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using the same white as the snow to build up area between legs of moose
Xmass Card Exchange! (the moose edition)

Xmass Card Exchange! (the moose edition)

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I have been working on something secretly… but now you can peek!

I seem to be on a moose theme lately and after a few options, I returned to it for my Xmas card exchange. Ann had been talking about her original plans for her piece and I had liked the option of a removable pin on the landscape, so it could be viewed as either a landscape on its own or the broach integrated with the picture.

I started with the same moose image that had been used on the guild anniversary bag.  I scaled it down to 3 smaller sizes to give me options, then printed out the images. I decided on the largest version of the options and cut out the silhouette. I traced the shape onto a piece of white craft “Felt”, ok it is a non-woven fabric but the amount of wool in it is somewhat suspect. It still works as a backing to build the moose on so I continued with it.

silowet of a moose printed page of moose in various sizes to use as a template  1.1 1.2) Moose Silhouette

I again used the Maori short fibre batt in the sand and reddish brown with a T38-333 needle. I put on the audiobook I was listening to and got to work.  ….I was sure I had taken a few shots as I started, but could not find them. So I unfortunately seem to have a shot of the moose part way done. I have the basic structure built, the armature wire has been added down through the head and curled into the neck. (Which was the same way, I had treated the moose antlers on the bag.)

Moose with antler armature  2) Working on a half 3-D image of moose with armature in near side antler

I had used a thicker marker than I wanted to use (I am sure I put the fine one somewhere……safe) so I need to both, solidify the space between the legs and get rid of the residue of the outlines. To do that, I added white wool. I pulled it into little pieces, about .5” long and made sure the fibre direction was very disorganized.  Once the in-between leg spaces were firmly felted I started looking for my good scissors. I had seen videos of the beautiful cat heads being cut from their felt backing before mounting them on another fabric for framing, so I was sure it was possible. I carefully trimmed around the outside of the moose. I used the good embroidery scissors to bevel the edges so the white would not be seen, then added a bit of wool where needed along the edge.

close up showing white between moose legs and snow in landscape3) I used the same white I was using for the snow in the background picture.

Next was sewing on the broach pin, I should have searched more for the white buttonhole thread, but I did find the black which should be strong enough to keep the pin attached. You can find these pins in various configurations at craft stores and online at Aliexpress. I have a bag of various sizes, … which has again wandered off somewhere. (Pre-new Year’s resolution – clean up my studio!!! or stop putting things in “Safe” places.)

bag of broach pins in various colours sizes and latch styles 4) Broach pins, in two styles and many sizes and colours.

checking size of broch pin to moose attaching broach pin with button hole thread pin attached to moose5.1, 5.2, 5.3 Attaching the pin to the moose (not the same as Pin the Tail on the Quadrupedal Large Animal.)

I also added extra white behind the body to make a level surface for the broch pin.

Close up of the antlers vewed from above 6) Close-up of antlers.

Here is an overhead angle showing the back antler is flat while the front antler has an armature wire and is curved. (This is why he got a little travel box and not a bubble mailer). The odd pink thing is my T38-333 needle with a pink elastic which is helping him stand to show off his impressive rack! (of antlers)

Since you can see the foam pad I am using for this project, I should probably talk about it. This is a gift from Ann. Her husband picked it up at his work. Its original purpose was for packing of, I think,  air filtration equipment. It has a plastic-y top layer and a softer foam underneath, so it would both support and cushion the delicate bits it was packed with. The top layer worked well to felt on.

parking foam, made from two types of foam 7) Foam from shipping equipment

It sits comfortably on my lap as I worked.

Next, I put on a new audiobook (Which again derailed my memory to take regular photos as I worked) and moved on to the background the moose could inhabit if it was not out adventuring with his recipient. As I considered what elements to include, I settled on snow, leafless trees/branches, a small pond with cattails, and a dark night sky with moonlight.

For size, Ann said from about 3×5 to postcard size. I started with a piece of good wool felt (from the Black Lamb) and marked out the design on a 3×5 scale but realized the poor Moose would feel squishy in such a small landscape. So I went searching the desk for postcards, I know I had one from Monika at the Olive Sparrow and one from Heidi Feathers. I found Monika’s first so started expanding the landscape to fit it.

postcard from Olive Sparrow checking size of picture to postcard, postcard is bigger and cn be seen extending mostly at the bottom of the fel;t picture 8.1, 8.2) checking image size against the postcard.

