Although it is difficult to tell, this felt is the lightest and most airy felt I have made to date - I'm in LOVE with it!!! - can't wait until the weather cools (just a little - 60?) to wear it with leggings and boots - it is very fancy and turned out a shimmering silvery grey.
The base is an eco chiffon dyed with rusty bits and iron before we moved; then there is one layer of grey (Opulent Fiber Merino), a layer of Margelin silk from Russia sent by a Russian student, Galina, who traveled all the way from Moscow for my workshop to Dorie's in the Netherlands - and was topped with part of a silk oblong also eco dyed in the same batch as the chiffon. When I stretched out the oblong, it actually looked exactly like marble - amazing and beautiful.
Once it had been felted, the grey wool came through the white margelin and it actually shimmers and trying it on was like wearing a feather! Perfect for SC winters!!! So excited!!!!
In the evenings, I am working on some cq hand stitching for one of my workshops at Opulent Fibers in Portland, Oregon, next August and tomorrow I'll begin working on some samples for other workshops as well - both machine needle and wet felting. Life is good!
I love hand stitching - keep checking for more updates!
So, although I've been itching to get to my eco dyeing again, I haven't been able to find the time because of deadlines and all the socializing that goes on around here! Not that I'm complaining! We have met some very lovely friends and socialized more in the past two months than we did in years before moving here, of course it helps those in Habersham are here because they chose to be here! Anyway, just a brief trial with some found leaves/nuts (sadly I don't know enough to identify them, but I do know where to get more), some onion skins and a little eucolyptus I brought with me that I got from California; I'm very sparing with the euco because I don't have much and want to save it for an actual project. I had a bunch of white nuno scraps leftover from the recent white dress that I do not want to waste, so I bundled them up and think they will be a good hand stitching opportunity for future workshops in 2014. The top piece is etamine, I've had it a while and wondered how it would do with eco printing (quite lovely I may add) just another experiment that I will include in some garment I'm sure.
Some things I've been working on lately - I had many yards of some gorgeous crinkled cotton in my stash. The top is nuno felted and cut using a Natalie Chanin pattern - it is cut and sewn (those of you who know me, know that I LOVE cutting/sewing my felts) with some extra embellishments added - circles showing the reverse side with hand stitched sequins and beads.
This is a collar that can be used separately or with the dress for chilly evenings.
The back of the dress is very simple and I decided it needed a special touch, so I added a nuno flower. This dress is elegant and pretty enough to be used for a wedding dress; the sides are gathered up very slightly at the hem.
My "Charity" dress is finally finished with a simple flower necklace added for enhancement.I always learn something new from Charity - wish she could come live with me - I love her!
and . . . I finally had the time to complete my Jean Gaugher butterfly wrap - quite large and very beautiful.
and also finished this aqua top that began as a dress before I changed my mind!
Yes, we have moved to paradise at least it feels like it! Lots have happened since my last post in November; I taught in several venues including The Maryland Sheep and Wool in May, a trip to Dorie's in the Netherlands in early June, as well as several times at the wondrous Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria, Virginia. When I came home, I retired from my job of 17 years in two weeks later and moved to a really special place, Habersham, in Beaufort, SC. You can't really explain it, you must experience it! Check out the snow egrets who come to roost here every evening - a special sight to behold!
Moving south has been a dream for us since our youngest daughter relocated to the Hilton Head area after college; every visit made it more appealing.
Never did I think that we would find such a very special community to live in; our cottage met the criteria of downsizing but the location around the corner from the dock that overlooks a creek and the wetlands, two blocks from the pool (hardly anyone there!) which lies alongside the Broad River and another dock complete with pavilion has enriched our lives so much (the golf cart makes it even more fun too!). There is a gorgeous town center with a few nice restaurant, our own Post Office (there are no mailboxes), the Park House next to the tennis courts to house the various community groups and numerous playgrounds; it doesn't hurt that the speed limit is 18 miles an hour - no racing cars and wonderful lush landscaping that makes this the best place to be able to walk, bike ride (and explore with that golf cart!).
