Shibori….colouring & manipulating fabric to great effect!

August 1, 2014October 12, 2015 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

Following on from my little experiment with Shibori felting I thought I would share a few of the wonderful items I have found which feature this technique, both felted and otherwise.

Martha Stuart chiffon scarf.

Martha Stuart has instructions here for making this delicate scarf using small stones tied into chiffon.

Mrs Polly Rogers Bubble Scarf

Mrs Polly Rogers has instructions here for making this very chunky, felted bubble Scarf.

The World Shibori Network is a great place to visit to find out more about the techniques used in this ancient craft. Michelle Griffiths is a professional artist/teacher, living and working in South Wales. She is the World Shibori Network representative for UK/Ireland. Her work is on permanent exhibition in her gallery/studio at Model House Craft & Design Centre, Llantrisant, where she continues to develop the shibori study centre with its shibori workshop programme, textile collection, and reference library.

AntiGravity Necklaces by Michelle Griffiths.

Michelle Griffiths Bubble Wrap Fabric.

I particularly like the ‘AntiGravity Necklaces’ and ‘Bubble Wrap Fabric’ while ‘Relief 1’ is absolutely stunning!

Relief 1

I also love the detail in the scarf below but unfortunately cannot remember where I found it!

Blue Shibori Scarf

Shibori felt samples….

July 31, 2014 / Karen Lane / 2 Comments

Shibori is the Japanese technique of manipulating fabric by folding, squeezing, wringing or tying and today I was inspired to make a Shibori felt sample after seeing the one here that Ruth from Feltingandfibrestudio.com has created. The texture and colour scheme Ruth used was very dramatic and I thought this could be a great technique for me to use in a seascape picture to represent waves. I used two shades of blue Merino with the darker one on top and added some strands of pale blue knitting wool. I stitched the folds in place before fulling and once dry removed the stitching and snipped some of the darker shade to reveal the pale blue beneath. My piece isn’t as dramatic as Ruth’s but I am still pleased with how it worked out and can see it being a good technique to give my seascape a 3D look when I eventually get around to making it.

I made a second piece out of some green/yellow Merino prefelt and this time tied small beads into the felt before fulling. Although I had a ‘pea pod’ in mind when I started it I wasn’t too sure how it would turn out. I’m really happy with the result and I think there may be more Shibori experiments to follow shortly.

Mythical Map…

July 29, 2014July 31, 2014 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

I have recently had fun exploring colour and texture with another abstract wet felted project created with Merino wool. This piece was started in one of Robyn’s workshops but as always I ran out of time so it was finished off and embellished at home. Once it had dried I decided to decorate it using machine stitching to define the orange areas. Once this was done, I randomly added a few old beads (from broken jewellery) and some hand embroidered stitching. At this stage I thought the orange areas looked like land masses and the piece started to resemble a mythical ‘map’ with strange symbols which might indicate buried treasure or long lost civilisations. I quite liked this idea so I played on this theme, adding more beads and hand stitching.

Some of the beads I used were quite large so once it was finished the picture needed a deep frame. Ikea sell RIBA ‘deep’ frames in 2 sizes (or maybe more?) which are perfect for displaying 3 dimensional work. They are not expensive, available in black or white and come complete with a mount and fixings for hanging on the wall. I particularly like the black as these seem to create a more dramatic effect.

If at first you don’t succeed…

July 10, 2014October 12, 2015 / Karen Lane / 2 Comments

Collection of wet felted vessels made at Jenny Peppers “Multiple Resist” Workshop.

Last Saturday I rode back up north to the beautiful little village of Hutton Buscel to take part in another of Jenny Peppers felting workshops. Once again it was a lovely day with good company, excellent tuition from Jenny, and lots of hard work from the “students”, but with great results all round.
This was Jenny’s “Multiple Resist” workshop, in which she demonstrated how to create a bowl with the illusion of two smaller bowls inside it. As with Jenny’s last workshop, we all began with the same size and shape of resist for our vessel but you can see from the photos, the end results were all very unique, which was brilliant.

The first layer is cut away to reveal the colour below.

The piece has been rubbed and rolled and now the first layer is cut away to reveal the colour of the layer below.

One of the bowls taking shape.

I chose to use a subtle colour scheme of greys and yellows and added snippets of yellow knitting wool and cream silks as embellishment.

My bowl was looking more like a beret at this stage.

Some of the other ladies made fabulously colourful bowls and some added extra interest by shaping the openings rather than leaving them circular.

A beautiful bowl with an unusual shaped opening.

The following photos show what a difference the workshops with Robyn from Feltybits and Jenny have made to my work. One of the key things I have learnt about making vessels is the importance of basic rubbing and rolling to strengthen the felt. My first little bowl was so poorly felted it could hardly stand up on its own but I am glad it didn’t put me off. I am a big believer in “if at first you don’t succeed….”

First attempt at a wet felted bowl...it can only get better!

My first bowl…a bit fluffy and floppy and very poorly felted!

Wet felted Merino Bowl – 2nd attempt and feel like I am getting somewhere!

Wet felted bowl made with multiple resists.

