Cyanotone print on paper then felted with Fiona Duthie

Cyanotone print on paper then felted with Fiona Duthie

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08-06-2025 Cyanotone print on paper, then felted with Fiona Duthie – fine felt

On August 6th 2025,  The Great Canadian Felt Project, using Cyanotype paper dying with wet felting, arrived in Ottawa, Canada. This is an ongoing project moving across Canada, starting in the Maritimes (east coast) and moving west.  Small 3-hour mini-workshops are set up as Fiona and her husband travel across the country in a vintage VW bus. The workshops are being arranged on slightly short notice, due to allowing for travel time to reach the next area where felters will be gathering.  (If you are west or north west of us, you can see if she is heading your way. She has a web presence, you can try to connect with her as she is moving west. https://www.fionaduthie.com/great-canadian-felt-project-2025/)

Liane contacted her and ultimately arranged for two sessions in the OVWSG guild studio for Wednesday.

I have worked in a darkroom at university, so I am familiar with the concept of Cyanotype printing. It’s a little like playing with the enlarger in the dark room, but more blue.  I also preferred keeping my fibres dry when I felt. Since I can have fabulous fun with photo-documenting the event, I suggested I photograph and let someone else enjoy the fun of felting. (If they were short students, I could switch, and there would be fewer photos.)  There was a lot of enthusiasm for such a short notice, mid-week event, and we wound up with 2 groups of 11 students, one in the morning, one in the afternoon.  We only had a few days to get it all organised. The guild is also in the middle of moving rooms and looms, so tables had to be tracked down, a quick clean-up of the studio, and we were ready to have fun. You may recognise a few of the students from previous times you have joined me on shopping and at guild activities!

By the time I arrived early Wednesday morning, hoping to get a tiny bit of library work done before starting the photography fun, Liane had the room all set, ready for the workshop. She arrived shortly after I did, and was quickly followed by the teacher and her husband. The students arrived soon after that. Everyone was very excited, and almost everyone was early.

FIona and husband arives in OVWSG Studio with tables set up ready for teaching1.1) The room arranged, and the teacher and her TA setting up

Fiona Duthie and her husband both used to work in Ottawa, but are now located in BC. They had been on the East Coast, giving a felting workshop and visiting family.  She gave a brief overview of the order of operations, and the students quickly got into laying out their local plants and other objects they had brought.

on table covered in striped blue and white plastic cover Trays (cat litter trays) for rinsing, hand laundry scrubbers, Ballbrasa, Soap and water buckets2.1) Equipment: Trays (cat litter trays) for rinsing, hand laundry scrubbers, Ballbrasa, Soap and water buckets

close up of the hand laundry scrubbers2.2) close up of the hand laundry scrubbers. I think these were made in Germany. They remind me of a sewing clapper (it’s used on seams to flatten them)

the magic chemicals that make the wonderful blue colour the magic chemicals that make the wonderful blue colour2.3-2.4) the magic chemicals that make the wonderful blue colour (Chemicals: The primary chemicals used are ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide. These are mixed to create a light-sensitive solution.) She had examples of two ways the chemicals were sold. Fiona pre-prepared the treated paper for the class.

The Cyanotype printing process uses a light-sensitive prepared paper,  with something that will block light, making a silhouette, in this case with local plants and found objects. The paper with objects sitting on it is then exposed to (UV) light, which will create an image on the paper.  The students were instructed to lay out their designs on the Plexiglas, then, when ready, the light-sensitive paper would be provided and the plants/stuff would be moved to it. But first, get the design they liked laid out.

Fiona gave an the overview of what they would be doing today shows 2 previous prints on felt 2.5) The overview of what they would be doing today

morning and afternoon students for the workshop3) the morning and afternoon workshop groups

Laying out the design on the plexi

A board, a piece of plexiglass and bubble wrap were at each spot. Students brought plants, lace, stones, weaving tools, and found objects.

4.1-4.6) laying out the design

Magic Paper time!

