Prized Possessions

Handsown, felted for travelling, to keep those needles safe, tied with linen with a handmade elder wood bead, some died with applewood.  Little Loch Broom, August 2013

Many Hands Make Light Work

It is so true.  Many hands do make light work.  In just 4 days the children designed, laid out the wool, and completely felted 10 felt panels - each panel measured at least a metre square.  All through the proces they chatted, told stories, sang songs, and were generally just amazing to be with.

hands

The idea for this panel was to capture the colours and shapes of a walk through the woods at springtime.

Spring

leaves and primroses

bluebells

This piece is an idea of lots of snails - a repeating pattern of snails perhaps?  quite impressionistic.  The shiny fiber is bamboo.

snails

Will be a while before the felt panels are hung as school's out for summer!  

Neck Warmer or Cowl

Definitely not snoods, these neck warmers are handmade of felt by me!  They can be felt and viewed at Artworks, a wonderful community art shop and gallery in Devon.

This nuno felt neck warmer is handmade from a special type of wool - blue face leicester, which is one of the softer lustrous sheeps' fleece.  I have laid this out onto a silk sashing made up of old silk fabrics from my stash (ancient silk scarves once worn by my grandmother, or pieces horded from charity shop finds, or perhaps an old sarong well travelled).  The whole piece is carefully felted to ensure the bond between fabric and fiber.  This is known as 'nuno felt' which someone once told me meant fabric in Japanese.

The upturned plantpot models the neck warmer beautifully don't you think?

NunoFelt Neck Warmer with felt brooch

A bright cheery neck warmer of coloured merino fleece with silk fibres.  Again modelled by a terracota plantpot.  The fleece is laid out very fine to ensure the final felt is lightweight.

Here hand blended fleeces of white Blue Face Leicester with chocolate Shetland are laid onto a silk sashing of pieces from the stash.  The tassles are of felt too.  It is very soft.

Nuno Felt Scarf with tassles

I love making nuno felt - find more examples here and here.