My multiple resist bowl – worlds apart from the first, flimsy vessel!

Fly UK…raising money for children with cancer

June 14, 2014June 14, 2014 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

Its all go in our house this week with my partner Mark busy planning for the annual Fly-UK Round Britain charity event which starts on the 19th June. Every year since 2004, a group of microlight pilots has set off to fly around Britain, taking in Land’s End and John O’Groats as a minimum. Over the years, more and more aircraft have joined the Rally, and more corners of the British Isles have been visited including The Scilly Isles, the West Coast of Ireland, The Outer Hebrides, and even Unst – the northernmost of the Shetland Islands. The efforts of these intrepid pilots has so far raised over £28,000 for CHILDREN WITH CANCER UK and I know that Mark feels very privileged to be one of them. Last year Mark’s Gyro was the only one in the event but this year he is hoping there will be a second Gyro taking to the sky’s.

Mark doing a fly-by in his RotorSport Gyrocopter

The entire cost of the trip i.e. aircraft fuel, landing fees, food, admin etc is all funded by the participants so the charity benefit from the full amount of donations received. If anyone is reading this post and would like to donate, no matter how large or small an amount, it couldn’t be easier. Simply go to the official fund raising site at UK.virginmoneygiving.com or click here.

Spiky Vessels Workshop…

June 12, 2014October 12, 2015 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

Eight of the finished vessels displayed on a window ledge. looking particularly alien-like

A few of the awesome finished vessels!

Several months ago I discovered a website showcasing the fabulous work of a lady called Jenny Pepper. I was very excited to see that Jenny holds workshops, not a million miles away, and immediately got myself booked onto two of them. Earlier this month I rode up to Scarborough to attend Jenny’s ‘Spiky Vessels’ Workshop which was being held in the beautiful village of Hutton Buscel, just a few miles outside of Scarborough.

The fibres have been laid for the basic vessels and now the spikes and craters are being added.

Hard at work applying the spikes and craters.

The workshop was fun, informative and very inspiring. Jenny demonstrated various techniques for creating spikes, holes, craters and frills to add to a 3-D vessel. The day was very well structured but at the same time the session was quite relaxed and we were encouraged to work at our own pace rather than trying to keep up with each other – great for me as I always seem to be the last to finish! It was fascinating to learn how useful ‘pre-felt’ can be and since coming home I have made myself quite a supply of it in various colours ready for future projects. The pieces we made were really designed to be ‘samples’ but I think we all came to see them as more than this once they were finished….they seem to have an alien quality and every one of them was unique.

My vessel in the making

It was a great day all round and lovely to meet the other felters. I am looking forward to meeting up with many of them again at Jenny’s ‘Multiple Resist Workshop in July.

My finished 3D vessel complete with spikes, holes and craters

My finished vessel

Memories of a Greek Holiday…

June 12, 2014June 14, 2014 / Karen Lane / 1 Comment

I can’t believe its been 2 months since my last post…holidays and family commitments have kept me away from the PC for a while but things are getting back to normal now so its time to catch up on what’s been happening ‘craft’ wise.

At the end of April (the day before we were due to fly out to Greece for a 2 week flotilla holiday) Robyn was due to hold another felting workshop. Although I knew I really ought to stay at home and do the packing I managed to somehow escape to Robyn’s studio for the day and had a great time (as always) with the other ladies as we all got creative with bits of fluff!

I wanted to do something different and create an abstract picture in this session but wasn’t sure how to approach it. Robyn suggested a great method which began with creating small piles of ‘carded’ Merino, combining different colours/shades. When I had sufficient piles of wool these were laid out and used to create a large sheet of multicoloured ‘pre-felt‘.

The pre-felt has been cut up and rearranged.

The next stage was to cut the pre-felt into squares and rearrange it, in a different order, onto a plain background, adding bits of scrim, nepps and silks and completing the felting process. There was so much pre-felt I ended up making two pictures, one square and one rectangular. I enjoyed the process and was really pleased with how the pictures turned out.

Close up of the first picture showing the embellishment

Once we got back from holiday I picked up the pieces again and added some sari silks, a few seed beads and some machine embroidery. I feel like the pictures have taken on a bit of a ‘sea-side’ feel and, with having the two week holiday sandwiched between starting and finishing them, they now remind me of happy times island hopping in the Ionian.

First of two abstract, wet felted pictures created with the guidance of Robyn at Feltybits.

Second of the abstract pictures made at Robyn’s workshop

Easter Craft Event Update…

April 13, 2014 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

A collection of polystyrene eggs decorated with needle felting.

Mini decorated eggs

The weather wasn’t particularly kind to us at yesterdays Joseph Banks Easter Craft Fair….the chilly wind being the major problem! However we did get a fair amount of customers through the shop door and the majority were keen to get out into the garden to see the wonderful handcrafted goods on sale and chat to the people who had made them. As well as my felted items we had water-colour paintings by local artist Peter Skipworth. Peter has written and beautifully illustrated a book on local walks titled ‘Step into the Lincolnshire Wolds’ which is on sale at the shop….those lucky enough to purchase yesterday benefited from a personal signing by the artist himself!

