Trickster Tales

Last week was the last week in our Storytelling and Arts day in the studio. This was a weekly series of classes I have been running since the early Fall. So much fun! What a sweet, talented, and creative group of children!

In our Spring session we studied Trickster Tales, and we explored these through storytelling, painting, drawing, plant dyeing, and of course, feltmaking! 

 The children each chose the Trickster they most identified with, and slowly transformed themselves....This picture was taken on the last day of our classes- introducing Squirrel, Fox, Coyote and Monkey....I was Raven, but also photographer! They did wonderful work...on all of their projects!

It was truly a pleasure to get to have these afternoons together.... 

And now the studio is cleaned up and transformed once again into my full time adult space ...ready for visitors and for me to focus on my exhibition work and book....here we go!

Happy summertime....
Fiona

Spring Holiday Camp

The week after getting back from FibresWest, I hosted two fibre art camps for children in the studio.

It was great fun, and such a pleasure to share my passion for fibres with enthusiastic young people and get to know some of the island's children a little better. They are just so sweet....and sometimes left me nostalgic for my own boys younger years...

We did some plant dyeing on silks, making a mystery bath from the children's garden collections, and then  eco-printed them with golden rod, rose leaves and petals, carnation flowers and cinnamon sticks (deliciously scented bundles!).... left to age until the last day of camp...

 We felted, of course! Needle felted figures and animals...wet felted flowers and pictures....experiencing some roving, batting, prefelts and inclusions, like magic mirrors! Which made for fibre adventures to try and find them and make them shine again!

 

  
One of the groups also made fine nuno felted scarves, sharing the rolling process....we also did some sewing, wool fiber paintings...and on the last day we opened our eco-printed bundles, and the children danced under the plum tree blossoms, flying with golden silks behind them....

 The days were glorious and sunny, and went by so fast. It is a nice balance to have some time working with children, in amongst all the more adult fiber pursuits....A truly enjoyable week... thank you all for joining me in my studio!

Warm wishes,
Fiona

ps..for those wondering...the rose leaves, golden rod flowers and cinnamon sticks all gave nice prints....the rose petals left no trace...but the red carnation flowers were a very pleasing surprise- the deep purple marks on the silks above are all from the carnations....

Flying Felties Tutorial at Living Crafts

We enjoyed chatting, playing and creating with some young visitors this summer. It was such a pleasure to have some little people around, and their parents!

One day we made these Flying Felties together, an easy to make felt toy that my sons all loved to use years ago (and still did this summer!).  

 The tutorial is now available on the Living Crafts blog. Enjoy!
Warm wishes,
Fiona

Evergreen Felt Houses

 This week I finished up some pieces for donation to the Evergreen Independent School in Cobble Hill.

  It was so fun making the little home for a gnome! I first made these to sell last fall, and never got any pictures taken of them. Probably because I made them while camping, out in the rain, in late November! I've made them in a variety of sizes and shapes. I love them all.  These little homes will be available for sale again soon, and also as a tutorial and workshop offering. I really enjoy making felt work for storytelling and play. The warm tactile nature of the wool is ideal for inviting and involving children in the story or play. 

  I feel so fortunate to have so many creative outlets for my work. Sometimes I feel like I should be focusing on only one; that I would go further by only pursuing one vein of interest, but I love to do all these things, at different times, and I hope that exploring them changes and deepens and improves the other avenues of making. 
  I make small and large whimsical storytelling  creations for children, parents and teachers. I make felt accessories; scarves, purses, jewelry, clothing, light, soft, feminine and involved for craft shows, galleries and studio sales. And I make an interior design line, with crisp lines, using felt in unusual contexts, with a strong Scandinavian influence.  

  So today I jump from making little gnome houses, to designing a floor covering that is a wood/felt hybrid. I am so excited about the potential in this. It all came together during a conversation on the ferry, after dropping off my donations to the Evergreen School....I could barely stand still- in fact I wasn't. I was jumping up and down and waving my arms! My partner is amazing- he is a brilliant sounding board for creative ideas, and has plenty of his own to add to the mix. We are lucky to have each other!

