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Post by lyn on Nov 4, 2013 22:07:46 GMT
Yup, it's nearly that time of year again - where did 2013 go? I've made a piece of felt and photographed it to use on the front of my Christmas cards. feltingandfiberstudio.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/christmas-robin.jpgI wet-felted a piece of felt from white merino. When it had dried I loosely needle-felted into it the robin's colours with merino wool then I wet-felted the whole thing for just a few minutes so that the robin was still fluffy. I used free-motion stitching, with black thread, to sketch in the details and a few hand cross-stitches to finish off the Christmas pudds. Stitching on felt will compress it, so when I stitched an ever decreasing circle of black to 'draw' the eye, it made the orange felt around it stand a little proud and this gave a good effect. The only part of the picture that is not felt or stitch is the white dot in the eye (the glint). I photographed it outside under a cloudy sky to get the truest colours of the wool. (If you click the image it will enlarge.)
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Post by Pandagirl on Nov 5, 2013 0:07:44 GMT
Very nice Lyn. I hope to be able to try free motion stitching. I've been waiting for the foot I ordered to come in, it does add a lot of detail. But I'm sure it will take some practice. :-)
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Post by lyn on Nov 5, 2013 0:28:29 GMT
Thank you Marilyn!
When I first had a go at free stitching it was almost as neat as the seams I made under the watchful eye of the needlework teacher at school - and it looked about as interesting!
My daughter showed me how to 'loosen up' and that 'messy' is part of the charm.
(I use a darning foot - it looks like a little hoop. I have an old machine and the darning foot is metal and I often think things would be easier if it was made from clear plastic.)
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Post by Pandagirl on Nov 5, 2013 1:33:27 GMT
Oh I'm not worried about being exact, not in my nature. If messy works I'll be okay. :-). Thanks for the encouragement! I have no idea what this free motion foot looks like. I'll let you know. I imagine I have a darning foot somewhere. Feed dogs down?
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Post by lyn on Nov 5, 2013 9:22:31 GMT
Yes, feed dogs down so that the felt can move easily. This is what my darning foot looks like (it's not my own photo, just one I found online):
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Post by zed on Nov 5, 2013 10:19:45 GMT
That's really gorgeous, Lyn!
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Post by crealou on Nov 5, 2013 13:21:26 GMT
:)I love it too.
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Post by Pandagirl on Nov 5, 2013 16:18:04 GMT
Thanks Lyn.
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Post by MTRuth on Nov 5, 2013 17:11:53 GMT
Wonderful Lyn - so what did you use for the dot in the eye? Those will be really great Christmas cards. Your little bird looks so happy.
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Post by lyn on Nov 5, 2013 17:44:18 GMT
Thank you Zed, Crealou and Ruth! I had intended to put a dob of white acrylic paint for the glint in the eye because I thought it would be more effective than a white stitch...but I lost my nerve when I worried I might not get the paint in the right place...all that work would be spoiled! I had to put the photograph into an editing programme to 'crop' it to size because I had too much white felt around the robin, so I decided to add the white dot digitally (then if I put it in the wrong place I could just re-do it without spoiling the felt). I also added a green border and here's what I ended up with: feltingandfiberstudio.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/pzeetwq73qxziurcmv2n.jpg
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Post by zed on Nov 6, 2013 9:18:17 GMT
That looks really cool
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Post by janekiwi on Nov 6, 2013 20:45:12 GMT
Hi Lyn, love your Robin, agree with Ruth that it has a very happy (chirpy) look, just like the real birds do. You have got me enthusiastic to try free machine stitching, something I have been meaning to do for ages!
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Post by lyn on Nov 6, 2013 22:50:33 GMT
Go for it Jane! The needle is your pencil and your felt is your paper, but instead of moving the pencil over the paper you move the paper under the pencil.
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Post by Shepherdess on Nov 6, 2013 23:13:06 GMT
Fabulous Lyn! You are so talented. I have the foot but need to practice. One place told me you put the food down like a regular foot but put the feed dogs down. that didn't work it clamped the felt to tight and I couldn't move it. There is a switch on my machine that stops it going down. Its about and inch up. that was hard as it slides around to easily. I suppose I just need practice.
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Post by MTRuth on Nov 6, 2013 23:29:10 GMT
Ann - the foot should move up and down, mine has a spring on it.
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