Family Visits....

 We have just had some precious visitors that we just do not see often enough. My sister in law and my lovely nieces and nephew came to stay for a few days....on their way to a wedding in Vancouver...Mostly we visited the beaches, and ate blackberries and bounced on the trampoline....and chatted endlessly...all good summerly things....and of course we had some creative time together....

Terri Bibby of Saori Salt Spring had organized a workshop on Bengala Dyes- a form of earth pigment dyes created in Japan. This, of course, was irresistible! My two nieces and I attended and had so much fun....The colour potential in these dyes are incredible.  They seem to produce more intense colour on cellulose fibres like cotton and hemp and linen. We dyed several lengths of a delicious hemp/organic cotton blend jersey that I have in the studio, planning on going home and sewing up some simple T-shirts with the fabric. We also dyed a selection of silks using itajame shibori techniques....My nieces are bringing these home to flutter in their forest home....

 The dye baths are created with cold water, and the pigments need to be kneaded into the cloth. As a long time plant dyer, I was interested in the process. I've dyed with earth pigments a few times in different parts of the world and understood the naturals tannins and oxides of the soil to act as the "mordant".  It is one point I have with the Bengala dye literature that it does not use mordants in the process- it feels like an unnecessary differentiation. Really, as with many plant dyes and natural pigments, the "mordants" are inherently part of the chemical makeup of the pigments, allowing it to act as a substantive dye. These dyes are very fun and easy to use...with beautiful results.

After the wonderful workshop we came home, stopping at a few of Salt Spring's roadside farm stalls to collect of bounty of freshness for our lunch. We played around with the fabrics in the studio and with some simple cutting and stitching created a dress, a skirt and a T-shirt....We were all amazed at the stunning range of colours the earth and these pigments provide.  A great day....and an interesting new dye process....

 Although my nephew did not come with us on our dyeing adventure, I can't miss including him here....

They are all so dear...and such sweet company....
Happy travels, happy dyeing and happy summer days...
Fiona

Upcoming Workshops at FibresWest

Nui Shibori Scarves- Creating Texture with Felting Yarns on Silk:

Shibori is a Japanese textile art form that has come to mean cloth that has been bound or compressed. This is accomplished through  stitching, clamping, knotting or folding, then processed through  dyeing or heating to add a new "memory" to the cloth and leave it  transformed in color or surface texture.
  For this beautiful scarf project, we are using the Nui Shibori method of stitching, but rather than pulling the yarns to create patterns with dyes, we are using a feltable wool yarn for our stitches,  then shrinking them to create new textural surfaces. We'll cover traditional stich patterns to create different shaping, yarn and fabric selections for effect, plus fulling your shibori scarf to  transform it from flat to dynamic!

Materials provided for supply fee of $15.00, payable at the beginning of the class.  No experience necessary, but a readiness to sit happily, chat and handsew-a must!   Please specify your main colour preference for your scarf at the time of registration.
9:30-2:30
Maximum Registration: 12
 

Nuno Felt Wrap Vest:
 
 Constructed all in one piece and completed all in one day, this is a unique and flattering wardrobe staple for all seasons. Perfect for layering, and customized to your own sizing and colour preferences. Using silk chiffon and habotai fabrics laminated through felting with merino wool  and accented with silk fibres, we will cover aspects of colour work, design, and nuno felting, while creating this fabulous piece of  wearable art.

Materials provided for supply fee of $25.00, payable at the beginning of the class.  No experience necessary.  Silk Fabrics will be custom dyed for this class- please specify your main colour preference at the  time of registration. We will use the wool to achieve patterns and  highlights in colour. Feltmaking is a physical craft- please wear  older clothing, and be prepared for some physical exertion.