When the composition was the way the students wanted, Fiona handed out 2 sheets of the pre-prepared light-sensitive paper. (Note she has it hidden from the light between two boards.) One page the students will keep, and the other will go into Fiona’s Group project.

Since as soon as the paper is exposed to light, it will start to etch (like photo paper in an enlarger). So pre-laying out the design made it faster to get the composition moved from the plexi, which had been moved out of the way, so the magic paper on the wooden board could be quickly covered with their selected stuff. Fiona was very calm, and although it is time sensitive, no one seemed to be looking rushed.

The paper itself is also important. Fiona talked about what she had found most effective that allowed the wool fibre to bond with the paper (I promise I will get to the felting!). She mentioned my favourite place to get paper when I was taking Printmaking at the University of Toronto, the Japanese paper shop in Toronto (Queen Street West). A couple of the papers sounded familiar, so I probably did use them for school.  Alisa remembered Lokta paper and Kita Kata paper. There was another suggestion, but I should have been smart and taken notes, not just photos. You will have to take her mini workshop to get a list she has found works with felting, or Ann says Ruth does felting with paper, too.

handing out the magic paper5.1) Handing out the magic paper

The plexi gets used again:

Once the foliage and other items were transferred to the magic paper, the plexi sheet was put on top to keep anything from shifting. A couple of boards had things that were lumpy; some were placed on top of the plexi, others were under, but a bit of masking tape was added to ensure nothing shifted.

plexi is now used to hold the plants down on the paper so it wount shift5.2) Plexiglass added to keep plants in place

Now it’s time to face the sun!!

Since I was just doing the photo documentation, I was volunteered as Door holder. Unfortunately, this presented a problem. I know the rules, no but shots!! I had a lot of trouble trying to get shots that kept to at least the essence of the rule.

students putting bords with paper plants and plexi on ground in the sun6.1) putting the light-sensitive paper in the sunlight

As with photo paper, Cyanotype is activated by light. So the prints were left out for the required time. (It was sunny and the smog from forest fires was less today.) Let’s take a peek at a few of the cooking prints.

sitting in the sun sitting in the sun sitting in the sun6.2- 6.4)  sitting in the sun

When the time was up, the boards were carefully brought back into the studio. (trying not to move anything) .

bringing the plexi covered paper and plants on board back into classroom6.5) back into the studio, leaving the plexi on and trying not to shift the leaves and objects

A couple of students at a time would remove their objects from the papers, then add them to the first of two rinse baths.  After the correct time, it was transferred into the second bath. This was to remove the extra active chemicals. This took a while to get through, 22 pictures, 4 at a time, but it was very interesting to see what had been created by the cast shadow of the plants and other objects.

the rinces baths of water and placing the papers back on the board after the rince baths7.1-  7.2)

Felting!!

When most of the images were through their baths, it was time to set up for felting. (I bet you didn’t think  I would ever get to the felting!) Fiona explained which direction to lay the paper images down on the bubble wrap, then demonstrated laying out the wool, which was limited to a measured amount, so all the pieces would be close in weight.

holding combed top and showing how to pull out shingles of fiber to lay on paper8.1) explaining laying out fibre for wet felting.

continuing to demonstrate laying out the fiber on the paper8.2) Laying out the fibre demonstration

Then the students worked in white or blue Merino wool. Most had combed top, but one had merino that may have been a batt at some point, but was now more tufts and clumps.

the students start to lay out fiber, teacher helps as needed8.3)

wetting the fiber covering with buble wrap and then gently rubbing with landry scrubber8.4)

Water was added, then gentle rubbing (effleurage), then gently using the scrubber. Once it was starting to hold together, it was time to roll, first one way, then rotate and roll again. They were not wanting to make a hard felt. The students will be stopping at the pre-felt stage, so Fiona will have options as she felts all the pieces together when she gets home.

rubbing on bubble wrap and students on far side of table rolling 8.5) various stages of rubbing and rolling

