LINQS Inspired by Hockney…..

June 2, 2016June 4, 2016 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

Tomorrow Molly and I are going down to the Springfield Quilt Show at Spalding for the day to see the LINQS (Lincolnshire Quilters) display of Hockney inspired quilts. It seems like forever since we signed up to do the LINQS challenge, neither of us having made a quilt previously, so it will be great to see them hanging on show. I was flattered to see that My Three Tall Trees was chosen to feature on the flyer advertising this weekends event.

Springfield’s Flyer

We also got a mention in this months edition of Lincolnshire Life magazine after their reporter visited our Hockney Handover event.

Everyone breaths a sigh of relief now the challenge is finally over!

Everyone breathes a sigh of relief now the challenge is finally over!

We had a show and tell session in Horncastle and everyone agreed the standard of work was terrific! The following photos show just a tiny number of the LINQS quilts which will be embarking on a national tour with Grosvenor Shows starting tomorrow.

Molly proudly shows off her quilt at the show and tell session.

Molly proudly shows off her quilt at the Hockney Handover session.

“Out and Onto the Canvas” is the title of the quilt made through a process of collaboration by the seven members of Textile Lincs.

The Three Trees by Wendy Skinner

Hockney’s 18th VN by Jacky Hopkin

Three Green Waves by Sandra Goldsbrough.

It’s not all Black & White by Pat Sperr

After 1954, my quilt based on Hockney’s mixed media self-portrait.

Simple wet felted choker…..

June 2, 2016June 2, 2016 / Karen Lane / 4 Comments

This morning I’ve been practising ropes, loops and fasteners and made a simple wet felted choker from black and grey Merino.

I made several attempts to tie the grey and black loose ends into a neat knot but it just wouldn’t lay flat. After considering different options I settled for a silver coloured ribbed bead to hold it together.

Wet felted seed pod….

May 29, 2016May 30, 2016 / Karen Lane / 10 Comments

I’ve been experimenting with the book resist method today, using Merino wool tops to wet felt a seed pod.

3D Seed pod, wet felted using Merino wool tops

Merino wool tops wet felted seed pod.

Woodhall Show Time!

May 24, 2016May 24, 2016 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

Last weekend I was invited by my friend Helen from Pippinroo to display some of my work at the annual Woodhall Spa Country Show. Helen specialises in creating beautifully detailed needle felted animals and suggested I add another dimension to her trade stall with my wet felted work. It was a great day and we met some lovely ladies in the craft tent. Read Helens post for more info on the day.

OSCAR

What a gorgeous day!!! The sun came out and so did the crowds. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever seen it as busy as it was this year, and it seems everyone bought their dog out for a wander! One couple were even walking around with their parrakeets in a carrier for a day of social interaction!

The craft tent was packed and rather hot by lunch time. Little breeze and a strong sun had all the stall holders and visitors wilting. However our stall stood up to the temperatures and gained a lot of interest.

Having bitten off more than I can chew with extra hours in my day job, time was against me in getting stock ready, so I invited a couple of contributors to join me to offer as much as we could in collaboration.

The first was the lovely Karen Lane who was our expert in…

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Nuno Felting with Clare Bullock…..

May 22, 2016May 23, 2016 / Karen Lane / 12 Comments

What had looked like being a pretty normal week suddenly took a more interesting turn on Wednesday. I received the Artvango newsletter which mentioned there was a spare place on Clare Bullock’s two day nuno felting workshop, starting the following day. Hmmmm…that would have been nice I thought, as I finished my lunch and set off back to work for the afternoon. Unfortunately Artvango isn’t exactly on my doorstep so it’s not somewhere I get to visit as often as I would like. But two days felting, with Clare, starting tomorrow…..it’s got to be worth the long drive down to Knebworth, and it was!

Clare began by talking us through the process and showing us examples of her nuno felting using various different fabrics i.e. silk, gauze, muslin, Indian cotton, etc. The following three photos are examples of Clare’s beautiful nuno work.

Then it was our turn. Each sample was created with one layer of Merino wool tops and various scraps of lightweight fabric. With Clare on hand to ensure we didn’t skint on the rubbing, we rubbed, rubbed, and then rubbed some more…..then time for a coffee and then back to rubbing……

In the next photo you can see nine different scraps of scarves in the early stage of felting.

And the finished sample which I was really pleased with.

My green and blue sample worked pretty well too and I can see this possibly becoming a base for a landscape piece.

Another of my samples which I will add stitching to at some point…..

…..and a close up.

Before the workshop Clare had prepared some rust printed fabrics which she cut up and shared with us. The following photo shows how my rust sample, made from four pieces of different fabrics, worked out.

And another close up shot showing the textures.

Clare is a very good tutor and full of fun. We learnt a lot and laughed a lot during the workshop, and I’m sure I can speak for the other ladies when I say that everyone came away really happy with what they had achieved.

Wet Felted Jewellery…..

May 3, 2016May 4, 2016 / Karen Lane / 6 Comments

A couple of days ago I discovered a wonderful American felt artist by the name of Lisa Klakulak. Her work is incredible and you can see her website here. After seeing her wonderful wet felted jewellery I was inspired to have a go at making something for myself. My first attempt was a bangle made from grey and yellow Merino wool tops. I was disappointed with how it turned out, bulky and crude looking, so stripped it apart and started again.

The second time round I free machined the felt using grey and copper coloured metallic thread and replaced the yellow felt ball with a silver metal button. I used the second strip of grey/lemon felt, again with the metallic stitching and metal button, to make a matching asymmetrical necklace. This time I’m happy with the result!

Jewellery created from wet felted Merino wool tops

Wet felted Merino jewellery

Merino Purses…..

May 2, 2016 / Karen Lane / 12 Comments

It’s a wet Bank Holiday in Lincolnshire and to cap it off I am full of cold so doing a bit of felting in between the hot drinks and sniffles! These Merino purses, made with a resist, are an ideal size for glasses cases and a good way to use up oddments of fibres which I seem to have a lot of. I’ve embellished them with tiny bits of silk, sari waste and more Merino and finished off with a button closure.

Merino Wool Purses, ideal for use as a glasses case.

Teapot Pincushions…..

April 6, 2016April 6, 2016 / Karen Lane / 5 Comments

Theres nothing on TV so I’m busy making items for the Cranwell Group sales table which will be happening at our exhibition in July. I found the pattern for these little teapot pincushions in a book entitled “Omiyage” by Kumiko Sudo. They are quick and easy to create using fabric scraps and polystyrene balls and they make a fun gift for anyone who is keen on sewing.

Teapot pincushions.

Front cover of the book "Omiyage" by Kumike Sudo

Omiyage is crammed with wonderful ideas and patterns to make your own Japanese style gifts.

Will PVA stiffen felt…..

April 6, 2016April 6, 2016 / Karen Lane / 10 Comments

I’ve just made an experimental piece as I wanted to answer a friend’s question which was “will PVA stiffen felt”? I created a very quick wet felted bowl using a single layer of grey Norwegian wool which was lightly felted and then soaked in a 50/50 solution of PVA and water. It was placed over an upturned glass bowl until it dried out. It isn’t rock hard but certainly stiff enough to give it some body. I can’t say that I particularly like it as a finished piece, so it will probably get washed out and recycled, but the PVA did its job so my friend got their answer and I’ve learnt something for future use.