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Giveaway! 3 copies of our latest feltmaking PDF

Handmade Felt & Stitch Bowls

Hello! We're giving away 3 copies of our new PDF 'Handmade Felt & Stitch Bowls'.  

To enter the draw please leave a comment by 10th June 2014.  (All comments are moderated so they do not appear immediately.)

No previous knowledge of making felt or free motion machine stitching is required to make any of the bowls - this PDF is suitable for beginners and established felt makers alike - there are clear step by step instructions and plenty of photographs.

Some bowls are made by cutting and stitching handmade felt and some are formed by just stitching into the felt.  

The bowls vary in complexity and design and we hope that the book will inspire you towards your own designs.  But if you want to make our designs exactly, with the purpose of selling the bowls, then you are welcome to do so.

Find out more about 'Felt and Stitch Bowls'

Good luck in the draw :)  Of course if you buy a copy then win, we'll happily refund you!

Sunny grass, a sheepy mug, a lovely card and the death of a star

Annie

Hand Printed Greeting Card by Gillian Smeulders

I saw this at the Brockenhurst Needlework Fiesta recently, and just had to have it for my sewing room wall!

According to Wiki - A delusion is a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary....just about sums me up every Monday when I am convinced that *this week!* will be the week that is a long, uninterupted week of blissful productivity and I'll sail through my To Do list.....then schzooooooom! it's Friday again all of a sudden!

Wondering whether to lock all my lists and scribblings away for a bit and try this instead! Sounds pretty good.  Wonder what would happen?

 

This week I did manage to steal mum's inspirational photo (thanks mum!) of a lovely grassy patch in Cornwall from her last blog post and have a go at making the simplest picture of it. Just limey yellowy green and some blue with a bit of running stitch.

I think it worked out OK.  Just got to decide whether to make a greeting card or try to mount it as a little picture.  I did try my hand at a bit of wood work this week to make a small frame but given that I didn't prepare properly and was hacking away at some scrap wood with a blunt saw balanced on the edge of the beer fridge in the garage, it won't come as a shock that it hit the bin at quite a speed!  Will try again later, maybe I'll borrow dad and see what he can do!

The picture above wasn't the first attempt.  I had started out making what was supposed to be a plain piece of limey green felt (I wanted it to be a simple piece) and ended up with this:

Nothing at all like what I meant to do!  It will go in the pile for embroidering / cutting up / recycling in some way.  It was fun to make, but I am soooo easily distracted by all the lovely colours and fluffy bits that I find it hard to stick to plain and simple.  Must practice that!

Before I go I must show you this beautiful mug my lovely mum and dad got me for my birthday recently, it's by Aileen Clarke and I absolutely love it!

Trouble is that it is way too gorgeous to use.  I mean look how cute it is!

Lyn 

Death of a Star

Hello! Thought I'd tell you about The Felting and Fiber Studio's challenge for this quarter.  It's to make something inspired by the work of the artist Stewart Stephenson.  

His painting entitled 'Time Warp'...

Time Warp by Stewart Stephenson

was the inspiration for my felt picture 'Death of a Star', made from merino wool tops and embellished with scraps of sari silk, nepps and mohair yarn ( 45cm/18" square).  

It was easy and fun to do and could be made in so many different colourways and sizes. It would work well at any size from greeting card to super large scale.  I could imagine a really big version with my whole box of "sparklies and fluffies" poured on!
 

 

 

Happy Spring Flowers! Handmade felt and paper and stitch...

Little felty springy flowers!

Annie

I love making handmade felt pictures, sometimes leaving them just as they are, made purely from wool fibres, and sometimes giving the felt some extra texture or colour by sewing into it or adding applique or paint.  And quite often I like chopping it up!

I've recently been combining handmade felt with different backgrounds (calico, canvas, paper) to give it a different dimension, and a firmer body for mounting or hanging, or just sending as a greeting card.

