My first felt projects were made at the Campbell Folk School in 2009...
...a needle-felting class(!)...
...where I made landscapes, hot pads, pin cushions...and a bird.
Once home, I needle-felted some fruits and vegetables...
...and quite puzzlingly to me now...
...first needle-felted...and then wet-felted a number of scarves...
...including this one with sheer, silk 'windows'.
I didn't yet realize that there was an easier way to make felt...
...and one more suited to my temperament. :)
After several months of this doubled effort...
...and the purchase of some basic felting books...
...I began making simple wet-felted projects...
...without first needle-felting them!
Occasionally, I would slip back into my old habits...
...especially when I wanted to make something very detailed.
As I experimented and made mistakes...
...I managed to figure out some things...
...that colored wool 'migrates' through lighter-colored wool...
...and that pencil roving is really fun to use!
I learned how to incorporate silk into a nuno felt project...
...and how to enhance finished felt with stitching.
Along the way, I made a few seasonal projects, as well...
...a hanging Christmas card 'pocket'...
...and a felted Advent Calendar.
I also learned what fully felted wool looks and feels like...
...and how to incorporate fun things like spiky 'dreads'...
...or Mawata silk hankies.
I learned how to felt around a resist...
...'write' with pencil roving...
...and how to re-purpose failed projects...
...(like this bowl née tea cozy)!
I made hats...
...and purses...
...(this is the first bag that I ever made using a resist!)...
...slippers...
...and even lampshades!
Along the way, I also learned how to make some my own supplies...
...like hand-carded batts, 'soap glue' and custom pre-felts.
My projects were finally starting to look...
...like the ideas of them that I carried in my head...
...and I even made small forays into the world of synthetic fabrics...
...and 'alternative' fibers!
Now that I'm counting down to my one-thousandth(!) blog post...
...I thought it might be fun to take a little trip back in time with you, dear readers.
I'll be sharing a time-line of my project photos (some good...some 'not so much')...
...that I hope you'll enjoy revisiting!
Next time: I improve a little.
12 comments:
Look at all of those projects. I love seeing those and then reading your more recent posts to see how far you have come with techniques. Happy Blog Anniversary!
This retrospective is a fabulous idea. I love looking back. Your work gets better, more inventive, and more engaging as time goes by. Keep felting and blogging!!
Goodness, what a variety! Some of those are ideas I would love to investigate (when I have my studio!) and some I'd never have thought of in a million years. I am really looking forward to the rest of this retrospective!
Andrea and Kathy--Thanks for being here with me from the beginning!
Rachel--After 1000 posts (and probably 12,000 photos, I managed to whittle it down to four posts' worth...and I'm glad you're looking forward to them! (I thought at first it might be a bit self indulgent?)
You've come a long way since those first forays into felting. Congratulations!! It's been great fun watching you learn, and sharing it with so many. :)
Here's to your next 1000 posts!
isn´t it only the beginning - each time?! the world of fibers and ideas is neverending - let´s never hopp off!
best regards
delia
so enjoyable looking back, seeing your beginnings and progress…thanks for sharing! Luvswool
Sandie- It all started with you!! :)
Delia- What a beautifully poetic thought!! I agree wholeheartedly!!
Kat- Thanks so much!
Oh Heather, how lovely to look back like this! Really enjoyed this :)
I'm looking forward to the rest of your retrospective xxx
That's a lovely retrospective, just today, I took out my very first scarf I felted. I love how we can learn looking back.
Really looking forward to the rest of the retrospective....So much fun to relive these felting moments. I love your blog....always sounds just like you ;-)
Congratulations on your most successful blog.
Big hugs,
Dawn
Deborah- I think you'll recognize something in today's post! :)
Monika- Thanks so much! You're right...there are things I never would make again in this batch, and things which might be worth revisiting!
Dawn-- Hahaha...my 'voice' is hard to extinguish?!? :)
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