 Off with my sketchpad and colouring pencils in hand to the property...I hope the Auction at the Evergreen School is going as well as my day is today!

Warm wishes,

Fiona

76 Children

  I had a great time last week visiting the Evergreen Independent School.  I spent a full day there, working with one of the parents, Andrea, teaching 76 children how to make felt. Oh ya!

  It was a little wild and a little exhilarating!  We had the day very well planned, with the classes organized to come in a staggered time frame.  So while one of us was starting instruction and layout with one group, the other was working on finishing the felting with another. There was also enough flexibility built into the day that we could accommodate the different needs of each group, and have a few breathing moments ourselves!

 Andrea, stretching out the youngest children's felt to dry.

 Everyone started with a piece of white wool batting and built up their picture, and layers on top. This was one child's picture- a robins nest with egg. How beautifully simple, and inspired by the season.

And a sun setting in the forest.

 We harnessed the energy of some the boys to do a group rolling! Each group had different needs, in terms of time for each step of the process, help with design choices and execution of the felting methods. There are so many ways to make felt- it was great to be able to pick and chose to best fit the group for age, dynamic and energy!

 One class working their felts on the work surface. They are so sweet! Isn't that just a heartwarming image of children, happily engaged in creating? 

Our discussions led us into the history and geography of feltmaking, which some of the teachers were going to build upon in upcoming lessons through the week. Some of the teachers also had the chance to make their own felt.

One class almost entirely decided to make their felts for a loved one. One was for a boy's Mother, who had been away from home for a few days, and he wanted to make something for her for when she returned.  Another made a heart for a Mother's Day present; one felt became a gift for Grandfather. Not only creative, but so generous!

 The older children were ispired to create masks. It would have been so good, with everyone,  to be able to come back and work with their felts as a canvas for another project. To change, add and embellish. With this class, it would be so fun to put these masks on and create a story based around them.

 Some of these are upside down- so they may be hard to make out. To work with 76 children in one day, we had to really keep track of time and put all our attention into the making, and not the photographing! I wish my pictures showed off their work in it's true beauty!

 A great spider weaving a web of woolly colour!

  This day was designed as a basic introduction to felt making. Most of the students had never made felt before, and those that had, had mostly experienced needle felting. It was such a satisfying day...our best laid plans paid off, and everyone finished and enjoyed the process. More time is always a good thing, but this worked well as an introduction.  I'm hoping to have the opportunity to come back and work with the Evergreen School again- this time making a large wall tapestry for the school, made by all the hands of the children and their teachers. 

Thank you Evergreen, all of your students and staff, for having us at your school! It truly was a wonderful day!

Warm wishes,
Fiona

Wool Felt Fairy

  When I was about 10, we went to Denmark just before the holidays, on our way to visit my family in Scotland. It was such an exciting trip.  Denmark was so different from anywhere else I had been- very modern and stylish,and old at the same time.
We had gone out to dinner with some friends of my parents, and on our way out of the restaurant (after a meal of pigeon- a regional specialty! Somethings you never forget!) , a gold angel on the Christmas tree captured my eye. For some reason, I absolutely loved it. The kind family friend talked to the restaurant manager, and then presented me with this gold angel ornament. I felt like such a princess. Now, this was just a gold metallic paper cone,about 3 inches tall, with the same materials for the wings, a gold glass bauble for the head, and a gold pipe cleaner for a halo- not so fancy. But she caught the lights around her, and reflected them all around, and somehow encapsulated the whole magical experience of being in Denmark just before Christmas. 
  And of the simple gestures we can make that can mean so much to others. A key message for Christmas Day.
   I still have my angel- she goes on my tree every year, and every year it is a heartwarming memory- just as I feel now writing about it!