Here's some little pictures I made this week:

I bought a packet of small sheets (A6) rag paper at the Knitting and Stitching show last year to have a play with, that have been sat in a pile of "stuff" ever since.  I've been wanting to get my watercolours out again (not that I was ever any good, or even painted much, but when I did do it I really enjoyed it!).  So anyway I saw them sat there the other day and instead of getting the watercolours out I started randomly tearing holes in them to make apertures for felt.  It didn't quite turn out how I envisaged in my minds eye but it got me thinking.  

 

Then I shoved some of my handmade felt balls in the holes and added stems with a marker pen.  I really liked how they "popped" from the paper.

Then I couldn't resist and turned to my default method of covering things with machine stitching!

And all flowers again.  They spring easily from my imagination, no research required :)  Does that make me lazy?!

I also had a quick go at stitching some flowers in black thread to which I added a piece of yellow handmade felt.  Then it looked top heavy so I added in some colours with acrylic paints. The detail was too small to add more felt with the machine cos it would have been too perforated after two goes over. 

I liked the acrylic paint on the rag paper combined with the stitching - I think the machine stitching almost makes it look like a pen and ink drawing.

It's a shame the colour of the felt doesn't really go with the paint colours at all!  I was just playing, and one thing about the paper is that it's hard to unpick without destroying it!  No where near as forgiving as fabric.

It was a fun bit of playtime and I reckon there are lots more possibilities for this cotton rag paper.  It comes in lots of sizes, am thinking maybe a big piece would make an interesting project.  Or when it all goes wrong a big piece cut into lots of tiny pieces! :-)

 

 

Inspiration

Lyn

My husband and I (sound just like the Queen don't I?) took our grand-daughter on holiday to Penzance in Cornwall last week where she saw a real Pasty Pirate.  The felt version is on the door of my craft room...

She didn't believe me when I explained that seagulls really do swoop down and steal food from your hand.  But when we were walking along Penzance High Street, we saw a seagull fly away with a man's pasty.  He shouted at the bird and gave chase.  The pasty must have been too hot for his beak because the bird dropped it!

We had a lovely time and I took lots of pictures to remember the holiday and to inspire me when making things back at home.  I always like to bring back more than photos of wonderful views...

...and a new friend having fun.

But also lots of photos to stash away in my inspiration box!

Textural inspiration can be found anywhere.

top left: the wooden support for a church porch - the church sits on a beach and the wood is beautifully weathered.

top right: pampas grass - the pruned grass resembles wood shavings.

bottom left: the bark of a tree - I was so fascinated by the trunk that I didn't notice what kind of tree it was!

bottom right: part of an old stone wall around a derelict tin mine.

This photo is of a part of a picture I made back in 2009 from a similar photo of an old tin mine - the texture was created by machine stitching the felt:

Tree bark, tree stumps and tree climbers - all great texture!

I spotted a long bank of grass that seemed to be lit by the sun - unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me (that's a lesson learned then!) so I used my phone camera but it didn't capture the full beauty of the light or the ethereal green that I saw.

Get up close to any plant to appreciate its beauty and complexity.

Parts of buildings can be very inspiring.  The two photos above were taken in the castle at the top of St Michael's Mount in Cornwall.  I wandered out onto the 'gallery' of the turret and was horrified by the drop below!  I am in awe of the builders who created this castle all those years ago.

What is it about lighthouses and derelict buildings that is so fascinating?  

 

 

Tulip Bowl - daft journey from sketch to completion

Lyn

I love colour, but when I sketched out an idea for a tulip bowl, I thought it would look rather good in black and white.

So I made a large piece of plain white felt with merino wool, then threaded up the sewing machine with black thread.

I spent an entire day sewing then unpicking, re-sewing then unpicking again ... and when the daylight faded so did my enthusiasm for the project.  

After a few days of ignoring my sewing table, I fortified myself with a mug of tea and biscuits then I picked up the white felt again and threaded the sewing machine with brightly coloured thread.  I spent several hours sewing then unpicking, re-sewing then unpicking again ... it's a good thing that handmade felt is forgiving if you unpick stitches from it carefully.

When you've invested a lot of time in something it's hard to give up - the sensible side of your brain is telling you to stop wasting your time but the optimistic/creative/daft side urges you on. 

