Four new felters out in the world...

This past Saturday was a great day for my class of students learning patterned felt making for the first time.  As I teach technique, it is very cool for me to see the wheels spinning in each persons heads.  Eyes brighten, heads nod ah-ha, decisions as to what they want to do and make with their felts are made on the spot!  They get so excited about the process, they go right out and buy more fiber or a Fabulous Felt-O-Matic!  It is so fun to share and teach this media.  Felt-On Ladies!!!

Didn't everyone do a fantastic job?

July 4th Rug Stomp

Two days of laying out fiber, talking about felt, design, techniques, life stories, and making beautiful felt rugs.  In honor of the holiday I made a red, white and blue scones for today's snack, blueberry, cherries and white chocolate....mmmm 

Take a peek during the day's STOMP!  and a photo of the finished rugs below...

Finished Ottomans

Where has the time gone?  By now I trust all my "ottoman gals" have received their ottomans shipped to them after the class.  I was such a lucky dog to have these beautiful pieces in my studio for the week before they all got packed up and sent to their final homes.  It was a treat to see such creativity and professionally designed and constructed pieces. (I hope I get some shots of them when they are in their new homes to share with you.)

Finished Ottomans

The workshop has come to a close, I have 6 ottomans to ship to their various homes (1 is going as carry-on), but what a day pulling everything together today.  What do you think?

AHHH, just about ready

Ottoman Workshop May 2010 promises to be very exciting, 7 gals coming from all over and the last of my dyepots are just about finished, studio tables are set up, supplies all ready for Sat. (well almost everything)

Each student's station is set with up with their mat, fiber colors of choice, the ottoman cores, feet and hardware, and the instructional.

Earlier in the day the studio looked like this!

The weather looks like it is going to be great this weekend so I plan on opening the front double doors and have set up my pop up tent, to expand our workspace!  More photos to come!

Flower Workshop at Keene State College

Also in May I taught a fun little mini course at our local College.  I was happy to be a part of the programs, as the college, as a thank you to all that work there, offers all its employees a full day of free workshops.  I know one of the organizers and offered one of my Flower classes.  We even came up with a new twist on what I normally do...can you see the difference?

Hint: we planted the flowers into little clay pots!!  Too CUTE!!

Felted Frog Workshop was hopping FUN!

Here are some photos of the fun little mini class I taught yesterday at the Nature Museum in Grafton, VT.  Three hours and everyone went away with very cute funny froggies!!  Why frogs you may ask?  well, frogs are the museum's mascot and for felting, it is a small colorful project.  They are a combination of wet felting and needle felting, the legs are scraps of Festive Fibers felt with little toes needled on!!  Too Much Fun!  While we were busy trying not to poke our fingers with the felting needles, a photographer came to the event from the Brattleboro Reformer a newspaper in Vermont.  He was so excited and insisted his of our even deserved to be in color some where in the paper!  Everyone was so excited there was press around, especially Betsy (long hair on the left with a purple shirt) who is the educational programs director at the museum.  We all wholeheartedly agreed, now we wait to see if they make it in and if our names were all spelled correctly! (I'll let you all know)

New England Felting Supply COLORS MY WORLD!

Check this out!  This past Saturday I taught in Easthampton, MA at the New England Felting Supply.  It was a great environment to teach my Color Theory class in.  We talked about color all day, we played with color chips all day and we sat amongst colored fiber ALL DAY!  This is  how dedicated we all are to our passion of color and fiber...I left my house at 6AM in the snow...down 91 through Vermont in the snow...when I hit the Massachusetts border it stopped snowing...I got there in plenty of time and all 12 students also got there safely, from all points around as well!  Kudos to us all!

 

  

Wow does this look messy!!! and the funny thing is no matter how may thousands of paint chips I bring (this table and another) we seem to not have "just the exact color" you are looking for!

Felt a Flower Valentine

Valentine's is less than a week away and am am doing my Painted Flower workshop Saturday.  The studio and house are getting some sweet decorations.  I picked up a fun paper craft book called Girlagami by Cindy Ng and am having so much fun with this cutie book.  I am still stuck on the Hearts, you' see, I'll post my decorated kitchen in a couple of days. Don't you want those shoes too?  My Valentine's Workshop is so much fun, it is a girly treat - retreat for sure.  This is the third year I am doing it, and it is now tradition, I make a decadent lunch, which I have decided is wintry and yummy, apple and cheddar cheese soup and a chocolaty treat for dessert.  The felt we create are  some sort of flower, some years I do dimensional flowers like pins and such. This year we will do the "Paint a Flower", which is great for felters with a bit of experience, because we play with such interesting techniques, building upon the way we put down fiber.   Think watercolor looks, tight detail, and even some dimensional do-dads.  Here are some of my flower pieces from the past...I'll have to add a new one here after the class!

