Nancy Ballesteros gave a very informative talk on “silk hankies” and demonstrated her method of incorporating them in her felting.
What is purchased as “silk hankies” are actually cocoons of silkworms, (Bombax Mori) that feed on mulberry leaves. Each cocoon consists of 1 continuous silk thread. The cocoons are first boiled, then pierced to remove the worm, and then spread out into a square form. These are stacked on on top of each other and form a “hankie”.
In order to prepare the hankies for use they need to be separated into layers that will be thin enough for the wool to penetrate in the felting process. . All thick areas must be broken up. It is especially important to fan out the edges of each layer.
The hankie is very strong and can be stretched into many shapes or can even be cut up for smaller shapes.
In order to make it more manageable to work on a design Nancy’s method is to wet down the hankie with soapy water and then shape the required design on a surface of thin plastic.
Finally lay out wool on top of the hankies and finish with silk fabric over the whole area.
Lots of tips were passed on to the members about design and colour choices in order to achieve the best results. Thank you Nancy.
Toss n Tell
Renita attended Sue Eslick’s workshop showed us her square box . It was first tested out with paper folding before being made with complex resists.
Cynda also did Sue’s workshop and her box is a work in progress, satchel to be.
Sue Eslick made delightful small baskets from home made cord which she had made from scraps of sari silk, various yarns and oddments. These were then stitched together in a coil to form baskets.
Martien showed us a very fine prefelt of paj silk and wool. She plans to do stitching on it before fulling it to make a scarf.
Jacqueline displayed 2 her intricately detailed vessels and explained how she made them.
Vimol is making a bag ( with lots of inside pockets) to match her garment that she made recently.
Julie has recently started felting and showed her alpaca and silk scarf that she made whilst was experimenting .
Marion displayed her tunic that she made using silk and fine merino in Fiona Duthie’s workshop.
We had a great couple days at the Tote-lly Squared workshop presented by Sue Eslick, at Alexander Craft House, Menora.
On display were inspirations to help us imagine and design the item we wanted to create.
Tote-lly squared was about creating a square or rectangle pieces of felt on a resist, this could be a bag, box or vessel.
Sue showed the group 6 ways to make a 3D box. Why 6, there must be method in the madness.
After Sue’s detailed description of how and why we use which box pattern the group set about to create all 6 in paper.
Sue enlighten us on the best use of each box design in what circumstance, then it all made sense, yes it did.
Once the decision was made as to what we individually were to make, we applied our new knowledge to the making of the resist and associated templates. Remember to make allowance for the flap.
Making a mock in paper was very revealing for our design and measurements. Must remember that next time. Also should have written down more numbers, yes, but it all worked out in the end.
So many decisions, and the maths, remember there is a shrinkage rate or two.
Now lets get to work.
(sorry picture seems to rotate, not sure how to fix)
Is this going to plan? Of course.
We definitely have a plan.
Sue gave us many tips along the way to assist us on our quest.
Some were
laying techniques for squares and corners.
use of dry prefelts.
use of colour to aid keeping our squares square and our rectangles rectangular.
dividing out the wool to enable equal balance of each side.
Resist making tips for easier putting together, less bulk at edged.
tips on fulling and finishing.
polishing and steaming.
design ideas.
Stiffening.
Still more to learn, blocking. The gloves?? Can you pick the problem.
Drying and shaping techniques.
Time to embellish, or maybe you planned ahead.
We had wonderful results.
Small boxes and bags
All sorts, we are individuals, and proud of it.
And if you need to leave on time, thanks for sending a picture.
We would like to thank Sue Eslick for a great workshop, full of fun and ideas, skills to learn and develop.
Today Sara Quail kindly demonstrated the use of plant fibres for embellishing felt to create texture, subtle bling, sheen and colour variation. Adding non-wool fibre also reduces pilling and increases the structural integrity, allowing for extremely thin layouts.
