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Post by Ann @ frabjous fabrica on Jun 2, 2021 10:13:56 GMT
Well that's May gone, so now we can "cast a clout" - and we need to, we're having what passes for a heat wave in the UK at the moment. Only 19 days and we can start sliding downhill to Christmas (sorry!)
I've started a project for 2nd quarter challenge, based on Lyn's technique. I have traced the parts of the design onto baking parchment and ironed it onto my prefelts, with difficulty. I have trouble getting it to stick. I don't want to use too hot an iron as I have (during Ruth's Paper Fabric Lamination class) stuck it so well I couldn't get it off. I've tried cutting out the pieces but I'm finding it difficult because my scissors don't like cutting through paper and prefelt. That was this morning. I suspect that I'll be cutting out the templates and drawing round them with heat vanishing pens, or maybe tailor's chalk.
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Post by MTRuth on Jun 2, 2021 17:52:42 GMT
Ann, do you have freezer paper in the UK? It's different than baking parchment and this technique works well with it. www.thekitchn.com/what-is-freezer-paper-211401I have been mainly stitching as I'm working on my class homework. Lots of hand stitching at the moment. |
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Post by Ann @ frabjous fabrica on Jun 2, 2021 21:29:50 GMT
Ann, do you have freezer paper in the UK? It's different than baking parchment and this technique works well with it. www.thekitchn.com/what-is-freezer-paper-211401I have been mainly stitching as I'm working on my class homework. Lots of hand stitching at the moment. Thanks Ruth, I've found some on Amazon and will order it. |
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Post by Shepherdess on Jun 3, 2021 0:40:07 GMT
I think we call it butcher paper. Its red/brown and has plastic on one side.
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Post by caterina on Jun 5, 2021 16:05:49 GMT
Hello, friends.
I have been working on a neckwarmer for my Lena Archbold class, I worked on it for 3 weekends (on the first one, I finished my wool and had to buy more, so I had to wait the next one to go on with my layout and first rubbing and rolling.). So, on my third weekend, the neckwarmer was coming along nicely, but I wanted more shrinkage, I don't have a sander and I thought that I would try to use the washing machine: well, what can I say, I had never used it before for felting, that was a proper experience, for sure! Now I have a kind of stiff hairy sculpture, and I know that you don't use the washing machine for wearable garments...lol!
I will have to start the whole thing again, maybe next weekend. :-) any idea on how to reuse that very stiff felt is welcome!
I started to make some small-sized abstract felt paintings, also to try new techniques and understand fibers, silk especially. I have completed one and made the background of 3 others.
It took me a while, as I wanted to achieve blends of colours by hand, using the dyed wool that I have lately bought. Also, I had to find out the level of layout thickness that I needed: the first tries were much too thin to support the second layer of felt that I had in mind. Another thing that made me very slow: as soon as I started working on the first couple of backgrounds, I started having wild ideas on other totally different paintings to make, and I desperately wanted to be working on two sets of projects at the same time! Of course, I could only do that in two subsequent moments! Lol
I almost would like to go back to rainy weekends, to have more indoor time to felt! Almost!
Caterina
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Post by lyn on Jun 5, 2021 16:25:28 GMT
Oh dear Caterina - empathy coming your way. When Annie and I made our first cobweb scarf (and it was beautiful) we decided to save drying time by using the spin cycle in the washing machine .... long story short, it wasn't cobweb felt anymore and it wasn't beautiful anymore!
It sounds as if you're having fun experimenting and you don't seem short on ideas, but this lovely weather does make it difficult to stay indoors.
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Post by MTRuth on Jun 6, 2021 13:41:20 GMT
I would save the stiff piece of felt, you can always cut it up and use it for texture or structure for another piece.
