Time has slipped by and it's two weeks since I last wrote a post. Today's felting tip is going to be very brief as I have to prepare for a workshop and my internet connection at home has been too sketchy for writing. The wind plays havoc with our phone line and the last week or two have been WILD. It feels strange to only be able to connect with the on-line world at work.
When building a picture from a limited palette, blending the colours you do have into as many different combinations as possible gives more depth and interest than you would expect.
Using two, three or even four colours at a time adds depth to the colours and therefore the whole piece.
So how did Christine get from a pile of white fleece to this finished piece? This picture was made using one of our felting kits with just 6 colours in it as well as the white.
First she added tiny wisps and pinches of the two shades of green
Gently patting the laid fibres helps to hold everything where you want it.
This example is being made with the "Peacock" colour way from our web shop. More tips coming next week as I have to get on with preparing art for an exhibition!
I thought perhaps some folks might be interested in tips from Mum and I about how to make felt. So here is the first "Felting Tip" from Diva Designs. Photos from me, hands in action from Christine - Mum!
We always use white merino as a background to our felt pictures for two reasons:
First, it makes the more expensive colours go further.
Second, it softens all the colours slightly and makes for a subtler overall effect.
hold the wool tops gently in one hand and pull off small tufts with the other hand
lay the tufts side by side in a row
add rows of tufts, overlapping by about a third, till you reach the size you want
lay a second layer of rows of tufts at right angles to the first layer
Once you have two layers of white laying at right-angles to each other you are ready to play with colour!
Inspired by one of my favourite blog writers, over at The Drawing Board , I would like to start sharing some of the music that lifts my heart and makes me feel creative. So here is the first band that always comes to my mind when asked what music I love: Ossian. They are a Celtic band from my childhood. My family used to go and listen to various folk bands playing live in our tiny west coast village halls. It was always wonderful and sometimes we would travel for over an hour up or down the coast to some other village where The Boys of the Loch, Ally Bain, Capercaillie or some other band were playing.
This grey Monday morning I am trying a bit of a strange operation - dip-dying a hat to change the colour of the crown as the lady who is buying it from me wants a black crown to her red brimmed hat rather than blue...
I have to do it at home as I haven't the facilities at my studio for dying in a pot. I usually use a steamer and do space-dying. The strange set up with the woven willow ring that the hat brim is stitched to is to make sure that the brim stays out of the dye bath. I have my fingers in knots they are crossed so far! I have never tried to dye only one part of something before. It is bubbling away as I write...
