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Pandagirl’s Year in Review 2016

Pandagirl’s Year in Review 2016

I hope everyone had a nice holiday and are ready for the New Year.

It’s almost the end of 2016 and looking back on the things I’ve done, there seems to be a few themes.

I did a lot of natural dyeing.  Avocado skins, pits and the combo.

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Cochineal

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Alkanet/Logwood20160701_154915

logwood iron top wo bottom

Osagealkanet with iron

Madder

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Cutch, Rhubarb and Indigo

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Eco printing

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Resists

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Under the sea theme20160429_160634a_edited-1 20160526_155222

2nd Quarter challenge working with scraps – the former credit card case turned into an ear bud case.

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Then the cityscape with scraps.

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A scarflette with locks

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Ginkgo stitching

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Crochet piece felted and embellished with stitching

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Felting wit my grandsons

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Silk scraps into a free motion stitched vase

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3rd Quarter challenge adding dimension from Kristy Kun’s class

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Ruth’s Paper Lamination class

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Teri’s hat class

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Mini weaving wall hanging

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More work with scraps for a sewing machine case

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4th Quarter Challenge with embellishments for a coupon case.

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And blue booties for a shower

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Of course, there were also plenty of samples during the year including using the needle felting machine to felt some unfeltable fabrics.

A big thank you to Cathy Wycliff for her post on weaving and felting; my sister Carol Olson for sharing her new sheep with us;  Nada for sharing her workshop experience in Slovenia; Zara for her posts on Felting on a Trampoline and her Yak, Mongolian, Churro and Zwartables samples; Leonor for her soap tutorial and Terri Simon on sharing her projects from Kristy Kun’s class.

It was a great year for me in terms of learning new things and doing some recycling.  How was your 2016 year of fibers?

Happy New Year and Happy Felting in 2017!

 

 

 

Getting Ready for the Guild Exhibition and Sale.

Getting Ready for the Guild Exhibition and Sale.

I have a show coming up in November and I am not ready yet but I’m working on it. I made 2 hats.  Here I have added the embellishment yarn to one of them  and I am ready to flip it. I have covered the yarn in a very fine layer of wool.

gettin ready to flip

Here I have cut out the resist on the other hat and refolded it to roll the “seam” flat.

rolling the other way

Here it is after fulling so show you the shrinkage. It’s a little hard to see the top of the resist but if you look carefully its there

finnished fulling

And both ready to be rinsed. While they are still wet I will put folds in the long pointy part and sew them tight so they will dry properly. They are soaking in their rinse water at the moment.

2 hats ready to rince

I started a pill box hat

Top of a pillbox hat pill box sides

I am teaching a slipper class on the week end but I can’t find my samples so I am making a pair of booty slippers for my grandson, so I can show the class.

Fynns slippers

I think I will do a sample pair for myself using the ear pattern that Nada showed us http://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2014/03/03/felted-slipper-tutorial-using-ear-shaped-resist-by-nada-v/

Have you tried any new patterns lately?

 

One Artist’s Journey into Fiber

One Artist’s Journey into Fiber

Our guest artist today is Jill Chadek with Merino and Mulberry in Two Rivers, Wisconsin.  She is also our banner sponsor for May on the Felt and Fiber Studio Forum.

To touch something soft and silky awakens our earliest emotions!
The pleasure of the touch of silk started my exploration of silk painting. A few
years later I was introduced to felting, that magical process of transforming
dampened clumps of wool fibers into cloth! Then, when I discovered that I
could incorporate the two, working the fibers to lock into the silk I was hooked!

12 Sunrise on the Reef20120613_611112 Sunrise on the Reef20120912_6769

Through time, that magical process of felting has inspired and allowed me to
express my passion for color, pattern and texture. Felting, allows me to “paint”
with fibers to create personal accessories such as scarves, shawls, vest, hats
and handbags.

20 Laguna20120804_6493 38 Chimeralure20141112_0973

Prior to felting I had dabbled in many mediums but none have held my
attention and interest like felting has. I love working with my hands, the tactile
experience of painting with the fine and silky fibers. It still makes me catch my
breath when I wet the fibers down and the wool gets all loose feeling. I have to
remind myself that soon the fibers will start to migrate and tangle and the
magic of creating a fabric will happen right in my hands!