Rolling must be done carefully so the paper doesn’t wrinkle as the wool starts to felt and the paper gets entangled with it.

various students rolling felt8.6) more rolling and rubbing

gental tugging with flattened palms to remove wrinkles8.7)  Gentle persuasion removed a small wrinkle that was developing

Sander

We also got a demonstration of using a sander for felting. This speeds up the felting, but especially with this, you can not drag the sander, or you may damage the paper.

demonstrating using sander while felting9.1) Fiona shows the Makita sander

close ups of sander working9.2) Sander working

showing under side of sander with ikea shelf liner instead of sandpaper. there is tuck tape under the plate to keep water from entering the main part of the sander9.3) Under side view of Makita sander

Makita, variable speed sander, with tuck tape applied to the under plate and Ikea Shelf liner where the sandpaper would go.  This is the Expensive model, but it’s much quieter than the less expensive version. (Or the little one I have.) I was told they go on sale around Father’s Day if you are wanting to go hunting for one.

The final result

When the images were the requested size, and had reached the pre-felt stage (holds together but is not yet fully felted, so she can join them together when she gets home, they were finished.)

meusing to make sure size was correct, cutting excess and finished pices more finished pices checking out eachothers pices10.1-10.3) the finished pieces

Samples with this and variations on this technique

Fiona brought with her some samples, which she shared with the students

11.1-11.4 samples

Fiona has not made a final decision as to how she will put all the pieces together when all the group projects have been completed. I think either a medieval rose window, adding felt to make the stone traceries, or maybe a tall Gothic medieval stained glass window, which would give an interesting grid pattern and could be done in a series of windows. (a tryptic or more?) It will be fun to see what she decides to create.

You may have noticed I have a new camera, a Nikon with a wicked zoom lens and extra stabilising. It’s a steep learning curve from my Lumex, but I am trying my best to climb it! You may be muttering about my love of words (many of which I can’t spell), but also my love of photos. I did have a bit of restraint. For this event, I took 618 shots; there were a few with focus problems (stupid essential tremors), but also a few more with odd facial expressions that I ignored. That still left a lot of photos to choose from!

This was fun to photograph, and it looked like the students had both fun and learned a technique they can add to their felting skills. If you are somewhere West or north-west of Ottawa, check and see if Fiona will be somewhere near you too! (Her web contact is at the top of the post.) Have fun and keep felting!

A Sample for my Seat Cushion

A Sample for my Seat Cushion

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I decided to make a sample before plunging into making a seat cushion. I decided this for 2 reasons. First, I am not sure where most of the batts are hiding, so I only had a small batt handy. Second, I needed to do some quick felting for the blog today. The sample fit the bill perfectly.

This is a Swiss Mountain batt. I got it off Etsy a few years ago.

I decided 10 inches by 10 inches is a good size for a sample and makes shrinkage easy to calculate. Please excuse my dirty-looking table; it’s some sort of glue that won’t come off.

The edges a thin, so I folded them down to make it square.

I added a layer going up and down.

Once it was wet down, I folded the thin edge top and bottom to square it to 10 inches. That would have been enough to make a sample, but it would also be very boring.

I got out some balls of my handspun and made a spiral. Who doesn’t like a spiral?

I spent longer than normal rubbing so the yarn would stick without moving too much. My impatience usually results in wobbly lines.

Then, of course, lots of rolling to full it properly.

The finished sample ended up just about  7 by 7 inches

It ended up fairly sturdy. The spiral ended up holding its shape very well. However, it is quite hairy and I think it would be a bit prickly to sit on with thin pants or a dress. Once it is dry, I will try shaving it, but I don’t think it will work. There will still be short, strong fibres on the surface. I may have to try some Blue-faced Leicester or maybe some Corriedale. What’s your favourite strong wool for sturdy applications?

Various green sheer fabric from my stash.
Birch Landscapes Completed

Birch Landscapes Completed

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

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

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

Two landscapes side by side before leaves are added.

