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Post by Ann @ frabjous fabrica on May 8, 2020 7:38:56 GMT
Hi, I'm Ann. I live in a market town in North Dorset (UK) and have been making felt for at least 10 years - in fact I can't remember when I started. I was a member of the Dorset Guild of Weavers Spinners & Dyers and one weekend another member gave us a workshop on how to wet felt. Of course I was hooked! I no longer weave - I used to find the designing, pre-weaving calculations and setting up the loom interesting, but could only manage about 6 inches of weaving before I became bored with it! I no longer spin, although I do still have my wheel, for when I can't felt any more. Up until the current Covid-19 lockdown I made lots of felt, wet and dry. Mountains of scarves, piles of "pots", and - my main enthusiasm - wet and needle felt "painted" pictures. Now I'm afraid that have lost the enthusiasm - no more room for all the things I make. I cannot motivate myself to start a project with no end in sight. So I am hoping that the Studio blogs and the Forum will get the juices flowing again.
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Post by lyn on May 8, 2020 11:18:01 GMT
Hello Ann and welcome to the forum! From reading several blogs lately, it seems that 'losing your mojo' is quite common during the lockdown. Have you ever sold any of your items? Craft fairs are a no-no presently but there is always a platform like 'Etsy'. If you have no desire to sell, how about donating suitable felted items to hospices or old people's homes etc where they would brighten someone's day. How about taking part in a studio challenge? There's no prize, no judging, you just challenge yourself and share a photo or two on the forum. Click this link for detailsIf you decide to challenge yourself, you can post photos here
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Post by Shepherdess on May 8, 2020 14:10:54 GMT
Hi, welcome to the forum and the blog. Do you use local Dorset wool or other fibres? It is hard to motivate yourself at this time. The studio challenge is a great way to start. You can look back at some of our other challenges on here or on the blog for more inspiration and post them. WE love to see what people are doing.
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Post by Pandagirl on May 8, 2020 16:43:56 GMT
Welcome Ann! Motivation is hard to find these days for me, too. But I enjoy seeing what everyone here is working on. Please post some pics of your work.
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Post by lindsay on May 8, 2020 19:58:00 GMT
Hi Ann. I’m with you on this one. In sunny Kent, not so far from Dorset, but making very little & concentrating instead on lots of digging. Agree with others though that the studio challenges help you to try new things and there’s so much on the forum archives that it’s a good place to start.
Welcome!
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Post by Ann @ frabjous fabrica on May 9, 2020 10:55:11 GMT
Wow! I wasn't expecting to get any comments. I'm very new to this and even with the pdf on how to navigate the Forum I'm still not sure what to do. I do have lots of pictures of my past work, but if you'd like to see some of them - where do I post them? I used to try to sell through craft fairs but soon gave that up as a bad job. I rarely even covered my stand fee, let alone the cost of materials etc. People in England, at least, consider that if it's hand made, it's home made and therefore should be sold for peanuts. I'm 73 and have only just managed finally to get free of having to send Returns to the Inland Revenue, having retired from a (minimally) paid post as admin assistant to our local community magazine. I want to have to start again and therefore don't want to sell via the internet because (knowing my luck) if I don't declare any earnings, I'm bound to sell something to an Inland Revenue Inspector. I will be donating stuff to charities in due course, it's just that I can't see anywhen in the near future when they will be able to make use of it. I was originally going to use my time up in making smaller items for our local museum sell in its shop - I volunteered there once a fortnight - but I can't see them reopening in the foreseeable future - it is so small that there is no way that more than one visitor at a time could get in there safely. It's all doom and gloom. However, you have made me think a bit and I'll start work again stockpiling stuff for future donations (not sure where I'll find space to store it but I'll work on it). There is a lady in a village near us who is known as the hedgehog lady - she rescues them and receives no funds towards this work. She used to have a stall at our local Country Market (formerly known as WI Market) where she sold her hand made cards. So I'll make her some hedgehogs. Ann
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Post by lyn on May 9, 2020 12:04:40 GMT
Ann, you are so right about a lot of people not willing to pay the proper price for handmade items - even though they are unique and often better than shop bought!
If the Country Market re-opens perhaps the Hedgehog Lady could sell some of the stuff you have stockpiled to help her with funds? I like the sound of your hedgehogs - I'm sure they would sell well on her stall.
You'll soon get the hang of the forum. To post photos on this forum they first have to be saved on the internet - for example, 'dropbox', 'instagram', 'facebook', 'photobucket', your blog if you have one? There is a 'Frequently Asked Questions' section on the forum that has instructions on how to put photos on the forum.
If you're still stuck with the photo problem, I wonder if Ruth Lane (moderator) could help?
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Post by MTRuth on May 9, 2020 13:35:14 GMT
Welcome Ann, I'm glad you joined us. Let me know if you need help with photos. You can email me photos and I can post them for you. laneruthe @gmail
We'd love to see your creations.
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Post by Ann @ frabjous fabrica on May 10, 2020 15:46:01 GMT
Thank you Ruth. I will send you a couple of photos, but in the meantime I thought that should let you all know that - I'VE FOUND IT! My mojo is back. I spotted some photos of some patchwork type nuno felt yesterday morning (though I can't find them again to say thank you to whichever one of you whose work it was) and I thought, that's what I want to do, and I was away. I gave myself a talking to - why complain about not having room to store stuff you've made, when all your space is currently taken up with a stash that you've been adding to for years? I have been buying fabrics fibres and yarns over the years and putting them together in "pre-project" collections - colours and designs that go together and telling myself that I'd do something with them "one day". Well that day has arrived and I'm getting on with it. Thanks girls. I've sent Ruth a couple of photos: One of a 3d needlefelted group of fly agaric mushrooms, and one of my latest felt landscape "painting" based on some lines from a song in Lord of the Rings - "The road goes ever on and on" Best wishes, and stay safe Ann
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Post by MTRuth on May 10, 2020 16:39:37 GMT
Pieces created by Ann
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Post by lyn on May 10, 2020 20:10:30 GMT
Ann - your mushrooms are cute!
Your landscape is wonderful and those stony paths draw you right through the verdant countryside on a warm sunny day. Magical.
Thank you for sharing with us.
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Post by MTRuth on May 10, 2020 22:02:29 GMT
Yes Ann, thanks for sharing. Lyn is spot on with her assessment
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Post by Shepherdess on May 11, 2020 0:53:20 GMT
The mushrooms are lovely. The picture is lovely, you should frame it.
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Post by Pandagirl on May 11, 2020 20:27:07 GMT
Lovely creations Ann!
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Post by lindsay on May 12, 2020 8:08:28 GMT
Fun mushrooms. I love the picture. Totally agree it has great depth and is very appealing. It looks like felting with embroidery. I can’t really tell if it’s both wet & needle felting?
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