G6 Cloud Dreams20121020_6941If you are new to felting, have patience and have fun! It will be frustrating at
times! There are as many different ways to create felt as there are felters, and
you will find that everyone swears their way is best! So many variables are at
play: the type of fibers, water hardness and temperature, soap, pressure,
thickness, and added embellishments, just to name a few. No wonder no simple
equation will work! It is only through exploration and experience that you will
learn the “feel” of the fibers at the different stages. So have fun and play!

H7 Josie20130904_7157 H4 Ginger20130904_7131

Though I consciously have a design in mind when I start a project, my
unconscious, and the fibers influence my hands and the final outcome, which is
usually fabulous!

H32 Clea20141112_0861 H3 Daphne20130904_7115

I enjoy that even after all of my years as a felting artist there is still something
new to learn and to explore. Right now I am loving creating hats! I do not use
any hat forms but instead let each hat tell me what shape it would like to be. I
love that while making a fashion statement they are also keeping it’s wearer
cozy warm! I am truly grateful for the joy that I experience in the creation of
each item and trust that wonderful emotions are also awakened in the wearer.
Please feel free to browse my website www.merinoandmulberry.com. It is my hope
that my creations will inspire you to stretch and grow as a felting artist. Also on
my website you can view a video of me using the E-Z Roller Felting Machine of
which I am the international representative. This machine has allowed me to
continue felting when I was experiencing terrible vertigo and more recently
when I had shoulder and neck problems. It removes the 1 negative of felting –
the physical chore of rolling your project, therefore allowing you to focus on the
fun, creative aspect of this beautiful medium. If you would like to learn more,
just contact me!

Thanks for sharing your artist journey with us Jill!

Bubble Hat

Bubble Hat

Last time I showed you a bubble hat I was making http://wp.me/p1WEqk-2za after it was felted it looked like this

purple before bubbles

and the inside like this

purple before bubbles inside

Next I added the bubbles using felt balls for the ones that stay in and marbles for the one I will cut.

IMG_1981bubbles inside

Then I cut the bubbles and you can leave them but I stretched them to so more of the colour inside the bubbles.

bubbles closebubles finished 2

I didn’t get a picture of it finished . I thought I had but it was one when 2 hats had the bubbles but where not cut. It will give you an idea.

hats with bubbles

If I can I will take a picture of them at the show today and edit it in. They may already be sold, I can’t remember.  I know I sold some of the bubble hats.

I did just manage to get a picture of the hat. is sold about 1/2 hour later.

finnished hat 2 finnished hat

 

Teaching a hat Class.

Teaching a hat Class.

Yesterday I had a great time at Alpaca Tracks. We did use wool instead of alpaca only because it felts faster so works better for a class. Now they are all ready to make hats from there lovely alpaca’s fibre.

As you can see I am not the only one taking pictures with my phone.

alpaca tracks decoratingEmbellishing

alpaca tracks rubbingRubbing and rollingalpaca tracks rolling

alpaca tracks not quite thereThis one is coming along but is not quite there yet.

The best part of this day was this hat. Not be cause it is an unusual or far out but because it was a reluctant hat. The lady was not sure she wanted to make a hat, she not a hat person, maybe she would sell it.

alpaca tracks reluctant hat

But at the end of the day she loved her hat and was going to keep it for herself.

alpaca tracks happy hat

These two hats turned out great, very mysterious.

alpaca tracks mystereus hat alpaca tracks second mistery

 

I didn’t get any other hat pictures. wit was a very staggered ending and there where 3 pill box styles that will have to be sewn together after they are dry.

All in all a great day. I think everyone had a good time and was happy with there hats.   And we had crepes for lunch.alpaca tracks crepes

 

Working on some Hats

Working on some Hats

I have been working on some hats. this week. A couple of weeks ago I sold my last Viking hat so needed to make some more. Theses are the 2 bases for the hats. They will have horns felted onto them.

viking hats start

I do not know what colour to do the horns on the blue one. Last time I did yellow but I do not have any yellow wool right now. What colour would you use?

I also finished the felting on 2 more pill box type hats.

hat sides hat tops

The purple hat has green blue faced leicester curls.   The pink one has silk throwers waist. I will sew them together this weekend.  I need to make scarves but what i really ant to do is more fingerless mitts. I am having fun with them.

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