   But she is in the box of ornaments back in Ottawa, so I thought I would make an angel in the same style, out of wool felt. Perfect!

Wool Felt Fairy
materials:
small square yellow/gold wool felt, we used our Rainbow Dyed Wool Felt
small square white wool felt
yellow embroidery floss
wool felt bead-white or skintone
small amount wool locks or yarn for hair
sewing needle
fine wire or twist tie
gold beads
gold embroidery floss (optional)

 Using the Wool Felt Fairy Pattern pieces, cut out one wing and one body.

Wool Felt Fairy Pattern

(To open the pattern, click on the small text "Wool Felt Fairy pattern"above. Still investigating the best ways to make scale patterns available! Thanks for your patience!)

 Sew up the back of the body using blanket stitch.

 Using running stitch, sew around the top of the body and pull tight to gather to make the neck. Knot off.

 Sew the head to the neck. Tuck in the gathered edge as you go to make a neat finish. Try to pick up a good amount of fibers on both the neck and the head to get a good attachment.

 To make the hair with wool yarn, make a mini wig by making loops of yarn around your fingers and then tying together in the middle. Clip of the looped ends.

 

 Sew on the wool yarn wig in the middle to make a stitched part. If you are using wool locks, use this method also.Spread the hair out to cover the whole back of head, and sew in place around the bottom of the head, at the hairline.

 To make the halo, use a 4" length of fine wire, or a twist tie, stripped of paper. Make a little loop at the end and twist to secure.  Fill the wire with gold beads, then twist a loop at the other end to hold the beads in place.

 Sew onto the fairy's head, stitching on either side through the loop in the wire. Adjust the halo so that it is nicely placed and rounded.
Sew the wings onto the back of the fairy.

 Add a little embroidery, so she can catch and reflect the light. Try spirals or star rays, both made with simple straight stitches. These fairies look beautiful tucked onto a branch on a tree. They can also stand in a seasonal display, or be used as finger puppets. I have to write a story for mine! As I was making her I was thinking about what her story might be! 

Enjoy,

Fiona

Tree Project- ready for the holidays!

  Ahhhh...the tree is fully alight now that we have reached the Winter Solstice. From December 21st on, we will light one less candle on the tree each night, as the days get longer....even if only by moments...
  We didn't bring our candle clips with us, but I found some beautiful ones second hand that I love even more then the ones we have stored away. I'm so happy to have them- the candles and their light is my favorite part of the tree decorating, and once lit, they generate such a peaceful ambiance for our evening activities. It's amazing how much light is cast, just by the candles. Enough for me to knit by one night...and that was so soul soothing- everyone in bed, just sitting quietly in the glow, knitting...Perfect!

Since my last post, we made two more sets of ornaments. First the Paper Folded Flowers, and then our wool felt ornaments, each individually designed. These are made with our Hand Dyed Wool Felts.

We sit at the table, with warm tea and homemade cookies- absolutely essential to the designing process! We each draw what we want our ornaments to be. Then refine them to become paper patterns.

We trace the patterns carefully onto the wool felt using either a soft pencil (4B is good) or a sharpie marker.

We sew the two layers together, using either blanket stitch or running stitch.

The Gingerbread Chicken is sewn together around the edges using running stitch, in white, to look like an icing detail.

The Felt Star Cut-out is sewn with blanket stitch, to make a neat edge, before adding beads for a little sparkle. Last of all the hangers are sewn in place- just a simple embroidery floss loop, ready to hang!

The Wool Felt Fairy has a special story that I will share tomorrow, along with the patterns for each of these.

We didn't make anywhere near as many ornaments as I thought we would. Our tree projects days drifted into one another, as each day passed, full of other activities and engagements. This is as many ornaments as we will be able to make this year....and it is enough. With the beautiful cross stitched cards my mother makes holding special places on the tree; with our handmade ornaments and our candles alight; our tree looks full and joyous.  Full of shared experiences, light and warm wishes from family near and afar....Warm wishes, I share with you, and your families.