Category: News

May 2017 Toss and Tell

     May 2017 Toss ‘n Tell

Demo and talk

Soosie Jobson gave a talk on Shrinkage Rates when felting and explained why estimating  a percentage produces an inaccurate result. In order to calculate  how much a project will shrink one has to first make a sample. Then you divide the initial laid out size of the sample by the finished size  = the correct rate of shrinkage for that project.  For wearables a minimum shrinkage rate would be 1.7 – 1.9%.   Nancy advised that for nuno wearables she would use 25g wool for 1 m of silk fabric for a good drape. Soosie has lots of information on her website.

Meeting

The President , Virginia , thanked Soosie for a most informative talk.

Visitors welcomed : Sandra from New Zealand, Kim from Tasmania, Stacy, Suzie Sheppard.

Information regarding The Retreat was discussed.

Sue Eslick’s bag workshop is open for bookings. Later in the year there will be a leather workshop which may be very useful for finishing items e.g.straps for handbags.

Members are requested to complete an online survey which will help with the planning of a 5 year vision for the group. Members are invited to attend the meeting on 25th June from 9 – 12 noon.

The next Retrospective issue will be delayed until September/October. This will be a special “birthday” issue. Members are invited to join a committee to prepare this publication.

Toss n Tell

Marion made a nuno scarf using  silk dyed in a workshop with Heather Davis.

Marie had works in progress viz. little birds and badges that she is making with children she is teaching at an art elective in Darlington.

 

Stacy showed us her beautiful blue wearable art vest/scarf that she was wearing, as well as  a scarf and bag. She attended Nancy’s workshop where she learned to make a colourful striped mat and a grey and white striped one .

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Sara has been doing an online workshop with Pam de Groot where she learned interesting 3D techniques – 3 of which she showed being : Splash, Twistie and Spiral.

Linda showed us her piece that started off as a vessel but changed into a cuff that she was wearing.

Karen is a new member who has an art and fashion background. She has been trying to combine the techniques from different workshops and brought numerous garments that she is working on to  develop her own style in wearable art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Katrina  brought a collection exotic items that are all works in progress using horsehair and red dyed goat hair.

 Alison showed her latest project that she has just completed. She explained her procedure of work from concept to execution. Her colours and design are quite unique and admired by those present. Although it is a large wall hanging she only used 250g wool for this project.

Liz is a new member  and brought samples made in Alison’s beginners workshop. She also made various vessels which she learned from Soosie’s online workshop.

Nancy showed her blue striped nuno scarf using silk mesh as well as a fine striped one in neutral shades which she used when teaching her Stripe Sequencing workshop.

At Pam McGregor’s workshop Nancy made a felted boab tree /teapot/sculpture .

Susan Sheppard ( visitor) had made a lovely wrap in blue and brown.

Sue Swain showed us a very sculptural piece of sea sponge that she found on the beach.

Pat showed us her latest knitted jumper she had made in a geometric design in shades of grey, black and red.

Soosie Jobson  made a vessel demonstrating differential shrinkage and explained the process. She has a free tutorial on her website.

She also made an intriguing 3D multi-ribbed Eucalyptus tree .

She accessed a website : Redbubble.com that will print any designs you submit. She printed her “synchronised fish” design onto a bag, a scarf and another design onto her mobile phone cover.

 

Judith Shaw  showed us a pair of warm woollen slippers , a bag in progress  and a necklace of dyed seedpods, as well as the jacket she was wearing.

Vimol used a combination of  wet felting, needle felting and embroidery to make 2 wonderful, whimsical hats, 1 with a face of a cat in relief. She also needle felted a head with a face in relief for a hat to be displayed on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Report by Marion, Photos by Nancy

March 2017 Toss ‘n Tell

 

March 2017 Toss ‘n Tell

Christine Wheeler  gave a very insightful talk on how to restore your favourite handmade felted garment after many years of wear. She showed us her jacket that she had restored.Christine also showed us her beautiful shawl . She combined fabric with and fine merino wool and silk using an attractive colour palette of reds.
    