Silk waste, silk spaghetti, soy silk, mulberry silk, tussah silk, viscose and ramie are some examples. Viscose is much finer and ramie (made from plants of the nettle family) is coarse. Fibres that are coarser than your wool will sit on the surface, whereas fibres of the same or finer thickness will combine with the wool.
Today we concentrated on viscose as it is one of the cheaper fibres but the same process works with other plant fibres. To make fibre paper, lay out fibres in both directions over a piece of plastic. Place netting over the fibre, wet down and rub soap bar (don’t use liquid soap) all over to create a good amount of foam. Gently peel off the netting and put the fibre on the plastic in the sun to dry. You may need to use small weights to prevent it blowing around. Once dry, the fibre paper is rigid enough to cut into pieces for decoration or can be folded and shaped.
Colour variations can be achieved by chopping up the length of fibre into chunks and dropping onto the plastic. The fibre tops can also be pulled into fluffy clouds or different coloured fibres can be blended.
Fibre paper pieces or fibre (as lengths or clouds) can be placed onto laid out wool tops or wool prefelt and they will attach during the normal felting process. Fibre/wool prefelt can be cut into shapes and placed onto wool tops, Margilan silk or cotton gauze before continuing felting.
Another method is to lay out a tangle of wool pre-yarn, then place plant fibre on top, ensuring that all the plant fibre is in contact with wool. Pre-yarn can be added to the other side if desired. Very light, soft fabric with a cob-web effect can be achieved by laying out a very thin layer of wool, then covering with plant fibre.
Thank you Sara for an inspiring introduction to plant fibres and their many decorative possibilities!
News and Update
With President Marion and Vice-President Karen battling illness, our Secretary Sue Harrington welcomed everyone, including new members and those attending the afternoon’s Introductory felt workshop, to the first monthly meeting of the year.
Our Workshop Coordinator Renita, ably assisted by Martien has been busy putting together an exciting year of felting activities with 1, 2 or 3 day workshops most months, some taught by our local talented felters and also some excellent tutors from elsewhere in Australia and overseas. There is a brief list on the website and details will be included as arrangements are finalised, so keep checking the website and the monthly e-News so you can book in advance and secure your place.
On 2 and 3 March Sue Eslick is teaching the new Tote-lly Square workshop and there are still a couple of places left. At just $100 it is a great chance to learn how to form felted corners and create a square tote bag or box, more details on our website.
On 5 and 6 April May Hvistendahl from Norway is presenting a Nuno-Felt Tops workshop. May specialises in nuno-felt clothing that is unique, well fitted and durable. Registrations are now open. There will also be an artist’s talk on the evening of 4 April. Still a couple of places left.
Other workshops scheduled for the year include
Sara Quail’s Circular Scarves,
Eva Camacho-Sanchez teaching Beyond Felting – creating textured surfaces,
Wendy Bailye’s 50 Shades of Grey,
Pam Hovel’s Earthy Felted Vessels,
Soosie Jobson’s The Art of Adornment and
Martien van Zuilen’s Expanding the Surface. All up,
an unbelievable list of tempting offerings!
We also have mini-workshops planned for our monthly meetings and this is an opportunity to learn particular felting techniques and to give them a go on the day. Please let your committee know if there are any techniques you would like covered at a mini-workshop or fill out the ideas book at the front desk.
On the Thursday evening 30 May to Sunday afternoon 2 June, there is our annual Retreat on the June long weekend. We will be holding the annual Retreat at beautiful Muresk agricultural campus, near Northam, one hour from Midland. It is an opportunity to felt all day and into the night if you wish in the large hall and to make big items, while listening to music and sampling cakes and other delicious offerings. There will be some special activities, probably including a workshop and an evening presentation. Take a break and have a relaxing massage. Accommodation is in individual bedrooms and lunches and dinners are included. Come along for the full 3 days, although attending for one or two days is also possible. We hope to see you there!
Finally, we are hoping that our members would like to undertake a fundraising project this year to support a charity. Please let committee members know your ideas for a project and a worthy charity.
