Colouriscious on Youtube

Stumbled on this mine of fab textile technique videos here - Ceri will be interested to see a number of Kim Thittichai demos included :-)

Felt til you drop continued...

The next stage was to make a base layer for the moggy pic . I felted silk gauze over merino tops so that I could use a sort of reverse applique technique for the text I wanted to add, by cutting away selected areas of the silk to reveal the colour of the felt below. A problem with this is it leaves fairly unattractive edges - I like raw edges on the whole, but this wasn't really working for this piece.

 So after a bit of head scratching I decided to simply cut and hem, and needle felt along the edge. The text, if you can't make it out, reads F.catus spectabilis (the plant's latin name is dicentra spectabilis, and F.catus is domestic cat). The title is 'Full Sun or Partial Shade' which refers to the preferred positioning of both the plant and our moggy.

And here is the finished piece - or nearly finished anyway. It's just hanging on a dowel at the mo, but I may stitch it to a canvas mount so it hangs flat. I had originally intended to add further definition & embellishment with some machine and hand embroidery, but had second thoughts as I basically ran out of time, but also was nervous of spoiling it after all my hard work! Also at the mo I think it bears quite a good resemblance to our much loved moggy, Pushkin, which would be undermined if I add more detail and don't quite get it right. I may yet go back to this later when I am feeling brave.............

Simple but effective press prints using waste polystyrene!

This is a really simple and effective way of producing print blocks using waste polystyrene. So start saving your takeaway cartons and recycle them to create simple press prints.

This one was a 'quick fix' to add detail to my plain sketchbook pages, linked to my theme of 'tulips'.

I cut a square piece of polystyrene and using the end of a fine artist paintbrush drew a simple leaf shape into the polystyrene, creating a print block.  I then glued it to a piece of waste card left over from framing photos, to strengthen the polystyrene and prevent it from breaking. I used a diluted gold acrylic paint to add detail to the pages of my sketchbook.

The test piece below used in my scrapbook, gives an idea of how it could look on fabric, or on card or paper to create your own greetings cards.

Did you know that if you use Ormoline Fabric Medium mixed with acrylic, you get a permanent washable printed fabric?

This would be a great way to add effective prints onto plain clothing or fabric.  I'm going to try it. 

I'll might even be a little more creative and add some free machine stitching  or a little hand embroidery to the fabric to create a piece of textile art.  Watch this space!

Felt til you drop!

Well, have finally started the final piece which I've named 'Full sun or partial shade'. It's intended to be a wall hanging as a dedication/celebration of my much loved 18 year old cat Pushkin who, as some of you will be aware, we had to have put to sleep a few months ago. He loved sleeping in the flower beds or bushes, and liked to toast himself for a while in the sun before retreating for a bit of shade to cool off.

This is one layer of my felt hanging. It's going to be mounted onto another piece of felt and then I'll be needle felting on some leaves to embellish it.

 Here's a before shot - got the fibres laid out ready to felt - then fingers crossed it survives the felting process!!

And here is is after the wet felt - not looking too bad I think. Once it's dry I will tidy it up and add some detail with needle felting, and then embellish further with some embroidery.

So......... it's a start anyway :)

Ario are closing down!

Hi Girls

Did you know that Ario are closing down.  They currently have a sale on, selling of all their stock. Sad news : (     It was good to have a local stockist with such a wide range of resources.

Angie Envy!

Well, a few of us were just a little green with envy when Angie pulled out her latest project in class yesterday!

The shaping on the 'collar' is really stylish

the couched on machine cords  and beads provide additional surface interest

 I think Angie was making the flowers for this on her way round her recent trek across Europe - now that's commitment!

It's a well crafted piece with lots of lovely details - even some stamens in the flowers. And if you are fancying it - too late! Angie's daughter has already put in a claim for it - though maybe Angie could be persuaded to take on commissions????

Slow progress and procrastination!

 Well, we have a very short term and little time for getting our projects done. I need to be forging on with my felt hanging but am finding it hard, as is usually my way, to get started. So I've been doing some of the 'homework' instead and looking at the work of Scottish felt artist Moy Mackay, and I've done a few pages for my sketchbook about her and featuring some of her work.

I also bought her book Art in Felt & Stitch which is really informative from a techniques perspective, but is also worth getting just for the generous number of glossy pictures of her artworks that it includes. I love her use of colour, and also the level of detail she achieves with her felted 'paintings'. I'm going to try a few samples of these techniques for my cat and bleeding heart plant theme - but I'm not anticipating it'll come out looking anywhere near as good as any of Moy's gorgeous pieces!

So first thing is to come up with a colour scheme, and then I really need to stop procrastinating, do some sampling and come up with a final design - and all by Thursday!!!!

How are you guys getting on - you are so very quiet!

Brenda's Project

A recent project of Brenda's was this gorgeous felted and embellished wall hanging. We took these photos in class to help her decide which background fabric she was going to use.

It was a tough decision! - I love the orange speckled fabric which looks to me like the skin of a sea creature like an octopus or something. Which one did you go for in the end Brenda? Unfortunately these quick phone pics don't do the felt justice - you added quite a bit of stitch and bead embellishment didn't you? It would be lovely to have a picture of the finished item too :)

Butterflies continued...

Well here's the finished butterfly tag/bookmark. Despite being only small it was a little time consuming - although I'm sure it's would be quicker to make duplicates now I've made the first. 

Close up of stitching

 But knowing my 'production rate', I thought it would be a good idea to capitalise on this one by scanning it and printing for use on greetings cards, gift tags and the like which would be quicker to make and maximise the proceeds for the Breast Care Unit.

                                                           

                                                        What do you think?

Cats & Butterflies

It's been a looooong time since I last posted - and that's because I have been so busy with other things - not least of all welcoming 2 new additions to the Jones household - meet Charlie Guard & Millie the Minx! After losing our beloved & aged moggy, Pushkin, at the beginning of March we just couldn't bear being without beasts any longer - a catless house does not a home make. So we adopted this brother & sister team from  Bridgend Cats Protection Adoption Centre  - they arrived last Sunday and we are doing as we are told!!! Cats Protection do a great job caring for and re-homing moggies & kittens - unfortunately the current economic climate has seen an increase in abandonment and a 50% reduction in adoption rates - so if you are able to offer one or two (I recommend getting a couple - it's so entertaining watching them interact with each other!) a home, then you can find your local Cats Protection branch here. And if you can't house any, donations are always welcome and much needed.



 

 

Had a lovely day here in the 'Craft Roost' with my good friend Jane. We spent the day trying out some prototypes for butterfly themed tags/bookmarks which can then be made to sell in support for Singleton Hospital Breast Care unit. Here's the one I'm putting together shown next to the original paper collage 'draft' version.

It's great fun working on such a small scale. I've printed/coloured the fabrics myself and used a bit of painted bondaweb (there's a change!!) for the butterfly shapes. Just need to finish it now with a backing, satin stitch edge and a tassel - and I'll post a pic of the finished item soon.

Some of you may recognise the turquoise and orange hand dyed fabric from another project - great to be able to find a use for left-over scraps.This pelmet is actually finished - I'll post a pic of it when I get a mo!