 

 

 

2010 Workshops are here!

2010 Festive Fiber Workshops

The following are examples of our workshops

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"Painted Felt Flowers for Valentine's"

February 13th (9:30AM-4:30PM) ALSTEAD, NH
We always have a very fun time in this flower class, it is a treat to be creating felt flowers all day but, add to it, a decadent lunch with chocolaty desserts is included! And I call that a recipe for really treating yourself for Valentine's! This class is a one day class, perfecting the principles of placing shading into your felt images, to create a motif that really pops from your composition. We work on shading, highlighting and color contrast, while using a photo reference of your favorite flower.
BRING WITH YOU: Towel (to wrap your wet pieces in) and shoes/clothing which may get wet/dyed.
TUITION: $135.00 includes materials and lunch.
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"Color Theory at NEFS" February 27 (9:30AM-4:30PM)

As so many of you know already, I love teaching this class. It is a great way to learn about creating beautiful color combinations, and how to use visual inspiration for a color story, which colors work well together and why, and why you like certain colors? The day is full of small and engaging exercises with a critique after each so students can learn more from their fellow students as well! The process is gentle and non scientific and fun. We are hosted by Chris White of New England Felting Supply, in the midst of their grand studio and store. This is a non-felting class, where we work with paint chips. Students build a workbook through out the day for future reference.
BRING WITH YOU: Scissors, pencils, tape and/or glue, a colored pencil or watercolor set (just in case)
TUITION: $TBD (+10.00 Kit Fee for the workbook)
LUNCHES: Are not included. Feel free to Brown Baggit.
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"Shibori Dyed Feather Weight Scarf "
March 27-28 (9:00AM - 5:00PM) ALSTEAD, NH I have spent years dyeing fiber for felting, yarns for knitting and fabrics for hooking, and with each project, though I know what I am going for I find that the surface design element of each comes moslty at the end when each piece is finished. I love all things traditional textiley and shibori, being one tradition I would love to play with, is an age old tradition where-by creating ties, stitches and wrappings, on a piece of fabric, and then dye it, you get the dye and pattern all in one! I like this concept, and of course shibori can be extremely intricate an beyond amazing in the time that it could take to do a complicated design.

I will begin the day with a brief slide show of traditional and contemporary shibori work, students 2-3 make feather weight merino scarves, and then spend the first half of the second day tieing twisting and wrapping their scarves into pattern. The dye process takes about 3 hours and when finished we will have a huge assortment pattern and color. This course has it both, a llittle bit of felting and a little bit of dyeing and of course hand work, think stitching, and tie dyeing.

BRING WITH YOU: Towel (to wrap your wet pieces in) and shoes/clothing which may get wet/dyed.
TUITION: $350.00 includes materials, workbook and instructionals for each technique
LUNCHES: Are not included.There is a deli in the village square, an easy walk to pick up a sandwich, or pizza/sub shop a mile down the road. Feel free to Brown Baggit. Light refreshments and beverages will be served each day.
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"FROGS! at the Nature Museum at Grafton"  April 17 Grafton, VT

Kids and adults will have fun at this workshop! We do wet felting hand formed shapes, and if you are able to handle it, embellish your frogs by using a felting needle (age specific for the needles)

BRING WITH YOU: Towel (to wrap your wet pieces in, or wipe your work space) and shoes/clothing which may get wet.
 







TUITION: TBA includes materials, Register directly with http://www.nature-museum.org
LUNCHES: Are not included. There is a deli in the village square, an easy walk to pick up a sandwich Feel free to Brown Baggit.

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"Felt Ottoman" 
Memorial Day Weekend May 29 - 31
Saturday, Sunday, Monday (Three Day Workshop - 9:30 AM - 4:30PM ) ALSTEAD, NH

This class is awesome where students have the opportunity to design a piece of furniture for their home. Make the felt fabric for and construct and upholster their own ottoman! A fast paced class with lots of different steps on each day, students leave the session very accomplished and in the possession of a brand new beautiful ottoman! Day ONE: Design and lay out fiber for all areas of ottoman. Day TWO: Wet felt all fabrics, (fabrics dry over night) and Day THREE: Students upholster their ottomans. Using furniture quality cardboard cores, student, glue, drill and assemble shape, cover with foams, and then sew their fabric covers, adding trims or embellishments.

