Another 3d vessel…..

March 3, 2015December 20, 2015 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

Since finishing my Flower Tower (and wondering what on earth I am going to do with it) I’ve been thinking about making another 3d vessel. If it’s a success it will be destined for the lounge to sit next to a felted bowl I made last year with Jenny Pepper. I love the grey and lemon colour scheme of the bowl and so I began by wet felting some fibres to match it.

My starting point for the grey/lemon vessel.

I didn’t have a shape in mind but they turned out a bit like grey bacon rashers! I repeated the exercise, this time laying out three lots of very fine fibres and covering each of them with a strip of white organza. If you click on the photo below to enlarge it you will see the organza more clearly.

The painted Lutradur and pieces of felt ready to be sewn.

The next step was to roughly cut 3 pieces of Lutradur and paint it with Inktense Blocks. I say “roughly” because I want the finished effect to look organic and distressed so I’m not working to a precise measurement or shape.

The FM embroidery is work in progress.

I have several threads of dubious quality (I haven’t a clue what some of them are made of) so I spent a bit of time last night blasting them with my heat gun to confirm which are 100% cotton, as opposed to polyester, and which are Rayon, as opposed to Nylon. That job done, it was time to start machining with cream, grey, gold and dark olive. It needs a lot more stitching yet but I will put this piece to one side for now and work on the other two sections.

Flower Tower…..

February 23, 2015March 3, 2015 / Karen Lane / 7 Comments

A couple of weeks back I was invited to attend a “Flower Tower” workshop which was being held at the Cranwell Contemporary Stitch Group. Before the workshop I was shown an example of what we would be making, the 3d tower was made from painted Vilene and covered with scraps of fabric which were machine stitched in place. The whole vessel was then embellished with beads and flowers made using a variety of techniques.

I liked the basic shape of the tower and the idea of painting onto Vilene and immediately thought that I would like to paint and embellish mine as a “scene”, rather than as an abstract. I have based my design on the velvet piece I did a couple of months ago, using some of the same stamps and threads. The tower has a wire frame which was couched on using zigzag machine stitch and it stands on tiny felted feet.

In my hurry to get finished I forgot to paint the lining fabric! As the vessel is hollow, and there’s no way I can add colour past the “curls”, I’m thinking of just sponging the tips blue and adding a felted “stopper” so you don’t see any further down into the tower. Once it’s done I will post an update and after the next meeting will add photos of the towers made by the other Cranwell ladies.

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!

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

Tyvek leaf…

February 26, 2014December 20, 2015 / Karen Lane / 2 Comments

Tyvek leaf

I’ve been playing with the Tyvek again and this time I had a go at machine stitching the fabric, using the embroidery foot and a metallic thread, onto a metal framework which I made in the shape of a leaf. I tried colouring it with different mediums and discovered that acrylic paint and felt pens seem to work just as well as the fabric paints. I love the lacy effect that can be achieved when heat is applied and, having seen the way the shadow is cast on this photo, I am thinking that using this technique I could make some beautiful votive’s.

3D Tyvek Leaf

Getting Creative With Tyvek…

February 24, 2014December 20, 2015 / Karen Lane / 4 Comments

Last week I discovered an exciting new (to me at least!) ‘crafting’ product and, having tried it out yesterday, I thought it worth a mention here.

My discovery came about as a result of buying a book from The Book Depository called ‘Three Dimensional Embroidery‘ by Janet Edmonds.

It’s a fabulous book packed with the most inspiring illustrations imaginable and great ideas for creating all manner of things with different types of fabrics. Chapter 5 is all about using ‘manipulated methods’, distorting fabric to create form and texture, and includes a beautiful photograph of what looks like decaying seed pods. The caption says they were made from fine-weight Tyvek but, although I loved what I was seeing, it didn’t mean a thing to me! This changed a couple of days later when I was visiting Crafty Notions in Newark and, lo and behold, there on a shelf near the felting supplies, I spotted a bag of Tyvek…fate or what? It seems I was meant to try this stuff out!