 

 

Sue Swain spoke about her recent workshop that she ran on “Wearable Art” and mentioned that she would be repeating it again in April. She also showed samples of the type of garments that can be designed.  Sara Quail and Alison Higgins showed us the garments that they had made in her workshop.

 

 

 

 

Sara Quail  had various samples that she had been working on  with the intention of using the ideas in larger projects viz. a handbag strap. Also samples for padded surfaces using foam filling – to be used in floor mats or rugs.

                

Wimon  wore an attractive bag and explained how she had made the bold, strong corded strap  that was attached.

Marion had made an assortment of vessels following a workshop that she attended run by Martien van Zuilen. She explored various materials and techniques which included stitching, padding, resists, cutting, silk paper and the use of merino wool vs Finnish wool.

 

 

 

 

 

Marie displayed a sample in which she started with a wet-felted base onto which she applied a needlefelted design and finally wet-felted the piece.

Alison Higgins showed us her neck warmer felted in white with a charming orange and green organic design.

 

Kerry had attended the Pam McGregor workshop and showed her finished teapot that had delightful little birds nesting on the branches of the “treepot”.

Katrina had also attended Pam McGregor’s workshop and her one was a dramatic teapot in black, shades of grey and red.

Alison Gomez  showed us her latest wall hanging  with striking geometric shapes on a dark background in fine merino wool and silk.  Her work, as always, is of a very high standard.

February 2017 Toss ‘n Tell

February 2017 Toss ‘n Tell

Various  ingenious ways of making good quality cords were demonstrated by Sue Eslick.


Soosie

  1. showed her reclining mermaid in which she used various techniques viz. woodblock surface design , embellishments of stitching and beading.

 

  1. A school of fish all made in 1 piece using numerous resists. The beading embellishment enhanced the piece and gave it an extra dimension.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Alison showed off her very warm hat that she had made for herself . It is the first hat that she has made and was a great success.

Marie  had made a sample using black merino wool and silk lap.

Sue Eslick  her Rabbit Teapot that she made at Pam Mc Gregor’s workshop using Gotland wool. For the rabbit and carrot stopper she used merino.

Judith  showed off her beautiful blue hat / beanie

Sara  displayed her lovely delicate Uzbek silk and wool wrap. She also attended Pam Mc Gregor’s workshop and made a Fish Teapot using Finnish wool.

      

Vera showed us photos of various  lamps that she has made recently.

Alison Gomes   Showed us her latest wall hanging in wool and silk that is a work-in-progress. It is now at the pre-felt stage , having shrunk approx. 15%.  

Katrina showed us the brochure of the current exhibition being held at the Mundaring Art Centre which ends on 19 March 2013. She will be doing a demo for WAFTA on 15th May ( Mothers Day) on making of wire armatures

Christmas Lunch & Nov Toss ‘n Tell 2016

Christmas Lunch & November Toss ‘n Tell 2016.

It was hard to believe it was already Christmas time again! A lovely group gathered for our annual lunch feast. Luckily this year the sea breeze gently kept the flies away and it wasn’t too hot.  We were incredibly fortunate Soosie volunteered to supply the Christmas Tree, having just made one for an on-line tutorial she is teaching.

img_1780. felt tree by Soosie Jobson   img_1777img_1786

We had and incredible feast, since we are all such good cooks!

Our new president Virginia Campbell introduced our new program for 2017. Lots of workshops and demonstrations are being planned as well as our annual retreat, two international tutors, and a group project to be announced early next year.  Keep your eyes on the home page of the websiteand our eNews bulletins. img_1779

We had our annual gift exchange and raffle which Sue Eslick won.img_1822

At our Toss ‘n Tell, Sue Harrington showed some very intersting sample pieces she made in Alison Gomes workshop, What lies Benneath, learning how to add resists to your work to add surface design.img_1758. sue harringtion img_1756-resize. detail sue harrington

Alison Gomes show an incredibly luscious new wall hanging she has been working on, with some wonderful hand stitching for embellishment.img_1770-resize. alison gomes img_1775-resize.close up alison gomes

Katrina Virgona showed off her talent for creating evocative jewelry using a limited palette of red and black, and a splash of yellow.

