Monday, August 31, 2009

About Felt on the Cape

The next stop on my workshop schedule is a one day class on Cape Cod, September 28, 9:30-4:30 . Felt on the Cape is a 3 year long tradition, hosted by my friend Ginny Boylan. Ginny is a surface designer and furniture (and interior) painter extraordinaire. When she met Tom and I at a show 4 years ago, it was bond at first sight! We immediately began planning a session in her studio.

We are doing flat patterned felt for a day in September, and as a special request from the students attending...I will teach an alternate project in the afternoon session. Or whom ever wants can make flat felt all day long!!

A full studio...

We left for lunch and found Kitty napping, where else would you go?

There are a couple spots left for this class. I can be contacted through Festive Fibers or go to my workshop link at the side of this blog for more workshop details.

Ottoman Workshop

3 days ... design ... felt making ... and assembly required!

What a great 3 days! I know, I know, these workshops are all great, I love teaching and I love helping students focus their creativity. Add to the mix, spray glue, drills and staple guns and what do you get? A piece of furniture you can take home with you! How totally awesome is that?

In these two shots, Estelle and Betti have already laid out their fiber for their ottoman, and are going back in and stabilizing the pattern using a needler, called the Fabulous Felt-O-Matic, (love this machine!) which condenses the fiber stack so that the first wet roll is easy, with very little rearranging.

A day of wetting rolling and voila, felt is made! Hung out to dry for the 3rd day of construction.

The trim is added, in this case, after by hand stitching onto the top, painted feet are screwed on.

Two very satisfied girlfriends, and two very beautiful ottomans! Thank you ladies!

For very detailed directions my class is published as a project in Carol Cypher's book How We Felt

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Felt Flowers at the Alstead Library

We had 11 students of all ages in today's workshop! The young students had helpers, but most didn't need the help, everyone was great, especially as our little 2 hour class was a speedy mini course! Fast. Fast. Fast. So, everyone worked hard to keep up with my instructions (most never having made felt before, what an introduction!)

Shedd Porter Memorial Library (above) Our Librarian, Barbara is so cool, she runs some very fun programs, like Coffee House (open mic) and Craft Saturday (which falls every 3rd Saturday free to whomever wants to attend.) It is a great way for the local community know more about what happens at the library, and I was glad to finally be a part of her programming.

To make it very simple I made a little kit for each student that contained just enough fiber for the stem, stamen, three layers of petals and a leaf, and the wire for the stem.

Fiber was felted into all the little bits...

By the end of the first hour, everyone crowded their tables in the shady side of the library (Who can blame them, it was HOT and it was only 11 in the morning!)

little piles of felt began stacking up... scissors were then used to cut the petal shapes

The cut petal shapes were then stacked onto the wired felt stem, and the stem were twisted into a knot on top...presto! A little more bit of hand shaping to curl the petals, cute huh?

As the clock ticked to noon, Barbara announced she had to start locking up and how were everyone's flowers coming along? Well, I don't need to say they were fabulous, so everyone crowded together for a group shot!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

2 Days of Felting with Marina

My 3-d felting class just finished, and was only one student big, BUT what a fun 2 days! Basically Marina had a private class...and fun for me when I do private classes, I can create right along side of my students. Since it was only Marina, I gave her the choice to make what ever she wanted, she chose a pouch and then left the rest up to me. I know she is an amazing colorful knitter and has been known to be scarf crazy - so for someone who NEVER made felt before, we started the two days making scarves.

"Beautiful"

The first was flat and colorful the second I encouraged the use of resists. She used wooden biscuits (right)- I used huge nuts (middle). We considered our day a very exciting success.

Day two was a bit more complicated for a newbie felter, but she forged ahead and seemed to get the layering thing and the resist pocket and the decorating, but then she said I want to make it even more dimensional, could she make a water lily that is dimensional on the front of her bag? I said why not?