Toss and Tell
Kerry Grove, Kerry Bertucci, Nancy, Sara, Vimol and Stacey modelled the absolutely stunning jackets they had made at Fiona Duthie’s recent workshop, each with a slightly different lay-out, colour palette and ink brushwork.
Jacket from Fiona Duthie WorkshopKerry & KerryNancy, Stacey & Sara – outcome from Fiona Duthie workshopPeta with extinct needle felted creaturesPeta’s extinct needle felted creatures
Peta Korb had used needle-felting over a wire armature to create models of animals of endangered and now extinct Australian small mammal species, to be used in a student animation film production. Fifteen felters from across Australia have contributed to the film “Dance of the Dead”. Banded Hair Wallaby, Lesser Bilby and the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, endangered or extinct animals.
Martien’s Tea CosiesMartien’s Tea Cosy as wellMartien’s Tea Cosy too.
Martien showed 3 tea cosies and a coffee plunger cover which she made at the Albany Summer School. Each had colourful and quirky decorations. (only one teapot came out well on slide show)
Maureen Humphreys displayed a decorated black handbag made from alpaca. (sorry no picture)
Sue Clay visiting from YorkshireSue Clay
Sue Clay, visiting from Yorkshire, talked about the community wall hanging commissions she had been undertaking and also showed several colourful shawls with felted edges.
Marie
Marie Jacquier showed an eco-dyed piece with overstitching onto paper, an approach which she is taking to illustrating a children’s book she has written. Felted Dyed and Stitched. Study for Textile Art Book illustration. Layering – like painting and like storytelling.
Tracey work from Martien’s Mini demo on tunnels and moreTracey Holland
Tracey Holland had used Martien’s tunnel method to make a salmon coloured piece as well as a blue tray decorated with viscose fibre and stiffened with wire armature. She had also made a dangly ornament with felted balls and discs.
Sue Harrington
Sue Harrington had made a small orange and green piece utilising the cracked earth technique to achieve a field of raised ‘water lilies’, embellished with fine embroidery.
Katrina showed two experimental pieces incorporating horse and other animal fibres which she made while developing her exhibit pieces for the Shire of Mundaring Open Art Acquisition Exhibition which is on at the Mundaring Art Centre until 31 March.
Thanks Sue Harrington for the report and Alison Higgins for the photo’s.
see you soon
Liz
Please note: I am still learning about slideshow option, learning more skills all the time, thanks for your patience and I hope you don’t mind me experimenting.
FeltWEST started its 2019 program with a truly creative bang.
Big Ink – Surface Design + Garment Construction (January 31-February 3) was a 4-day workshop hosted by FeltWEST with the amazing felt artist and tutor extraordinaire Fiona Duthie. The workshop filled almost instantly when it opened for enrolments back in October, and we were totally not surprised.
Fiona is a Canadian felt maker recognised globally for her dynamic and narrative surface design. She creates seamless sculpture for the body, art objects and outdoor felt installations, with surfaces built up through fabric manipulation, stratified textiles and imagery exploring biography and individual perspective (www.fionaduthie.com).
Fiona’s workshop was preceded by her artist talk on January 30, where almost 50(!) attendees were treated to insights into Fiona’s artistic journey; starting in garment construction before venturing into Felt some 23 years ago. It included an all-important shift from creating production-based craft items sold at craft shows to nourishing more fully the possibilities of exploring ‘the art of one’s craft’: meaningful, narrative making, refining skills, and the creation of one-off garments, artworks, outdoor installations and more. It was a most insightful and thoroughly well-presented talk which set the scene for the workshop that followed.
Things were quickly in full creative swing on Day 1, as Fiona introduced her method of sumi-e ink drawing on silk fabrics for depth and line. This was followed by each participant making several specific pre-felts which would later be used as features in their garments.
The afternoon saw participants fully immersed in designing their pattern for individual and fitted garments. The choice and possibilities seemed endless; one could make either a dress, vest, tunic, skirt or short jacket. The buzz of inspiration was in the air and the day finished with inking pre-felts and a session on Design in the cool shade of a tree adjacent to the hall.
