Welcome to our new committee 19/20

Hello my name is Soosie Jobson and I am the new President of Feltwest.  Nice to meet you all.  It is lovely to be back on the committee after an absence of 3 years and would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the new members from the past 3 years.  I have been a member of Feltwest (and a felter) for some 20 years and have spent nearly 15 years as a committee member.  I look forward to working with our new committee to facilitate all of the amazing events and gatherings that we hold throughout the year and welcome any input from our membership.  Please feel free to come and speak to me or any of the committee at any of our regular meetings with your ideas, thoughts r concerns.  We would love to know.

I look forward to seeing you at Toss n Tell this Saturday.

Our Team

President                                     Soosie Jobson
Vice President                           Jean Mckenzie
Treasure                                       Lenore Farfield
Secretary                                     Cynda Empsall
Workshop Co-ordinator         Renita Mroz
Online Communications        Liz Owens
Margaret Bryan
Sara Quail
Vimol Imsanguan

Sub  committee Team Members
Rep. at APCH meetings – Louise Nidorf
New member liason officer – Alison Gomes
Introduction workshops – Alison Gomes
Library – Jill Jodrell
WA Craft Fair – Jan Stroud, Jill Jodrell
Royal Show – Martien van Zuilen, Peta Korb, Jean McKenzie, Marion Finneran, Margaret Bryan

Workshop Review: 50 SHADES OF GREY (FELT!) – Wendy Bailye

Report by Jean McKenzie

On Friday 2 August this year thirteen very enthusiastic FeltWEST members gathered at Craft House to learn from a very experienced tutor. 

Wendy has over 25 years’ experience as a felter and has been co-editor of “Felt” magazine.  She is currently co-ordinator of the Australasia region for the International Feltmakers’ Association and runs her own business – The Felt Studio, in Brisbane. 

Over the 3 days of the workshop, which Wendy described as an “experimental class” (and boy, was it!), everyone settled down and worked, worked, worked: cutting, slashing, embossing, using different fabrics, yarns, threads, trapping different objects under silk or muslin.  I am sure she showed at least 50 different ideas, particularly on embossing.  I think everyone managed 4 to 10 samples each. 

Wendy was well prepared with comprehensive notes for everyone and a table full of samples to inspire participants.  She also brought along finished scarves to illustrate many of the techniques covered by her at the workshop. 

Wendy’s extensive knowledge and experience showed through in her presentation.  She was generous with her time to all participants; answering all questions and stopping to help where required.  This was reflected in the feedback given by participants at the end of the workshop.  All feedback was positive, as can be seen from these few examples: 

  • This workshop will keep me experimenting for a long time.  So many ideas and options.  Fun to be able to share with many creative individuals. 
  • Your guidance and patience in the class is much appreciated.  I will go away with a wealth of information that will be used for years to come.  Thank you, Wendy. 
  • Finally, someone teaching Sampling – what a great way to extend your own creative direction. 
  • Great inspirational workshop.  Able to adapt techniques shown into felting work, told to try everything, there are endless possibilities; some challenges; and results positive and/or negative are always a learning opportunity. 
  • Brilliant workshop – start of a wild and wonderful journey of exploration. Sampling = learning2 

Thank you, Wendy, for an amazing and informative workshop. 

FeltWEST May 2018 Meeting

 Saturday Felting 19 May, 2018.

Mini Workshop by Dale Rollerson – silk strippings and silk rods.

Dale Rollerson of The Thread Studio ran a mini-workshop/demo of silk strippings and silk rods.

They are both waste product in the process of spinning silk.

Silk strippings –  is cocoon waste that cannot be spun. It still contains the ceracin which acts as glue when liquid and heat are applied. It can be used to make silk paper and embellished with fibres, threads, guilding flakes, colour spray and even images from sheer paper serviettes. Dale demonstrated and showed various samples of her explorations with strippings including moulding, stenciling and embossing .

 

Silk rods – the waste that is cut from the spinning rods . These can be ironed open and separated and used to created or incorporate into more complex “paper” creations .

 

 

 

Dale inspired us to experiment having shown us endless possibilities and samples.

 

There was also a sales table of some of the product that she used and is available from The Thread Studio.

