began warping the mending loom.  There were a few challenges.  A few of the hooks on the mending loom were twisting over each other.  In addition, the dark purple was hard to see well against the black.  My needle was also a bit large and very sharp (there was some minor blood letting when I pricked my finger.)

I did get the loom threaded though there are a couple of crossed threads and one missed hook.  By the time I discovered those problems I was onto the weaving.  I figured that these flaws would be minor and so I continued on.

After a bit of effort the rectangle was woven. I did find the chalk lines were helpful to guide my stitches and keep the edges relatively straight. I would definitely use chalk to mark out my border again.  After removing the loom I sewed the pocket closed and then sewed in all my tails.

Finally it was time to work on my magnetic snaps.  I poked through the selection of various snaps that I purchased, and decided to use these metal snaps for the flap.  I also decided that I would install two snaps instead of a single snap in the middle of the flap. (My old purse had a single snap.).  I threaded my needle with the strong black nylon thread and sewed on the snaps.  (This was harder than expected as my needle frequently got jammed in the eye hole on the snaps.)

My project was a bit more involved than I originally expected.  But I am delighted with my purple patch and the new magnetic snaps on my purse.

I hope this post inspires you to repair something that you love and breathe some new life into it.

 

A mannequin head is sporting a bright pink and salmon flowery headress and cowl in sequins
A flowery start to Spring with ‘Flowers’, an exhibition in London, UK – Part 2

A flowery start to Spring with ‘Flowers’, an exhibition in London, UK – Part 2

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Here we are with the second part of the exhibition ‘Flowers’ that I have been to in London.

If you have not caught the first part, it is here.

We go back straight to the fashion and textiles section of the exhibition with these garments with glass beads, sequine and tulle decorations:

There are two mannequins with tight fitting outfits with flower motifs on a white raised platform
Sorcha O’Raghallaigh’s take on the theme of Flora.

This can be another take on the traditional very feminine flowery lace clothing:

A photo of a person with their head and upper body covered in black flowery lace, on a white wall
This lace seems a tad oppressive..we can undoubtedly think about the meaning of this Girl in Lace, photo by Kent Baker of a high fashion dress by Alexander McQueen, 1996. I like how the edges of the lace around the shoulders are very organic.

And what about these flowery high end sandals?

A pair of black sandals with long straps full of flower shapes are on a raised platform
Manolo Blahnik’s take on the theme, also 1996.

There was also some artistic experimentation on recycled textiles, such as this on Denim:

On a wooden board supported by a wooden shelf there is a flower artwork made of embroidered denim
Embroidered Denim on tea-stained fabric by Stephanie Comilang. I feel that the mounting on a solid wood board requiring a supporting shelf seems more like a statement of some kind than actual necessity, as it must make it quite a bit heavier and the whole arrangement bulkier, don’t you think?

And for the milliners:

A mannequin head is sporting a bright pink and salmon flowery headress and cowl in sequins
By Sorcha O’Raghallaigh. Sequins, wire and mesh. Not overly practical, but it seems very Lady of Spring kind of look.

And we can not really finish this fashion show without the wedding dress and jewellery:

A white wedding dress with large hood and colorful flowers coming out of the bustier, on a mannequin on a raised platform. The background is a flowery wallpaper in blue.
Daniel Roseberry designed it for Schiaparelli in 2024, with handpainted leather flowers: I can’t imagine it being very comfy, but surely this is not the only consideration on that special day..

A display case with matching earrings and brooch in the shape of a flower
Flower shapes are Italian jewellery brand Bucellati’s own distinctive mark on the jewellery brands landscape.

Going forward, the exhibition also had a wall of stylized flower prints, all pretty similar in concept and disposition, all apparently making references to the famous ‘Flowers’ series by Andy Warhol:

Two prints of stylized flowers in groups of 4 each on a green wall
The original ‘Flowers’ prints by Andy Warhol that have been hugely reproduced and copied/referenced to since their conception in the 60’s. He used an interesting method to come to this design that he later reproduced in hundreds of prints: he took photos by Patricia Caulfield on a magazine, simplified the images by flattening, cropping and amending the contrast, then screen-printed them or painted them on canvas in different colorways.

Something quirkier in mixed media seems like a parody of our flower veneration when it comes to indoor plants: take the exotic but so very common now Phalaenopsis orchid..

There is an upside down vase of pink orchids on a stand. two persons' backs are behind the stand admiring other artworks on the wall behind the upturned vase.
You could surely do something similar in needlefelt, but this is painted bronze, aluminium steel, and epoxy. By Tony Matelli

Another mixed media artwork that used fabric was this one, that I particularly noticed for its use of colour:

A blue log supports various flowers and mushrooms in artificial colors, on a white stand on a platform.
This mixed media artwork has an interesting choice of colours. Wood, grout, fabric, acrylic paint, resin, polymer clay, metal, wire. By Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg

A huge success with kiddies and also adults was this moving structure by William Darrell. The plastic petals were constantly rotating.

A moving installation is in the middle of a room inside a small circular enclosure filled with bark. There are stem-like structures emerging from the bark and supporting moving blade-like petals in different colors. the petals are rotating. In the background there are people looking at other artworks on the walls.
It does not seem much in a photo, its main feature was the moving petals of the flowers.