9:30am-3:30pm
Maximum Registration:  10

FibresWest runs from March 22-23, 2013.  
For more information, pricing, and to register visit: www.fibreswest.com/

I'm so looking forward to heading to Cloverdale for FibresWest again this year. It's always so much fun- with classes full of creative people, and a show floor full of delicious fibre. In additon to teaching, I have a glorious 10 x 20 foot booth space that will be full of handdyed yarns and the best felting fibres.

See some of you there!
Warm wishes,
Fiona

Salt Spring Island Studio Opening!

The Studio is now open!

 The retail studio space is now open and welcoming visitors....Most days from 11:00am- 5:00pm.

344 Fulford-Ganges Road-Salt Spring Island, BC. Do stop in-I'd love to see you! 

A little tour of the inside...

Felt Purses, Scarves, Cowls, Lighting, Shibori Felt, Shibori Silk and Organic Cotton Scarves, some art pieces, still works in progress...

 

 

My little organization, planning and cash area.....and two new art pieces, still to be finished....more about them soon!

Yay! It was such a lot of work in the last few weeks, finishing the last details. It is the most lovely space to work. I have all my finished feltwork available for sale, plus a full range of my Kattikloo line of handdyed yarns and fibres.
Happy, Happy!  And now out to the studio!
Have a lovely weekend!

Warm wishes,

Fiona

Full Moon Indigo Dyeing: April

Ah! Happy Spring!

It's been an absolute whirlwind of activity around here...I'll tell you more soon....maybe...unless better and more exciting things get here first!

I have been playing with shibori all week...some of you may guess what that means!

It is (also) featuring large in my new felt lines and some new organic cottons and linens I am working with this summer.

For my own work.... madder and cutch natural dyes.....

Then with logwod, greyed with ferrous, and of course-indigo...magical mystical dye pot, and my full moon favourite.  

This vat was revived after a few dormant months (kind of like my blogging!)...and quite happy to be enlivened once again. I didn't have much I needed/wanted to dye this full moon...an interesting change...I guess the regularity of the full moon dyeing sessions have caught up with the desire for indigo dyed items (no...not quite!)...

 Itajime Shibori...Green out of the pot and then the magic of oxidization....

 It was nice to dye just a couple of pieces...slowly....with pleasure....and then put the vat away...and know it could come out again anytime...such a treat.

 Arashi Shibori....the boys kept asking me what I was building-" a steam engine?" with my arashi pipe sticking up from my pot like a smoke stack....dyeing mysteries....

Lots more coming...I have 5 months full time in the studio...starting......NOW! 

So there will be lots of making...and blogging in these parts...

 A cloth eco dyed with big leaf maples...now overdyed and ready to be transformed once again...into a garment....

Hope you're having a wonderful Easter, if you celebrate...and a lovely weekend!

Warm wishes,

Fiona

Upcoming Workshops at Fibres West

I'll be teaching three classes this Spring at Fibres West in Abbotsford BC.
For more information and to register, visit the Fibres West website: www.fibreswest.com

Friday March 16th, 10:00am -1:00pm
Nuno Felted Scarves: During this hands on class, we’ll create a gossamer light, wool felt scarf in a luscious combination of silk and merino wool. Nuno felting is a wet felting technique that encourages wool fibres to migrate through fabrics, bonding them into one unique textile surface. We will explore many aspects of nuno felting, from making the sheerest of textiles to using nuno to create great surface texture for other projects. Everyone leaves with their own finished, wearable art. Suitable for beginners.
Class fee: $45.00
Material fee of $15 includes: silk fabrics, merino wool and embellishments in a wide range of colours, plus print instructions. Please indicate your general colour preference on the registration form. Additional kits will be available at the workshop.

Friday March 16th, 1:30pm -4:30pm

Felt Surface Design: In this class we’ll play with as many combinations of felting and surface design as we can fit in to the time we have together! Nuno patches in silks and cottons, protrusions, shibori shaping, slashes and holes, prefelts, pockets, clamping…… We’ll each create our own wet felted art cloth sampler, that can be later made into a great needle case, bag front, or further embellished and mounted as a tapestry.
Class Fee: $45.00
Materials fee of $15.00 includes: silk fabrics, merino wool and embellishments in a wide range of colours, plus print instructions.