 

 

 

 

Meeting

Sue Eslick chaired the meeting as Karen Wood is away.

She welcomed the new members and confirmed the forthcoming workshops for July, August and September details of which are on the Feltwest website.

Martien van Zuilen’s July 6th + 7th  workshop will be about vessels, holding form and surface design. She showed some examples of her work .

 

Martien will also be running  the Mini-workshop on 16th June titled: Tunnels and Frameworks. She showed us a few samples , being a sneek peek of this exciting technique.

 

 

 

Unfortunately the Retreat has been cancelled and all members who enrolled will be re-imbursed in full.

We are going to the Royal Show – please join us.

We have been most fortunate to have been offered a sales stand ( at no charge) at the Agricultural Show in Claremont in September 22 – 29th.  All details re planning , volunteering etc to be finalised and confirmed. A sub committee has been formed.  Please start felting as we will be able to sell felted wear, check the rule with our committee, more to come.

A number of members will be participating in the Toodyay Fibre Festival on 3 June 2018, every one is welcome to come.

Mandurah is the place to be for art and creativity. Head down there at the end of the month – mid June to the Arts and  Culture Precinct where it is all happening.

 

Toss n Tell


Liz – enjoyed the challenge of bead making at Nancy’s workshop and showed her  lovely creations,

 

 

 

Peta‘s – beautiful blues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sara – showed some of the bags and scarves that she has been tirelessly working on for her stall at the upcoming Toodyay Fibre Fair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kerry – showed us her sample “Spikes” for the next extension workshop on Tuesday 3 July. (sorry no picture will post on website soon)

Martien – showed her work called “Standing Tall” which consists of 5 blue felted vessels that will be on display at the exhibition – Beyond the Seam” on at a gallery in Mandurah (no pictures til  officially unveiled). Thank you Martien.

 

Pat – showed her beautifully styled turquoise machine knitted jacket.

Sue Eslick – made a cheeky blue beret. A most interesting shape.

 

 

 

 

Marie is experimenting with clay to make a washboards for the palm, which will be highly glazed to be like glass.Watch this space.

 

 

 

 

Marion show us her result from Katia’s Online workshop, her view is some part require Katia in person, but great result anyway Marion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peta’s Korb’s – needle felt Bilby’s

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Marion and Sara for report & photo’s.

catch you next month.

Liz

FeltWEST April 2018 Meeting

 Saturday Felting 21 April, 2018.

Mini Workshop by Nancy Ballesteros – 9 different ways to layout felt.

Nancy provided a number of charts as a visual example of the layouts, to show direction of laying.

The dots and an arrows to show the direction of laying. The denser end of the wool will be at the dot, and it will be thinning in the direction of the arrow. The next thick end will be laid approximately halfway along where the previous piece is starting to thin. This process will even it out.

 

 

 

Nancy used a paper chart with directional arrows while laying out the felt so that onlookers could see more clearly what she was doing. Obviously when doing this for a method using more than one layer, this will become obscured, so you could use a ruler as your direction guide.

Nancy used 10 grams of wool & produced a sample 40cm x 40 cm for each layout method to provide a clear comparison.

Changing your usual method of laying out can be quite challenging, as it is easy to get into a pattern of doing the same thing.

 

 

Nancy suggests splitting the wool into 8 lines length ways where it naturally divides, pulling from the middle of the length, not the end. Lay it out thinly, so that you can see through it to the bubble wrap underneath. (Australia has a reasonably mild climate, we don’t need to lay out thickly as in Canada or Russia!)

 

 

Why would we use different methods?

Different methods produce different qualities in the felt. The layout you choose will depend on what you are hoping to achieve, which is governed by what you are going to make with the felt. Does it need to drape to fit the body for example? Diagonal layouts can be really useful for draping in clothing or sculptural pieces. Methods covered were:

Horizontal:   Turn over and rotate 90 degrees between layers.

Diagonal:   If you want a really sharp edge with this method, try laying a continuous strip along the edge.

Cobweb:   Don’t pull fibres apart, keep in one piece.  Not very strong for a garment, but suitable for a scarf.

Spiral:   Good for coasters.

Radial:   Good for flowers, may not sit flat. Don’t allow the middle to get too thick.