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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.

The handsome Hector the white alpaca, fleece shaven, looks straight into the camera
My first foray into plant print screening

My first foray into plant print screening

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I just looked up the meaning of “foray” and I must say, I really didn’t plunge into this activity with any violence. Sorry if I mislead you. If anything, my incursion – is that a better word? – begun because of love.

Love, you ask? Yes, my undying love for Hector! My husband knows he is only second to Hector and is alright with it. You’d understand if you saw him. In fact, let me add a photo of that handsome chap for your enjoyment, and then you tell me if you’re not equally in love.

*drumroll, please*

The handsome Hector the white alpaca, fleece shaven, looks straight into the camera

Isn’t he the most handsomest chap ever? Wouldn’t you sign up to an eco printing workshop if you got to spend some time with this beautiful alpaca? That’s exactly what I did.

Allow me to backtrack just a bit: Hector lives in Birkhill House, and I’ve met up with his human Lara on a few yarn festivals to chat and peruse her wares. I bought a few batts from her, and by coincidence they were all from Hector. Coincidence… or fate? I decided it was fate and from then on decided this was the love of my life and I’d do anything to one day meet the grower of the only alpaca fibre I’ve ever genuinely loved (the others I’ve spun/wore feel itchy!)

Fast forward to the day I bought a full Hector blanket to wash, process and spin. No, fast forward a bit more, to the day Birkhill decided to debut their eco printing workshop. I was so keen to finally meet him! I could thank Hector for the amazing yarns I’ve gotten out of his fibre so far.

First things first, I needed to actually participate in the workshop. Fine, I’ll make that terrible sacrifice. In I go to the working shed and play with plants, merino fabric and wallpaper base.

Plants used for eco dyeing on plastic trays
Plants ready to be chosen and laid out
A strip of fabric with plants on top in an "aesthetic" way
My flimsy efforts. Knowing what I know now, I’d definitely have filled the negative space with more plant material.

Like I said, this was my first time playing with eco printing. I had no idea what I was doing. I was well instructed by Sunshine, our tutor! Love her name, very fitting to her personality.

After we had our plants properly squished between the layer of paper and fabric, and tied up, it was time to add them to the dye bath for a bit. Intermission to look at Birkhill’s plant garden.

Wait, did I mention this workshop was a two-parter? After we looked at the plant garden, there was more fun to be had in the form of solar dyeing. I confess I had a little knee-jerk chuckle at the notion of sunshine dyeing anything in Scotland, but then I remembered I get more sunshine here than I ever did in London and shut up.

It was time to peruse the vast sample of plant dyes available for us to play with. Although I’m familiar with acid dyes, it being my bread and butter and all, I’m very ignorant of natural dyes – so I appreciated the labels for me to read and see what colours they’d yield.

We were given two silk and silk-and-merino micro skeins to add to our jars (mine used to house caviar, how fancy) and were given full freedom to choose which colours and how many to add. I chose three in the red-purple family. After arriving home I placed it by the window and waited.

At the time of writing my micro skeins are almost finished soaking up the dyes and are looking properly red and purple. Unfortunately, also at the time of writing, I have a cat on my lap and we all know it’s illegal to move them, so you’ll just have to imagine how lovely it’s looking at the moment.

Now comes the best part of my visit: alpacas! Have you ever booped an alpaca’s nose? They have no cartilage there and it’s like booping a velvety marshmallow; it feels magic. The next best thing? Feeding an alpaca.

Leonor feeds Hector the alpaca through the fence and has a very goofy smile whilst doing so
Thank you Lara for the photo! My happiness is very real.

I heart Hector!

After all this, our eco printing was ready to unravel and dry.

And that was my half day at the farm with eco printing and alpacas. I hope you enjoyed reading it, thanks for letting me share my love of Hector. I’ll leave you with some Hector skeins I’ve spun so far, all with different techniques. My favourite so far is definitely the semi-woollen using rolags, the yarn is so fluffy.