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Sue Eslick had been busy re-purposing and old tea cozy into a gorgeous Meditation Bead necklace. She also found a leather worker to add leather strap onto oimg_1805-resizene of her fabulous bags.img_1762.sue eslick

 

Marie Marshall had been busy making scarves for family and overseas friends for Christmas. She did a wonderful job of folding her scarves in so there were no raw edges.

img_1810                       img_1806.marie marshall               img_1807.detail marie marshall

Marie Jacquier made a large wrap adding on a special piece of fabric to each end to add the ‘wow’ factor.

img_1819.marie jacquier

Review Oct 2016 Toss N Tell

October 2016 Toss and Tell by Sara Quail

Demonstration:
Our demo this month emphasised the importance of fulling felt completely. Nancy Ballesteros illustrated a variety of surfaces one can use for final fulling. Optimum shrinkage was illustrated with samples comparing partial and fully fulled felt in different weights, as well as related experiments with nuno felt.  Hairiness can be avoided by not allowing the felt to dry out during the fulling process. Re-fulling after allowing the felt to rest and relax, is beneficial.

Sue Eslick explained how different wool breeds when laid out in the same size, using the same weight of wool, all reduced to the same size eventually. Some quicker than others. She then demonstrated some more extreme ways of fulling, especially suited to more bulky pieces where the inner layers may still be soft and require more fulling. These included very hot water with lots of vigorous hand rolling and stretching, hot vinegar solution soak, wrapping and rolling in a cloth, rubbing with wrapped stones and her pièce de résistance – the hammer!

Toss and Tell:

  • Our new president, Virginia Campbell, opened the meeting with a request for input from members for workshops for the coming year, ahead of the planning meeting on 13 November 2016.
  • Additional copies of the last Retrospective are available for $5 each.
  • The Xmas party is 19 November. Members are asked to bring a plate to share and exchange of a wrapped handmade gift. The Raffle will also be drawn. More details to follow in the newsletter nearer the time.
  • With no stall available this year at the Fremantle Bazaar, other alternatives for 2017 are being sought and members’ input is welcomed. Christine Wheeler made mention of various possibilities.

Members again illustrated the group’s diverse interests with their Toss and Tell items:

Brenda Edney tried out a piece of cobweb felt, inspired by Liz Odd’s recent demo.20161015_134107

Kerry Bertucci had made a pair of beautifully fitted gloves with guidance from another member, Jill Jodrell. With a current focus on small vessels / pods, Kerry had also created a unique shaped vessel by stitching prefelts over a form.20161015_134243 20161015_134323

Sue Eslick had crafted another beautiful bag with the intention (and challenge) of attaching leather handles. She had also made a dainty small box-shaped purse.

Katrina Virgona is still in fetish mode and we were able to handle the components of what may become ‘hairy handcuffs’   comprising  hair,  jute and flax fibres– possibly to be used on members guilty of incomplete fulling. She said she uses a sort of dry felting technique on  hair to matt it in to a net which she then overlays on the wire armatures she makes, and that she also felts a lot with a mixture of wool and hair.

Judith Shaw made use of some donated Alpaca to produce a hat. With a brushed and rustic appearance, she said it was light and warm to wear.  Made many years ago, she also brought along a mask constructed by moulding over a form. Despite it having been used as outdoor décor all this time, there was virtually no sign of deterioration.20161015_141544

Marie Jacquier had a work in progress from Nancy’s ‘Shifting Shapes’ workshop and was now inspired and excited about the concept of realistically being able to make and wear felted pieces using the technique.20161015_141831

Sara Quail had been to a hat and vessel workshop with Dawn Edwards (USA) at the Geelong Fibre Forum The vessel used a ‘cracked mud’ resist technique and intense fulling. She modelled 3 of the 5 hats made, one of which featured beaded silk.  She also showed how the recycled aluminium from drink cans can be annealed, stitched and embossed, sometimes incorporating felt.20161015_142324 20161015_142234 20161015_142300