I post here also this painting because it reminded me of some of Moy Mackay’s artworks in felt, but it is by Vik Muniz in archival paint.

A very colorful painting of a vase of flowers in a black frame.
This is really saturated colours!

And I guess here we come to the very star of the show in my perspective (though by no means to the end of the exhibition, that was huge!): a big immersive installation that I loved, by Rebecca Louise Law, an installation artist based in Wales. It took years of picking up dead flowers and herbs and seed pods, with substantial donations by public parks and private gardens. I can not even imagine the time she must have spent on installing the whole in the gallery, as each dangling strand was carefully tuned in terms of shape and colour: only being inside the room could give an idea of the patient planning of each part.

Some people are exploring an immersive installation of dried flowers and herbs and seed pods dangling from the ceiling.
I could not photograph it in full, as it completely covered the whole room ceiling to floor. There were big arms extending towards different corners of the room, each made of many many single filaments.

Detail of one arm in the installation of dried flowers by Rebecca Louise Law
I can not add too many photos but this may give you a better idea of what I am talking about in terms of individual strands: ridiculous amounts of flowers and herbs just in one of this, all linked with very thin copper wire in long freely moving filaments.

This big installation was about the connection of us humans with the earth, and about meditating on life, death and the space that is between life and death. I found it awe inspiring for the sheer technical challenge of planning and creating it, and I can  not explain the moving feeling that one got by slowly walking in the room and looking up and down at the cascading strands of flowers and herbs with their subtle changes of colours and shapes perfectly paced to create a rhythm in the composition. This aspect could not really come through in my photos, as the variations were too subtle to show well in photos and only being there would do to experience it, unfortunately.

Another artist using real flowers and muted colours, but singularly and to completely different, streamlined effect is Stephen Doherty with this Giclee print:

Giclee print of a single flower in muted pink and black on a white background
By Stephen Doherty.

Interesting was also a small section of the exhibition on the use of flowers in protest, with some photos of historical examples such as this very American one:

Photo of a group of young people offering flowers to uniformed soldiers as part of the anti-Vietnam war protests at the Pentagon in 1967
This was shot in 1967 at the Pentagon by S. Sgt. Albert R. Simpson.

Next was a room about flowers in music, film and literature: the walls were packed with famous album covers and film posters, and display cases were showing books. There are of course hundreds of examples of flowers in any of these fields!

Here I found a nice textile take on the first and most famous fairies books, the ones by Cicely Mary Barker, and I took photos for Leonor (you may remember her post about sewing dolls clothes, if not, read it here):

In the foreground there is a mannequin with a green top and pink skirt and fly-like wings. In the backgrounds there are persons looking at other displays on the walls.
This is Sweet Pea Miniature Costume, created in 2019 (though it feels older to me, due to the muted colours) by Vin Burnham and property of The Frederik Warne and Ladybird Archive.

A wall covered in framed music single covers sporting flowers either in the title or band name or in the picture or both
This is just to give you a rough idea of this room. This is part of the music section.

Following this, there was a room with an interactive installation were weird digital flowers kept being generated by AI in response to people’s movements, becoming by turns luscious alien jungles or more sedated growing stems. It was not very suitable to photos, so we just sat there a while observing and, to be honest but do not tell anybody, gratefully having a rest.

Followed more flowers in various medias, from cut steel to cut paper:

A cut paper composition of dark pink poppies with a white background and a black frame.
By Susan Beech.

I liked this composition of linocut on handmade paper by Grace Gillespie, as it very much linked to the William Morris section that we had already passed in the first half of the exhibition:

A 4 by 3 grid of paper pieces, each printed with flower motifs in bright oranges, reds and pink, with only one blue bird in the upper center piece.
I may find inspiration for printmaking ideas in this..

There was a room on flowers and plants in Science and in Medicine, with botanical drawings and paintings, and also mathematical works inspired by plants and flowers proportions. The room included a Damien Hirst’s work about Valium with spots in the exact shape of daisy seeds, that might be of interested to the more science oriented of us:

A print of dots in different colors forming a circle shape on a white background and with a white frame
Apparently, those are not random dots, but precisely determined. Lambda chromogenic print.

There was also a section on flower gardening and the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, that is a venerable institution started in 1913 and whose first poster has been designed in 1935 by Margaret Calkin James. This section explored (a bit superficially) our relationship with flower growing.

A bit incongrously in my opinion, here there were two glass cases with a kind of morbid take on mixed media flowers, and it maybe says something of me that I want to post a photo of it here for you to collectively say Yuck!

In an upturned glass bowl there are flowers made of small animal bones and teeth.
Yep, it’s animal bones and teeth. How nice. By Emma Witter.

At this point fatigue had totally set in, I am afraid, and I could see that this particular artwork got to us out of proportions.

To react to this and perk up, I tried to get a few more photos only of very bright and uplifting artworks after that!

Four very brightly colored paintings of plants and flowers.
Brightly and riotous like those oils by Mimei Thompson in the New Shoots section of the exhibition.