From left to right: spun semi-worsted from batt, 2-ply; spun semi-worsted from batt, chain-plied; spun semi-woollen from rolags, 2-ply; spun semi-woollen from textured batt turned into rolags, 2-ply (my favourite).

Four skeins of alpaca yarn, hand spun from Hector
I hope you like my cat socks, I left them in for your enjoyment.

Thanks for reading!

Demoing Felting Question: “How does that work?”

Demoing Felting Question: “How does that work?”

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Demoing Felting Question: “How does that work?”

Summer is the season of planned and spontaneous demos.  Whether it’s planned, demonstrating felting at fairs, craft shows, fibre or yarn stores, or less planned, felting sitting in front of your home, or waiting at a doctor’s office,  it’s an opportunity to introduce others to the fun of felting. I wanted to chat about this today, since I have recently overhead others say they haven’t signed up to do guild demos because they don’t know what they will get asked at the demo. Also, they have never demoed before and feel that they need to be really good to demo.

Demos are an opportunity for us to show others what cool things we are doing. We don’t have to be masters at what we are showing, but we have to be enthusiastic (without scaring the public) and look like we are having fun. Seeing someone who is enjoying what they are demoing is likely to inspire someone to try whatever they are doing. It is also good to see someone who is just starting to let others know they can do this, too.

jan working on felted pictue of 2 sheep in front of large burlap bails of wool at wool growers co-op 2019 1) 2019 Wool Growers Co-Op Demo

If you have never demoed before, try a group demo where you are not alone and have others who can answer questions and take the lead.  You can also just bring your felting with you when you will be waiting somewhere for a while, like the doctor’s office or emergency department, most people will just smile and watch. (They are usually happy to have something to distract them from why they are there. It’s a good way to get used to being watched while you’re working.)  Spinning is particularly popular with people in the emergency waiting room.

I have found that at most big demos, I have to start talking to people before they will approach. When I first started to demo, it was weaving I was showing. If someone seemed curious, but not brave enough to ask what I was doing, I would ask what type of loom they had at home (even when I was reasonably sure they had never seen a loom before). They usually laughed and started talking to me, often about their grandmother’s spinning wheel! (We will not discuss today anyone loudly saying “look she is making wool!!” while I am spinning, or “Look she is spinning!!” when I am weaving. It’s a bit trickier, so getting Sleeping Beauty’s spindle wheel confused with Rumpelstiltskin’s flax wheel is slightly understandable.) Nevertheless, it was an opening, and I could tell them about the magic of watching cloth appear as you change the order of harnesses, which changes the pattern.

 

Now let’s consider what seems to be the most scary for new demo-ers, what am I going to get asked?

First, you are not required to know everything to demo! If you get a question you don’t know the answer to, admit that, and suggest they contact the local or online group. You don’t have to be an expert! Enthusiasm and looking like you are having fun will inspire others to try. That said, whether I am demoing needle felting in 2D or 3D, I most commonly get a few questions repeated as I am working.  Let’s take a look at some of the most common questions.

The first is “How does that work?”

If you don’t know how the needle’s barbs grab the fibre and push it into the felt or ground fabric, it does look like magic.  I try to show them the barbs along the working part of the needle. If you have a course needle, it’s easier for people to see or feel the barbs (32g or courser).  If they are having trouble seeing, I let them hold the needle, warning them the end is very sharp, and have them run their fingernail over the area where the barbs are located.

*I did have one person tell me they had tried using a needle to felt and it hadn’t worked at all. After I showed her the barbs on my needle, she admitted she had tried a sewing needle. I can see why she was having trouble getting the wool to felt.

 

Doer felting needle 32G diagram2.1) Doer felting needle 32G

Doer needle chart to help ordering triangle needles2.2) Doer needle chart for triangle needles

2019 small muskox landscape, Demoing at a social, under drawing and adding wool, finished image2.3) 2019 small muskox landscape, Demoing at a social, under drawing and adding wool, finished image

 

Common 3-D Question:

When I am working on a 3D piece, I get asked variations on “how do you move the wool where you want it to go?”.