To check size, I compared the landscape, with the Olive sparrow postcard. It needs to be a bit wider and taller. I tried a bit of Tugging then added more fiber extending the sides. A good thing felt is forgiving if you want to expand your image.

You have probably read before or heard me in person strongly suggest you try to work to a size that can be economically framed. That means choosing a finished size that will fit a standard matt size. In my earlier days, I spent 13 years as a custom picture framer, mostly archival framing and hand mounting  (I also worked with parchment but I discovered that not everyone is as excited by it as I am. With the help of a friend, I even made some deerskin parchment!)  When I found my postcard from Heidi Feathers I realized that yes, there are different standards of sizes from North America to the rest of the world!!

My solution was to expand the snow and sky so it could be cropped to fit into a standard size frame on either side of the water. The other solution would be to float the felt background in a shadow box which could allow the edges to be visible.

In the 1990’s there was a framing trend called a memory box, it had a front or back hinge on a shadow box frame so that you could change what was on display. It was advertised to show off holiday trip photos and mementoes. I have found a few of them turning up second-hand and have grabbed the ones still in good condition.  You may want to keep an eye out for them too.

background for Moose pin, adding to the top of image 9) First, I extended the top adding height to the sky, trees and moonlight.

adding to the bottom of image 10) Then I added more to the bottom snow and under the pond. There is a bit more to the right of the largest tree.

Moose now has more space to stand and admire the reflection in the pond.

checking spacing for moose on the landscape 11) Checking if the moose fits in his landscape, yes much better!

Now what have I forgotten? Oh! He can’t see the pond or the reflection since he doesn’t have an eye, I can fix that!

adding an eye to the moose so he can see the landscape (trees in back ground, pond and cattails in pond with reflection of moon. 12) Added an eye to Moose and repositioned him in the landscape.

Now that moose is happy in his landscape it’s time to tuck him into a bubble pack and then into a cardboard box, which is covered in tape and brown paper. Then send him on his exciting journey to his new home.

Moose and landscape going into buble wrap bag moose and landscape wraped in buble wrap ready to go into little box to travel!13.1,  13.2) Moose entering his bubble wrap bag for his big trip!

He went off to the local postal station to start his exciting travel adventure.  I am now waiting to hear he has arrived safely.

AH HA!! He has arrived and I can now show you! I hope Marie will let us know if Moose is behaving or if has he run off to World of Wool. (He is closer to Wool Meca than he was in Canada!)

I hope you had fun seeing the mini-Moose and his landscape come together. Next time I promise to take pictures before enjoying an audiobook! I am looking forward to seeing all the cards once they have all arrived.

PS Marie’s Card of Festive Trees has arrived!! Thank you!!

A Christmas Card for Lindsay

A Christmas Card for Lindsay

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As you’ve heard, here at the blog we did a Christmas card exchange. Well, not necessarily Christmas but I went with that theme.

I worked out my idea in my sketchbook and didn’t (I was sure I had) take a picture and now that pad has gone AWOL. It was simple trees. OK, I can use my computer to make a triangle by using the draw a shape thing in my wordprocessor program. No, problem. Now just drag it bigger to make the start size……nope triangles do not do that.  I switched to publisher and with much fuss and bother and guidelines, I added the same amount to all sides and made a larger one.

I have already unpacked my stash of prefelt and put it into draws just like I was an organised, neat and tidy person. Well, that will last until I get everything else out of boxes and have to find a place for it all. Anyway, I got out the red and the white. seemed like appropriate colours. the red for the background and the white for the trees.

I wet the prefelt and shrunk it down to the size I wanted. checking against the picture I drew in my sketch pad.

then I cut the 2 sizes of trees the small ones will get needled onto the background and the big ones will be wet felted.

 

No jumping forward, I didn’t like the white trees but again I was sure I had taken some pictures here.  Clearly, I was doing something wrong.  I had my bag from the felted sheep glass handy and started adding curles.  See the messy tendancies do come in handy sometimes. Now they are much better, textured, colourful and happy.