Herringbone Chart 3:   Provides beautiful elasticity & drape

Basketweave Chart 4:   Provides beautiful stretch & drape with more stability than herringbone, with less apparent rows.

 

Running Bond Chart 6:   This avoids the “row” effect that happens with layout No 1. It will shrink more in 1 direction than the other.

Random, Chaotic :   Makes a really stable fabric, good for 3D forms. Aim for uniformity of thickness to maintain even shrinkage.

Regardless of the layout method used, Nancy suggests : If using a dryer to assist with the felting process, use it on the cold setting, wrap the felt piece in a towel, tied up, and sealed in plastic. The dryer is for friction, not heat. In order to achieve a very strong felt (in spite of fineness), allowing the wool to dry and re-wetting it and fulling it again, sometimes 2 or 3 times can be useful.

Toss N Tell

 

 

Peta showed her completed satchel from the leather workshop, and her work from Lieko’s workshop the Shell and the Cucumber layouts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sue also bought along her satchel completed at the leather workshop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stacy has been doing an online workshop and has produced a number of beautiful pieces of clothing.

Review of Leather workshop with Hammered Leatherworks

12 Feltwest members attended this workshop, where we got to use leather tools and materials that most felters were not familiar with.

The purpose of the workshop was to cut and attach leather fittings and hardware to make the piece of very strong felt into a useable bag. Participants were required to bring a piece of felt with them, suitable to be made into a messenger bag/backpack. This involved specialised tools, supplied by Bec, who taught the participants how to use them. Below is a summary of some of the tools and skills learned in the workshop.

A strap cutter was the first tool used. The width on this can be set to enable cutting of different width pieces as required. Alternatively, a rotary cutter can be used along a straight edge.

A quilting square is used to measure straight lines and angles.

A diamond pointed stitching chisel is used to make holes in the strap preparatory to stitching, as the leather is too thick to pierce while stitching.

Fittings (ie rivets, eyelets, buckles etc) provided were of solid brass.

Buckles require an inch length of strap to go through the buckle and allow for a bit of movement. The tongue on the buckle needs a slot to allow it to move and work effectively. A special ‘oblong’ punch is used to make the hole. If the strap for the buckle is to be adjustable, 10 holes would be good, approximately an inch apart, starting 2 inches from the end.

 

Saddle stitching is a very secure type of hand stitching that works well on leather. Waxed linen thread is the best choice, as it is waterproof, and won’t be eaten away by the tannins in the leather. Saddle stitch starts like running stitch, but when you reach the end of the stitching line, you work back the other way to fill in the blanks.

Bec is very competent with using tools and understanding how leather works. She is a clear communicator and a patient instructor, thankyou Bec for leading us through the use of unfamiliar tools and equipment to make a wonderful felt and leather bag. The workshop went overtime, and some of the bags are not yet completed. Feltwest has purchased a set of leather tools and the bags can be completed at a Feltwest Tuesday or Saturday meeting. 

Report from Woolarama

Feltwest participated the Wagin Woolarama this year for the first time in many years. Woolarama is one of the biggest agricultural shows in WA, attracting people from throughout the south west and Perth and took place over two days on 9th and 10th March.

Feltwest had a 3x3m display where we were able to:

  • Demonstrate feltmaking and carding
  • Display a broad range of felted items Sell member’s work

We also had felt clothing and accessories modelled on the catwalk.

 

 

It was surprising that there were no other wool craft displays at Woolarama, and Feltwest’s presence was warmly welcomed by the organisers and attendees.

What worked? – Thankyou to Kerry for the following comments:

 Demonstrations were fantastic

Sue demonstrated wet felting all weekend & Lenore’s demonstration started with raw fleece to carding with the drum, hand carders and heckle, all weekend. Chris Pietraszek came all the way from Toodyay, midday Saturday with her double heckle to mix and Diz home grown & coloured Alpaca. Crowds were formed each time demonstrations started or passersby were ‘lured’ then enthralled by the transformation from fibre to fabric!

Who was interested?