Day 2 was dedicated to finishing patterns & resists, laying out wool, silk fabrics, and additions with all manner of creativity! Fiona expertly covered the creative possibilities; encompassing colour, form and fit, plus resist additions for additional shaping and individual fit. As ideas expanded, the floor fans were twirling!
Day 3 was another excellent and inspiring day – participants added final surface design features, followed by the start of felting their works. Each work took up almost two tables (Stacey even brought in a third) so there was lots of gentle rubbing to do. And then some rolling to get it to the pre-felt stage.
And just when we thought we couldn’t do any more rolling, Justine’s daughter Camille arrived at 7pm with cold cider and chocolates for all who stayed on to keep felting. Yeah!
On the final day, everyone finished felting their garment and with Fiona’s expertise in pattern making and fitting, the final shaping and fulling was applied. While the garments dried, Fiona provided a comprehensive review of the workshop.
Applying the sumi-e ink to the finished garments was another one of the truly ‘sweet spot’ moment of this workshop and the only way to celebrate was with champagne and lots and lots of photos (and much joy) in the adjacent park.
Big Ink – Surface Design + Garment Construction promised to be all about creating bold dramatic surfaces on seamless garments with designs that celebrates life and movement. And it delivered on all of that, and so much more.
The garments created were all so diverse and elegant, and suited each person perfectly.
While a workshop in January can present the risk of hot weather, Craft House once again proved to be a most suitable venue with plentiful tables and space. Homemade refreshments and fruits were plentiful and the evaporative air coolers and floor fans that participants brought along managed to keep the outside hot temperatures at bay throughout.
Fiona Duthie is a truly generous, knowledgeable, unflappable, supportive and inspiring tutor, sharing her skills and ideas freely and giving so much of her time to her students while guiding them to expand the creative possibilities in Felt. Thank you and thank you again Fiona for being in our midst and for sharing so generously your skill and passion. FeltWEST could not have asked for a better way to kick off the year.
Everyone brought tasty nibbles for our Christmas Party and chatted and laughed the lunch away. Here are a few pictures of a few attendees, sorry if we didn’t get you in a snap.
Raffle prizes won by Kerri Bertucci and Sara Quail, enjoy.
Marion Messages
Marion ask the members to suggest a charity, we can base our fundraising project for 2019 on and suggestion what that project may entail. Please contact a committee member with your ideas or email info@feltwest.org.au.
The Fiona Duthie talk will be Thursday 30 January 2019 at 7pm, check website for more details in January 2019.
Fiona Duthie workshop 31 January to 3rd, fully booked
Tuesday 5th Feb 2019 first felt day for the new year.
Saturday 16 February first Toss n Tell, also first Beginners workshop as well
Toss ‘n’ Tell
We saw a few stunning jackets from the Catherine O’Leary workshop.
Sara Quail
Peta Korb
Judith Walsh
Judith’s poncho is from Fiona Duthie’s online workshop, apparently still a work in progress, but looking really good.
Karen Wood inspired by Katrina Virgona’s workshop made another necklace, beautiful.
Karen decided to properly felt her work from Olga Finkel’s workshop. Olga warned the colours may fade but we did not think so based on Karen results.
Leiko also puts scrunched materials onto wool, but a different way to the one Karen showed us in a previous mini workshop. Karen placed material first and Lieko place the wool down first.
Inspired by Martien’s mini workshop on Tunnels I (Liz Owens) made more, just need to tailor the choice of stick’s, so they don’t fall over so easily.
I also did the Technique Focus workshop – Pocket to Rose, designed by Kerri and Jean. Great pocket just need more practice at surface design.
Martien van Zuilen – Creating Tunnels and Using Armatures
In this mini workshop Martien shared her technique of creating long tunnels in handmade felt and demonstrated how, once established, the tunnels could be used to accommodate armatures (wire, sticks, timber rods, feathers etc) to support and/or frame the piece. She also showed how to create ruffled effects for sculptural works. The possibilities for this innovative technique are limited only by the imagination!