 

Here are the triangles ready for their turn felting

Again wite was do stark so I added some wool to them first. Blue, Green with sparkle and White with silk.

and all done and as shrunk as they can go.

I then added some curls as garland and embroidered some stars at the top so they look more like Christmas trees and not just random triangles. sorry no single picture of the green one.

 

 

 

For these trees, I added some pins and some gold string so they could be pinned or hung.

I thought about adding some baubles but |I thought they looked crowded on the small trees. They finished at about 2 inches I think.

Next, I pinned the trees to the card. I was going to send it this way but the packaging would have been too fat and turned it into a parcel and doubled the shipping.  I took them off and put them into the envelope separately.

Usually, I make my cards postcard by ironing a print of the back of a paper postcard to it using fusible web. But I couldn’t find it. I printed out a card and tried to sew it onto the front of the card. I tried 3 times to do it and then gave up. I stuck some self-stick velcro dots onto the card and pressed the felt to it. No picture of that either as by then it was late and I wanted it in the envelope and ready to take with me to work the next day. It managed to fly over to the UK in record time and arrive safely at Lindsay’s house.

Lindsay kindly sent me a picture of what it looked like on the card.

Finished Nuno Felt Landscape with Birch Trees and Snow on Blue and White Background Surrounded by White Matte
Holiday Card Exchange for Carlene

Holiday Card Exchange for Carlene

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We decided this year to do a “card” exchange amongst our members. Ann M. drew the partner names and I got Carlene’s name. I decided that since Carlene likes to weave, that I wanted to include some needle  weaving on her card.

Blue and white nuno felt background

I wanted a wintery feeling so I chose this piece of nuno felt cut to 4″ x 6″. I can already see birch trees in the background so my go to trees this year were an easy decision for the design.

Nuno felt background with "base" for first birch tree stitched in place

I used a stitch technique that is usually used in cut and drawn thread embroidery. Since my background was felt, I couldn’t cut the surface to get my base threads so I stitched them on the felt base. It’s a very simple stitch as you just take the thread and move over and under each time filling in the “woven bar”.

Nuno felt background with first needle woven tree in place on right hand side.

Here’s the first one completed. I used white perle cotton in different weights for all the trees. If you look closely, you can see that on this first tree, I was catching the wool fibers that were coming through on the silk surface of the nuno felt. I was a bit concerned with this but then when I looked again, the wool just adds in the “spots” on a birch tree.

Nuno felt background with yarn used for planning tree placement.

I used some yarn to work out the tree placement before I went any further. I cut a piece of nuno felt to cover the bases of the background trees which I would stitch down after completing all the trees.

Then to continue on with the weaving. This isn’t a hard stitch but it’s a bit time consuming. I was able to hold the thread away from the surface to prevent catching the wool fibers but it really wasn’t necessary. Now I needed to add in the “spots” on the trees. Nuno felt background with birch trees, added brown ink for "spots" on trees and foreground hill of cut nuno felt.

I could have stitched them on but I decided to use dark brown ink. You can see I cut down the foreground nuno piece a bit and then I stitched that in place.

Nuno Felt Landscape with Needle Woven Trees and French Knot Snow

Now to add some snow. I stitched random French knots over the trees and background.

Finished Nuno Felt Landscape with Birch Trees and Snow on Blue and White Background Surrounded by White Matte

And here it is matted as a “card”. I made it as a small frameable artwork instead of a card. I sent it off to Carlene in Canada and she received it quickly. I’m always hesitant about the mail service these days, but all was well! Happy Holidays Carlene!

 

Holiday Card Exchange

Holiday Card Exchange

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Each year on the forum, we have a holiday card exchange. It’s always lots of fun to see all the different cards created and to receive one in the mail. If you’d like to see other cards, you can see them here. Make sure to scroll down and then look at all the pages in this thread to see the ones posted so far. 

I was getting a bit concerned about the card that I sent to Janet in Canada. I sent it out on November 4th and she didn’t receive it until November 27th. That is one of the reasons that we have people send their cards early so it has more time to arrive safely during the busy holiday season. But at last, she got it! So now I can tell you how I made the card.