Cute-pugs-effect warning here:

Painting of two pugs puppies in front of a flower vase.
The title is also pretty funny if your first language is Italian, as it is ‘Gnocchi’ (in Italian that is a type of potato dumplings with no filling). By Ally McIntyre

Six very colorful circular artworks in a 2 by 3 grid.
I really liked this idea for using screenprint on ply in a different shape that does not need any frame at all. I can totally see how those can work well as points of interest in a room even singly. By Jess Wilson.

And with this I think that I will finish on the brightest note, so here is The End, and I hope that you enjoyed a taste of this big exhibition in London, and that it might inspire you in your creative months ahead!

Kiki

http://www.kikistextileart.com

@kiki.textile.art

Soap, Chooks and Distant Memories of Summer

Soap, Chooks and Distant Memories of Summer

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It’s funny how the time flies isn’t it? I feel like I have been crazy busy for months but when I stop and think what I have to show for it, I’m stumped! I have been working on a piece for the IFA magazine, Felt Matters which has taken a fair chunk of my time. Fingers crossed, that piece will appear in the September issue but I can’t say too much about that before it is published….

There have been quite a few markets and spin-ins this month, which have been fun but not all that profitable, fingers crossed I do better at the next two, a pottery market in South Auckland and then Fibretron, one of the biggest fibre events in New Zealand….

I sold a few felted soaps at the Nathan Homestead market:

So I have been replacing some of that stock, first I needed to work out which soaps needed replacing:

Then to work…

A few of the finished soaps ready for the next market….

Not fibre related but we have two new chooks, a friend adopted a new dog and was struggling to manage so I agreed to add her two ladies (Thelma and Louise) to our flock of nine naughty chooks. I had hoped to keep them in a separate run and coop (alcatraz henitentiary) where they could all see each other for at least a couple of weeks. However, 3 of my girls decided the mountain of food in their troughs wasn’t enough, they wanted what the new girls were eating and broke into alcatraz. So I had to play prison guard and break up the fights, turns out one of my Red Shavers is a horrible bully, she’s been threatened with the pot a few times.

Thelma and Louise in the henitentiary

Thelma and Louise are still sleeping and laying in the henitentiary but are allowed to free range during the day. For the most part they are hanging out away from my original flock but every now and then I have to break up the squabbles and chase the naughty bully away.

In between chook chasing I have started work on a crochet shawl using some hand-spun art yarn, can you see the shells and glass beads? It was spun form some of the pina colada blend I have for sale, it contains pineapple fibre and reminds me of summers on the beach. A distant memory in the depths of a New Zealand winter!

Summer Needle felting Demo, July 12 2025

Summer Needle felting Demo, July 12 2025

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Summer Demo at the Glengarry Pioneer Museum

I have spent the week, investigating possible new cars, trying to fix the cell phone that had just been Fixed with a new sim card, so I can chat with my car’s Doctor and my bank. After one call out it is again refusing to let anyone talk to me. (it’s not that I get a lot of calls, but some day the visa purchases I am told I made, while I was sleeping, will be delivered.  What will I do with all those amazon iPhone? I wonder who is getting them and who’s visa it is that keeps paying for them?

Was it a few weeks ago I was out at the father’s day Blacksmithing event in Dunvagen Ontario. While there, felting and taking pictures of blacksmiths, I was asked if I could come demo felting for their fiber and fabric event in July. I said I was interested but would have to confirm closer to the event.  I am still not back to feeling like myself yet.

flyer for the event 1.1) the add for the Glengarry Pioneer Museum event.

So beside the phone and the car,  I spent part of this week trying to find my demo stuff to do a display of both 2 and 3 D needle felting.  (I should probably have found Miaka’s giant fish to sow wet felting,  but as I said I am still not quite back to normal and seem to still be forgetting to think of things.)

Of course I need to take the Mer-Boyfriend I was working on too. Now where did he wonder off to? he went into the guild a couple weeks ago, I am sure he came back. What is it with Mer-Teens wanting to play hide and seek in my house?? We searched the bags that go back and forth to the guild, no, I looked in the office, the bedroom and was trying to search the living room. Glenn even checked the basement. I was so disappointed. Maybe he had found Miss Mer and they were hiding together? Maybe I should collect the rest of what I want to take and then look again.

I got the Moose bag with the landscape and the bags of fiber to work on it from the hall and added it to the commercial felt bin with handles. Glenn said he found the sample punctures down stairs. I found the green tool bag and extra foam garden needling pad to work on. I found the bag of core wool of carded roving from World of Wool and wound a couple big balls of wool from it. (I am going to have to get some more soon I hope Ann needs something from them!) I had Glenn’s moose bag hanging in the bedroom, when I grabbed it, it was lumpier than I remember it being…. I looked in and guess who was hiding inside? Mer-Boyfriend!!!

map from Ottawa to Dunvagan Ontario. about an hour driving.1.2) a bit of a drive with all the construction on the highway

Saturday July 12 2025, Glenn loaded the car and we were ready to go. oh my, its seems a bit warm out! As you step out the door it feels like you are wrapped in a very worm wet wool blanket, except for the wet part that would sound nice, but the blanket is wrapped around the head too and you are trying to breathe through it. Not so nice, really. If only my car would consider letting the AC work, well I still remember cars without AC so rolled down the windows. The drive was not too bad once we were moving and we arrived with time to set up.