Martien’s technique grew out of an exploration of making the frame an integral part of the artwork which allows two-dimensional pieces to have two fronts (rather than a front and a back) and three-dimensional pieces to have armatures added without the need for stitching or other fastening methods. This also means the armatures can be easily removed for transporting or exchanged for transforming the piece.
Martien’s secret weapon, perhaps suggested to her by her Dutch heritage, is used bicycle tyres. Strips of bicycle tyre inner tubes are used as a resist, rather than more traditional materials. The rubber grips the wool which means it is less likely to shift about than other materials and does not scrunch up which means that the placement and width of the tunnels are more easily controlled. Tunnels can be continuous or broken, to allow the armature to show through in sections. When pulled partially through finished tunnels, the elastic quality of the rubber allows beautiful ruffles to be created.
Following the demonstration, we all had a go at creating our own tunnels and playing with armatures and some lovely pieces emerged.
Not only do the tyres allow for great effects, they’re free (on request) from bicycle shops and this use of a product destined for landfill is a great way to upcycle.
Thank you Martien for a fascinating demonstration. There will be a lot more exploring to follow!
Toss N Tell
Liz Owens,
Kerry Bertucci,
Leonie Emery and
Marion Finneran
showed off their felted jewellery made using skills learnt at Katrina Virgona’s jewellery workshop in September.
Di Baker and Liz Owens modelled the Infinity Ponchos created at Nancy Ballesteros’ Natural Rhythms in Colour Nuno felting workshop which looked at creating stripes using the Golden Ratio as a design tool to create visually pleasing outcomes.
Sue Swain showed us a beautiful white shawl based on Mexican Shaman robes and a large wrap made by joining and felting two smaller, purchased cotton wraps.
Sue also outlined her latest project in which she is transforming a purchased jacket into a wearable field of poppies with the addition of felted flowers.
Nadja Roelofs modelled her fabulous pocketed hat. The pocket technique was learnt at a recent workshop with Charlotte Sehmisch.
Another attendee at Charlotte’s workshops was Sue Eslick whose shoulder bag explored the creation of square corners.
Kat Weka, a new FeltWest member, showed off her Cracked Earth flat felt, and vessel made at a recent Technique Focus workshop and a gorgeous pair of booties.
Finally, Nancy Ballesteros showed us an array of magnetic brooches that Soosie Jobson has been working on. The brooches, made with polymer clay in colours that work with Treetops fabrics, are a great closure for garments and wraps as there is no damaging piercing of the fabric. These are available at Treetops (shop or website) or through Soosie.
Nancy also mentioned her Meditative Adornment textile maker’s retreat which will take place in Bali in May 2019. A limited number of places are still available.
Feltwest Meeting
Led by Marion Finneran
Welcome to new members!
Katrina Virgona’s Felted Jewellery Workshop: A big thank you to Katrina for an exciting and very well supported and run workshop.
Royal Show: The FeltWest stall at the Royal Show was a great success with almost $10,000 worth of goods sold. The 15% commission is still to be paid after which artists will receive payment. The setting up, running and packing up the stall was a great team effort, but special thanks need to go to Peta Korb (through whose contacts we got the site). Peta was there all day everyday making sure everything ran smoothly.
Fiona Duthie Workshop: Fiona, here from Canada as part of a (mostly east coast) tour will be teaching her Big Ink workshop for FeltWest in January. This workshop looks at working with ink on textiles. Please note that this workshop is now fully booked.
Catherine O’Leary Workshop: Catherine’s, fully booked, Fabulous Felt Jackets workshop is set to go ahead from 2-5 November.
Catherine will also be giving an artist talk on Thursday 1 November, at 7.00pm at Craft House. All welcome. Gold coin donation.