Saturday, March 17th,  10:00am-4:00pm
Felt Bags: 3-D felting with resists: Felting is a great medium for making bags - beautiful, unique, and durable. 3-D felting involves using plastic resists to create seamless hollow forms, in any shape you desire. This technique is commonly used to make slippers, hats, sculptural works as well as one of our favourites – hand bags! We will cover resist making, and felting on a form. We’ll be using the best sculptural tools, Norwegian C-1 and Pelsull. We’ll be adding all sorts of individual ornamentation, silks and cottons, ruffles, protrusions and prefelts, all while making your own personalized, functional art.
Class Fee: $90.00
Materials fee of $35.00 includes all wools and embellishments in a wide range of colours, leather handles, plus print instructions.

First Felt 2012

  First Felt...isn't that a glorious notion?
The other night was movie night here, and I was not that into it, so I ventured outside into the darkness and illuminated my studio....What a refreshing time. I never think to go out there in the evenings......usually by then I'm pretty tired anyway. But it was delightful. To have the radio on, my warm lights, and just me...in my space.

   I started working on a tunic design I have in mind for Fall 2012. Working on a small fashion and accessory line, combining felt, raw locks, shibori dyeing and fabric inlays...

   When working on larger projects I try and do the layout and first felting in the afternoon/evening, then leave it overnight, and finish the felting in the morning. The rest for both me and the felt seem to make the felting go so quickly! This piece took quite a bit of planning. First the math to get to template sizing right to allow for shrinkage. Fabric inlays? Or Shibori? or the crazy Racka locks? Colours in relation to overdyeing? Stitching, to be felted in, or done after, and what colour? As a first sample in this line, I was more interested in experimentation, so it got a little of everything...

 These photos show the tunic at 2/3's felted, ready for shibori, stitching and first dyeing. This is the neck detail, with black linen, racka wool locks, and wensleydale locks.

The pocket detail. I decided to put on just a small pocket...maybe a place to hold a charm, intention or wish. I'm imagining a small stone or parchment hidden inside, to be noted as necessary while wearing. This tunic is destined to be first overdyed in blue, so the red will become purple. More Racka and Wensleydale....fun...fun....

  I'll be finishing it up today, and post the finished pictures! 

It's amazing how much energy you get from working in a place of pure experiment. Or from inspiration....This is one of the pieces I scrawled out in my sketchbook on New Years Eve...bringing it to life is so exciting....more evenings in the studio....must remember that all i have to do is take a few steps outside and flip the light switch....

Warm, wishes,

Fiona

PS- I can't belive my spell check has no sheep breed names in it....is there a special spell check language that felters can use?!

Felting with Wool Locks

Mmmmm...I've been wanting to work more with wool locks and felting...I got to play a bit with this with some new pieces I've been making for WinterCraft.

This is the layout for two scarves. I love laying out the layers of white. It's so serene amd perfect.  There is an underlayer of fine merino, then I used lengths of plastic resists since the locks are quite fine and would probably felt into the surface. On one side are Blue Faced Leicester Locks and on the other are Mohair. Then another layer of merino roving on top...Once the pieces were around the prefelt stage, I cut them apart, down the middle, so they could be finished individually and the cut line would felt also.

 This is the mohair lock scarf, with some shibori stitching done before dyeing. It's so nice to wear...and works well as a shoulder wrap also. It would so dramatic to wear with an evening dress....if one had occasion to do so!

I have some super amazing Racka locks I bought recently from Namaste Farms. I so want to try these out this way with a wild and black sweeping line of locks on a scarf.....or jacket! That is my planned birthday project! A new felt jacket.....

 Aren't these wild! I had never heard of Racka sheep until very recently. This came as a great reminder to get the Felt Gathering online project underway for January. Very Exciting!

