A felting makeover

A couple of months ago I started this felted picture with the idea I wanted to create a forsythia bush. I got started and then got busy doing other things. Yesterday I got it out and I was no longer inspired by it. So I did some research on landscapes in my books and other tutorials and got out my wools....Not the best day yesterday to work with wool! It was hot and sticky and I felt I was wet felting it as I went instead of just needle felting. Had to take several breaks just to let my hands dry out! LOL....

                                                         This is what it was before:



                   This is what it was by 9pm last night. I think I am happy with it :-)

 

That's the beauty of working with wool. If you don't like it, just pull it off before you felt it real good and change what you don't like. This still needs some more felting but I like how it looks now.

 

Happy Creating!

Anita

Fishy...Fishy...fishy....

I have been playing around with needlefelting again. In this picture I used a piece of my hand-made felt that I dyed. I needlefelted some yarn onto it. I also bonded some angelina fibers together with the iron and then needlefelted them on to my underwater scene. For fun I like to use metalic threads and the fancy stitches on my sewing machine. The result is a  new piece of art! Some days it is fun just to play and say..."What if?...

Machine needlefelting

To make needlefelting easier for large pieces I use my embellisher form Babylock. I have one with 12 needles. I can adjust how many needles I want to use at a time. To do the large pieces that I a working on for my vests I use all 12 needles. It is so fast! I am amazed at how quickly I can lay down fiber on a piece of stabilizer. The stabilizer I am using is Vileen. It is washable in either cold or warm water depending on what you are using the fabric for. In the case of my vest pieces I rinsed them with a little bit of dawn dish soap and warm water. The stabilizer came right out and it does not leave a sticky residue. The pieces I did last weekend are now ready for construction.

I had to break my second rule and purchase some outside materials. In all of my stash I did not have any lining fabric for the vest. I could have used some silk, but also I did not have a color I could make work. So I did purchase some lining and fusible interfacing. I will have enough now to complete another garment.

Next step, cut out the pieces and see how it all sews together!

Happy Creating!

A Great Time at TNNA!

WOW! What a great time I had in Columbus at the TNNA yarn & needleart market. There is always so much to see and nice people to connect with. This year I taught two classes...I was so excited. I did a flat needlefelting class in which the students made gift card holders.   The second class was sculpting with fiber. We made a Jack-o-lantern. They seemed to really enjoy the projects. I am already thinking to what I want to teach next year!

Of course what would be a yarn market without lots of yarn to look at. The trends this year seem to be migrating back to novelty yarns. Bling is also back but in subtle ways. The fashion show was amazing! Fitted garments are still the trend. The evening gown was stunning.

I took some classes too. One on dyeing....look for a workshop on this before summer is over. I talked extensively with Schacht Spindle, the company I bought the Cricket Looms from. There will be workshops offerred for this as well...coming soon.

We are going to be closed for a much needed vacation July 4-7th. We will reopen on July 11th as usual....Happy Fourth of July!

New Things From TNNA

I had such a good time at TNNA in Columbus, OH. There was so much to see and so many different kinds and colors of yarns!!! I took some really great classes and met some awesome people. Deciding what not to buy was the big question. I had my list and started down each aisle. I did pretty good until I hit aisle three. My list suddenly got longer as I took in all there was to see. By the end of the first day I was exhausted and my mind was on overload! When I got back to my room I laid everything out on my bed and sorted what I had done and what I still wanted to do the next day. I am happy to say that I did not go overboard but there will be plenty of new yarn and rovings to look at over the next few months. I am looking at stocking looms and spinning wheels in the fall. If you have an opinion on this I would love to hear it. It has been awhile since I designed a new Baltimore Album in wool so have been working on that. There will be some in wool applique and I am trying some in needlefelting to see how that will look. I am excited and have only just a short time to get so much done before returning to my teaching responsibilities in at the end of August!

Felted eggs

Well we can finally feel spring in the air. It is so nice to see the flowers out and the grass is greening up nicely. With the change of seasons comes new inspirations. For the easter and spring season I have been needlefelting eggs. A simple technique of using the felting needle to punch fiber into styrofoam eggs. They can be as simple or fancy as you want. I did some classes recently and it never ceases to amaze me at the creativity of students in the class!!! Check them out.

Now I working on a line of hand-dyed, hand-spun yarn. I have learned alot in the process, mostly how long it takes to have a mill spin the yarn for you. So I decided for this first batch I am going to be spinning it myself. I will be posting pictures as we go along.

Happy Creating!

Anita