Nuno shawl

I found pretty piece of painted very sheer silk in a shop in Turkey. I did not want to cover it in felt, so laid on circles of merino roving. It was very large, so I wrapped it all in a roll covered with a damp towel and felted it in the tumble drier. The colour in the silk bled leaving it paler than originally, but still pretty.

 I like the interesting textures in the silk as the fulled wool draws it up. And also the fact way the wool gives the shawl texture and structure when you wear it, yet remains light. 

Organza experiment

I found some rolls of shiny - almost metallic - synthetic organza in a craft shop and wanted to see this fabric would work for nuno felting. 

I put thin layers of merino wool tops, and a few bits of silk and also trapped some wool nepps and strands of spun wool in between the merino. 

It took a bit of elbow grease - and I did use an electric sanding machine. But the wool did attach itself to the organza and start to felt. Enough for a decorative object, though perhaps not for something subject to much wear. It had an underwater look about it, so I added more organza shapes (some shiny fish and starfish) and some wool and ribbon weeds. I trapped all this under some soluble interfacing, and then machined lots of ripply lines to hold it all. Then rinsed away the interfacing. I was quite pleased with the result. But what I really like is the effect when you hold the piece up to the light. Love the way the nepps show up.  Here it is against a window:

I also experimented with a small piece, throwing it in the tumble drier to felt. Amazingly this felted quickly and much more firmly. The colours reminded me of Monet's waterlilies, so I doodled on a few with the machine.  

Oops funny how you can spot loose threads that need trimming in a photo!

Not sure what I can do with these samples, but I learned a lot and will incorporate organza onto future pieces. 

Distressing, but fun!

Have just come back from our French hideaway, where I spent a few companionable hours with my daughter transforming some furniture for her bedroom there. I had picked up some funny old brown cabinets  in "Troc" in Belgium - a great source of second hand stuff. Total cost 30€. Some sanding, painting and waxing, and they have a new life! 

A Holiday Bag

I am off on holiday  - to Sri Lanka. I love holidays but hate packing, and will use all sorts of avoidance tactics, like suddenly deciding that I need a little evening bag. So I rapidly put this together, using a resist, out of merino wool decorated with wisps of silk.
I experimented with the tumble dryer method of felting, using no rolling at all. It's brilliantly explained here. It worked really well! Much exhaustion and mess avoided. I will definitely do that again.
I added  a chain strap from an old bag, and a flower I had made earlier.
A great thing about felt is that it doesn't add many grams to the baggage allowance.
Now,back to the packing.....

Quilted bag

 

A friend of mine is moving back to the UK. She has been a faithful supporter and event-organiser for Retrak for many years so we want to give her a "kit" to start her supporters group back in the UK. A kit needs a bag, so I made this from some vibrant batik fabric I bought in Mbale, Uganda.

After machine quilting the fabric, I made it into a tote bag using this tutorial. The quilting means it has 3 layers of fabric plus the batting, so it's solid but soft. 

I added a heart shaped pocket inside. 

Silk and wool scarves

I found some silk scarves that I had bought cheaply in India, and tried felting in fine wisps of merino wool. They felted really easily, and I love the way the silk crinkles up and develops a great texture as the wool shrinks. Of course the finished length of the scarf is shorter too. Pictures cannot capture the light softness of the silk and wool, and they are delicious to wear. 

Blending with the original scarf colours, I did one in soft cream brown and yellow, for myself, and a more funky bright pinks and purples, with a detachable flower brooch, for my daughter.  

This technique of felting wool into silk is called nuno felting.

Riotous wild flowers

This was inspired by Karen's vibrant flowers, and also Rosiepink's lovely meadow scenes and their helpful ebook on Creating Felt Artwork. For me it acts as a sort of sampler, to try out some machine and hand embroidery to embellish the flowers. 

I am learning from my mistakes! I think the background should be clearer and less streaky. and another time I would not include such an expanse of empty sky. (I filled it with some silk embroidered clouds, but it's not quite right.) Also the mixture of flower colours is a bit random - all pastels, or all brights might work better. 

I might make it into the front of a cushion. 

Here is a detail: