An Aussie Felter

Natural Fibre Supplies from Tasmania

2011-07-09T12:45:00.002+10:00

My dear friend Shirley lives in Tasmania,

off the mainland of Australia,

way down south where it is quite cold this time of the year.

She surprises me with all sorts of treats to play with.

(And I have to say, although I love modern technology and receiving mail online,

there's nothing quite like

receiving 3D mail delivered by the postman!.)

...... Recently, a package arrived with some

Superfine Tasmanian Merino lambs Wool 18.5 micron from

Oatlands Handmade

a wonderful place to visit

- just an hour from Hobart and they will send samples by post to you - no matter where you are!

and also

some wonderful hand dyed, rainbow coloured, superfine Alpaca Rovings from

The Alpaca Shoppe

61 Emu Bay Road,

Deloraine

Tasmania 7304

Ph:0457 198753

email: alpacashoppe@westnet.com.au

The Alpaca Shoppe is an extension of three Alpaca Farms located at Deloraine and Mole Creek, Tasmania. They showcase raw fleece, natural and dyed alpaca yarns and handmade garments.

They're open 7 days and welcome visitors!

I've decided to use the two fibres together to make something special,

so stay tuned for the results . . .

Thanks again Shirley x x x

Wet Felting Workshops

2011-04-14T09:48:00.001+10:00

One of my all time favourite Felters and Mentors is

Phillipa Rooke

Phillipa is conducting workshops at

Threads & More, Sherwood, Brisbane QLD.

8 May 2011 - Wool and Silk Scarf

7 June 2011 - Felted Slipons

Queensland Spinners Weavers and Fibre Artists

14 &15 May 2011 - Advanced Felting

22 May 2011 - Felted Silk and Wool Scarf

12 June 2011 - Felted Slippers and Fancy Footware

Do you want to be

Amazed, Inspired and Learn Excellent Techniques?

. . . a Workshop with Phillipa is a MUST !

It's nearly Easter !

2011-04-11T19:21:00.000+10:00

Another Easter Surprise !

2011-04-09T18:20:00.000+10:00

This one's loud and happy !

A Mouse in a Candy House !

2011-04-07T14:13:00.001+10:00

I'm having fun with these . . . makes me wish the kids were little again.

I miss seeing that look of delight on their faces with their newfound toys!

More Easter Chicks in Eggs

2011-04-06T16:28:00.001+10:00

Each one has it's personality!

Crazy Daisy Coasters

2011-04-01T14:52:00.001+10:00

for coffee, tea, teapots, candles, vases . . .

More Mice

2011-04-01T13:57:00.000+10:00

A Mouse in a House

2011-03-25T12:07:00.000+10:00

I found a box of half finished needle felted mice the other day and decided to finish them.

This is the first. This little mouse now has a house!

This is the perfect mouse - she doesn't eat, smell or escape!

More Easter Eggs and Chicks . . .

2011-03-22T14:20:00.001+10:00

Have you heard of 'Madeit' ?

It's our Aussie grown version of Etsy

and growing all the time.

Come and visit sometime - you may be surprised what you might find !

This little chick is listed in my store.

She is a great alternative for busy little fingers who

can't have chocolate - and she doesn't melt !

100 Hearts for 'Donate Life'

2011-03-21T15:49:00.003+10:00

I met Shirley late last year at Kingscliff Market and we chatted about felt and the Felt Hearts she creates...

Shirley makes Stress Balls in the shape of Hearts and decorates each one intricately with stitches, beads and ribbons. They're made with loads of love and care and they squeeze snuggly into the palm of your hand.

Shirley donated a kidney to her Grandson when he was 2 years old. Afterward, she donated some hearts to 'Donate Life' Hobart, knowing they would be great comforters for young and old alike - particularily children if they were on Dialysis or in hospital, were sad or unhappy.

Shirley shares the love ...
these photographs are just 55 of 100 hearts she made with love for 'Donate Life' recently.

She enjoys the way the pictures evolve and as you can see, she has the patience of a saint!

They're all so beautiful !

We swap packages of treasures by mail - I was hoping Shirley would be able to use my handmade felt - but the hearts are so firmly filled with love and stuffing that the seams ease apart -

that's a project for the think tank . . . wet felted with a resist maybe ?

Thank-you for all the goodies Shirley ! x

Needlefelted Grubs

2011-03-14T10:33:00.001+10:00

Look who I found nesting in my fibre stash!

These crazy little critters make great cuddlies for children !

They fit neatly in little hands, are soft and spongy and

have personalities all of their own !

They're needlefelted from corriedale fleece and have tufts of merino hair.

They're kind of cute in a 'grubby' sort of way !

Have a Great Day !

Easter Chick and Egg - Wet Felted

2011-03-14T08:02:00.001+10:00

I love the pretty colours of Easter Celebrations !

Felting Silk ?

2010-07-17T18:58:00.002+10:00

Felting with Silk Fibres

Are you having trouble making your silk 'stick' ?

Silk fibres are long and smooth and triangular in shape. This makes them slippery and gives them lustre.

Wool fibres are made of layers of 'scales' which cause them to be dull and allow the fibres to shrink.

This diagram from 'Chemistry of the Laundry' is a magnified sketch of

a) Wool b) Mohair c) Cotton d) Silk e) Linen

The fibres with more surface texture, felt better than those with smooth surfaces.

If you can imagine meshing these wool and silk fibres together, it is fairly safe to say the only ones with real grip will be the wool fibres.

So, when you decorate with silk, the trick is to place down your silk and then lay down a very fine cobweb of wool over the top to 'anchor' the silk fibres into place.

(Nobody sneeze or move quickly or you'll blow it away !)

But beware, too much wool cobweb will suck the silk into the wool and you will lose the silk's lustre.

These silk roses are nuno felted onto cotton muslin.

The rose was a circular twist of silk.

The ripple effect has been caused by the wool fibres pulling and anchoring the silk on the surface into place.

Felted Bunting

2010-07-15T10:46:00.000+10:00

Can you Help ?

A fellow Felter

'Angela Barrow Creations'

has a daughter turning 13 years of age in September.

Angela has begun making felted Bunting and is running out of time!

If you would like to help out

visit her site where she has posted measurements.

I'm off to my stash to see what happy colours I can find ...

Colour Inspiration

2010-06-24T09:44:00.000+10:00

If you love colour ...

visit this post by 'A Pigment of the Imagination'

and see an interesting way to celebrate the colours of Spring !

Felting Slippers

2010-05-30T17:31:00.002+10:00

Felting Slippers

for Me !

I decided my feet are cold enough (especially early morning)

to make a pair for myself.

But, since I've used most of my natural corriedale fleece

on the last pair and I'll need the rest to finish my Medusa,

I've decided to try some dyed corriedale fleece

I had bought for needle felting.

The results are quite different ...

fluffy and took a long time to come together.

... and it's BRIGHT blue ... but I think I can live with that!

I laid out some light blue corriedale and silk paper flowers...

then laid out the sole...

wet it down, wrapped it over and the felting began ...

THEN I HEARD

A SNUFFLING SOUND ...

It had been raining and it was cold,

so I had let our husky inside on her mat.

I turned around and there she was

- a mouth full of freshly carded fleece from my work room.

"Uh - Oh" ... she dropped the fleece and sat quietly,

looking at me as if to say

"What fleece? ... Who did that? ... It wasn't me !"

I have seen this face before ... but I have to love her !

I felted, rubbed and rolled, I cut the opening for my foot,

rubbed and rolled some more, turned them in the right way

... and rubbed and rolled some more

and when I had no fingerprints left ...

this was the result

... made with love

to find more information on how to make your own pattern

visit Pat Sparke's site !

Felt Slippers ...

2010-05-27T14:26:00.004+10:00

Felt Slippers ... a Birthday present - a perfect gift for this cold weather.

AND ... he likes them ... !

Amazing Felted Cushions !

2010-05-20T11:42:00.004+10:00

Hello friends,

I stumbled upon this blog and had to share.

... Look at these cushions !

What a huge job.

What a great idea!

Visit Suburban Tea Party to read more

.... and follow the links to New York Times to read more again...

Biggest Mistake and a Trip Down Memory Lane....

2010-05-16T15:39:00.003+10:00

Well ... the biggest mistake I could have made was to raid my 'stash' to mend my little man. I became side tracked with treasures that had been stored since forever and forgotten I had, and in the process decided to get 'more' organised - yes again! It was like Christmas as a child - bags and bundles of fleece and all sorts of goodies .. and I started a new blog - to help inspire me to cull my stash.

I've felted for about 15 years now and began as we all do - a fledgling, fiddling with this, experimenting with that.
Way back then (when computers weren't as user friendly as they are today) there were about six felting sites on the net
and I was part of a huge minority.
'FELT?' people would say with a sympathetic frown.
OK then ... she must be some kind of down and out hippie!
I was ashamed to tell anyone that I could be so weird!
... and the image stuck in my mind 'I AM A DAG!'

The word 'FELT' conjured images of that 'stuff' we put under the feet of our chairs to stop that dragging sound.
Why in the world would anyone want to spend hours making that 'stuff' when there were so many better alternatives?
In a world supplied with popular syntheic fibres oozing with easy care qualities, wool was not considered the 'in thing' - certainly not the weird 'felted' wool anyway.

But I was intrigued by the variety of different fibres and loved their ability to create shapes and textures so far removed from everything mass produced that I privately persevered.

... And now, all these years later, I browse the net and there are so many enthusiastic and talented followers of the magic of felting

that I feel like I'm part of something good, that I can hold my head high and 'play' without self doubt (well, almost).

We all have something to offer - for whatever reason we do what we do and I've decided I'm here for the long haul.

So CHEERS to the years of sanity saving, exhausting, rolling, throwing, stabbing, collecting and creating !

If you read my blog and think I could have tried this or done that - post me a note - I'd love to hear from you and I'm always open for suggestions...

And don't forget to visit my new blog 'A Room Full of Things' where I'll be posting all sorts of things - not just felt.

Felt me better . . .

2010-02-20T17:50:00.005+10:00

This little fellow

used to live in a vine in our garden....
That is, until our dog found him,
dragged him down and shook him near to death.

He needs an overhaul before he returns to the big wide world. It's time to felt him another hat,

a new face and new hair. So it's back to my fibre stash

to see what I can find . . .

Hello again . . .

2010-02-09T10:05:00.009+10:00

I've been away for a while - to quote an old friend
"Sometimes life just gets in the way !"

Well, Christmas has come and gone, the children are back at school, had school photos taken already and there are Easter Eggs in the stores.

The year is already gathering momentum. It's time to regroup and get it together !

Better late than never - I'm posting my mischievious Christmas Elf and Christmas Tree I made last year.

And now it's back to work.
It's time to finish all those projects I've started which stare at me from the cupboards.

Join me on my journey!
I'll post again soon.

Nuno Felt Vest

2007-11-24T13:11:00.003+10:00

My Sister and I made this Nuno Felt Long Vest. We used Tussah Silk, 22 micron Merino fleece and Silk Georgette. It's been made all in one piece and slip stitched together under the arms. The creamy coloured Tussah silk has been used in a thin criss cross pattern all over the vest.

Nuno Felt Shawl

2007-11-11T15:55:00.003+10:00

Nuno Felt is made by applying a fine layer of fibres over a sheer natural fibre woven cloth. I've used 22 micron Merino Fleece and cotton voile. The wool fibres penetrate the cloth and felt, causing the fabric crinkle. This method creates a light weight and drapable fabric. The finished shawl is 160cm wide and 100cm long.

Felted Pixie Boots

2007-10-04T11:51:00.001+10:00

My Favourite Bag

2007-04-19T22:13:00.003+10:00

As a general rule, I'm not a bag lady, but I love this one! I wet felted it from natural corriedale and merino fleece and it has leather handles. It's been made in two halves, has been stitched together by hand and lined with cotton. I love it. It's always full of something and goes with me just about everywhere!

It's Easter!

2007-04-10T12:42:00.001+10:00

I made these little chickens in eggs for gifts this year with a small chocolate egg hidden inside with the chicken. Looked sweet tied up with a bow.

Both the chicken and the egg have been wet felted. The egg has been built up using an egg shaped resist which was later removed...............Had lots of fun...!

Come over to my house.......

2007-03-09T16:36:00.000+10:00

Come over to my place

Come over and play

We will felt for a while

and have a wonderful day!

Look!

My Mum gave me legs........

Now I can sit back and relax while I work!

I have wings !

2007-02-25T13:58:00.001+10:00

This Faerie has been needlefelted over a wire frame. Her core is made of natural Corriedale fleece and her 'skin' is formed with Romney. Her hair is Merino and her dress is made of silk. Her wings are made from home made silk paper. I believe they could be BIGGER so I'm about to make her some more.....

what am i doing???????

2007-02-14T17:47:00.000+10:00

Today I've begun to play with this blog

and I really have no idea what I'm doing,

so don't laugh.

Just watch everything move around the pages

..........until I figure it out.........