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Post by lindsay on Jun 6, 2021 19:33:56 GMT
Sounds like you’re learning lots, which is great. I used my washing machine once to boil wash a wooden jumper / sweater I bought in a charity shop. I wanted to cut it up to use as the centre for felt pebbles. The felt was quite successful and worked well in the middle of the pebbles. However, the washing machine was such a mess: fluff and hairs everywhere. I spent so long picking fluff off my next wash then cleaning the machine out that I decided never to do that again. We do indeed live and learn.
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Post by Shepherdess on Jun 8, 2021 2:07:08 GMT
I feel for you. you really have to watch felting in the washer or dryer. I would keep it as Ruth said to make texture or as Lindsay said for the middle of something else. I have washed a whole fleece in the washing machine. It came out like a giant Boa. I then ran it through the picker to fill a pillow.
For a picture, I like to start on a prefelt. I just got some nice thick need felt prefelt I plan on trying out.
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Post by Shepherdess on Jun 8, 2021 2:16:15 GMT
I forgot to say my daily dose today was filling my storage pouch for my basket and filled my basket back up.
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Post by Ann @ frabjous fabrica on Jun 8, 2021 7:47:55 GMT
I quite often use my washing machine for fulling but never for fine stuff. I use the rinse/spin most times for a final rinse, or if I'm worn out with rolling, rubbing etc I'll do a couple of rinses, checking and reshaping between them. I've used the wool wash cycle for difficult to felt items, that's at 30 degrees, but the agitation is minimal as you would expect and it didn't work very well, until I put some golf balls in the drum with the felt. That did it!
When I've got something large and heavy duty to full then I've been known to put it in on a 30 degree cotton cycle (extra agitation) with a very hard rubber ball. That really worked well, but it took a lot of reshaping afterwords.
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Post by Shepherdess on Jun 8, 2021 18:01:07 GMT
Today's daily dose has been felting around pebbles. Everyone seems to be making them. I think it was a Judit Poc class. Perhaps one for the IFA conference. I thought, I bet I can figure that out. I tried two different ways and they both turned out well if different. I will tell you about them on the blog on June 14th.
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Post by caterina on Jun 9, 2021 19:54:34 GMT
Today's daily dose has been felting around pebbles. Everyone seems to be making them. I think it was a Judit Poc class. Perhaps one for the IFA conference. I thought, I bet I can figure that out. I tried two different ways and they both turned out well if different. I will tell you about them on the blog on June 14th. I can't wait to read it, I was wondering about it, as it has been coming up in different posts and I am very curious now! |
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Post by caterina on Jun 9, 2021 19:59:27 GMT
I quite often use my washing machine for fulling but never for fine stuff. I use the rinse/spin most times for a final rinse, or if I'm worn out with rolling, rubbing etc I'll do a couple of rinses, checking and reshaping between them. I've used the wool wash cycle for difficult to felt items, that's at 30 degrees, but the agitation is minimal as you would expect and it didn't work very well, until I put some golf balls in the drum with the felt. That did it! When I've got something large and heavy duty to full then I've been known to put it in on a 30 degree cotton cycle (extra agitation) with a very hard rubber ball. That really worked well, but it took a lot of reshaping afterwords. Ann, I will not say under torture what I did with my poor would-be neckwarmer in that washing machine. Let's admit I did not use moderation and 10 minutes rinse cycles. Enough to say that my husband saw the result and thought it was an attempt at toy medieval armour for our kids' dolls.. 😅 |
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Post by lyn on Jun 9, 2021 21:07:05 GMT
Today's daily dose has been felting around pebbles. Everyone seems to be making them. I think it was a Judit Poc class. Perhaps one for the IFA conference. I thought, I bet I can figure that out. I tried two different ways and they both turned out well if different. I will tell you about them on the blog on June 14th. I've only made them one way - the same way that I made felted soaps so I'd be interested to read of another way Ann. Some of the pebbles were huge and heavy and hurt my hands a bit during the felting! Here's the first 3 I made back in October 2008.  And some more I made for sale as paperweights/decorations.  |
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