Other than hot it was a beautiful sunny day, booths were scattered around the museum grounds and buildings. I had a fabulous spot on the covered porch at the corner of the building and very close to the handy cap parking! We loaded up the grey box on the walker and threw the black car blankets on top. Glenn brought the other bags and we quickly set up a display. I turned the commercial felt box on it side so the opening was towards the back of the table where I would be sitting. This gives both a spot to hide stuff, like my camera, extra work tools, and wool, as well as give height to the display. I used it to lean the Mer’s against as well as one sitting on top of it. it also supported the two moose bags and the picture of the winter round bales. I had miss manta and Sharkette sitting in front of the work area and the little aluminum folding table from the car had the fox face picture.

setting up felting demo display felting display 2D and 3D Close up of the Mers (Mer-Persons)2.1-2.3) the Mer’s getting ready to People watch and hoping for a tennis match.

When I have the Mer’s comfortable,  we can made a quick tour around to see some of the booths before people started to arrive.

Glenn took a few shots of the demo as I was working and chatting. They will show the display better and prove I was actually there!

old chair beside display of felting2.4) Glenn had the cool chair and a book on architecture as well as my old camera.

Ottawa Valley Hay rolls in winter2.5) Winter hay in the Ottawa valley

manta ray and sharket in forground jan in background Mr. Mer, Sharkboy, Jan in back ground2.61-2.62) Proof I was there (I never seem to be in the photos!!)

Fox face clsoe up needle felting in a way similar to watercolour2.7) Fox and my sturgeon reference photos

open sided barn with quilts displayed inside closer vew of a few of the quilts3.1-3.2) There was a quilt display in the open sided barn

I was hoping to get back and take some close ups, But kept having people stop and ask lots of questions about needle felting. I hope I got them inspired to try it.

first people ariving for the event table and sign and people4.1) Oh no I better hurry, the first few people are arriving. (Glenn is manning the demo so we can go take a quick look around.)

Most of the venders were under tents.

Booth with sewen items4.2) Sewing

Knitting and sewing itums4.3) Knitting  and Sewing. I think the pom-poms will melt shortly!

pop up tent with Alpaca yarn underneeth4.4) HUM selling alpaca yarn and teddy bares. I didn’t see any fiber but I tried to get a quick look.

closer vew of yarn and alpaca bare display4.5) a close up of some of their stock

Chrochay itums4.6) Just past the building with the forge there was a booth with crochet. I got distracted looking ahead, and almost missed her!

looking ahead towords more log buildings with tents with booths 4.7) There are booths hidden under the trees and by one of the log buildings.

Oh there are more booths hidden by the open carriage barn! I almost missed them too, lets look over there first.

There must be fiber here somewhere!

a large display of sweadish weaving 5.1) Swedish weaving. it’s a type of needle weaving on already woven fabric. The patterns were very interesting.

close up of sign and some of the patterns5.2) Swedish Weaving Guild of South Glengarry and Area

tables of booth beneath large trees 5.3) I think this was a display of Lace but I didn’t ever get a chance to get back and look. They had a lovely shady spot!

Rug hooking demonstration and display table beside5.41) this was a display of rug hooking

Rug hookers display table close up5.42) some of their display

crocheay anagarumi5.51) Anagarumi gnomes, bees, and sea creatures!

anagarumi bees and cow5.52) close up of the bees and the Cows I didn’t notice!

braded ruggs5.61) Braided rugs, the one on the end I particularly liked the colours chosen

braded rug display with cool old sewing macheen 5.62) cool sewing machine

the Embroidery guild display of work5.71) the embroidery guild display

the embroiderers and more of there work5.72) the embroiders enjoying the shade

AH HA!! I found fiber people!

2 seated drop spinners and one seated carder 6.1) Drop spindles and fiber prep!

I found out later there was a drop spindle competition between three of the guilds represented here today.   Think I was told it was The Twistle Guild of Glengarry, the Kingston Handloom Weavers & Spinners Guild and the Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild (OVWSG).

I better get back to work soon or I will get fired before I get started!

Oh there is one more booth on the way back, it advertised bespoke Tartan kilts! (But no modeling display!!!) Sorry I got distracted by the tartan sample books and missed the kilts on the table.

books of tartan samples Historical recreations of tartens7.1-7.2) tartan sample books

Ok, now to demonstrate needle felting. I am focusing on making the flattish bottom of the sturgeon so I will have to build up on either side of the wrapped armature.

Mer-Boyfriend in progress. focusing on underside of fish parts8) Mer-Boyfriend in progress. focus is on under side of fish part of body

I explained multiple times why i was making a Mer-Boyfriend to lour the missing teen-Mer back to the office.

I was doing quite well with chatting and working on the under body,  then realized there were booths in the school house too. Since the people seemed to be elsewhere it’s time to take a quit trip to the bathroom then on to the schoolhouse!