Farmers, adults of all ages and school age children

 The Cat-Walk

Chris, Nancy, Lenore and Sue did a fantastic job selecting, from our members items, a collection which synchronised with Christiane’s clothes and just looked AMAZING on the Cat Walk. They were worn by professional models to loud music, dazzling lights and promotional narration at the beginning and ALL this supplied by Woolarama at no cost to us!

Two women approached us on Saturday afternoon and said that for them, seeing the Feltwest items on the catwalk had been the highlight of the whole Woolarama show! We are hoping to get some professional images from the catwalk for our website

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What sold?

We had a range of items for sale, but what sold most, were light-weight scarves.  We had some beautiful felt objects but they weren’t what people were looking at.  We took over $1200 across the two days.

Resources and cost?

The Feltwest stall and catwalk was organised by a team of 4: Kerry Bertucci, Sue Eslick, Chris Gray and Nancy Ballesteros.  Chris and Nancy had their own separate stall but were on hand to help Feltwest, especially with the setup and packup.  Kerry and Sue were joined by Lenore Fairfield who helped all weekend on the Feltwest stall and with demonstrations.  Everyone paid for all of their own costs with the exception that Feltwest paid for the 3 nights accommodation of the main organiser.

We took our own tables, chairs, screens and display materials so that we didn’t have to pay extra to hire them. Thanks to Kerry for bringing them all down in her ute!

Approximately 15 Feltwest members contributed some wonderful feltwork for the display and catwalk.

Costs paid by Feltwest:

Accommodation – $250,  Feltwest stall – $435.

SUGGESTIONS for next time?

Having participated in this year’s event, those attending have come up with many suggestions for the future, should the next Committee decide to go to Woolarama. These include:

  • Book a double stall, one for sales and one for demonstrations. Allay s
  • ome of the costs by seeking sponsorship for the demonstration stall and a contribution from those wishing to sell felt, for the other stall.
  • Start organizing earlier in the year, – maybe have our own parade-fun night dress rehearsal before it goes to Woolorama.
  • Organise for a media person to promote Feltwest and liaise with other groups.
  • Having a card reader in order to take payment by credit card proved to be invaluable.

Thankyou to everyone who contributed, and especially to Kerry who did the lion’s share of the work –  and so competently and cheerfully.  It was a great team effort, we were all exhausted by the time we got home, but had an enjoyable, productive, and we believe, worthwhile time.

Feltwest March 2018 Meeting

Mini workshop

“Fantasy flowers by Sara Quail was the theme for our mini – workshop at the March meeting. With around 40 members in attendance, she demonstrated how to create a variety of flower shapes using a small round resist and directional fulling techniques.  Sara showed us ways to layout the wool and how to add colour to the inside, the surface of the flower and the calyx. Once felted to a firm prefelt, the resist is removed and basic shaping is achieved by fulling in the direction that shrinkage is required. Limited only by one’s imagination, the petals can then be further manipulated to change their shape, direction and position.

After creating enthusiastically for barely an hour, members had produced an enormous variety of flowers. Sara then showed us how to attach these to a twig as well as other creative variations using the same basic technique. After a lunch-break and meeting notices, the hall continued to bloom well into the afternoon! “

Toss and Tell

Sara showed a number of pieces that she had made at Katia ‘s workshop. One of these had the fibres laid in such a way that the felt sample could stretch.

 

 

 

 

Another was the trademark scallop shells that Katia showed at the Artist talk.

 

 

 

 

 

A third piece also shows ‘corded’ work, that demonstrated remarkable texture. (Cucumber method)

 

 

 

 

Judith showed a wrap that she had made at Katia’s workshop .Unlike Sara’s pieces, it had fabric visible on the ends, which gave a very different effect, in spite of using some very similar techniques.

 

Liz showed a number of glasses cases that she had started at the “Beginners’ Extension” workshop run by Kerry Bertucci with Jean McKenzie assisting at Tuesday afternoon felting. It was interesting to see the different results in these items depending on how much wool was laid down, and the direction in which it was laid. This made it a really good idea for the workshop.  Liz did another one where she added cotton lawn to the wool for a really different look.

 

Carol showed us a pair of ‘croc socks’ or slippers that she had made after being inspired by attending workshops at Feltwest. She had also made some cacti and some monsters, and has been making monsters with her class of primary school students. Perhaps these children are our future members at Feltwest?