Nancy Ballesteros is experimenting with techniques to create striped fabric. Her design concept is influenced by Fibonacci principles. Her samples utilize silk mesh with a little hand stitching to complete the look.  As the layout of wool fibre is only in one direction it is even more important to be aware of directional shrinkage. Other wool only samples illustrated a very subtle plaid look achieved by laying stripes of fibre on one layer, and then in the opposite direction for the 2nd layer.  Watch this space for more stripes in coming months …….img_1277

 

Review – Nancy’s Shifting Shapes workshop

REVIEW of Nancy Ballesteros’s SHIFTING SHAPES Workshop by Sue Eslick – Twelve keen participants gathered for a three day workshop on felting with silk hankies to create fabulous new fabrics.  People attended from all over WA, and one person came from Queensland!  It was good to meet with some new Feltwest members who had joined up specifically in order to attend and we hope to see more of them in the future.

This 3 day workshop  was full on and not for the fainthearted!   Nancy expertly guided participants through the detailed and complex process of making beautiful felted silk garments and wraps.

 

Nancy brought along a wide variety of sample garments for people to try-on and find the shape and colour palette that best suited them.  Everyone appreciated the availability of extra wool, fabric and other materials from Treetops, which allowed people to change their plans on the day.

Patterns were traced and adjusted to the individual. day-3-fiona-layout

 

Everyone had a different approach to design. Whilst many people had a firm idea that they worked too, others laid out silk hankies in a random riot of colour. Nancy advised on how colours interact in the felting process and coached participants through the decisions on design, colour and layout of the silk hankies and wool.  A few people decided to practice using silk hankies by making a wrap or length of fabric rather than a garment.day-2-leaday-1-kathy

 

Nancy explained that in order to make a finished garment that fitted, everyone needed to use the recommended wool in the stated quantities.  Too much wool and it might end up too big, too little wool and it might be too small. Everyone heeded Nancy’s advice and weighed their wool, making sure to use the same amount on the front and back.  There were also loads of helpful tips and advice on nuno felting and handling large projects with relative ease.

 

People were very pleased to hear that they could take their pieces home to felt in the dryer instead of rolling them.  On Sunday morning it was magic to see how the pieces had transformed after their time in the dryer the previous evening. day-2-vivday-3-viv-jea

 

 

 

 

 

Participants were shown how to fit the garment to their body shape, and how to full the felt to make quality fabric that fitted in all the right places.day-3-maeve

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On Sunday afternoon, Nancy spent some time teaching different options for closures, fasteners and hemming the garments to create a neat and professional finish. day-3-stitching-lesson

 

 

 

 

At the end of the three days, everyone went away very happy with a spectacular piece of felted fabric, and if they hadn’t already finished, they left with the skills and knowledge to finish the rest of the garment at home.  Nancy was very generous with her sharing and help making it a fun and productive workshop.  She also offered to provide further help to people if they drop in at Treetops.  Thank you Nancy for a wonderful workshop.    day-3-kathy day-3-jill

day-3-fiona

September Toss and Tell by Marion Finneran

SEPT. TOSS N TELL/AGM 2016 by Marion Finneran – After the AGM, we gathered round to watch the video which Soosie has made of the exhibition. Thanks Soosie, it looks wonderful.  Congratulations to Katrina for winning the raffle prize. She has never won one before so she was thrilled!

Toss and Tell this month showed some beautiful felting made by our members

Christine showed us her beautiful wrap of wool and silk that she made using shades of reds and cerise that combined interesting patterns and textures.

Sue Eslick  told us about her vessels using a variety of  fibres from Merino to Bergschaf. She also explained her method of first making  a bag which was dyed afterwards.

Kerry attended a fun and functional vessel workshop with Pauline Franklyn where she made  a “vessel” that she converted into a handbag.

When she attended Martien van Zuilen’s mandala workshop she made a beautiful floormat/wallrug in shades of green. She described the many layers, much rolling and stitching, cords, tones and texture, making it a very unique item.

