Fall Happenings....

   I'm immersing myself more and more in my creative journey...more and more into exploring feltmaking and dyeing in my own way...exercising consciousness through the process and the artistic impetus within each method....Stretching into new ideas and finding my way into my full creative potential.... playing with words that have meaning in relation to the work I want to do...topography, terroir, migrations, entanglement, aspiration, permaculture and art....I'm very excited about some future plans and directions! 

  Top of the list is completing a felting book I have been working on for the last month, which I hope to have complete by the end of September. The focus of the book is surface design in feltmaking and includes every idea I can imagine, with step by step instructions and images, as well as project ideas.  It is based on the super popular surface design workshop that I've been teaching for a few years now, and gives me the opportunity to get into each technique in much more depth.....I'm loving the exploration....

 
And the realization of a beautiful vision- a felting retreat, scheduled for the second week of October, in one of my most favourite places on earth...a place I have a deep connection to that I can't wait to share with other creative souls!  The retreat will take place in a cottage on Meech Lake in the Gatineau Hills of Quebec, just outside Ottawa, Ontario, for very easy access. 

  It feels like another world, and this is my favourite time of year to be there.  The cottage will be wreathed in the gold of the trees, and looking over the lake through the Fall colours is a deeply inspiring and peaceful experience.  We'll have access to some local dyeplants, canoeing on the lake, hiking in the hundreds of kilometers of trails that start at the trailhead next door.....wonderful food....heaps of wool....plus three full days of feltmaking. I am so looking forward to creating a space that combines relaxation, serenity and beauty with energy, enthusiasm and the joy of making!   I'll post the details tomorrow.

  Yay Fall! Yes, I did just say that.  In the Fall we can wear wool with abandon!
And now that my Fall is all settled, I can relax into the rest of summer with my head and hands in the same place- in the studio creating new work for the book and the retreat!

  Warm wishes,
Fiona
  

Natural Dyeing with Lupines

Several years ago now, I had the chance to visit a place that was a sort of mecca for me....Taos, New Mexico, and more specifically, La Lana Wools.....a shop dedicated to plant dyed wools in all forms....I've been dyeing with plant dyes for 16 years now....12 years at the time of my visit, and I was awe of such a company that dedicated itself fully to this craft....While there I saw the most lovely yarn, dyed with lupines; a soft shade of chartreuse green...and since that visit, I've wanted to try a lupine dyebath...

This week on a wild harvesting walk....there they were....lupines in abundance...and so the dyebath was finally realized!

The organic merino yarn was first mordanted with Alum and Cream of Tartar....The lupines; whole flowering tops, chopped and gently stewed for a few hours...Then I added the yarn....sometimes I'm a lazy dyer and add the yarn directly to the dyebath without straining out the material....If it's an experiment and not yarn for sale....It sometimes takes longer at the end to get the plant material out, but it feels more wholistic to me....letting the actual plants and fibers mingle....and...after a two hours of gentle simmering, and another 48 hours in the pot sitting......

Green? no...Soft and lovely, yes.....The buttery tone would actually look beautiful knit with a purple blue like the lupine flower...The different result from what I saw at La Lana; different mordants? different time of year harvested? different soils? Any and all are possible...and that is what makes natural dyeing so delightful. I may not use lupine again as a dye...unless the receiver had a special connection to lupines.... like a lover of the children's book, Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney (as I am).....

I'm so happy to have had the chance to try it....and add it to my dye experience collection.... I've actually quite warmed to soft gentleness of the colour.

A realized dream, new information, some beautiful cut flowers for the studio, plus a pocket full of lupine seeds....I've travelled the world, found a little house by the sea, and now need to find my way to make the world more beautiful! I don't think it'll be spreading lupine seeds though! Grin!

Warm wishes,

Fiona

Craft Resolutions 2012

 Now this is my kind of resolution! This might work for me!

I have some grand, and not so grand craft aspirations for 2012...

  I'm going to learn how to crochet. Properly, I mean. I know how to... I've taught people how to... I've even taught people how to carve their own crochet hooks. I taught my sons how to crochet, and they have beautiful, hand dyed, crocheted pencil cases, still in everyday use.  But I'm more of a knitter, and have only used crochet as an accent. There are so many beautiful and inspiring crochet blogs that I love to read....so much colour! It's time. I'm going to figure out this crochet thing, and make a blanket.....

Do-able....