 

 

Susan modeled a scarf she made at home, after being inspired by a Feltwest workshop. These workshops seem to be inspiring lots of our members.

 

 

 

 

Stacey has been really busy doing some online workshops, and has produced two very light and fluid waistcoats that used silk and bamboo fibre as well as wool.

 

 

She also made two large poncho style wraps in monochromatic colour schemes that look really effective.

Stacey has also produced a collar style scarf that will have a button or similar as a closure when it is completed.

 

 

 

Katrina informed us about her upcoming exhibition and workshop at Ellenbrook. Please see Billboard for more information soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Sue showed us her felted cord necklace and explained that she used chain inside to help weight it down. Sometimes these necklaces are too light, and don’t sit well against the body. Sue cautioned that you can’t put the chain inside at the beginning of the felting process, it needs to be done towards the end to work successfully.

 

 

 

Notes

We all had a thoroughly enjoyable day, make sure you join us next time, 21 April 2018 Saturday.  We will be learning about the how’s and why’s of laying wool differently, in this mini workshop by Nancy Ballesteros.

Feltwest have also asked Nancy to also provide a popup shop with wool and silk to purchase.

Happy Felting

kind regards

Liz

Workshop Review Katia Mokeyeva, March 2,3,4th 2018

Feltwest members have been admiring Katia Mokeyeva’s work for some time, and some have participated in her on-line courses, so Katia’s visit to Perth was keenly anticipated, and we were not disappointed!

Katia gave a talk about her work at Craft House on the Thursday evening, and brought along some of her stunning garments from the 2017 exhibition, Sea State at the DHG Gallery in Prato, Italy where she worked in collaboration with Fiona Duthie.  Images from Katia and Fiona’s earlier 2015 Sea State exhibition in Newcastle, Australia were also shown.

Katia talked about the inspiration from nature and the ocean that influence her work and creative process.  This presentation was very much enjoyed by the 25+ people in attendance, and served as a wonderful introduction to the workshop that was to follow over the next 3 days.

Twelve lucky Feltwest members participated in the three day workshop.  Katia explained how natural plant fibres can be incorporated into felt to give stretch to felt garments, and to create rich textural surface designs.  Three sample pieces were made in the workshop to demonstrate these qualities, and Katia generously shared her ‘cucumber’ design and method for creating her amazing felt shell pattern.    

The use of plant fibres such as Bamboo and Ramie in Katia’s felting techniques was enlightening and created new possibilities for textural surfaces. 

 

 

The workshop was given an enthusiastic top rating by the participants, who were expertly led through new ways of working and the creative use of different materials. Everyone commented on Katia’s warmth, patience and generosity.  Thank you Katia for a wonderful and inspiring workshop.

Dyeing workshop Sara Quail

Dyeing 101 workshop with Sara Quail, Feb 2018.
Techniques and tips for dyeing silk, cotton and other cellulose fibres.

Fibre Reactive Dyeing cotton and silk with Sara Quail -Sara’s aim was to teach participants how to pattern silk and cotton with fibre reactive dyes using a low immersion technique-ie by applying dye directly and manipulating the fabric. This was done using basic equipment in a small work area.

Dyeing 101 with Sara Quail

Sara outlined the safety requirements for using the materials utilised in the workshop, as well as some mess avoidance techniques for persons and the work area. She taught participants how to mix the soda ash in which the fabric is initially soaked, and how to mix the dye in the correct proportions to achieve a range of colours. She stressed the importance of rinsing equipment to avoid contaminating the colours being mixed, and the necessity of labelling the dyes that are produced. She taught participants how to batch, cure and rinse dyed pieces to achieve the best possible dyeing results.

Fibre reactive dyeing cotton and silk with Sara Quail Dyeing cotton and silk with Sara QuailFibre reactive dyeing cotton and silk with Sara QuailFibre reactive dyeing cotton and silk with Sara QuailFibre reactive dyeing cotton and silk with Sara Quail    Dyeing cotton and silk with Sara QuailFibre reactive dyeing cotton and silk with Sara Quail    Dyeing cotton and silk with Sara QuailDyeing cotton and silk with Sara Quail Fibre reactive dyeing cotton and silk with Sara QuailFibre reactive dyeing cotton and silk with Sara QuailDyeing cotton and silk with Sara Quail

As well as these basic & necessary processes, Sara taught a variety of techniques that produce different effects on the finished piece. These included working flat, tray pleating, crystalline, folding, doughnut, twisting, coiling, and how to dye skeins of thread or fibre.

