The Twisty Tree

August 3, 2015 · 10:48 pm

Spiderless cobweb

Beautiful weather… low wind… a long weekend – definitely time to set up a table outside and start wet/Nuno felting.

Wet felting set-up

I haven’t done a lot of wet or Nuno felting, so I started off with a small practice piece – I wanted to check how some of the different types and colours of roving felted and blended. I re-read a lot of instructions, took from them what I wished and ignored the rest, so that I could see what would happen working a different way.

I was trying to achieve a cobweb type of fabric, so I was working with fairly thin bits of roving. This piece was not on a silk chiffon base – it was only roving.

Pre-felting layout

Once I finished placing the roving, the “fun” began… time to wet the roving, roll it up, then roll and roll until my arms and back hurt.

Bundle to roll

Here is how it turned out – see if you can find the fabric – it matches its background.

Cobweb fabric

I also started a new project for the annual art show at my office, but that is a post for another day. 😀

6 Comments

Filed under Artsy-Craftsy, Fibre Arts

Tagged as Needle felting, Nuno felting, Wet felting

August 2, 2015 · 11:08 pm

Khaki no more

I’ve had more adventures with fabric paint, as well as some fabric markers that I’ve never used before.

As a birthday present for Bo, a friend and I went in on a fabulous Needles & Things canvas tote bag. I would link to the site, but sadly it is no more. This bag is very expandable with a lot of storage. Bo had given both of us one of these bags, but hadn’t picked up one for herself when she had the opportunity. I’ve filled mine with all my viking knit supplies, and there is still so much room… love it!

The downside of the bag? The lack of colour choice – there is blue and there is khaki. Well, it’s not a downside to everyone, but to colourful people it is a problem. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get the blue, so out came the paints!

After a few layers of base fabric paint, I started to paint on some designs. Once there was no sign of khaki, I started adding details. When both sides were dry, I got out the Uchida DecoArt fabric pens and started to draw. I love these pens… they are one of my new favourite things. It was so nice not to have to outline with a steady hand (which I do not have) and a brush, or by squeezing out a line of paint. The squeezing works, but it creates a raised outline, and on a bag that will be rubbing against fabric I worry that it will catch and peel. After outlining, I got out the fabric markers, which were quite sheer. I used them to highlight and shadow.

I’m hoping the paint will be durable… I’ve told Bo that she knows where to find me if touch-ups are needed… Here’s hoping that the fabric stands up to the wear and tear of use!

Bottom view

What are your experiences with fabric paint? Success? Disaster? Somewhere in between?

4 Comments

Filed under Artsy-Craftsy, Random

Tagged as Fabric paint, Painting, sketching

July 12, 2015 · 8:52 pm

Return to Regularly Scheduled Programming

It’s good to be home, and it’s good to be back in the studio! While I was on vacation I did a fair amount of jewellery designing, and that has continued since I’ve been home.

One of the jewellery ideas I had was around mixed metals. I’ve always loved combining metals, but due to different melting points, I’ve been very tentative about trying to mix them in the studio – prior to learning any silversmithing I would work with brass and copper, but there was no heat involved – I was hammering it for texture and making wire or wire/sheet jewellery.

I did some reading on soldering copper to sterling silver. I have lots of scrap copper wire, so I figured I should use it, not just store it. I thought a bracelet would be a good item to start on – only small areas of soldering, so less worry about making a mess. I think it worked! I haven’t finished it yet – I’m going to try wearing it for a day before painting a patina on it, just in case it needs some changes – sometimes the fit can be a little wonky.

Here is how it is looking now… It was a little dim outside when I took the picture, so the colours don’t come through too clearly, but you’ll get the idea.

Copper and Sterling Silver Forged Bracelet

How do you feel about mixed metals? Do you wear them?

2 Comments

Filed under Artsy-Craftsy, Jewellery

Tagged as copper, design, Jewellery, Sterling silver

June 28, 2015 · 10:38 pm

This is the end… of my vacation

That’s right… the trip has ended. It’s always tough to reach the end of the vacation, but it’s also lovely to be home with a very needy cat and some fresh clothes.

The journey from Winnipeg to Vancouver went well – we even got to be door monitors on the train – we learned how to open the doors in case of emergency. When the air conditioning stopped for a few minutes, we were tempted!

I won’t yap on and on (for once!), but will end this trip journal with photos. I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts on ideas and happenings, but those are for another post…

: Outside the Winnipeg ViaRail station

: Inside the Winnipeg ViaRail station

: Scenes from a train

: Mt. Robson – apparently you can’t always see the tip – guess we were lucky

: Mount Baker

4 Comments

Filed under Random

Tagged as Smudge, Vacation, ViaRail, Winnipeg

June 24, 2015 · 9:16 pm

Tick tock tick tock…

I’m not sure if the title of the post is a reflection of time running out on my vacation or if it is because there is a clock ticking on the table next to me. Either way, tomorrow marks the beginning of the last leg of the journey – the train back to Vancouver.

It’s been a busy week here in Winnipeg. Well, busy if you don’t count that one day that only involved pedicures, lunch out, and a big birthday dinner with a bunch of Bo’s family. On Tuesday we went to the zoo, the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden and the Assiniboine English Garden (it seemed appropriate to end the trip with a garden/sculpture garden visit), and drove through the Exchange District and the North End.

: Reindeers are real… Who knew?

: The emus are new to the zoo or pen

: Best picture of the day and it’s not even a real animal!

: Bo dressing appropriately for her surroundings

: This one is for you, mom!

Today we went out to Bo’s family farm. I have heard stories of the farm and her brothers for many years, and today I got to see the place. It lived up to the stories. I had a great day, full of new experiences, and I got to drive a golf cart all over the farm. I love those – I think I was smiling the entire time I was zipping around.