Next Toss N Tell: The next Toss N Tell, and last one for the year, will be on Saturday 17 November. As this is our Christmas celebration, there will be no mini-workshop. Please bring along your Christmas spirit, a plate of food to share and any items for Toss N Tell. If you would like to take part in the gift exchange, please also bring along a small, wrapped, hand-made article. The raffle will be drawn with the winner receiving a FeltWest gift voucher to put towards membership or a workshop. It will be great to catch up and close-off the year.
Launching 2019:
Toss N Tell: Our first meeting for 2019 will be on Saturday, 16 February. There will be a mini-workshop from 10-11.30am – topic TBA.
Tuesday Felting: The first Tuesday felting day will take place on 5 February 2019.
Other Notices:
Exhibition: Windfall Chemistry of the Dye Pot – eco-dying exhibition by Helen Coleman at Contemporary Art Spaces Mandurah. Running until Sunday, 4 November. For more details, please see the website: https://www.mandurah.wa.gov.au/facilities/casm
Thanks to reporter and photographer Renita, a few extra shots from me.
FELT AND TEXTILE JEWELLERY WORKSHOP – BODYCHAINS AND MORE
Saturday 6 October 2018
Renita Mroz
Katrina lived in Fiji and many locations around Australia before settling in Perth. She has qualifications in psychology, visual arts Visual Arts Management and now runs art and textile workshops and teaches Curtin University. In her studio Katrina creates 3D artworks and contemporary textile jewellery pieces, drawing on a diverse range of materials.
Katrina brought along a gorgeous and inspiring selection of her own felt and textile jewellery for us to enjoy then went on to describe and demonstrate the techniques used in their making. These included: cords, split cords, loops, twists, balls, spikes, chains and coiling, as well as the addition of stitching, beading, fabric and other materials. We then created our own pieces with which we were all extremely pleased!
The skills learnt were building blocks which could be combined in endless ways, only limited by our imaginations. The most important lesson of the day: there are no failures – anything that doesn’t go as planned simply becomes something else!
Katrina brought not only her vast knowledge and experience to the workshop, but also an endless amount of energy, enthusiasm and fun.
At today’s mini-workshop Karen Wood presented an application of nuno felting which she calls ‘Scrunchy Silk’ for making richly decorated collars and scarves. Karen learnt the idea some years ago from our member, Judy Barkla at a Retreat.
Scrunch up small pieces of silk fabric, silk fibre, mohair, sari silk ends, velvet silk, yarn and open weave synthetic or cotton fabric, preferably all in a colour theme, over a template and then to bind it all together with a thin layer of wool tops.
Place your template for your piece under a sheet of plastic or bubble wrap. Take small pieces of feature fabrics, dip them in water, scrunch them up and place them on the template or just over the outside edge of the template. You may like to fold and coil some short lengths of fine fabric to make ‘roses’. The cut edges should all face upwards.
Lay one layer of fine wool tops over the top of your multi-coloured and textured piece, but extend only to the edge of your template. The small amount of wool tops is used to ensure a fine, light result. The pieces of fabric which extend beyond the edge of the template will create a ruffle.
Cover with mesh and wet down with soapy water as usual. Very carefully and gently rub the piece until everything has bonded together. Only then should you start gently rolling. Don’t over-felt so that the final piece remains soft and wearable.
Tips:
For collars and scarves, reduce the amount of scrunched decoration on the middle of the piece so that it sits flat behind the neck.
During the process of felting, use a needle and thread to attach any stray pieces of fabric which are slow to adhere.
Thank you Karen for the workshop, it has refreshed the experienced felter’s and and shown an interesting technique for the rest of us.
News and update
President Marion thanked Karen for her inspiring demonstration and welcomed new members.
Items for FeltWest’s stall at the Royal Show are coming in and well on track. Any late items can be handed in until 19 September by contacting Marion to arrange a drop-off. Members who have volunteered for the roster will be emailed a map and other information. Entry passes to the Show will be provided to those on the roster. Lenore will be demonstrating the ‘Square’ reader for taking credit card payments later during this session.
