Yellow Poppies Workshop…..

April 10, 2018April 11, 2018 / Karen Lane / 10 Comments

Today was day one of the Yellow Poppies Workshop at Hemmingby Village Hall attended by nine enthusiastic ladies all keen to learn a new skill.

The morning was spent Wet Felting the backgrounds using three shades of Bergschaf wool. Once this was done the work was spun and put aside to dry while we had lunch.

This afternoon Lou and Jani chose to make additional pieces of felt to cut up to use as 3D flowers while the others got straight on with Needle Felting their flowers directly onto the background.

Tomorrow the ladies will continue embellishing their work with Needle Felting, couching, hand stitch and free machine embroidery.

Bergschaf Clutch Bag…..

February 17, 2018February 27, 2018 / Karen Lane / 8 Comments

Today I was back at the Simply Stitch studio in East Keswick to deliver a wet felting workshop for owner Nicola Hulme and ten ladies who were there to make their version of my Irit Dulman inspired Bergschaf Clutch Bag.

Mottled Irit Dulman inspired clutch bag

Two-tone Irit Dulman inspired clutch bag.

For at least two of the ladies this would be their first introduction to Felting around a resist.

I know that if I chose the colours and put together specific kits and made students follow my instructions to the letter we would all be done in the time allowed and be taking home a finished item………..but I can’t do that! The last thing I want is for everyone to take home the same item!

When I deliver a workshop I like to encourage students to make the piece their own and this means allowing time to think, discuss options and take risks…..this morning was no exception!

As a result the ladies have all worked flat-out and produced a bag which is unique to them. They are almost but not quite finished. When I get photos of the completed work I will post an update.

Thanks to Nicola for hosting the workshop and keeping us all in coffee and biscuits and to all the ladies who took part….including Janet who managed to run away and hide when I took the final photo! Hope to see you all again.

Bergschaf Necklace…..

April 10, 2017April 10, 2017 / Karen Lane / 6 Comments

Chunky necklace made from wet felted Bergschaf wool

Chunky Bergschaf Necklace

I’ve just finished an experimental piece which was started during Mandy Nash’s workshop in Belchford last weekend. It’s a chunky Bergschaf necklace made from shades of grey and natural Bergschaf wool with yellow, pink and orange spots and hangs from a thin cord.

A quick catch up…..

December 10, 2016 / Karen Lane / 5 Comments

This is a quick catch up post, just to record a couple of felting projects that were recently finished. The first is a pair of Bergschaf slipper boots, an early present to myself! I made them using a scaled up version (and then some!) of the fairy boots I made in the summer. The two boots are made as one, using a flat resist, and then cut apart before fulling and shaping. They are the warmest and most comfortable slippers I have ever had. I can see these lasting for years so I’m intending to embellish them with hand embroidery at some point over Christmas.

Grey Bergschaf wet felted slipper boots

The second project was a wet felted cushion for my elderly aunt who is nearly 90 yrs young and loves warm colours, particularly orange. She lives in a small flat, there is nothing she actually needs but she does love anything felted so I thought this Merino cushion would be something she could get some enjoyment from looking at.

Daphne’s wet felted floral cushion.

Experimental Sculptural Forms…..

June 11, 2016June 15, 2016 / Karen Lane / 2 Comments

I’m writing this sitting in my B&B in Stoney Stanton having just eaten a delicious meal in Nemos Bar. I travelled down here last night ahead of a two day workshop with Mandy Nash to make experimental sculptural forms. The workshop is being held in Arnesby, a small village just south of Leicester.

Experimental Sculptural Forms by Mandy Nash

Examples of Mandy’s sculptural work

This morning Mandy began by showing us some of her wonderful wet felted objects, including hats, bags and funky fish, and explaining how the various 3 dimensional shapes were achieved. Several of the bags and vessels had been created using “book resists” and this was the method we were going to be working with. In addition Mandy talked us through the various surface design techniques she uses and demonstrated how we could achieve these effects using Bergschaf wool batts. Most of the ladies chose to make a fish and the following photos show their work in progress.