Peter Skipworth's beautifully illustrated book 'Step into the Lincolnshire Wolds'.

Peter Skipworths illustrated book ‘Step into the Lincolnshire Wolds’

Other items on sale included unique cards, jewellery and more from Handmade by Esme and colourful handmade necklaces and bracelets from Debbie of DD Jewellery and Vicki and Judith from Snowdrop Gifts For the home and garden there were wonderful handmade gifts created from recycled wood by Palletology including the fabulous ‘Insect Hotels’ while Stephanie from Stuff with Style displayed funky wooden gifts in the form of bunting, bird houses and much more.

Handmade by Esme - one of the local crafters featured at the Joseph Banks Easter Craft Fair.

Handmade by Esme at the Joseph Banks Easter Craft Fair.

Colourful necklaces and bracelets on sale at Joseph Banks in Horncastle.

Handmade necklaces and bracelets from DD Jewellery

Recycled pallet wood made into Insect Hotels for the garden.

Insect Hotels by Palletology made from recycled pallet wood.

Stuff with Style make funky gifts such as this wooden bird house.

Funky wooden bird house from ‘Stuff with Style’.

I was fortunate to find a space indoors (only marginally warmer!!) where I sat and demonstrated needle felting to the ladies (and the occasional gent) who were curious to see how it was done. Thanks again to all of you who stopped by and I hope to see some of you at future workshops. Also keeping warm was Debs from Debs Makes, busy upstairs having fun with her Saturday afternoon sewing group.

One of Debs cute little brooches made on the embellisher.

Last, but not least, many thanks to Helena from Spare Time by Helena who kept all the crafters supplied with tea and coffee all day and Kate and Richard who manned the shop!

The next Craft Event at Joseph Banks is planned for May 31st.

One of the many fabulous cushions created by Spare Time by Helena.

Easter bunnies needle felted using Merino wool onto a polystyrene ball.

I couldn’t resist making a few needle felted Easter bunnies!

Easter Craft Fair…

April 9, 2014 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

The Joseph Banks Centre on Bridge Street in Horncastle will be hosting another fabulous Craft Event on Saturday 12th April, ahead of the Easter weekend. If you are in the area and fancy popping in it would be great to see you! There will be several local crafters instore and, weather permitting, in the garden, each with their own unique collection of handmade goods for sale. I will be sitting in a quiet corner somewhere (as ever!) giving a demonstration on needle felting, so if you see me don’t be shy – come over and say hello! Many of the gifts on sale are suitable for personalising so this is something worth considering as it makes a fabulous gift even better! Also we will be happy to take orders for Easter i.e. if there is something you want in a different colour/design/whatever….simply ask and we will do our best to accommodate.

Wool, wool and more wool…

March 17, 2014March 17, 2014 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

Last weekend turned out to be a bit of a wool fest! Saturday morning, for the first time, I attended a meeting of the Lincolnshire Spinners and Weavers at Revesby Village Hall. My friend Sheila suggested I might find it interesting as they were having a talk and demo by a local needle felter called Cindy Thompson. Cindy’s creations, which were mainly sculptures of dogs, were beautiful and incredibly lifelike. Each piece is created using a thin wire armature covered with wool and needle felted. It was nice to pick up a few tips regarding the construction methods and the fact that the noses, etc are actually sculpted from Fimo, something I wouldn’t have thought of myself. You can see more of Cindy’s work on her ‘Chicktin Creations’ facebook page.

Some of Cindy’s fabulous creations on display at Revesby Village Hall.

During the morning I got to talk to several of the Guild members and saw various projects they were working on. Although some were camera-shy I did manage to get a few photos to share with you. Lesley Daniels is a keen spinner but also enjoys needle felting and brought along some of her felted animal creations and a velvet bag which she has embellished with needle felting. A particularly interesting piece on show was a stunning needle felted ‘peacock’ wall hanging which Elise is working on Isee top left image below). If I get the chance, and Elise OK’s it, I will post images once this is completed.

After lunch Sheila and I headed off for a visit to the National Centre for Craft and Design at Sleaford to see their latest exhibition ‘Black Sheep – the darker side of felt’. This exhibition is an exploration of the edgier side of this extraordinary, versatile and often overlooked material. Exhibition Curator Laura Mabbutt says: ‘This exhibition’s aim is to go some way to giving this unique and versatile medium the accolade that it deserves as well as highlighting the many contemporary applications of this ancient material beyond its stereotypical ‘fuzzy felt’ reputation.’ The work on display is innovative and inspiring, from unusual vessels (Maria Frieze) to outrageous dresses (Horst Couture), fantastical animal themed headwear (Barbara Keal) and teddy bear skulls (Stephanie Metz), to textured sculptures (Marjolein Dallinga), and all of it created from wool. To compliment the exhibition there was a vast collection of objects associated with feltmaking displayed for visitors to touch and test i.e. different varieties of wool, tools and various small felted objects. If you have the slightest interest in textiles/wool this exhibition is a must and its due to run until Sunday 11th May.