So I went back to plan A and stitched some tulips and leaves in black thread on the white felt. It was very late in the evening when I'd finished.  I put it on the sewing table, stood back, tilted my head from side to side to look at it properly and ... I didn't like it.  At that point I should have gone to bed.  But the daft side of my brain wouldn't let me.  Dye the felt it suggested.  What now?  Yes, now.

I found some empty jam-jars, some half-used packets of 'Dylon' powder dye and I covered the kitchen counters in newspaper.  I tied my pinny on and mentally rolled up my sleeves.

I only had dark purple, bright pink, deep gold and turquoise dyes, but after a few false starts I managed to mix a green I liked by combining the right amounts of gold and turquoise.  I raided my husband's art cupboard to borrow some paint brushes (sorry about the permanent colour change to the bristles darlin') and dobbed/dripped the dye into the white felt.  

At half past midnight I could see that I'd made a right mess of it.  I picked it up and carried it over to the pedal bin.  I put my foot on the pedal and heard the familiar clang as the lid of the bin hit the radiator behind it.  The sharp noise in the quiet of the night brought the daft side of my brain back to attention.  I couldn't stop now could I?

I dropped the felt into the kitchen sink and managed to remove a lot of the dye with warm soapy water until it became a very pale version of its former self.  I rinsed it then rolled out as much water as I could.  I applied the dyes again. I didn't have anything to lose and I was tired so I was quite 'free' with the application of the colours.

When I'd finished I felt a wave of surprise, delight and relief artistic pleasure with the result. 

The felt was quite wet and I was concerned that the dye might 'migrate' further and turn some areas 'muddy', so to dry it quickly, I put it in a warm fan oven (with the door left open) for half an hour while I cleared the mess away.  I kept checking it every 5 minutes because I didn't want it to turn golden brown!

The tulip bowl stands 7cm tall and is 24cm at its widest (2.75" x 9.5") and I'm glad that I didn't give up on it.  

How long do you keep going on a project when it seems to be falling apart?

A peacock, a squirrel, some flowers and a massive pain in the butt!

My back has been driving me nuts!

But finally, Oh the relief of being able to sit down! After about 6 weeks I'm almost back to normal after spraining my back. Just left with a painful piriformis - quite literally a big ole pain in the butt!

So I haven't done much for ages (I even want to go to the gym classes that I normally make excuses for - so much steam to let off!). But at least I can actually make felt and drive a sewing machine again - hooray!

It's both my grandma and grandad's birthdays this week so I thought it would be nice to make them some cards. After lunch on Sunday I disappeared into my sewing room to "quickly sew a couple of cards" and emerged 5 hours later, clutching 2 cards and leaving a hell of a mess behind me!

Here is Grandad's card:

 and then thought this one showed the texture a bit better: 

Grandad took a beautiful photo of a peacock and I thought it would be nice to make him a card of it.  This is the picture - luckily the peacock on that day was up for giving a display!

and here is Grandma's:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because I absolutely love stitching flowers on to felt!

I made both cards from leftover felt - the Joy of Scraps! You can see in the picture of my table below that I'm trying to recreate some of my old favourite pieces colourways because they make such good standbys but it doesn't work out so well. The best pieces are usually happy accidents and very random colours that you wouldn't necessarily put together in a picture but work beautifully well for small pieces to sew into. It's harder to do intentionally!

Anyway, I mounted both of the pieces of felt on to water colour boards instead of folded cards (so they were more like giant postcards than cards!). I took a couple of snaps of the backs before I stuck them down cos I always find that I really like the back of embroideries, sometimes as much or more than the front! It's always so free and easy, and the lack of detail is appealing.

 

Anyway, so it only took me 5 mins to get into chaos at my sewing table. Millions of things on the go. Look at the state of it. It went from "not too bad" to "who chucked in a hand grenade?" pretty quick!

Do you work neat and tidy or in a big mess?