Oh this is where the fiber people are!! Two of the booths have drop spindles, one selling Ashford and the other had their own design. Quite hefty but I tend to like heavy whorls (I was tempted) I got distracted by second hand quilting hoops and bought 2.

spinning tools and wooden knitting needles more tools and qui;t hoops in the back ground9.11-9.12) Tools

one of vendors showing how to use a drop spindle9.21) Drop spindle demo to a customer she had batts on the shelves at the back too

bags of fleece some washed and some raw in various breeds9.22) washed and unwashed fiber various breeds

Here is the winner of the 2-hour drop spindle competition. They were each given, the same amount, of the same fiber, and had to spin the longest even amount (?).  I am not sure if they had to ply it, or if they were spinning singles.

the drop spindle compatition winner was from the OVWSG10) this is the competitor from my local guild who won!

Mer-BoyFriend is progressing11.) odd I was sure I took a lot more progress pictures as I was working.

It was close to 3pm and I wanted to make a quick run (ok running is not really quick and it doesn’t look like running…) but I had wanted to go take pictures of the quilts and see what the yarn seller beside the wall-less barn was selling.  I had a couple more people come up, just as I was wheeling away from the table with my camera who had questions about needle felting. By the time they had run out of questions, I looked up to see this.

the quilts are being taken down close up of the one i had been admiring as i worked12.1) the quilts are disappearing!

Which quickly became this:

packing up the venders and quilt display12.2) 4pm and packing up

Oh well, maybe next year?

I did have a lot of great conversations, including with the photographer I saw at the blacksmithing weekend. He gave me a few more tips on the new camera (we both were admiring each other’s lenses)

I got an invitation to demo in Van Kleekhill but I found I was still feeling the drive, so it’s probably too far out for me yet.

I packed everything away and Glenn got it into the car. Which was quite warm… I think that the temperature outside the car said 38c. it seems hotter in the car… let’s roll down the windows. On the porch there were occasional little breezes blowing through, but when the breeze drops and now we are in the car, that blanket we are breathing into seem to be even wetter and warmer than this morning!

We stopped at the gas station before getting on the highway home, to buy cold peach drink and a Fresca.  Ah that feels so nice.  Window down as long as we are moving it feels a bit better.  Just wait a couple months and we will be complaining about the cold.  I guess we have got to enjoy the lack of snow banks while they are missing!!

The hot weather is grate for washing fleece when you don’t have hot water outside. So it’s not all bad! However, it has taken about 3 days to get the washed fleece to dry. I have now started the third batch of the giant white fleece and it got an extra rinse in the heavy rains with the thunderstorm yesterday!

In case I was feeling up to staying for the social tonight at the guild I brought someone to work on. The Mer-Boyfriend seems to be in a rush to get more work done so I had better get back to work before he wants to felt me! I did get a good chunk of library work done, but I was feeling wiped again by the early afternoon so did not stay for the rest of the social. Mer-Boyfriend got his hands on the felting needle I had been using on the weekend. He was all set to do a bit of work on himself!

Mer-Boyfriend with felting needle stuck in his low back13.1) still a lot more work to do on the under structure

Mer-Boyfreind getting ready to self felt!13.2) I had better get that needle away from him soon!

I hope you enjoyed the drive out to Dunvagan, Ontario, and that it wasn’t too hot for you. (the car said it was 26+humadex on the way out and 36+humadex as we headed home.) Have fun and keep felting!!

big flower laid flat
Fun Felty stuff and Fabric stuff

Fun Felty stuff and Fabric stuff

Comments 20 comments

ANNIE

I’m still enjoying making more small felt flowers …

felt flower brooches

…and I’m also making some new flowers on wires to put in with potted houseplants to make them cheerful.

felt flower on a wire

felt flower in a pot with plant

I decided to ‘go large’ with one floral project that could be used as home décor, perhaps draped through an iron bed-frame, banister rail or on a mantle-piece.

felt in progress big flower

big flower laid flat

close up of big felt flower

However, a flamboyant person could enjoy wearing this as a statement necklace!

I enjoy making felt ‘ropes’ and I’ve turned several of them into multiple-ring bracelets – but opened up they could also be worn as necklaces.

felted rope bracelets

more felted rope bracelets

LYN

After months of utility sewing I decided to have some fun and make some pictures for a child’s room by mostly using up scraps of fabric.  The pictures are 5”x7” on a 7”x9” board with 1” matte so will fit into a standard photo frame.

The fabric for the fish was made by scattering small pieces of coloured tutu net onto a piece of white cotton fabric then covering with ‘Solvy’ and machine stitching close lines of an almost invisible thread to hold it all together.

fish stitched with tutu net material

Yes, I do like snails don’t I?  I’ve done several over the years!

snail stitched collage

I found a scrap of gold material that was begging to be used and it just had to be a ballerina.

ballerina fabric collage

A tiny piece of sequin material was the starting point for this bird.

blue bird stitched collage

Teddy gave me a bit of trouble – this is the third attempt as I wasn’t happy with the first two!

pink teddy with gold bow stitched collage

Sometimes it’s good to have an inspirational quote on display, so I framed a printed  picture of one of my old felt pieces with words on it.

crane catching a fish

Perhaps we should remember those words when we start a new project but maybe feel a bit overwhelmed by it.

