Dragonfly – Felting and Fiber Studio

2020 Jewelry Challenge

February 20, 2020 Jan Comments 9 comments

Hello Fellow felters. Today I want to tell you about how the first challenge of 2020 is going.

Do you remember Ann’s resist? (https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2020/02/10/a-zen-sculpture-and-some-cuteness/) The one my enfeebled brain kept telling me had to fold together somehow into a book resist? The one that was not a book resist and had me stumped? Ok, I had a serious blind spot in figuring that one out! So I now have one that stumped her!

I am sure you remember we are making Jewelry! (And you are getting to know me, with my strange sense of humour and odd ideas so it might not be quite what you would expect of modern Jewelry) Enough hints! On with the embellishing item!!!

Step 1: Inspiration.

It can come from anywhere. So it did. And I will show you that at the end. I have the shape and am now working on the ideas for the mounting.

Step 2: On to Armature!

That 20 gauge black floral wire I picked up at Walmart has been handy. It was 18 inches long when I started with 2 pieces bending them double creating a loop at one end and a bifurcation at the other. Do you have any idea what I am up to yet? I have a few shots so you can see the size of the piece. I did trim a bit off. So part one to the bend is 3 and 1/8 inch, part 2 to the next bend is ½ an inch, part 3 to the beginning of the loop at the other end is ¼ inch and the loop is about ¼ inch. (clear as mud!)

1-6

Yesterday, which was Monday as I am typing this, was the first day I have ventured out of the house in over 2 weeks. I was hoping February would make up for January’s unhealthy-ness but alas I was gifted this impressive “Cold” that is likely a flue but not the one out of china so its all OK! Anyways yesterday was Monday so if I can crawl out of bed and get to the car I will be in at the Guild studio working on the library. After a few try’s I got myself, the external drive with the library databases on it, a basket of fibre and a box with a few more felting supplies off to the guild. When I get to the guild studio I usually post on face book I’m there so anyone who wants to come use the library can join me. I also let them know what the temperature is so they can bring sweaters or tank tops depending on the conditions. (It was 26c and felt wonderful). Unfortunately, it looked like someone had had a party in the lobby and smashed a bottle, a lot of the contents and some of the broken bottle leaked under our door into the studio. I got some of the loose glass picked up but the rest was well stuck in the spill. Oh, no. there will be a clean-up crew in today to fix that. So on to more important stuff. (My life is never boring, there is no time to have boring! Even lying in bed for 2 weeks watching the 11am 1pm and 2:30pm crows was not boring! Although it would be nice to have more crows.)

I spent about 3 hours chasing down books that hadn’t been checked in and updating the data base. I usually am not that slow, but I have been under the weather lately so I have an excuse. Since I did not want to start another library job, I was still moving slowly, I switched to felting.

Step 3: add Wool!!

I wrapped the wire in white wool and the loop end in a bit of off white. I added 2 eyes in a bit of greenish dryer lint looking wool. It was as dry as dryer lint and I would have gotten my mask on if I had been working with much more of it. (I do not need wool lung on top of the wheezing I already have from that flue)

8 At this point Ann is stumped!

9-10

I was sure the bifurcated butt would give it away but I seem to have them flummoxed still!

11-12

Add more body to the body. The fibre I am using is from a small bag of locks from “Adele’s locks of love”. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Shopping—Retail/Adeles-Locks-of-Love-196725851258486/ ) 11oz of Wenslydale cross lamb. I took a hairbrush to a few locks to open them up a bit then needle felted then into the body working head to tail. I had the needle at an angle getting close to parallel to the body and tacking the fibre in a bit at a time.

Then I started to add important appendages, that is when Ann caught on to what I was making but was skeptical that it was jewelry!

I switched back to the Dollarama un-sized wire for the front edges of the wings. You can see sheep from the hospital coming along in the background, (the 3 white fluffy bits are the sheep ears, yes I have an extra ear for that sheep)

I slid the wires through the “shoulders” close to the surface then added a bit more of the fluffed locks to secure them. Using the mini round nose pliers I added a little loop at the end of each wing tip. This allows an attachment point to help solidify the front edge of the wing. I affixed the other end to the body.

I worked the front two wings with the second set bent out of the way. Felt is very accommodating when you have an armature.

Here she/he is propped up on the needles. That did not last long since he/she was off around the room to visit with Bernadette and others at the social.

16-19

By this point, 6pm, I was wiped and their pizza order had arrived (with creamy garlic dipping sauce) so I made a hasty retreat to the pizza place across from the guild and brought a much less deadly pizza home for dinner, Double mushroom with pineapples!

So now, I have the first part of my jewelry done and it’s on to legs and embellishing, then making the base!

Here is the inspiration from 1900ad., River Edge in spring, dress with dragonfly. Now I will need a bit of art deco inspiration for a collar since I do not think I want to make the whole dress at the moment. Maybe after a few more legs and some embellishment a pin may suffice let’s see where this takes me next.