Breaking news….

December 6, 2013March 3, 2015 / Karen Lane / 1 Comment

More exciting news on the felting front….my brooches and key rings are going on sale at the Sir Joseph Banks Centre in Horncastle from tomorrow. There will be a mixture of large wet felted brooches and smaller dry felted gifts to choose from. The Sir Joseph Banks Centre is the home of the Sir Joseph Banks Society where visitors will find information on the life and the amazing work of one of our most famous and respected explorers. The Society is very proud to have Sir David Attenborough as its president and the building it occupies houses a growing reference library and is working towards establishing a research centre.

The building also boasts a thriving gift shop, run by volunteers, and crammed with all sorts of beautiful gifts. There are a mixture of “bought in” and hand crafted items, with a lot of the stock being created on the doorstep by talented, local artists/crafters. From pictures, jewelry, ornaments, clothing, accessories, etc., you name it and they probably have it! So if you are in the Horncastle area and looking for unique gift ideas be sure to give this shop visit!

A selection of my handmade wet and dry felted brooches and keyrings.

Beautiful gifts for the home on sale at the Joseph Banks shop.

The shop is crammed with great gift ideas for Christmas!

Brooches now on sale….

December 4, 2013 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

It’s been brooches, brooches and more brooches over the past week or so! Originally I began making these for myself but, after getting such a lot of interest, I now find myself making them to order. This week I am particularly excited as Joanne from Graces Boutique in Horncastle has offered to display some of them for sale in her shop.

Joanne recently moved Graces a couple of doors down the road into larger premises and this has allowed her to create a fabulous stylish setting for her beautiful clothing – if you are looking for something different to the run of the mill High Street styles this is a great place to visit.

Stylish Autumn/Winter Coats on display in Graces Boutique.

Fabulous Autumn/Winter clothes and accessories on sale in Graces Boutique.

Graces Boutique on North Street in Horncastle.

3D Needle Felting

December 3, 2013 / Karen Lane / 5 Comments

Last Saturday I attended a 3D needle felting workshop in Heighington run by Robyn Smith of Feltybits. Robyn began by showing us various peices of her fabulous 3D work and she explained the different techniques of producing the shapes. We were then asked to chose what we would like to work on and Robyn supplied us with the Merino wool and all the help and advice we needed. One of the peices we were shown was a tiny toadstool which immediately took me right back to my childhood and the many hours I spent drawing toadstools and elves! The workshop lasted four hours and it took me all that time to do the basic toadstool and elves body but I loved every minute of it. Sunday afternoon I was in my element – adding the details including the tiny flowers and the ladybird and putting features and clothes onto the elf. I was so pleased with the result….I am now even more hooked on felting, if that’s possible.!!

3D Toadstool and Elf created using Merino wool.

Autumn Leaf – 3D Picture

November 25, 2013 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

This beautiful 3D picture was one of several produced by Sheila during our needle felting workshops. Sheila worked with Merino wool and other mixed fibres, on a white felt background, to create a stunning autumnal scene. The picture focuses on the fallen leaf which was felted separately and added loosely in order to create a 3D element to the artwork. Felt is a fantastic medium for creating pictures – you don’t have to have the ability to paint but once you have mastered the basic techniques of felting you can produce fabulous artwork using the wool as your paint substitute. Adding other mediums such as organza or tulle fabrics, metallic threads, beads, etc. can also provide interest and added depth to your work. Keep watching for more great examples of felting produced in our workshops.

Needle felted autum leaf – 3D picture.

Wet felted bowl

November 20, 2013 / Karen Lane / 5 Comments

OK so I had a go at making the wet felted bowl this afternoon…..not an absolute disaster but it could have worked out better! I used Merino wool from Adelaide Walkers ‘Brights’ collection laid onto a flat circular resist. All seemed to be going well until it came to taking the resist out. What started out as a small hole in the top of the bowl got stretched and became a huge gaping hole! I think my problem lay in not making the bowl thick or sturdy enough to withstand having the disc pulled out through the small opening. If only I had made this a bit bigger it would have come in useful turned upside down and worn as a funcky ‘dog-walking’ hat!

My first attempt at wet felted flowers

November 20, 2013November 20, 2013 / Karen Lane / 1 Comment

This morning I thought I would have a go at wet felting. Depending on which tutorial you look at on youtube you can be mistaken for thinking that wet felting takes forever is a very messy and laborious task. Fortunately, having attended a workshop with Eve Marshall last week, I have discovered that it can be fun and very rewarding! Here are my first attempts at wet felting flowers…I was very hapy with the results and plan to make them into brooches. I am thinking of trying my hand at wet felting a round bowl later today – not too sure how that will turn out! Good or bad, watch this space for photos.

: My first wet felted flower

: Close up of wet felted flower

: My first poppy with very fine, cobweb-like petals

Birthday Celebration Workshop

November 19, 2013November 20, 2013 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

Last weekend I was invited to host a Needle Felting Workshop for a group of friends as part of a birthday celebration. Its a great idea for a group activity which is fun, creative and results in everyone learning a new skill. The ladies were shown how to felt using Merino wool and were supplied with lots of other materials and threads to use as embellishments. Non of the group had tried this before but at the end of the session everyone took away a beautiful, unique hand made brooch of their own design. I hope you all enjoyed the afternoon and look forward to seeing some of you ladies again at future workshops.

Needle Felting at Joseph Banks

November 19, 2013November 19, 2013 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

The second of the Felting Workshops, held at the Joseph Banks Centre in Horncastle, saw the ladies creating fabulous needle felted pictures with the intention of applying them to greetings cards. All equipment and materials were provided as well as lots of images and examples for inspiration.

“Hair of the dog” 3D modelling…

November 6, 2013November 20, 2013 / Karen Lane / 3 Comments

Sometimes we find inspiration when we are really not looking for it…. On Monday I watched in amusement as a friend of mine sheared “Lady”, a little terrier, giving her coat a close-cut number “2”. I couldnt help thinking of the Specsavers advert and that poor sheepdog! Thinking of sheep led me to wonder if I could use the curly dog hair, that was now covering the floor, for felting….and if so, wouldnt it be cool to make a needle felt 3D model of the dog and cover it with its own hair? A quick look on youtube to get some tips on how to form the body and I discovered DIY Puppy Plushie….a couple of hours later we have “Lady” in miniature. Rather than waste my Merino I used polyester wadding for the core but have since been advised by a very helpful lady at Adelaide Walker that Cheviot wool makes a good base. The Cheviot’s on order so I am now looking for inspiration for my next project.

Needle felted miniature dog

Needle felting using dog hair.

November Needle Felting Workshops

November 6, 2013November 19, 2013 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

My love of needle felting is fast growing into an obsession! So much so that I decided I had to share my interest with others and found myself, last Saturday, launching the first of the November Needle Felting Workshops which are being held in The Joseph Banks Centre on Bridge Street in Horncastle. We had a packed house with a lovely bunch of ladies, some had tried needle felting in the past while others were completely new to it. Various techniques were shown and discussed and everyone was given the option of selecting their preferred method of working. All equipment and materials were supplied, including fabulous Merino wool and by the end of the two hours everyone agreed they had had a good time and each of them had produced a beautiful, unique felted brooch to take home. One of the ladies contacted me the day after to say she had been wearing her brooch while out shopping and had received lots of admiring comments – not bad for a first attempt!

I will be holding the next session on Saturday 9th November from 10am – 12noon. All ages/abilities welcome but please note that numbers are limited so please refer to the poster for contact details as booking is essential.