Trying to wash fleece on a good day

Trying to wash fleece on a good day

Comments 5 comments

Preamble (not about fiber but i promise i will get there!)

Usually, towards the end of June, the local grocery store garden centers close up for the season.  It may be that slowly recovering after surgery continues to distort time, since it seems very early to be closing up the plant shopping for the year. Anyways the massive sell off of all the last remaining plants, cheap, is happening now! I got one car load full from one store, including 2 flats of ever-berring strawberries, some lavender (Munstead usually overwinters here) and some more herbs.  The next day I went to the local Loblaws and they were closing that day, even better sales! More lavender, herbs Columnar basal and lemon verbena mainly and even a few flowers followed me home. I also bought 5 dead hanging baskets and 2 slightly alive ones for .26 cents each (I am short on hanging baskets). Both my fabulous halls were unloaded onto the side bench and one of the fleece drying racks in the side yard. then it took a couple days to recover before i could start working on them.

vew looking down the side yard, past plants. in front of garage the stock tank and closed big umbrella can be seen0.1) looking down the side yard towards the fleece washing area

I have been puttering along,  planting some into pots and Glenn has promised to help with the lavender and strawberrys that will go into the garden. I am also trying to catch up on the weeding, where do they keep popping up from?

I think it was Wednesday, foggy time continues…, we had a warning of possible severe thunderstorms with hail and high wind for 5am. So the evening before,  I carefully moved all the hanging baskets I had just planted, down under the bench, under the fleece drying rack and prepped for a horrible storm, that maybe impending.

two large saucers of plant pots, a mix of flowers, herbs and house plants. 0.2) two large saucers of plant pots, a mix of flowers, herbs and house plants.

Nothing happened at 5am, but 9am arrived and so did the storm, with heavy rain but no hail. Afterwords I went out to do a bit of weeding. A bit after lunch the blue sky was again gone, and so was my Large Umbrella I had be using while weeding. It had escaped and was trying to figure out how to open the front door. (It is bad luck to have umbrellas open in the house so I closed it and got it back in its weighted base. (Sorry no pictures)  oww…. Time to sit or maybe lie down would be better. yes lying down was much better.

(I am getting to the point)

Today, Friday, Ottawa is sunny, no rumors of thunderstorms and my front and back are willing to consider something other than sitting or lying down today, YAY!!!  I had asked Glenn to pull out the bins of unwashed fleece from the garage so I can see what I want to wash next.

My choices from the Garage are 3, all waiting for attention (2 yellow and 1 clear plastic bin, in front of fence and abandoned snow shovels.) I don’t remember what I put in them.0.3) My choices from the Garage are 3, all waiting for attention (2 yellow and 1 clear plastic bin, in front of fence and abandoned snow shovels.) I don’t remember what I put in them.

1- First, I Need to set up the fleece washing aria. The tub has some rainwater, a few bits of leaves, dead bugs, Miskito larvae and a moth in it. Maybe a large fish tank net would get the not-water-bits out? Maybe a trip to Dollerama later? the water is still cleaner than the fleece so lets proceed.

Stock tub, Bits of leaves, Miskito larva and other bugs, and one floating moth. 1.1)  Stock tub, Bits of leaves, Miskito larva and other bugs, and one floating moth.

Next, I should  set up the umbrella by the garage. Why is it not working, oh broken stay is interfering with it extending. Got that sorted, and set up the second fleece drying rack again.

fighting with umbrella with broken strut. With the broken arm it fits perfectly between the garage and the back of the house.1.2) fighting with umbrella with broken strut. With the broken arm it fits perfectly between the garage and the back of the house.

now that i have that sorted i’m sure it will all go fine from here!

2-Select a fleece,  this is like Christmas, i cant remember what i put in there so its all new and exciting surprises!

Option 1: white-ish fleece in plastic bag inside clear plastic bin.2.1) Option 1: white-ish fleece in plastic bag inside clear plastic bin.

Option 2: White-ish fleece in black garbage bag inside yellow Ruff tote bin.2.2)  Option 2: White-ish fleece in black garbage bag inside yellow Ruff tote bin.

Option 3: creamy white with lots of crimp. Loose in the ruff tote and has some bits of lavender on top of it.2.3)  Option 3: creamy white with lots of crimp. Loose in the ruff tote and has some bits of lavender on top of it.

Option 3 wins. I am going with the last one, It looks like quite a big fleece.  after looking all through the side yard, I seem to only have 4 fleece staining buckets?  I hope it didn’t blow away, no found it, Glenn stuck stuff in it. ….. OK, I will try washing 4 at a time rather than 5.

4 strainer baskets on drying rack with fleece in tub in back ground, pole from umbrella in foreground.2.4) 4 strainer baskets on drying rack with fleece in tub in back ground, pole from umbrella in foreground.

Ok fleece selected, no skirting table available but i am sure this will be fine. i just have to add water, soap to the Stock Tank and dirty fleece in strainer baskets to start soaking, i will have this done by lunch!