First, the wool moves in the direction that the needle is travelling. Poke in the direction you want the wool to move. While also being aware of the position of your barbs, and thus your working depth, so you are getting the barbs to entangle or move the fibre to the location you want it to be.  It’s easy to say, and sounds simple, but I have seen beginner felters poking vertically (up and down), while trying to move the wool horizontally. It would be more effective if they poked the needle horizontally (moving left and right) or rotated their shape to align with the direction the needle is moving.

You can get quite devious with this concept.  While working on a sheep broach, I had the face quite sheepish, but the nose was not as firm as I wanted.  Who wants a soft-nosed sheep, that is just flaccid, or a limp-nosed un-sheepish aardvarkish-sheep?  If I poke from the outside, into the nose, I will distort the nose, and I will have to add more wool and reshape it.  There is a second way to firm up under a surface structure that you are already pleased with, if you have not finished sculpting the back side. You need to know where the first barbs are on your needle and how far to push the wool so the needle does not emerge past the finished surface.  In this case, I worked from the back of the head, pushing fibre through the sheep’s head broach towards the nose, from the back, to firm up the nose without changing the outer surface. It’s sneaky, but it works.

diagram working from the back of the head to firm up the nose without changing the external shape3.1) Moving the wool to firm up the face if needed.

2020 demoing for delivery guy while i was sitting by my side door. image shows the front edge of a manta wing adding black figer and sculping intersection betweeen colours i am useing a pen tool wiht 2 needles (can hold up to 3 needles) 3.2) 2020 demoing for the delivery guy sitting by my side door

I also usually explained that needle felting sculpture is both additive (like clay) and Subtractive (like Stone). Usually, you use some of both concepts when you sculpt with wool.

Additive:

  • You can make a shape and then add it to your creation. Sara from Sarafina Fiber Arts (lots of YouTube videos, including the Mermaid feltalong) works a lot this way. It has the advantage of being easy to explain what you are doing and is repeatable by other felters.
  • You can build up a body by layers of muscle, which is a great way to study musculature, but not a fast way to sculpt. Most sane people just add the general superficial musculature in a simplified form. You can also just go for cute and make more of a caricature of what you are making.

diagram showing felting across a cercle then folding the cercle along the felted line then felting along the fold to give a shape with a loose edge that can be attached to the maine shape. 4.11) A circle of fibre, needle felt across the diameter, then fold in half. Felt along fold line and as far down as needed, leaving an unfelted fringe giving an edge to attach to the main shape.   Sara creates most of her sculptures this way.

adding fins that have been pre-shaped and the attachment edge left loose to allow it to be (sharkboy under structure and 2 fins)4.12) adding fins that have been pre-shaped and the attachment edge left loose to allow it to be secured to Shark Boy

Subtractive:

  • If you poke in the same spot repeatedly, the fibre under that spot will entangle and compact. Visually, you will see the area that is being poked indent. Which looks like you have removed the wool above the dented area, while in fact it’s just compacted the fibres and moved them in the direction the needle was pointing.

diagram shows stabbing repeatedly in the same spot will both indent and compact that spot relative to the surrounding area.4.2) Stabbing repeatedly in the same spot will both indent and compact that spot relative to the surrounding area.

Hybrid – working with loose fibre (using both additive and subtractive methods to sculpt):

  • I often use loose fibre, use a few pokes to attach it to the area I want to sculpt and then, by careful poking, shape it into what I want to see. I tend to do this more when I am building up the under structure. But sometimes for adding detail, too. This is not as fast as remaking a shape and adding it, but it’s a lot of fun.

Miss Manta demonstrating adding loose wool and sculpting it into place. tail detial corner of mouth and scoops being sculped with loose fiber4.31- 4.32) Miss Manta demonstrating adding loose wool and sculpting it into place.