So, for the uninitiated, what is Tyvek? Manufactured by DuPont, it’s an extremely durable, man-made fabric, available in different weights. Being light-weight but very tough, breathable and water-resistant, one of its most popular applications is in the construction industry. Other uses include industrial packaging, signage and protective workwear. Its characteristics make it an ideal choice for crafting as it can be coloured using fabric paints, acrylic paint or felt pens. It can also be die-cut, laminated, embossed, printed onto and stitched, but the real fun begins when you apply heat to it. This will cause the fabric to shrink and bubble and, if you apply sufficient concentrated heat, holes will appear creating a beautiful, lacy effect. I found you can produce some fabulous distressed effects using a heat gun, clothes iron or soldering iron (I didn’t have the latter so I simply held a piece of wire in my pliers and heated it over a gas ring!).

Anyway the result is shown below…my take on the Tyvek seed pods. The first image was taken after holding the pod over a gas ring, supported on a spatter guard. The second photo shows the pods after I used the ‘Papermania’ heat tool on them and then added more holes with my home-made soldering iron (hot wire) and added gold metallic thread across some of the larger openings. My mind is racing with ideas for more ‘manipulated’ projects and I am wondering if I can find a way of combining Tyvek with felting….watch this space!

My version of the Tyvek seed pod

Stage two saw more holes and the addition of gold metallic thread across some of the larger openings on the green pod.

Fairy Shoes…

February 21, 2014October 12, 2015 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

I have been meaning to post these photos for several days but where does the time go? Last Saturday I met up with a group of other ladies at the Thomas Garrett Rooms in Heighington to take part in the ‘Fairy Shoes’ felting workshop run by Robyn Smith of Feltybits. Once again it was a great workshop with Robyn offering lots of encouragement and advice regarding wet felting, working with a resist and embellishing. The tiny shoes were created using Merino wool tops and decorated with seed beads. The finished items all turned out different in colour and style and looked particularly cute when lined up for the photos!

The Tooth Fairy Jar…

January 10, 2014October 12, 2015 / Karen Lane / 1 Comment

Tooth Fairy Jars

O.K…I know… they are taking over my life…. I am in danger of becoming ‘Fairy’ obsessed but quite honestly I don’t care, I am in my element! My latest idea is the needle felted Tooth Fairy Jar and I would love to have your feedback on this one. It combines the fairy and the toadstool and results in a unique (as far as I am aware) gift that the Joseph Banks Centre are keen to put in their shop. Fortunately Kate, one of the ladies who helps run the shop, is also a fairy fan so we are currently planning a ‘fairy grotto’ area to spread a bit of magic to the shoppers in Horncastle! Obviously these will not be marketed as toys, and the jar would need to sit on a bedside cabinet rather than being placed under the childs pillow, but I have several friends who are ‘Fairy’ fans so am hoping this is a goer! The plan is to make several toadstools in various different colours of Merino wool, each one will have a tiny ladybird inside which will be made in the same colourway as the toadstool top. I have used two different methods for the wings, one is Angelina Fibres, the other is simply Merino top, I like both but the Angelina is nice as it gives that bit of fairy sparkle so this will be the preffered material.

Kate suggested the jars would also make cute little trinket boxes, they are small but could hold a favourite ring, earings, etc.

Tooth Fairy Jars can also be used as tiny trinket boxes.

Pink version of the Tooth Fairy Jar.