Talented Canadian felter, Fiona Duthie, who recently taught at Fibres West, will be conducting a 4-day workshop, Fibre + Paper + Ink, from 31 January to 3 February 2019. The workshop will combine paper and ink printing with traditional felting fibres. Given the time of year, FeltWEST is hoping to access an air-conditioned venue but this will result in a slightly higher price, probably around $420 for the 4 days. The workshop will be advertised soon and is expected to be in high demand.
What is coming up:
Beginners workshops are being offered today (15 September) and 20 October.
A Technique Focus workshop, ‘Cracked Earth’, taught by Kerry Bertucci and Jean MacKenzie, is on 2 October.
Katrina Virgona’s workshop, Felt Jewellery and Armature, on 6 October is already fully booked.
Catherine O’Leary’s 4-day workshop, Fabric Designing and Sculptured Felt Garments, is on 2-5 November, but again, this is fully booked.
The October Toss n Tell meeting will feature a mini-workshop, ‘Tunnels in Felt’ with Martien van Zuilen. For those wanting to read about the technique in advance, a recent Felt magazine features a description of the technique.
The November Toss n Tell meeting will be our Christmas party and this meeting is always well attended and lots of fun. Please bring a plate of delicious food to share, either savoury or sweet. There will also be a gift exchange for those wanting to participate. Bring a small hand-made or craft-related gift to exchange. Also, the raffle will be drawn and this time the prize will be a FeltWEST voucher which can be used to pay towards your membership or a workshop.
Lenore talked us through the use of the ‘Square’ reader for taking credit card payments at the upcoming Royal Show and other future stalls and exhibitions.
Toss n Tell
Peta and Vimol showed their beautiful autumn scenes produced at Olga Finkel’s recent workshop, ‘Painted Landscapes’. They had used white batt as a base, then applied colour using needle felting to hold wool tops in place and then wet-felted the whole piece. Throwster’s waste was applied to make clusters of leaves on the trees. The process for adding tiny, intricate people had been challenging but gave a very precise result.
Sue Eslick showed a multi-coloured sea monster made by putting all her scraps of pre-felt into a laundry bag in the washing machine – a nobbly delight!
Maureen, a beginner felter, had made an impressive fairy cottage using needle felting.
(sorry no updated photo with stitching)
Alison Higgins modelled her beret in pinks, embellished with yarns, made at Sue Eslick’s recent beret workshop. She also showed a beautiful green Thai silk scarf featuring felt edging and beaded fringes.
Liz Owens showed off a stunning circular pendant with sushi roll and knotted silk inserts, hanging on twisted silk cord.
Katrina told us about her upcoming talk at WAFTA’s 25 October evening meeting. Her presentation will be about the progression of her art practice, including her mini straight jacket project. FeltWEST members are welcome to attend.
One last Show and Tell, photo of gorgeous fairy, so not sure the owner.
I was a great Saturday, thanks to all who attended, see you soon.
Olga studied fashion design in the Ukraine and became a hat- maker when she moved to Melbourne, specialising in hats for the Melbourne Cup.
At our workshop Olga taught her own technique of painting with felt.
She prepared a detailed drawing from a photo which she transferred onto the “felt canvas” by means of paper stencils.
All the initial painting was done by needle felting and only wet felted when she was happy with the final painting. The end result was a true likeness of the original.
The participants went home with a completely different skill which will be used to great advantage. It was a fun two days , enjoyed by all.
18 August 2018, Alexander Park Craft House, Menora
Meeting opened: 12:00pm
Attendees:
Mavis Paskulich, Pat Kendall, Sue Harrington, Liz Odd, Linda Riccio, Karen Parry, Alison Gomes, Teresa O’Malley, Jan Ladyman, Maureen Hislop, Judith Walsh, Ann Bonny, Martien van Zuilen, Renita Mroz, Peta Korb, Jill Jodrell, Vera Sergeev, Alison Higgins, Virginia Campbell, Liz Owens, Katrina Virgona, Kerry Bertucci, Marion Finneran, Lyn Brown (APCH President)
Apologies:
Marie Marshall, Chris Gray, Sara Quail, Jean McKenzie
Minutes of last AGM
The minutes of the 2017 AGM were approved as a true and correct record.