3- Drat, The hose is up by the front door, but I cant get the hose back here until I put away the recycling box. There are still a couple hanging baskets, hiding under the bench in the way (where i need to put the recycling box). So, move the baskets first. Found the hooks to hang up the baskets, and got them up out of the way. Oh no back just did that cold running water down the back feeling, got to sit down now for a moment. I have to make room for the blue chair so first put the recycling box away. Ahhh that’s better. While I’m sitting here i can see the drying rack in the side yard. There are still a couple hanging baskets, under the drying rack, better put them up too.  And sit again.

hanging baskets, pots of plants waiting to be planted , wooden bench, recycling bins below, and big garden thermometer3.1) hanging baskets, pots of plants waiting to be planted , wooden bench, recycling bins below, and big garden thermometer

4- Right I am sitting looking at the drying rack covered in plants. That won’t work out well, i will need that space for the fleece soon…. need to move and organize all the little plants in pots I purchased. I have 4 saucers and a shallow bin partly full of plants but give me a moment and let me get the strawberries all in one, the plants that will be house plants and the last of the inpatients are in one. i found 2 more saucers (ok they are oil change black saucers but they work) one is now full of Lavender and the other is a mix of herbs. And back to sitting. (i feel like i’m am doing some odd form of and English country dance but in stead of “everyone turns around” after doing anything, i do something followed by “i sit down”. i miss dancing, the Black nag was fun and i miss the Manshaft pavan, the 8 count reverrance was deadly! i must stop thinking about medieval dances and get back to work!)

Oil draining saucers full of herbs and lavender sitting on green bin and garbage can 4.1) Oil draining saucers full of herbs and lavender sitting on green bin and garbage can

5-Lets move the hose I think that was what I was working towards. Ok, dragged it back and have the tank filling. Where is the soap?…..  did it fall off the end of the bench? Maybe under it? behind the spin dryer? In the spin dryer? No sign of it, better go in and call glenn. And sit for a bit. Maybe I will look by the kitchen sink first, but why would it be there?

6-Found the fleece washing dish soap in the kitchen…. Ok took it back outside. It’s the sheep-washing dish soap, not the dish-washing dish soap, they are totaly different! so it should be outside with the fleece washing stuff.

sunlight Dish washing soap also cuts lanolin and removes dirt from sheeps' wool. )yellow plastic bottle of dish soap sitting on 4X4 beside stock tank with hose going into tank behind it.)6.1) sunlight Dish washing soap also cuts lanolin and removes dirt from sheeps’ wool. (yellow plastic bottle of dish soap sitting on 4X4 beside stock tank with hose going into tank behind it.)

7- Tipped the big ruff tote partly out onto the drying rack and picked through clumps looking for second cuts, excessive Vegi-matter or the extra smelly dark bits I don’t want to deal with. this fleece has little second cuts with kemp, I found a small section with less crimp but since I cant see the hole fleece I am not sure where it was growing or if its some one else’s fleece that got mixed in accidentally.

dirty wool cascading out of yellow plastic bin.7.1) dirty wool cascading out of yellow plastic bin.

8-Picked over good raw fleece got dropped in a strainer bucket, while the rejected bits got dumped on the lid. I did not fill them quite as much as last wash since I will have to do more bins than last fleece. I wonder if this one was a ram? or just a much bigger sheep?

the rejected bits I tossed on the lid until I can get them into a yard wast bag. There are a lot of odd little seeds stuck in spots in the fleece so I don’t want to add whatever that is to the garden.8.1) the rejected bits I tossed on the lid until I can get them into a yard wast bag. There are a lot of odd little seeds stuck in spots in the fleece so I don’t want to add whatever that is to the garden.

OK my aim is not 100% accurate I will clean that up tomorrow, I hope8.2) OK my aim is not 100% accurate I will clean that up tomorrow, I hope.

9-As the strainer bin got to about ¾ full I added it to the stock tank to start the soak. When I had all four in the tank I added a bit more water, gently lifted and lowered the strainer baskets a few times. I will now let it sit and soak. I should put all the icky parts in the yard waste bag but I think it would be better to go in and sit and maybe write a blog post.

starting the soap water soak  I left it in just over 3 hours.9.1) starting the soap water soak  I left it in just over 3 hours.

10- I want to give it a few hours of soaking then start the first rinse in case there is rain tomorrow. The water is definitely needing changing and the strainers baskets are hanging to drip.

Lets take a peek at this crimp in the raw wool. It is quite a dirty sheep, but not as much Vege-matter as I was expecting. As I said there is definitely a bit of kemp in odd sposts in this fleece (mostly second cuts), but I think it will still be nice.

closes up of crimp10.1)closes up of crimp

pulling sections of fleece I don’t have room to spread out the hole fleece so I am pulling out sections and looking over that bit. (yellow large plastic tote with unwashed fleece spilling out onto drying rack. 10.2) pulling sections of fleece. I don’t have room to spread out the hole fleece so I am pulling out sections and looking over that bit. (yellow large plastic tote with unwashed fleece spilling out onto drying rack.

strainer baskets coming out of wash water 10.3) strainer baskets coming out of wash water

Dirty water but I think we can g3et this fleece cleaner.10.4) Dirty water but I think we can get this fleece cleaner.

While we are back here lets  take a peek at the blackberries and see if they are ready yet, almost!