***Previous felt making experience necessary, as well as the ability to use power tools, and sewing machines. Student may use prefinished wooden feet, casters or pre paint your feet before arriving to the Festive Fibers studio.

BRING WITH YOU: Shoes/clothing which may get wet/dyed.
TUITION: $625.00 includes all materials (We can ship your ottoman home to you, students pay for shipping)
LUNCHES: Are not included. There is a deli in the village square, an easy walk to pick up a sandwich, or pizza/sub shop a mile down the road. Feel free to Brown Baggit. A light refreshment and beverages will be served.
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"Dye Pots! Acid Dyeing techniques for wool fiber"
June 19 ( 9:30AM-4:30PM) ALSTEAD, NH 
I dye fiber for felting all the time, though the technique I learned many years ago can be applied to yarns as well. I love the ability to not be restricted by someone else's color line. The studio will have dye stations set up, with fiber tagged for each student to use a variety of color baths and dye techniques, from solid batch dyeing to rainbow or casserole dyeing. I use Pro-Chem Wash Fast Acid dyes and Cushing. I do not measure dye stuffs, but dye from premixed concentrates. We will review, set time, temperature, prep and clean up.

BRING WITH YOU: Shoes/clothing which may get wet/dyed, apron, goggles. I will supply face masks (not asperators) & gloves
TUITION: $165.00 includes all materials and color charts from both companies
LUNCHES: Are not included. There is a deli in the village square, an easy walk to pick up a sandwich, or pizza/sub shop a mile down the road. Feel free to Brown Baggit. A light refreshment and beverages will be served.
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"Rug Stomp" July 4th-5th (Two Day Workshop - 9:30AM-4:30PM) ALSTEAD, NH
...a work in progress, about half way through!
By far my most popular workshop. Students lay out and felt a patterned felt rug in two days. Day one the rug is laid out, discussions on technique, design layouts and color balance are how we start a leisurely creative day. Day two is all felting! (using hands, feet - hence the stomp part, lots of energy, and, well heck anything else that might help the process along!) This class is not for the timid, it is very physical and an absolute blast!
BRING WITH YOU: Towel (to wrap your wet pieces in) and shoes/clothing which may get wet/dyed.
TUITION: $425.00 includes materials
LUNCHES: Are not included.There is a deli in the village square, an easy walk to pick up a sandwich, or pizza/sub shop a mile down the road. Feel free to Brown Baggit. Light refreshments and beverages will be served each day.
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"Flat Patterned Felt for Beginners"
July 17 (9:30AM-4:30PM) ALSTEAD, NH

BRING WITH YOU: Shoes/clothing which may get wet/dyed, a towel for keeping your work space dry(ish).
TUITION: $150.00 includes all materials
LUNCHES: Are not included. Feel free to Brown Baggit. A light refreshment and beverages will be served.
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"Felt Sculptures "

August 14 - 16 Saturday, Sunday and Monday (Three Day Workshop - 9:30 AM - 4:30PM ) ALSTEAD, NH

Over the years, I have created many 3-D felts. Some are quite sculptural. In this class, we design an Sculptureal OBJECT (Doll, animal or floral) Using aperatures as the internal structures, students learn how to build up form, and layer the fiber, add on detail using felting needles and shaping techniques will be demonstrated, the final sculpture can be skim felted.

Day One: each student will review their idea, size and how to build is determined, and structures are built and wrapped. Day Two and Day Three, Students create their sculpture




BRING WITH YOU: Ideas and photo references.
TUITION: $450.00 includes materials
LUNCHES: Are not included.There is a deli in the village square, an easy walk to pick up a sandwich, or pizza/sub shop a mile down the road. Feel free to Brown Baggit. A light refreshment and beverages will be served. 

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"Art is...Wickedly Good!"(Art is...You!)

October 8, 9, 10 and 11th CROMWELL, CT This year's theme is The Wizard of Oz in all of it wonderful and wicked forms! If you are looking for a fully immersed creative retreat with lots of new friends and lots of diversity this is the event for you! At the time of writing this I am not able to list the classes I will be teaching, but let's just say I am fully in the spirit of Dorothy and her friends, felting zaniness all the way!