Something from nothing…

January 9, 2014March 3, 2015 / Karen Lane / 5 Comments

Something from nothing…

Today I just had to share my latest ‘crafting’ discovery …. water-soluble fabric stabilizer. You may already be aware of it and have probably used it, but I only stumbled across this product last weekend while browsing youtube. I was looking for fresh ideas to use up scraps of fabric and during my search I came across a lady called Jan Tillet making bowls from left over snippets of fabric and threads. Jan’s work is very beautiful and this struck me as a really exciting way to recycle odd scraps and a great way of making something from nothing! The scraps are sandwiched between two layers of water-soluble fabric stabilizer and then machine sewn all over using a free motion embroidery foot, being sure to cross the stitching over and over again to link it all together. Once the piece has been covered in stitching the stabilizer is all but rinsed away in cold water and the newly created fabric is draped over a bowl and left to dry. The aim is to leave a little residue of stabilizer your work so it will stiffen and retain its shape when dry.

I gathered up various scraps and had a go, experimenting with different textures and colours. Some peices have been put to one side to be worked into future projects while others went on to become bowls. When making the bowls I found my work needed much more stiffening (maybe I didn’t leave enough residue) so I experimented with spray starch and the far cheaper option of PVA . I am a big fan of PVA and always have loads to hand, I found that soaking my work in it, before drying on the lowest heat setting in the oven for 20 mins, gave it a much firmer finish which I was happy with.

One of the experimental pieces.

Colourful lacy bowl made from fabric scraps.

So far I have made three bowls, the first was a colourful one using snippets of organza, chiffon and ribbon which looks really pretty and lacy. I put a tea light in it for the photo (above) but I wouldn’t recommend using it this way as it could pose a fire hazard! The other two bowls were both made from hessian, one in its natural state and the other bleached with Milton’s and mixed with strands of tapestry wool. I particularly like the bleached effect and, as this is the largest bowl, it has made a great bread basket.

There are endless possibilities for using this technique and the great thing is that every piece will be unique.

Bread Basket

Away with the Fairies….

January 8, 2014October 12, 2015 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

Away with the Fairies…

It seems ages since my last post but its been a busy time craft-wise so now I’ve made the time to sit still I have plenty to ramble about!

I attended another of Eve Marshall’s fabulous felting workshops just before Christmas and this one, following on from the Elf on a Toadstool with Robyn, was perfectly timed to feed on my reawakened childhood love of all things magical/mystical. The basic process for making the body of the wet felted Fairy was very similar to that of making a flower i.e. laying the tufts of fibres overlapping in a ‘starburst’ formation. One thing to remember before commencing the felting is that the centre of the ‘flower’ will become the Fairies head and therefore the fibre laid here should be your chosen ‘flesh’ colour.

Laying the fibres for the ‘Spring time’ fairy

The head is simply a felted ball, but getting the size right was a bit hit and miss to begin with! The ball is positioned in the centre on the wrong side of the skirt. The skirt is then pulled tight over the ball and tied in place with thread. I have discovered that the best thing to use for this is dental floss as its very strong and can be pulled tight without fear of breaking. At the same time I attached a second length of floss through the top of the head which can be used, if required, to suspend the Fairy. The figures are not given a face, these are left blank in the Waldorf tradition.

The head is formed and thread attached for suspending.

My first attempt at a wet felted Fairy.

Although I was pleased with my first attempt, she now looks pretty crude compared with the ones I made over Christmas! The black hair on this first Fairy was made from wool top and attached by needle felting….I prefer the hair on the more recent examples which I made using a textured knitting wool and decorated with a headband of tiny beads.

Each Flower Fairy is decorated with a beaded headband and carries a posy.

Springtime Fairy

The delicate, translucent wings are formed using ‘Blaze’ heat bondable Angelina Fibres – I hadn’t heard of these of these before but I can see them being useful for all sorts of future projects! To make the wings the Angelina Fibres are simply laid between two sheets of paper and ironed using a medium heat setting for a couple of seconds.

Gothic Flower Fairy

When I made the ‘Gothic’ Fairy I couldn’t find a suitable wool for her hair so I simply used a permanent marker on the orange wool and the result looked fab! This one is my favourite so far…she worked out smaller than the others and looks so cute….which is your favourite?