 

Common 2-D felting question:

When I am working on a picture, people will stop and watch me add small wisps of fibre, layering them to get to the depth of colour I want.  “Oh, I would never have the patience to do that!” OK, that technically isn’t a question, but that gives me the opportunity to talk about the various ways you can approach making a picture with needle felting that they could use.

Like a pastel: (usually a good approach with landscapes)

  • Working from the background towards the foreground.
  • It is easier to overlap images and create depth.
  • This usually makes the most sense for most images as an order of working.

Treating wool/fibre like a watercolour: (slow but impressive results)

  • Slowly layering tiny bits of fibre like washes in water colour painting. The transparency of the application allows the upper layer to be affected by the under layers. If you have lots of patience or just like to putter on a project, this may be your choice.

Like an acrylic (paint by number or colouring books): (much quicker than working like a water colour)

  • If you use a small window to isolate part of your reference image, you can match the colour you see in the little window, mix that colour, and then add it. Move to another spot and match and add that colour. You can think of this more like a paint-by-numbers kind of approach.
  • You can mix larger amounts of colours that occur in various parts of the image, which gives the image cohesion and it’s faster than mixing the same tone multiple times.
  • This is quicker than working like washes of watercolours.

Using a bit of each approach:

  • If you use the work order (like a pastel) from the background /mid-ground /foreground
  • Use colour matching to lay out the main parts of the picture, then
  • Use wisps of colour for blends and highlights in the blocks of colour.

displaying fox picture and working on sheep image. 3-D dragon with hand died silk wings in background more of table display, to right huge fish cat cave eating Struffed cat, table drape has name of guild and just out of from is web site and QR code for contact info5.1-5.2) 2018 Makers fair demo

 

I also get asked about “What fibres are you working with?”

This gives me the opportunity to talk about different properties of fibres. We can use lots of different kinds of fibre, sheep, alpaca, lama, Dog, Cat, Yak, silk, even plant and manmade fibre.  I can show on the fox picture that some of the cream coloured fibre is cat hair. That there is silk in some of the highlights, and the whiskers are horse hair, but I am looking for the outer guard hairs of a muskox, which I think will work better. Most of the rest is various breeds of wool.

  • Different types of sheep have different wool properties. (light reflection/ texture/crimp) fibre preparation; carded or combed, can also be used to affect your picture)
    • Merino absorbs light, so it works wonderfully for shadows
    • Bluefaced Leicester has a higher light reflection, so it works well for highlights
    • Shetland and Coriedale are what I tend to use for most of the image
  • We can also use fibres from other fur-bearing animals; dogs, cats, llama, alpaca, muskox, yak, bison, angora goat or rabbit, etc.

“Where do you get your fibres”? It is usually the next question.

  • Local yarn or fibre shops, online, and local farms.
  • Try to give a few options that are near to where you are demoing, if possible

2017 Ann demoing Blending board at the carp fair. explaining what happens with leftover bits of fiber she dosnt use up in projects. the blending board was poplular with adults and kids watching 6.1) 2017 Ann demoing the Blending board at the carp fair

If the demo is at a fair or large event, remember you may only get a few minutes of their time,  so give the brief version of an answer (I have trouble with this. I can be verbose, I know you are shocked to hear that!). If they don’t look like they need to leave, you can either go into more depth or ask them if they have more questions. If they look interested, but rushed (kids are trying to drag them away to the rides), try to have contact info for the local group that they can track down later. A business card is great to hand out, or a sign with the contact info that they can take a photo of and consult later is helpful too.

2019 Farm show demo, part of table display shows table drape with contact info and name of guild. also a strong selection of felting6.2) 2019 Farm show demo, part of the table display

2025 Dickonson day demo, Amanda getting help with her spinning this kid was facinated by the wheel. adults can also be captivated but are usualy more reserved about trying it out.6.3) 2025 Dickonson day demo, Amanda getting help with her spinning

 

Synopsis:

Smile, engage people by asking them questions, show them what you are doing, and have a contact for more information (it can be an online option if you don’t have a local guild/group). If you don’t know the answer, say so and suggest they contact the local group for more information.