Back to the studio and some little felted birds I am making...

Warm wishes,

Fiona

Indigo Shibori at Maiwa Symposium

  I 've just returned from my mystery trip! And what an adventure it was! I had two events to attend- The Green Festival in Los Angeles with Living Crafts magazine and then an Indigo Shibori Workshop at Maiwa in Vancouver.
  I don't have any pictures from my time in LA, unfortunately. We did set up a wonderful 20 x 20 foot community craft space, and taught many people how to felt, weave and embroider, all crafts we feature regularly in Living Crafts. It was wonderful to spend more time with Pardis, the editor of the magazine, and fellow contributors, Christine Schreier, and Elizabeth Seward. And of course to share our crafts with some existing readers, and some new ones.      
  What a buzz of excitement to be travelling to teach in California.  The change was exciting....the United States is different from Canada in so many ways. The warmth, sunshine and palm trees were like a balm....

And there were some darker moments...grounding moments....I got lost in LA without a map, and without an address to put into the GPS in the car I was using. Using the "force" to find your way around LA is a very tricky business! I found myself in an a darker side of LA, driving under an underpass, full of garbage and shopping carts and people's homes...brings one down to earth. I had to get out of the car and find a payphone (I don't have a cellphone) and feel extremely out of place, and aware of the value of my life in certain neighbourhoods.  And then, several days later, I found myself walking the length of Hastings Street, in Vancouver's lower east side, arguably the roughest area in the city....and it was like nothing I've ever seen in my life...humbling, unsettling, and terrifying...and invigorating. All this while also exploring and playing with the beauty of natural fibers in both places...such a luxury...I loved the contrast....I treasure these experiences..It was truly a perfect balance in dark and light...or the shadows in between...and the epitome of the travelling experience....

Then, of course there was the fibre play! A wonderful retreat time with Akemi Nakano Cohn in indigo shibori dyeing, part of the Maiwa Symposium. The techniques she shared with us deepened my knowledge of clamp and resist dyeing, and added to my textile toolbox the classic stitch resist patterns of shibori. I learnt that I need to add more indigo when making my baths, to reach the dark deep midnights potential in indigo.  I also learnt that I know more about indigo and shibori than I thought...and this creative confidence booster came at exactlya most needed time.  I left inspired, and I believe to have a student leave full of ideas is a great credit to a teacher! 

I see using these pieces as "canvases"; foundations to be added to or changed through other textile mediums...Fractal building blocks....windows...a frame, or set of frames for future additions...

 

 One of my favourites...a canvas waiting for something....ferrous imprinted leaves? stitches? nuno felting? Mmmm....unknown at this moment...still immersed in moon/indigo relationships...

 

 Traditional Ori Nui Shibori..stitched layers...so contemplative in process.....I know I will use the clamp resist techniques more often, but this I will enjoy using for special projects....this process has such a strong meditative quality for me, less physical process than mental, and will be used as such, when desired or required..

Twice resisted and dyed...6 dips total resulting in deep indigo colour. angel/moth/butterfly wings....

 

Arashi Shibori, wrapped and tied around a pole then folded and dipped. Love this!

 A re-creation of a piece I made during my last full moon indigo dyeing session...moons are clamped CD's....I experimented with some different patterning above them...clothespins and tight binding with string, but got very different results than I expected.  Still a great base for adding more- layers of dyeing maybe?

And my line full of Shibori banners!  The blues a lovely contrast against the greens and yellows of our Fall landscape here.  Most of these pieces are done on quilting weight cotton for sewing...I'm going to cut them and share them....and then dye some more in silk and wool for feltmaking on the coming full moon this Thursday. I enjoyed the setting aside of this time for creativity with such talented fibre artists, both in Los Angeles and again in Vancouver and came away with great new plans and ideas....and the feeling of being grounded in our real world with an appreciation for this beautiful little island and the home our family is creating.

Warm wishes,

Fiona