  Launch feltgathering.com.  Domain is purchased, web hosting is in place.  I just need to set up the pages. I hope to have it live by February 2nd. This will be a resource website that has information for felt makers on different sheep breeds, their felting characteristics, projects and links to sources for different wool breeds.  I've talked about it here several times...the first months wool is in the studio already or ordered...now it's going to happen!  Yes!

Do-able....

   Start doing Craft Shows again. One of A Kind and Circle Craft. I've had a two year hiatus while moving, and this November I was so missing setting up at this type of show and being inspired by all the creative people there.

  I had a most exhilarating day yesterday. The felt ideas were a-swirling, and my sketchbook quickly filled with drawings and scrawl and a new fine felt product line for Fall 2012. Lots of shibori, raw locks, over dyeing, stitches....I started working in this direction with my work for WinterCraft this year....and now it just feels so complete and ready. Can't wait to start! Oh! and this isn't even a resolution, but I'm a total last minute person. I usually start getting ready for One of a Kind in September....but I've already started for next year! If I make being more organized and pacing myself better, a resolution, I could check it off already! Grin!

Do-able...

   I'm going to add ten new wholesale accounts to carry my organic/plant dyed wool line, Kattikloo, next year. And completly renew the website... time for a change! This is a fun colour outlet for me. I never have any time to actually knit (or, ahem....crochet) anything from this yarn (which is the softest, most lushest yarn I've ever felt!), but I do love dyeing it. Between this and felt sales I should be able to keep us afloat while we are building our house this year (but that's not a resolution!:)

Do- able......

   And I'm now older and wiser enough (it was my birthday just the other day, you see!) to know that anything more than this, will not be do-able!  There are so many things I'd like to add....like to think I will do this year...but older and wiser for me means being at least a little bit realistic. I think I can balance this all, with a little homeschooling, family meals from scratch, some exercise (now that would be a resolution- but I don't dare make it!), my work for Living Crafts.....just thinking that all this doesn't leave much time for sitting on the couch reading a book... that would be a novelty....and something I  would love to do....for myself, and only myself....no financial or creative motivations....so I'll add it in! 

  Allow for some couch sitting/book reading time! Any book recommendations anyone?

Do-able....:)

 Do any of you have a craft resolution you'd like to share? I'd love to hear it! We're posting a series of these over on the Living Crafts Blog this week also, if you'd like to read about what some other creative types plan on getting up to this year!

Happy, happy, New Year to you all! May it be full of joy, satisfaction, colour, and creativity!

Warm wishes,

Fiona

Felting Surface Design- books

  I meant to add these Felted Surface Design books into my post yesterday, but forgot- so here they are!

These are books on my wishlist. I don't yet have them on my bookshelf-or even more likely-in a box...but someday I think they will make it there! Hopefully to a bookshelf- I'm done with moving boxes! Most of our belongings have been in boxes since 2000, when we went camping in New Zealand and Australia for a year with our (then very) little ones.....that's long enough!

Back to beautiful books....Mmmmmmmm........

These are both in German, but are mostly filled with pics- and very inspirational they are too...

I had the chance to see them in person while visiting New England Felting Supply last summer.

I had a definite budget on that visit, so couldn't buy everything my heart (and fingers and eyes) desired, but did buy this book:

I wasn't going to include this one here, but coming across it again...I had to...it is so beautiful and inspiring. Enough so, that it made it through the strict assessments of what books would make the first cut for the trip out west. Again it is in German, but mainly pictures- full of warm toned felt garments. It sits on the side table, where I do a lot of my work....and gently whispers to me...

   I purchased this book while in New Zealand at a fibre arts book store, Minerva ....Yes.  You did read that right- a whole bookstore devoted to fibre arts....I left my family at the museum and ran to the Cuba Mall so I could spend every available minute exploring the shop...and purchased this book.  When we traveled across Canada in 2009, I used India Flint's techniques to create a plant dyed fibre "track" of our journey through the provinces on prefelt, silk, and cotton muslin. One day these will become a coat...but for now they wait in a box, back in Quebec.

This is my plant collection/layout for British Columbia

Oh! I am digressing into my favourite fibre arts books....and that is another post! The first two were the ones I wanted to share....fun, sculptural, informative, eye candy books. the kind of book we need to see every once in a while to break ourselves out of our regular patterns....

I know what Monday's inspirations are going to be....lots of images of sculptural felt...the collection is already underway...and my craft plans are running wild!

warm wishes,

Fiona