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Sunday, January 04, 2009

Just a Glimpse . . . of a Felted Butterfly Wing

The inspiration: The book "butterfly" by Thomas Marent - an amazing compilation of butterflies photographed all over the world.

When I began felting, I'd try to mimic an entire object; however, along the way in my colorful journey, I've become much more interested in capturing the subtle colorways of closeup detail - does that make sense? If you really, really look at nature with a new eye, you can train yourself to appreciate these variations and combinations of color as well as appreciate the exquisite detail all around us.


I always make a test sample before starting a project and take notes of what to do more of and what not to do next time. This little sample is wool and mohair that was machine needle (using the Baby Lock Embellisher) and then wet felted on to black chiffon which is lovely and "puckery" where it peeps through although you can't quite see it here. It was rolled many, many times before "fulling" and it shrunk very nicely making the stitches quite pronounced.

Things learned from creating this sample:

I'll use all wool for my "real" project as although the mohair blend was the perfect color it is still a little hairy in some areas (as can be seen around the edges) although the wool is well integrated and felted.

I'll incorporate some black wool the next time to add more definition. Although I was not initially a "black" wool lover and steered away from it, I've found that it definitely adds a wonderful contrast to even the softest of colorways.




6 comments:

  1. Oh, Beautiful. Love the colors you used.

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  2. Hello Margo,

    I just discovered your beautiful blog and have been searching for your articles on the internet. Yesterday I downloaded your two e books "Needle Felting Magic" one and two from the Martingale Press website. I have been sewing all my life, quilting since 2004, free motion quilting since last year and am now learning the art of needle felting. Thank you for sharing your talent, your skills and your time. It's wonderful to see someone using their God given gifts and sharing them so selflessly.

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  3. Thank you Sharon - it meant a lot to me that you understand how I love to share what I learn with others. I do thank God for this special journey!

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  4. Earlier this week I went to our local Babylock retail store to look at the Babylock Embellishers and asked them to demonstrate the floor model for me. After seeing how effecient and effective it was at fusing fibers I ordered one. Mine should arrive early next week! I purchased another model (Simplicity) and was so disappointed that I returned it shortly afterward. It simply did not fuse well at all and I had obtained better results with my little hand held 5 needle punch made by Clover.

    So for now I am content to hand felt my little cuff bracelets for my Christmas projects until my Babylock embellisher arrives.

    This quote from Erma Bombeck is very inspirational:

    “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me".”

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  5. Enjoy your own colorful journey Sharon! can't wait to see what you create!

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