July 2017 Toss ‘n Tell

Needlefelt Demo by Kerry Bertucci

Kerry set up a beautiful display of samples of work that she had made which demonstrated the the process of needlefelting . Some items were made  combining  needlefelting together with wetfelting. Many of the 3D forms were started by making the base from foam or an armature for support and form. Other shapes were made using a resist  which was then stuffed with wadding or wool or a combination of both.

Natural wool (with lanolin) could be used if you want a hard base shape. Combed and cut wool was then applied to the base shape for building up the surface detail. Kerry had various small embellishments , tools and tips to achieve the detail of the finished items including ways to display them. She also had a selection of reference books on the subject. Judith Shaw complimented Kerry on her most informative demonstration.

Toss + Tell

Alison attended the workshop at the Fibreswest where she learned various techniques of folding felt. She showed us her blue ribbed nautilus shell.

Sue Eslick showed the delightful  and practical oven mits and gloves that she made at the Muresk Retreat. Her little granddaughter was the lucky recipient of a charming hat. She stitched a band inside to make the hat smaller to fit properly. The felted jacket that she wore was also much admired.

Vimon  brought some unique needlefelted  pieces that she has made. Her attention to detail and form are most impressive with a sense of fun as well. 1. Female warrior     2. Dog  3.Acrobatic doll ( wire armature), Love Doll with gold thread embroidery and wet felted dress.

Liz Odd  made a man’s scarf in tones of midnight blue. Lesson: Because she had laid her wool so finely it shrank to half the starting length, but the end result was a very fine product. She also made a black frill scarf using black silk, textured fabric and black wool.

Pat attended Sue’s Bag Workshop and made a charming wine/red bag with black embellishments and handle.

Karen Wood made an elegant shaded brown/lilac scarf with silk wool felby scraps.

Vera brought photographs of various lamps and lampshades that she has made recently. The lamp bases are custom carved by her husband. She also made an orange mohair and silk knitted scarf. She then tied numerous balls at each end, after which it was washed twice in the washing machine to create a shibori effect.

Stacey attended Sue’s Bag Workshop and brought her bag made in shades of natural wool, finished with an artistic embellishment of contrasting natural wool and cord handle. She also showed us samples, creating undulations, that she had made during an online course run by Pam de Groot  including a shibori experiment.

Kerry attended the Fibreswest felt folding workshop where she made samples of various techniques incl. bracelet and “waterbomb” using different thicknesses. She also showed us 2 of her curved wool felted scarves in shades of blue denim into which she incorporated silkmesh and cotton fabric.    4 layers of wool were finely laid and the end product was light and draped well. Tip: she applied masking tape to the tassels that she did not want to felt in.

Jill made a beautiful nuno felted orange structured jacket . She first made the fabric of cotton voile and wool  and then cut it to her pattern and tailored and stitched the garment.

Juliette showed us her “Grass teapot” that she had made at Pam Mc Gregor’s workshop. She used Finnish wool  and silk lap Unfortunately the silk lap got lost in the wool which was disappointing but a good lesson all the same.

Liz Owens attended Sue’s Bag Workshop and made a delightful bag with  gussets and  handle all felted in 1 piece.

Judith Shaw made her scarf  using  butter muslin and fine quality white Alpaca wool on both sides. She subtly incorporated  small coloured flower shapes which were embedded in the wool .

Sara Quail also attended the Fibreswest felt folding workshop  where she learned techniques and  made a “waterbomb”, a bracelet/ toggle , a “ kaleidocycle” and a scarf = 5 days of hard work !