Here’s the layout. I used a piece of white prefelt for the background and then added short fiber merino in blue green for the sky. I left patches very thin to make it look more snowy. I used “white” mixed 56’s for the snow but it wasn’t very white so I added a bit of white cashmere fiber that I have been saving. It was very white. Then I added silk noil to create a more snow like effect on the ground and in the sky. Finally over top of this, I added white prefelt tree trunks. I started with only one layer of prefelt but decided to add another layer over the trunks in the sky section as I felt that the blue green was going to bleed through too much.

Here it is after felting. I liked how the tree trunks overlapped on the top so I left them for awhile.

Next up was to add a little free motion machine stitching. I used an off white thread to give a slight shadow and more texture on the trunks. It’s kind of hard to see here but you can click on the photo to enlarge it.

Then I added a dark grey thread to give the characteristic birch tree look. I don’t use black for this because it feels much too stark. I think the grey looks more natural. Then I had to decide whether to crop or leave it as is. I finally decided on the cropping because it was just slightly too big to fit on my 5″ x 7″ card. I trimmed it up with a rotary cutter and attached it to a greeting card to send to Janet.

So here it is. I do think it looks very wintery which was the goal. I am going to have to make some more of these to sell as small art pieces.

And this is the wonderful card that I received from Janet. This is Janet’s first attempt at making a fiber/felt card and didn’t she do an awesome job? Thanks Janet for this beautiful card.

Next Steps for My Cowl

Next Steps for My Cowl

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With a few weeks until the Christmas markets, I finally got back to my cowl.

This is as far as I had gotten before I had to put it aside. It took me forever to get the silk wrapped around the template properly and as you can see I had to use painters tape to do it.

The first job today was to sew the center together. I used some nylon thread and large basting stitches so I can pull it out at the end.

I put some tape on the one end of the thread so it should be easy to find when it is finished.

Time to add the wool, 3 shades of purple.

The next thing should have been cutting up the yellow/orange/red prefelt into some leave and put them on the cowl. But that would too easy. I decided I wanted to put some silk on top of everything. I thought about some silk hankies but remembered I had a big bag of silk lap. Silk lap is similar to silk hankies but much bigger and many layers.

As you can see the silk is bright white. I will have to dye it. I am not sure what would be the best colour so I cut several strips of the lap to dye.  I was thinking different shades of green but maybe copper or gold would be better. Maybe a combination s of all 3. What do you think?

First I had to find the end, easier said than done.

Even with many layers, it is still see-through.

Silk takes more preparation to dye than wool and other fibres. Silk is hard to get wet. I added a little dish soap to help the silk get wet. It will have to sit at least overnight to be properly wet so I can dye it. I will show you next week when it’s my turn to post again.

And a reminder about the holiday card exchange. You have until tomorrow night (Oct 24th at midnight) to sign up on the forum. holiday-card-exchange-2020 link  If You have signed up chec the forum on the evening of the 25 to find out who your partner is.

Past Holiday Efforts – Fourth Quarter Challenge

Past Holiday Efforts – Fourth Quarter Challenge

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Annie and Lyn recently posted the Fourth Quarter Challenge. I thought I would take a look at what holiday decorations and cards I had created in the past. It’s always easy for me to forget about pieces I have created so it’s nice to walk down memory lane and I thought I would share what I found.

Here’s a set of cards that I made in 2017 for the Holiday Card exchange that we have on the forum. I used some samples that I had made for the Nuno Felting with Paper Fabric Lamination online class.

This is the card that I made last year.

And another card made in 2018.

 

 

Here’s the 2016 cards that I created.

And these are a few different ornaments that I created over the years.

In 2013, I stitched a bunch of these bowls to give to people filled with candy.

I just found another card from 2016. I’m not sure why I made so many different cards that year.

And just for fun, here I am with Deb and Nanci at Christmas Stroll at The Purple Pomegranate.

We did make some Ukraninan eggs one year (not exactly fiber but still holiday!)

And another just for fun photo of me as a baby by the tree.

Here’s a basket I made as a Christmas gift. I’m not much of a weaver but it turned out OK.

And I thought you might like to see a bit of winter decoration from Mother Nature.

That was a fun trip down memory lane. Now I need to get started on this year’s holiday card. If you would like to join in the forum’s Holiday Card Exchange, sign up here.

Or, if you have some holiday creations that you’d like to share, you can post them here.

