Flour Paste Resist Tutorial

Flour Paste Resist Tutorial

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

Can you see the black stuff peeling off in pieces?

Here’s what it looks like.

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

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

Here’s another look.

I get carried away.

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

Is this compost or dye material? Actually it’s both! (Part 1)

Is this compost or dye material? Actually it’s both! (Part 1)

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This particular post has been inspired by some of our regular readers so here’s a quick advance thank you. I really love it when comments lead to further exploration and sharing!

Just a few cautionary words before I go on. I dip in and out of dyeing, definitely a hobbyist and I purely play so my dyeing exploits are experimental. There are lots of great sites out there if you really want to dig deep or if, like me you sometimes just love to watch someone’s process on social media you could check out @thedogwooddyer or @sashaduerr or @joanne_green_art on Instagram. Joanne has recently published a book which I would love to get hold of – it’s all about pigments. I have Sasha Duerr’s book; Natural Palettes and although it focuses on plants grown around California, there’s plenty of botanical commonality going on. It can be hard to believe that it’s Ireland I am talking about – and yes we do have some specimen Californian Redwoods here!

Second cautionary note: please exercise caution when dyeing and keep all of your dyeing equipment separate to your cooking equipment. It’s very important. Also, just because something is natural doesn’t automatically mean it is safe to handle without gloves or a mask. We recently had to burn wood in our pit. I extracted the charcoal and made some lye as an experiment. The pH is such that if it lands on skin it will feel like soap, lovely and soft, but what is happening is that it is dissolving the outer layer of skin! But please don’t be deterred by this. Just exercise caution and common sense and all will be grand!

When I started looking around for something to play with for this blog post I found some fallen branches from one of our cedar trees. I stripped the bark and left it to soak with the intention of throwing some fibres straight into the mix as the high level of tannins in the dye lot would mean that I did not have to heat the mix for it to work. After about a week soaking the mix I made the mistake of stirring it without gloves on. The resin in the mix started irritating my skin (yes, I learned a lesson that day). So it was back to the drawing board to find something safer to extract the dye from. (I haven’t yet learned how to extract the resin from the mix!)

This time I decided to opt for something most of us have at our disposal – compost! Onion skins to be more precise. I have been collecting these for quite some time (we are talking months here – I have been storing them in a cotton bag and they kept perfectly!). I had approximately 110g of skins which I just threw in a huge stock pot (used only for dyeing). I filled it three quarters way with water – not particularly scientific, probably around 6 litres, and put it on a low heat for about 4 hours. During this time I should have checked it (oops, I forgot!) but it was fine. It came to a rolling simmer. By this time it was bed time so I just turned it off and left it overnight to cool and then drained off the skins. There still appears to be colour left in the skins so I popped them into a nylon bag and left them to dry on the washing line – I will try to extract more dye another day.

The colour was a lovely rich colour – like a golden red. So I decided to extract the pigment from 1 litre of the liquid and use the rest for sample dyeing. I will hold on to the dyeing section for my next post as otherwise this will get a little too long and boring for you to read.

 

  • 110g of onion skins ready for dye extraction
  • Overview Yummy colour.
  • Yummy colour against the light
  • Discarded onion skins. I dried these and I will dye with them again before composting them

Let’s start with the pigment making. We are talking natural dyeing here. Extracting the pigment from the dye liquid involves introducing a few ingredients which bind the molecules to themselves and cause them to separate from the liquid. First I am using an acid (alum) (which can also be used as a mordant on fabric and fibre to prepare the surface for dyeing). Then I add an alkaline solution (soda crystals). The two chemicals react and the pigment separates and sinks to the bottom. This can fizz up so make sure there’s plenty of room in the container.  (Remember those great lava making experiments done back in the to encourage kids into science? You get my drift). The liquid is drained off then the remaining pigment is left to drain in a coffee filter. Once drained, the colour can be filtered in distilled water, dried, ground et voila! Pigment.

So, what do you need for this. As we are playing we will work in small quantities:

  • 1 litre of dye liquid (filtered to remove all the plant material)
  • Alum (potassium aluminium sulphate) You will have to check where you can source this as it differs depending on location. Like me, you may need to buy online.
  • Soda crystals (I also use these to clean my washing machine so I can buy them in homeware shops)
  • pot and cooker to heat the liquid
  • 2 Litre jug that can withstand hot liquid.
  • Glass jars (if you are patient, you will fit everything in 1 jar
  • Funnel
  • Coffee filter
  • Spoons (measuring and stirring)
  • weighing scales
  • pestle and mortar
  • boiling water
  • distilled water
  1. Heat the dye liquid but don’t let it boil
  2. Add the alum to a container then add boiling water and stir to dissolve the crystals. This may take a little while so be patient and make sure they are thoroughly dissolved. Quantities? My research has shown that this very much depends on the plant material, but a good starting point is 10% alum to liquid. I used 10 grams here.
  3. Carefully (don’t burn yourself!) pour the dye liquid into the large jug. I tend to do this at the sink. Then add the alum liquid and stir well.
  4. Now dissolve the soda crystals in boiling water. I used 5g here. Once dissolved add this to the big jug and stir. You may notice a fizzing chemical reaction.
  5. Leave the solution to cool and separate. The pigments will sink to the bottom of the jug. The liquid on top should be clear. If it is not, it means that there is some pigment left in it and you could choose to play further with this liquid, once it is drained off. (In other words, repeat the steps outlined above).
  6. Carefully pour off as much of the liquid as you can, without disturbing the pigment.
  7. Set up your glass jar: place the funnel into it and then add the coffee filter to the funnel. Make sure that the funnel is not hitting the bottom of the jar – we want the drained liquid to escape through the bottom
  8. Next slowly pour the wet pigment into the coffee filter. I find if I hurry at this, the filter can disintegrate so I let the filter soak up some of the damp as I am pouring.
  9. Leave this overnight so that the water has mostly drained off and the pigment remains.
  10. Now if you are planning to store your pigment, it is recommended that it is washed at least twice with distilled water and filtered through fresh coffee filters. This is to remove any unwanted mineral salts from the pigment. I am only playing so I did not bother with this step. I know that if this whets your appetite to find out more, you will remember this step.
  11. The next step can be done either when the pigment is completely dry or getting there, scrape it into a mortar (bowl). Once completely dry start grinding using the pestle but be sure to wear a mask for this part as the dust is quite fine.
  12. I store my pigments in tiny glass jars (yes, you guessed 1 litre doesn’t produce a lot but it makes up for it in satisfaction!).  Make sure to label and date.
  13. These can be mixed with a binding agent (note: they are insoluble in water). Here is a good article if you would like to find out more about different binding agents https://inbedwithmonalisa.com/i-pigments-a-little-bit-about-binders-and-making-your-paint/

I have put together a slide show on the process I used.

  • Materials for making pigment
  • Heating up the liquid dye
  • Dissolving the alum – be patient, it takes time
  • Alum and soda crystals are getting to work
  • The pigment has sunk to the bottom of the jug
  • I do like this colour!
  • A bit blurred but here we can see the settled pigment
  • Here’s a photo of the filtration system
  • Slowly pouring the pigment into the coffee filter
  • The filter has soaked up some of the liquid
  • Here you can see the clear liquid draining off the pigment
  • Pigment is still draining
  • Checking on the pigment as it dries
  • Opening the coffee filters before scaping them clean
  • Scraping the pigment into the bowl. This will be left to dry
  • It takes time to grind down the pigment particles, patience is needed.
  • The yield is quite small but it’s still rewarding

This is the basic process. Colours can be altered before making the pigment by introducing an acid or an alkali and if this is of interest to you, it will be worth doing a bit of research.

I have, in a way, put the cart before the horse here, as I am showing you the process of making the pigment before running through the fabulous colours I achieved with this in dye form. But a promise is a promise and I wanted to deliver so I hope on this occasion you can forgive me. The general ‘rule’ that I have found is to use 10% of the volume of the dye as the binder. So for every 1 litre of dye liquid use 10 grams of alum. Then use 5 grams of soda crystals (or similar) and let the substance perform its magic. This is a good starting point. But like all rules a bit of flexibility can be needed so these figures can change and this is where experience comes into play (knowing what adjustment is needed for different plants). Most importantly, your curiousity and willingness to play comes to the fore here. Just give it a go and have lots of fun.

Helene

A little post script before this blog is published:

Since my adventures with onion skins, I decided to experiment with the yellow Chrysanthemums flowers from a lovely bouquet that had seen better days and was destined for the compost heap. I used the same ratio of alum and soda crystals only this time I didn’t hold back some of the dye material for fabrib experimentation and I made up pigment with the full dye bath. Here is the result:

Chrysanths pigment made from the yelow flower head

I may have mentioned this last year, but we have a farmer who grows a number of acres of sunflowers every summer. It’s done for charity and it is open to the public to come along, pick the sunflowers and make a donation to the Hospice Foundation. There’s an honesty box on site. It is a form of Meitheal – part of Irish culture where people help others out. By the time I arrived last week, a lot of the sunflowers had ‘gone over’. That said, after a lot of searching I found some that had yet to open and I was very pleased. So I picked and made my donation. Once home I started cutting off the lower leaves and I cut some of the stems so that they would look better in the vase. Rather than discard the waste I decided to run a little experiment. I slowly brought them to the boil. The smell was not particularly nice so I let everything cool down outside. I found I had a lot of liquid (and plenty of dark green dye), so I reduced down the liquid by heating it up again. (I did this out doors this time!). Then I made my pigment. It’s hard to see from the photos but it is a lovely dark green. I worked with a little over 2 litres of liquid. As you can see, it doesn’t produce a lot of pigment but it is very concentrated:

Sunflower leaf and stem pigment

I have decided to treat myself to Joanne Green’s new book Natural Watercolor Paint Making. I have followed her for a long time on Instagram and love her short videos on how she makes pigment. She had followed this up with a book about the process and I could not be happier. I heard from the book store that it is on its way to me so I’m quite excited about that. Please let me know if you would like me to review it in my next post.

hugs

Helene

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

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.