She had a myriad of samples including how the dye takes on different fabrics and fibres. Other uses for Fibre Reactive dyes and how they can be used to dye protein fibres like wool were discussed.

Sara also provided comprehensive notes, a list of suppliers of Fibre Reactive dyes, and some websites as references for further reading.

I think I can conclude that a messy but fun day was had by all!

Alison Higgins

Fibre reactive dyeing with Sara QuailFibre reactive dyeing cotton and silk with Sara Quail  Fibre reactive dyeing cotton and silk with Sara Quail Fibre reactive dyeing cotton and silk with Sara Quail Fibre reactive dyeing cotton and silk with Sara Quail Fibre reactive dyeing cotton threads with Sara Quail

Participants dyed many pieces of fabric and items, so there was no time dry them all and view the results on the day.  There was quite a display at the first Feltwest meeting of the year of their achievements as well as some further exploration with the leftover dyes they took home.

Jigsaw Weave & Felt with Martien van Zuilen

Workshop – Nov 2017

Presented by Martien van Zuilen, a FeltWest member and international tutor, participants spent a very pleasurable 2 days learning her unique Jigsaw Weave & Felt technique. With its strong visual impact, the opportunities to include this woven effect in handmade felt are endless – homewares, accessories and wearables or as accent pieces for larger projects. Inspired by slumped glass techniques and the calming process of re-piecing jigsaws, her technique involves using fine merino pre-felts, which can be commercial pre-felt but which Martien often makes by hand using her hand-dyed wool. After selecting a colour palette to produce the desired effect, pre-felt is cut and re-pieced.

The first day was spent making a sample and coming to grips with the technique. Colour selection, the thickness of the pre-felts and the degree they have been pre-felted, play a key role in this technique. Martien had brought an amazing array of prefelt and many samples to get the creative juices flowing. She guided us through the planning and specific process of cutting to ensure a well-defined result. The actual method of interweaving and re-piecing the cut pre-felts had some unexpected elements, but it soon became apparent this was essential to the process. Paying attention to detail in the early stages is very important, but with immense benefit to the final result!

The 2nd day was spent working on individual larger pieces which included bags, cushion covers and table runners. Embellishments and fabric can be incorporated and minds were over-flowing with many ideas on how to create texture, optical illusions and functionality. Specific ways of dealing with resists for hats and bags were covered as well as emphasising her specific felting and fulling methods she uses for the Jigsaw technique. Her gentle approach to felt making is evident in the smooth, high quality felt pieces that were created.   

Those who attended really enjoyed trying out a new technique. The technical process gave everyone an opportunity to achieve precise results as well as refining felt to a new level. A very knowledgeable and sharing tutor who had some memorable ways of remembering her tips and tricks!

Martien van Zuilen (PhD) is a felt artist and dyeing artisan living in Perth, Australia. She exhibits her high-quality and distinctive felt art nationally and internationally and through her dyeing business Colourant Dyeworks she supplies the finest hand-dyed Merino wools, silk fibres, yarns and fabrics to felt makers and textile practitioners worldwide. Since the late 1980s she has delivered felt-making workshops at all levels of experience throughout Australia, as well as in Europe and throughout the USA. Martien is the founder of the Victorian Feltmakers and for 18 years coordinated the Australian National Yurt Project. She is the Convenor of Fibres West Inc. and the editor of FELT, Australia’s national felting magazine with international reach. Her artwork is published in numerous international publications, including Showcase 500 Art Necklaces (book), Textile Fibre Forum, Felt Matters, ViltKontakt, Fiber Art Now, Yurts Tipis and Benders (book), FELT, verFilzt Und zugeNäht, the 2015 book Pots and Pods for Feltmakers, Adventures in the Third Dimension, and the 2016 book Worldwide Colours of Felt. www.martienvanzuilen.com