 

I really do love order and tidiness - the rest of the house is quite minimal and I see ornaments as "things to dust" but when it comes to fibres and fabrics and threads I just can't get enough! Although I do love the tidying and organising after a big mess. My long suffering husband often comments that I spend more time sorting things into colours and neat piles than I do making anything!

But I have also managed to finish Mr Squidgle at long last. I decided I would give him a background after all. I tried this plain background but it just didn't work. I like the simpicity of the stitching but it didn't work in this case.

I cut him out and dropped him on to lots of backgrounds and not sure why but the blue tartan worked best.

I think he is rather cute but also think he went on to be a bit more twee than I had had in my mind's eye originally, maybe I slightly overcooked him! But you don't know til you try do you? I do like his eyes though. And in making him it also made me look at the fabrics and colours in a new light. May also save me having to make a Mothers Day card....ahem.

e-Book Review: Handmade Felt Book-Cover Project by Zed

                            

A textile book cover transforms an ordinary diary/notebook/journal into something very special and this latest e-book from Zed will show you how to make some.

Even if you've never made felt before, you can easily make a beautiful textile cover - everything is very clearly explained and illustrated with superb photos as you can see from the sample pages below.

Every step is so well demonstrated that it feels like having a one-to-one workshop in your own home!

We like the way that Zed has written this e-book with no presumption that the reader will have any previous knowledge, so that even the simplest thing is carefully explained.  

In the 'Planning the Layout' section you are shown how to measure your own book to make a customised cover.

'Preparation' shows that you don't need 'specialist' equipment or expensive materials - Zed re-uses and re-cycles wherever possible. 

Don't worry if you've never made felt before because in there are two step-by-step sections 'Laying out a piece of flat felt' and 'The felting process'.

'Cutting out and Sewing' covers everything right down to how to do blanket stitch.

The 'Tips' section at the end of the e-book shows alternative ideas for colour ways, customising embroidery floss, closures, and how you can simply omit a few steps to make a plain cover without a closure.

The e-Book (PDF format) can be purchased directly from ZED'S BLOG - the e-Book is hosted on a secure site and payment of $13.50 (approx £8 depending on exchange rate) can be safely made using a credit card or paypal.

S.I.P (Squirrel In Progress)

Annie

So in case you hadn't noticed by now, just to clarify the definition of "Tomorrow" in my dictionary = "Loose term for some time in the next week(s) or so!".  Just ask mum :-)

Anyway, here are bits of my last couple of days "sketchbook", including a quick free motion sketch of Mr Squidgle.  He's rather out of proportion but he'll do!  I think that's why I like to doodle flowers and things pulled straight from my imagination, cos there is nothing to compare them to, they just are what they are :-)

I decided to have another go at Squidgle Pants but this time take him a bit further. I cut some shapes out of some textured handmade felt and pieced him together, same as for the snail's shell in the last post, to give him a bit of felty texture and colour.

(Sorry about the poor quality photos I just took a few snaps on my phone and it seems the light was a bit rubbish. Doh!)

I thought I was being really clever by "tacking" the pieces in place with the machine. Turns out it doesn't really work - the darning foot was determined to shoot underneath each and every piece, the pieces all still moved about, and worse still because the pieces are only loosely felted they disintegrated around the edge as I was sewing. Apart from that - easy! Argh.

So here he is so far, still in progress. Had to give up before I wanted to - my back is not happy with me at the moment.  Have gone and got a sprain in my lower back (don't even know how I did it!) but it's painful to sit for too long (although I have discovered that perching on a gym ball is rather more comfortable than a chair - and if you don't sit up straight, you fall off!)

Oh, one last - unflattering - photo (from the feet up is never a good look is it girls!?) but I thought it showed the texture of the felt a bit.  Trouble is I will have to remember to stop before I completely flatten him with stitches.  I do get a bit carried away!

Subconscious self portrait ?!

Annie

Flicking through my photos I picked Mr Snail (aka "The Hosta Muncher") for today's machine embroidery quick sketch.  Makes a change from flowers and stuff, but I did think he needed a colour makeover!