The three important concepts for needle felting are

  • Rule 1) the sharp end of the needle goes in the wool, not your finger (following this rule saves on bandaids)
  • Rule 2) the needle goes into and out of the wool in the same vector (no changing direction as you poke), and
  • Rule 2.5) The direction you poke is the direction the wool will move.

I hope this gives those who have not tried demoing yet some encouragement. It’s lots of fun and you get to meet future fibre people! Have a wonderful long weekend, Monday!  The next long weekend will be Labour Day Monday,  September 1st, 2025! Have fun and keep felting!

I Need a Seat Cushion.

I Need a Seat Cushion.

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Last time, at the end of my post, I said my next project needs to be a seat cushion. I have a plastic roller chair for my studio. It is pretty comfortable as these chairs go. However, after spending a long time in it, taking pictures for the book resist workshop, I decided it needs some padding.

I thought about just felting a thick piece of felt, but I don’t think it is that easy to get really thick felt.   But what about 2 flat pieces? Then sew it together with some wool stuffed between. That would mean I have to find the one bobbin I have for my sewing machine ( after uncovering the machine). Then I thought, just do it over a resist. Then it’s twice as thick, and I can still stuff it with some wool. I would need to wash some wool for stuffing, but I could do that.

I think the resist is the best one. Have you made felt seat pads or cushions?

I can calculate shrinkage easily enough. I know it means I have to make a sample. I am always advising others to make samples; I guess I should listen to myself and not skip it.  I have some Swiss Mountain Sheep batts that should work well for a cushion.

I need to design a picture or motif for the top of the cushion, or maybe both sides. I don’t want a boring cushion. I am thinking that on one side, I could use the wet wool outline technique I learned from Ildie here on the blog/ I could probably do my farm logo. Here is one of Ildie’s posts https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2022/08/22/modern-art-wallhanging/. I did a mirror cover for my car in this style.

After shaving

My logo and farm name are not that exciting, so I will need to do something more interesting on the other side.

Maybe a mountain scene on the other side? But in real or bold colours, subtle or bold lines. I can’t make up my mind.

Maybe a bigger version of this Monet-inspired fish pond I did.

I have been working on the online Book Resist workshop. I have all the pictures taken and edited. I added them to the instructions, and now I need to fiddle with the layout.  I do have someone taking a look at it to find the glaring mistakes. After a while, it sort of all blurs together. In-person workshops are so much easier. I had planned the workshop as a 3-part workshop. Each part is self-contained, so I will do the first part as a workshop this fall and get the other two parts done for the spring, and then expand it.

Blue and green felt background with silk paper birch trees stitched to felt and machine stitched branches with dark grey thread.
New Landscapes

New Landscapes

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I started a couple of small landscapes this past week using pieces of nuno felt for the backgrounds but using the wool side instead of the silk side. I thought the “backs” were more reminiscent of forest than the silk side.

I already had some of the “birch” silk paper that I made several years ago so I used it for making trunks. Here’s my inital layouts for the two pieces. They are both about 5″ x 11″.

I then stitched the trunks down with 30 weight cotton machine thread in a very light grey. You might have noticed that I added a few more tree trunks to the right photo as it seemed a bit bare.

Blue and green felt background with silk paper birch trees stitched to felt and machine stitched branches with dark grey thread.

Then off to the machine to stitch the branches with free motion machine stitching. I only got one of the pieces machine stitched as I got tired with machine stitching. I am out of practice, I guess. Now what to do for the leaves? I could hand stitch, or use some type of applique.

It could be like ‘Thick with Green’ where I used cheesecloth for leaves.

Or perhaps more like ‘The First Leaf’ with green leaves instead of yellow. Or I could hand stitch the leaves? What do you think?

Thanks Carlene for providing me inspiration to create more birch trees!

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.