 

A New Drop Spindle and the Holiday Card Exchange

A New Drop Spindle and the Holiday Card Exchange

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In early September I came across the website John Galon Designs. I think I found the link in a spindle group on Facebook but I don’t remember. https://johngalen.com/  He makes beautiful spindles, many from old, timepieces. I didn’t get a timepiece one but I did get one.

Here is the reveal

Are you ready? here it is:

It is a very pretty and cool spindle. The acrylic in the middle is actually clear but the purple of the spindle radiates out through it. There are about a dozen colours to choose from. I am really pleased with it. Now I need to spin properly with it. I am not used to a spindle with such a small whorl.

The other thing I wanted today is to announce the 2020 holiday card exchange on the Felting and Fiber Studio Forum.  We have been doing a card exchange for several years now. Its a fun and easy way for us to share a little cheer at this time of year.

You can sign up on the forum, here: Holiday Exchange link

the deadline to sign up is Oct 24th, Partners will be assigned ( by random generator) on Oct 25th

You have to make a felt card and send mail it to your partner by Nov 14th

Once you receive your card you post a picture of it on the forum

The cards do not have to be Christmas cards they can be anything. There is a lot going on in late December and there is New Year too.   We are starting a little early this year and on a tighter timeline, having you ship earlier so the cards have a good chance to get there for the holiday season.

Here are a few I have made over the years

 

 

 

Thank You from Zed and the Holiday Card Exchange

Thank You from Zed and the Holiday Card Exchange

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Zed wanted me to include her thanks to all of you for your generous support. Here’s what she had to say:

Ruth,
Please could you pass on my sincere gratitude to everyone who made a donation or bought an e-book or tutorial to support me at this difficult time. I was absolutely blown away by the kindness and generosity of so many people.

I’ve had very little motivation to felt or be creative at all for many months, and whenever I did try, it felt ‘forced’ so wasn’t really enjoyable. As well as the generous donations, I also received many comments and messages which have made me feel very appreciated and cared for. In fact, they made such an impact that I felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. I’ve been feeling so much more positive. And although I haven’t had chance to do any felting yet, (but who has over the holidays!?) I feel like I have a renewed love for it, and have had lots of ideas for things to make and write about. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays, and I hope the new year brings great things for everyone. Thank you so much 🙂

Now on to my regularly scheduled post!

Every year on the forum, we do a holiday card exchange where members make fiber art cards to send to their assigned partner. It’s a lot of fun and you get a great small artwork from another member of your “tribe”. It’s always fun to see what everyone creates and the cards are always so different. You can see some of them here. You have to scroll down and go through all the pages to see all the cards that have been posted so far.

My partner this year was Antje. She is one of our regular contributors here and I correspond with her frequently so it was fun to send each other a card. Since I was working on the concept of using stuff up, I searched in my studio for felt that would work for a holiday card. I found some screen printed red and green felt.

The red pieces had almost berry like shapes and the green had pine needle shapes. Perfect! I just had small pieces so I cut and stitched them into strips and then sewed them all together. I butted up the edges and zigzag stitched them together. They were a bit wonky but I didn’t need perfection. Once I had a post card shaped red and green felt, I needed to add an element. So how about a tree? I found a piece of white felt and cut a fairly wonky tree shape.

Here’s the card after stitching around the edge of the tree to attach it to the background. I then found some star sequins and did a little French knot to hold each one down. I then fused the felt down to a regular white card blank.

Then I found a nice font on the computer, printed it in “matching” color and added a holiday greeting. I did add a little surprise inside but forgot to take a photo of that before I sent it off to Antje. It was a bit nerve racking because it took over three weeks to arrive. I sent a package of wool to Lyn on the same day and that was received in less than a week. But a card in a standard envelope took what seemed like forever. Just when I was thinking I would need to make another card to send, Antje received it. Yay!

Then, just after Christmas, I received a package from Antje, much bigger than a standard card. What could be in there?

She did send this lovely card which is gorgeous. Such an innovative way to depict a tree.

But then, I also got these three items. The birch bark piece on the left is wonderful and since I love trees, it is going to find a prominent place in my home. I love everything that Antje sent me and it was such fun finding these extra surprises. Thank you Antje!

We would love to have you join us next year with our holiday card exchange. Join our free forum so you’ll know when to sign up.