Soosie showed her scarf that she made for the exhibition “Myths and Legends” on the theme of the Mexican festival: Day of the Dead. She also displayed a very innovative fishy fantasy hat made years ago that transforms into a mask by folding down the front.

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Helen, a new member, attended the beginners workshop today run by Alison Gomes and Sue Eslick. She showed us the samples she had enjoyed making.

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Liz also attended Martien van Zuilen’s mandala workshop where she made her floormat/wallrug with a shield design in her mandala, evocative of the shields used by many African tribes.

Vera showed us her delightful fairy houses that can be used as night lights

Alison displayed her scarves with their beautiful colour combinations, stitching and original designs.

Katrina is presently working on a fetish piece and enquired whether anyone had animal/horse hair or human hair to contribute to her project.

Review of Heartfelt Mandala workshop

The Heart Felt Mandala – with Martien van Zuilen, July 2016

Feltwest members were fortunate to learn the involved process of creating a felt mandala rug or wall hanging from Martien van Zuilen, a national and international felt making tutor, but also a member of Feltwest. There was an evening introductory presentation, followed by three full days of felting.
ShanaDavies  Mandala 9Mandala 7
‘Mandala’ is a word from the Sanskrit language meaning circle, with a symbolism reflected in many different cultures of the world.

Martien explained how mandala designs could be inspired by completely unrelated things… a wine label, postcard or even an ornate plaster ceiling!

She talked about her experiences in Mongolia and the importance of the community working together on felt making for their yurts, as for every aspect of their lives, in order to survive the harsh conditions. Functional possessions are made beautiful with decoration as there is not the luxury to own additional items that are purely decorative, as there is in our settled culture. The decorations often include imperfect, repaired or misaligned features, which add to the beauty.Mandala 8Mandala 2

Martien brought along a variety of well-catalogued samples (both raw fibre, and its corresponding felted sample). This gave us an insight into the different animal fibres available to felt with, including Polwarth, Corriedale, Cashmere, Camel and Merino, to name some. It was very useful to see how different fibres yielded different textures of felt.

The desirability of creating a calm, uncluttered work space for making the mandala was emphasised. Organise a colour pallet of only the wool tops, pre-felts, threads etc to be used for the project and remove other competing materials that will deflect the eye and the creative mind.

As prefelts played a big role in the creation of these mandalas, Martien spoke of the advantage we have as felters, in being able to create our own ‘fabric’ – prefelt – something not common among textile arts. It would therefore be a good idea to customise our handmade prefelts, both in colour and by adding decorative bits of our choice.

It was empowering to learn how to correct ‘mistakes’ or to change parts of the design that we didn’t like anymore, even after they had been partly felted in. Martien spoke of felt-making as a forgiving process, if built up gradually, and not rushed through.

There are many approaches to decorating the mandala. Wool top colours can be mixed to create particular effects in the pre-felts. Fluffy yarns can be stitched on, extra wool or felted cord can be added to raise the surface. Stitching with threads applied in the pre-felt stage should be far apart to allow for shrinkage.     There were plenty of very useful tips that Martien shared throughLizOddout the workshop, on everyRenDeverything from laying oJuliaAndrijasevichut wool tops, to geSaraQuailtting an even edge around the mandala, at the end.

Participants applied themselves to the process of laying out wool, stitching, rolling and completing the all-important finishing and edging. The result was 9 individually stunning mandalas.

All in all, it was a fantastic learning experience for our mandala-makers. Not to mention a very satisfying workshop, as everyone went home with a beautiful, unique mandala they were happy with.

MACRO|micro Exhibition: 20th August – 10 September

Feltwest feltmakers explore the MACRO and micro worlds through innovative technology, pushing their ancient craft into new realms of shape, pattern and texture in felt in a new exhibition at gallery Central. Perth. Feltwest members are constantly seeking new ways to create in felt, endeavouring to push boundaries and develop new approaches.  Inspiration has always […]

To access this you must purchase Feltwest Membership or Membership Renewal.