When we are more settled, we hope to get a kayak too as there are endless waterways to explore. We have already made some special friends that we enjoy very much and Habersham is a great place to develop a social life - everyone who lives here, is here because they want to be here and it makes a big difference; and they came from all over the US. Most found the community by visiting or reading about it and once you come, you understand why you don't want to leave. It also helps to have our littlest grandson just 1/2 hour away - one straight shot! . . and a new one on the way in November. So life is good.
Now on to felting: part of my criteria was to have a studio, and I do have quite a nice one - I call this, a room with a view as I am able to look out a see East pond at the side of our house (forgot to mention all the lovely ponds around too). I love looking at my ribbons and I had purchased this gorgeous cotton netting while I was with Dorie at the Textile Market in Amsterdam. I bought it for felting but I love it so much on my window, I may never use it.
Before we moved in, we added some built-ins to maximize my studio space; this is the view from outside my room from the stairwell - hahaha, had to mark my territory!
I had a wonderful quilting table that is just the right height and it got modified with another leaf to make it large enough for large felt pieces - perfect (I can still lower the leave I need be)
Some more built ins make for a very efficient and functional work room. Room for my book collection was a MUST!
Originally, I had planned to use the cubbies for my wool; however, I decided to continue to store my wool in plastic drawers as it easy easy to see and keeps it safe and convenient. I've since rearranged these to the other side of the room and stacked them higher so they take up less space but you get the idea
Four of my seven machines sit on the built in counter with the others stored under it; and the shelf above serves to keep the counter clutter free.
This cottage has four bedrooms - with a jack and jill bathroom between them - perfect access to water for felting and my newest addition makes it even more practical - in love with it for getting out the extra water.
Forgot to mention the pegs and shelf added to the bathroom - always looking for that extra storage!
My next obsession is eco dyeing/printing -- this is only a small area of a three-yard piece of silk chiffon dyed using onion skins, rusty bits, rose petals and simmered in a euco bath. A wonderful member of the eco dye list on FB sent me a variety of euco leaves from California - the type that leave orange prints - I'm itching to try this but alas work comes first (at least my paycheck does!) to make all this playing possible! The lovely lines are from the string used to bundle the piece. After simmering, I left it outside in the elements for about two weeks and it was a joy to behold when opening it. I get the biggest kick out of treating silk in this fashion, as we used to think it was such a delicate fabric to be handled with such care!
I seem to have found my felting niche -- getting lost in creating a large felt with lots of texture and incorporating various techniques. There is something satisfying in working with these textures before cutting it up and putting it together again! This may turn out to be a jacket but it the ideas are still in process; at the moment, I'm just enjoying gazing and touching :0) Oh, I should mention that the inspiration piece of fabric was a very lightweight blue/brown and cream piece of viscose that felted beautifully!
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| New/improved colorway |
My Mom often uses this terminology and how true it is in life with many things; regarding creativity for example, one day not being inspired at all to the next filled with so many ideas floating around that it is just about impossible to catch them all and so it goes with my Blog - sometimes nothing for weeks and then all of a sudden a rush of posts. It just seems that we are meant to "go with the flow." I'd rather spend the time creating something than spend it on the computer but then I realize that time has gotten away from me and that if I've made the decision to have a Blog, I'd better get to it! and it is true that we all have the same 24 hours in a day and it is up to us how we use it - isn't it a luxury to have such wonderful options? Anyway, this is what I've been up to for the past few weeks.
I came close to ruining the yellow coat/dress made in Charity's workshop this summer. I decided that if it the colorway was more muted then I could wear it with a turleneck and boots so never one to leave well enough alone, I took the plunge and dyed it in my huge copper pot using euco and rusty bits - what a learning experience that was and one I've learned a lot from and one I'll never forget!!! While the copper pot is great for most things, the coat turned an awful, awful draaaaaaaby hideous green, so then I did some research to find out how to remove some color; well it turns out that it isn't that easy because the copper/iron molecules do something to the wool so that wouldn't work. The only option? (couldn't stand that shade green and I do normally adore green) I dyed it again, this time in a heavy enamel coated cast iron pot using charcoal grey acid dye and now I'm quite "chuffed" as they say! It is probably more bronze than the picture shows but I'm so please with the "shades of grey" of the various laces that were incorporated into it. (Great BIG sigh of relief!) I could have made three coats by now!
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| Original Coat/Dress |
I love hand stitching - keep checking for more updates!