While playing working in my sewing room I discovered some rather cool yellow PolyNeon thread in my stash (Madeira No. 1823) that I haven't used before and thought it would give him a bit of a "Go Faster" stripe!  I rather like the effect (although it's hard to show in this light) and it made me think about shaking up my colour palette a bit.

I've always been attracted to blues / turquoise / lime and pinks and often pick similar schemes, but I think I may need to have a wander through some more forgotten threads to see what happens.

Having finished him I figured I had probably just done a bit of a subconscious self portrait given my decidedly slow progress through my ToDo list - although a snail's pace is still a pace!

I think I might have a go at Squidgle The Squirrel tomorrow.  Equally self portraity I suppose - always darting about (late, late, late!) with cheeks full of snacks :-)

Gobsmacked to see the date on this photo is 2003!  He's been lurking in my "Must sew" folder on the pooter for TEN years!  Scary.  Feels like yesterday...

Improve your photos - improve your sales!

Photography of felt is difficult at the best of times, but now the days are shorter and darker it's even more tricky, so we've been thinking a lot more about it while working recently.  We thought it would hopefully be useful to share some of the processes we use and things we have found out along the way.

A good photo is doubly important if you want to sell your stuff online. You need a good photo because a picture is worth a thousand words...but not if it's blurry!

It doesn't matter what kind of camera you have, these tips may help to improve your images.

Keep the camera still to get a sharp photo. 

The easiest way is to use a tripod and a remote shutter release or the camera timer. 

If you don't have a tripod, place the camera on a firm surface, perhaps a table, step ladder or a pile of hardback books, then when you've set up the shot, press the timer on the camera to take the photo. 

This will eliminate any movement of the camera at the time of the photo being taken.

 

Get up close so that the detail is clear.

Place the camera close and experiment with different angles - don't always take the photo straight on or directly overhead...

...and you don't have to get the whole object in the frame.

 

Choose the backdrop colours carefully. 

The garden can make a pretty backdrop...

...but it's not always possible to find complementary colours and bad weather may force you to take photos indoors.

If you want a seamless backdrop, get a large piece of card (thin mountboard works well) and bend it, without creasing, so that it forms a gentle curve between a table and a wall. 

It will need anchoring in place. In the photo below, two heavy ornaments were placed on the front corners of the mountboard to prevent it from slipping away from the wall.

To add interest, use props such as a rock or stones, or use an indoor windowsill with a pretty view.

 

Make sure you have enough light.

Naturally diffused daylight, outside, gives the truest colours.  Strong, direct sunlight will 'wash out' colours and textures, and shade is sometimes too dark.  The ideal condition is a cloudy day around midday.  However, when weather conditions are far from ideal, a mini-studio can be set up indoors.  

If your item is small enough, use an indoor windowsill, or make yourself a 'light box' from a cardboard box - there are plenty of free tutorials on the internet to show you how. 

Larger items will need to be photographed in a room that has a lot of natural light.  Lucky you if you have a conservatory! 

You can boost the daylight that comes into a room by covering dark furniture or walls with white sheets and by using lightbulbs that mimic natural light.  They are sometimes called 'full spectrum bulbs' and may be labelled 5,500K.

The light that enters a room sideways from a window can add a glint if you are photographing something with a reflective surface (as on the sewing threads above and the mug below) and the shadow on the side furthest from the window adds depth.

 

Fiddle around until you get the shot you want. 

The felt 'oil burner' looked good with an l.e.d. candle inside but the artificial flame didn't photograph very well (perhaps because it flickered) so we removed the candle but then the oil burner looked lifeless in the photo.  We fiddled around and discovered that if we shone a torch into the hole, it gave the impression of having an internal light and we were pleased with the final photo.

We took a felt bowl into the garden to photograph it and after half an hour we still hadn't got a decent shot.  We'd taken a reflector out with us (a piece of cardboard covered in aluminium foil) because the light wasn't that good.  We moved to different parts of the garden trying to get a good photo and during one move we put the bowl onto the reflector board to carry it...and accidentally found the perfect backdrop.

 Serendipity has given us some good photos!