Proposed: Sue Eslick
Seconded: Martien van Zuilen
Business arising:
None
President’s report:
The President’s report was read by current president Karen Wood.
Accepted with thanks.
Proposed: Liz Odd
Seconded: Kerry Bertucci
Treasurer’s Report:
Liz Owen tabled and read the Treasurer’s report.
Accepted with thanks.
Proposed: Linda Riccio
Seconded: Sue Harrington
Declaration of all positions vacant.
Virginia Campbell presided over the election of office bearers.
All positions on the Committee of Management were declared vacant.
Election of Office Bearers:
President: Marion Finneran; no other nominations; Elected unopposed
Vice President: Karen Wood; no other nominations; Elected unopposed
Treasurer: Lenore Fairfield; no other nominations; Elected unopposed
Secretary: Sue Harrington; no other nominations; Elected unopposed
Committee:
Liz Owens
Peta Korb
Renita Mroz
There were no further nominations; Elected unopposed
Other Business:
Newly-elected President, Marion Finneran promoted the idea of having several sub-committees to undertake specific tasks e.g. Alison Gomes as New Member Liaison continues to provide a much-appreciated welcome to new members and e.g. Kerry Bertucci, Alison Gomes and Jean McKenzie organise beginner’s and Extension workshops.
Marion thanked outgoing members of the committee, Sara Quail, Alison Higgins and Sue Eslick.
Meeting closed at 12:25pm
Toss N Tell
Pat Kendall with her Blue Beret from Sue Eslick’s Beret Workshop
Renita Mroz Beret extra pizass on the side.
Kerri Bertucci beret – resists on resists and scarf to match.
Oven mitts for my sister, Sue Harrington
Karen Wood Beret
Alison Higgins Beret
Alison needle felted eggs, my those needles are sharp.
Sue’s Beret and results from Charlotte Sehmich’s workshop down south, use of multiple resists.
Example of spikes several ways, results from the Extension Workshop.
In order to prepare the hankies for use they need to be separated into layers that will be thin enough for the wool to penetrate in the felting process. . All thick areas must be broken up. It is especially important to fan out the edges of each layer.
The hankie is very strong and can be stretched into many shapes or can even be cut up for smaller shapes.
of tips were passed on to the members about design and colour choices in order to achieve the best results. Thank you Nancy.
Renita attended Sue Eslick’s workshop showed us her square box . It was first tested out with paper folding before being made with complex resists.
Cynda also did Sue’s workshop and her box is a work in progress, satchel to be.
Sue Eslick made delightful small baskets from home made cord which she had made from scraps of sari silk, various yarns and oddments. These were then stitched together in a coil to form baskets.
Vimol is making a bag ( with lots of inside pockets) to match her garment that she made recently.
Julie has recently started felting and showed her alpaca and silk scarf that she made whilst was experimenting .
Marion displayed her tunic that she made using silk and fine merino in Fiona Duthie’s workshop.
Jean’s Bag from Sue’s Tote-lly Squared workshop
Stacey’s Top
Mystery object, I recon phone cover, pretty good.
Still more to learn, blocking. The gloves?? Can you pick the problem.
Time to embellish, or maybe you planned ahead.
Small boxes and bags
All sorts, we are individuals, and proud of it.
And if you need to leave on time, thanks for sending a picture.
And just when we thought we couldn’t do any more rolling, Justine’s daughter Camille arrived at 7pm with cold cider and chocolates for all who stayed on to keep felting. Yeah!
Karen decided to properly felt her work from Olga Finkel’s workshop. Olga warned the colours may fade but we did not think so based on Karen results.
Marie Jacquies , Silk ties into a headband.
