Shelter: Nearly there....

Just needs the floor...

Stitching together the pre-felted floor sections

Building Shelter

 Degree show set up with my wonderful mum as a second pair of hands

Sampling Fleece

top to bottom: 1, 2, 3.

 Felting trials to see which fleece felts best and the different qualities: texture, colour, density, and ease of felting.

Fleece 1 felt wonderful when it was un-felted but was very hard to felt well.

Fleece 2 was quite wiry and was nearly as hard to felt as #1.

Fleece 3 felted like a dream with the same amount of rubbing and rolling as the other two.

L to R 1, 2, 3.

Fleece Heaven!

Second trip to get fleece from the Aladdin's Cave of the Wool Grower's depot. See what I mean about the wonderful huge bins full of fibre?

So much wool, so many shades and tones of colour = so hard to choose! I wanted to take it ALL home but returned with a sensible number for the huge project ahead. I limited myself to fourteen Moorit fleeces, mostly from Shetland sheep though some may be other breeds.

I also treated myself to one lovely soft brown Blue-faced Leicester fleece for spinning because it was just irresistible!

Felting Landscapes

I find myself really excited by the prospect of a trip to Orkney this coming weekend! The last summer I went on a road trip to the Isle of Lewis it resulted in this felt  piece, depicting Callanish III.

I love old places where the length of time that humanity has been here in Scotland sings out in spite of the best efforts of wind and weather, time and neglect.

This time I hope to get to Skara Brae and some of the Orkney stone circles, such as The Ring of Brodgar, as well as visiting as many artists studios as possible!

Lewisian Gneiss

Callanish III through the rushes

Callanish III on Lewis

I have hundreds of photos from my trip to Lewis last summer, a goldmine of inspiration for years to come... I hope to have a repeat of this for my Orkney trip!

Callanish I

Rethinking and reinventing

It's been a long time since I last blogged, somehow more than a year has slipped past! I am having a rethink about what I do, my business name and way of working, how it's been affected now I'm studying full time and what changes I may or may not want to make. I have decided to rename my blog as the name "A' Manner O' Things" was a stop-gap name until I knew how I wanted it to be! I have also been questioning the name of my mother and I's business Diva Designs - it just doesn't say anything about what we do, what we are about! I had an eureka moment last night; driving home through the fragrant summer dusk I suddenly knew that I want to call my business Fibre Alchemy! It says it all for me - what else is felting but a magic alchemical-like process of transformation? Turning piles of fluff into a firm but flexible fabric through lavish applications of soapy water and elbow grease!

My local organic flock of Gotlands, a 15 min walk from my front door.

Cap felted with Gotland fleece (from the above flock) and some silk tops

Magic huh? What better name for this process than Fibre Alchemy :)
This is how I want to work: using local, organic materials sourced from within walking distance of my studio and making one of a kind creations that feed the soul of the wearer. I want to work in a way that is truly sustainable and ethical, using only hight quality materials and clean processes and making beautiful, practical and affordable art to wear. I am not all the way there yet, but it's something to aim for!

The Wings of Imagination

'Give me wings that I might fly'

Caught on a sunbeam

My wings in their final position over my bed

After hours and hours of work my wings are finally finished. This photo shoot was done at a local beach where there are some magic caves and cliffs.

Work in progress

Free machining on silk

Dye vat with birch bark

Dyed fabrics with free machined feathers. Still more work to do....

Felting Tips

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.

Felting tips - playing with colour

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!

Felting Tips - using white

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!