Blackberrys along the back of the house lots of berrys ripening11.1) Blackberrys along the back of the house lots of berrys ripening

close up of blackberrys and blackberry flowers11.2) close up of blackberrys and blackberry flowers

The trumpet vine is flowering again too!

Trumpet vine11.3) Trumpet vine

Scarlet runner bean flowers11.4) Scarlet runner bean flowers

It always takes longer now than i think, to get anything done. i did not get this done before lunch, i acutaly forgot about lunch and kept puttering along.  now that i have this much blog post written, its dark out, but the fleece should be drained by now. back wiling, i can finish draining the stock tank and give it a rinse before refilling it and starting the first rinse. wish me luck avoiding the masketos.

I hope you are taking advantage of these lovely sunny days, to have fun with fiber; prepping it, felting, spinning or weaveing with it.

Sunflower Sample Using Washaway Stabilizer

Sunflower Sample Using Washaway Stabilizer

Comments 18 comments

I’ve been trying to make some sunflowers using Aquamesh Washaway embroidery stabilizer. This method allows me to make individual flowers that I can move around on the wall hanging I am making before I figure out their final placement. I’ve got 6 of them made in varying sizes and have decided I don’t really like the ones I’ve made so far so I want to try something a bit different.

Here is a photo that I used to draw out the design on the left side of the drawing. I love this sunflower color.

orange/browish sunflower

After studying the petals on my sunflower photos, it seemed like I should make layers. I drew out three layers and highlighted the petals I wanted to stitch in each layer. Flower #1 are all the petals on the first layer, flower #2 are the petals on the second layer and #3 are ones behind both.

drawing of sunflower petal layers

Then I got the idea to try to print a design onto my Aquamesh Washaway embroidery stabilizer so that I don’t have to keep redrawing the layers, if my layer idea works. I was a bit worried about how the ink would act for the end product, especially since I would be dipping it into water. The stabilizer is not stiff enough to run through the printer on its own, so I thought I would iron it to a piece of freezer paper that I cut to 8 ½” x 11”. I cut the Washaway to that same measurement, then ironed them together. The Washaway shrunk about an 1/8” all around. Note to self…maybe cut washaway larger than the freezer paper, then recut the edges. Maybe it won’t matter. (It didn’t). I definitely will need to scotch tape the feeding edge so it will hopefully go smoothly into the printer. Now…where is my tape?? Guess I need to buy some more of that. The first attempt to get this through the printer failed, the two pieces wouldn’t feed. But good to go on the second attempt, although I should have turned the piece I was copying from around so I had more space to hoop up flower #1.

drawing of sunflower petal layers

I’m going to use Sulky 30 wt 100% cotton thread on this sample.

Here I’ve got the washaway in the hoop, ready to start sewing. (I had to add a bit of washaway above petal layer #1 so it would stay tight in the hoop).

sunflower project in embroidery hoop

Ugh! My Bernina 770 is yelling at me! Oil me! Oil me! Oil me!

Don’t you just get ticked off when that happens??

error message on sewing machine

Oiling your sewing machine is a necessary evil, especially when doing this type of embroidery work. I just don’t like doing it, especially right when I want to start sewing! About 10 minutes later and a very bad language conversation with my bobbin case, I finally got to do some stitching.

I would straight stitch the petals, then go back and zigzag stitch over them.

yellow stitching

All the threads need to be connected to other threads otherwise they will just unravel when you rinse the washaway out.

yellow stitching

 

That being said, after I stitched the individual petals so they would hold together, I realized that I needed to somehow connect the petals in each one to the center, otherwise they’d just be flopping around after I removed the washaway. So, I cut a square of tulle, placed it behind each petal  layer and stitched it down hopefully enough to hold the petals together. I wasn’t too worried about how the center looked at this point in time, I just needed it to be structurally sound. Then I trimmed the tulle down in the shape of the center stitching. When I drop these into water to remove the washaway, the tulle should hold them together. Fingers crossed anyway!

yellow stitching on all three petal layers

I stitched over each layer with a darker thread to give a bit of contrast and then cut off the other flower drawing because I want to see how this is going to look before I make any more sunflowers. I’m not really happy with it so far. I don’t like how the thread is stitching up, nor the color.

3 petal layers stitched with yellow thread

After cutting most of the washaway off and rinsing the washaway out, I layered the 3 layers and I can see that some of the inkjet ink remained so the thread appears darker. I’m disappointed with that but maybe I can add some acrylic paint to the petals once they dry. It’s also very wet at this point and may lighten up when dry.

3 layers pinned together after rinsing

It did lighten up when dry. Looks more like a multi legged starfish to me.

3 layers dried

If I want to make a starfish in the future I think I can do it! My petals sure look like starfish legs to me!

multi legged orange starfish

I’m going to paint my sample.

I used my Posca acrylic pens and I like it better, but it’s still not what I am looking for in the flower I want to put into my project. This is about 2” wide. I think my layer idea was successful though and that this technique might work for a different type of flower. It does have lots of dimensionality. It’s quite stiff from the glue in the washaway that doesn’t all get rinsed out.

3 layers painted with yellow acrylic paint

That was a fun learning experience.

But, back to the drawing board…

Happy Creating!
Tesi Vaara