clutch – Felting and Fiber Studio

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

June 2, 2015 Marilyn aka Pandagirl Comments 18 comments

Lately, I’ve tried to step out of my comfort zone with color and fiber and try some new things.

While this first example doesn’t look like it’s outside of my usual color palette, I did use some silk for nuno on this clutch and some coarser fibers like Corriedale that I made for my daughter in law. The nuno is not as noticeable as I’d like, but I think it still adds a nice texture to it.

Revisiting pods, I decided to really jump out of my comfort zone and use bold primaries on a black background. (It is a bit like some of Pollack style pictures I did for last year’s challenge.)

Another project I’ve worked on was hand dyed silk I made a while back. I decided I didn’t want a long scarf so I cut the piece in half. I used very little wool wisps on one side. The joke was on me when I was finished felting. It could be a scarf for a doll! It had been a while since I did nuno and evidently forgot about the big shrinkage rate for silk gauze. I do like it though. I think I could wear it as a collar if not a scarf.

Most recently, I decided to play with some neutrals and coarser wools. Cathy (Luvswool) was nice enough to give me some of the Domestic 56 wool she had dyed in Arkansas with plants. I really liked the colors. I made a batt with cream and brown Corriedale and another with some of the hand dyed Domestic 56 for added color. I used a resist open at the top and bottom. The cream and brown became my inner layer.

I really liked the subtle colors against the neutrals. The coarser fibers also added to the texture for a natural open look.

Having progressed through these projects, I have a whole new outlook on textures and colors that I hope to incorporate into my future art.

What have you done outside your comfort zone lately?

Making a Gift for a New Grandma

March 14, 2015 Marilyn aka Pandagirl Comments 32 comments

As you may be aware my daughter in law Mari is due to have a baby girl any day. While we wait for the “phone call,” I decided to make her mother a small cosmetic case/clutch. This is her first grandchild and she has traveled from Japan to be with her daughter and my son for the big event.

I made a template allowing for a 30% shrinkage rate. I had planned to use some prefelt and merino, but I realized I was almost out of black merino. So, I substituted some black Corriedale for a middle layer. The bottom half of the resist was 9″ x 11″ (23 cm x 28 cm).

The inside layer was a turquoise merino.

The second layer was the Corriedale batt and the last layer was a black prefelt. Then I laid out the embellishments. As usual, I was so engrossed in the process I forgot to take pictures. The embellishments were 100% Peruvian thick and thin hand dyed wool yarn, a turquoise and metallic silver mohair yarn, silk hankies and green and turquoise throwsters waste. The template for the flap was not used as a resist, but as a pattern for the shape and size of the flap.

Once I was finished felting and fulling, I shaped the bottom and sides using an ice cream scoop. The shrinkage was less than I expected. But it was well fulled so I was satisfied. The finished size was 8″ x 7″ high (20 cm x 18 cm)