Hello all, it's been quite yukky here in in the clouds today, snow on the hills, low mist, and wet, wet, wet...So I thought I'd bring you a taste of summer in the shape of my latest felt picture. 
It started life as a very rough pencil sketch from a little magazine picture. I add a few splodges of colour and scribble a few notes down in the margins.
Next I make my base fabric by wet felting Merino wool. This is always a bit hit and miss as you only have a certain amount of control over the felting process. You can never be totally sure where your fibres will have moved to during all that rubbing and rolling!
As I'm quite a control freak I think it does me good not to have complete control. It makes me have to find ways to work with what I have rather than what I would have liked, which in turn stretches me and makes the whole piece more organic, it has to grow rather than be designed and just made. Once the felt is dry...
the good bit starts...the embroidery! I always have a little panic at the start though, it's that blank piece of paper syndrome; where shall I start, what colour and type of thread shall I use! You wouldn't believe how long I put this bit off sometimes!
Once I have a few patches of embroidery started and I've 'tasted' a few colours, I'm ok.
All these tiny little flowers are made from pure silk which I hand dye myself and then shape and individually stitch into place.
I try not to use too many different embroidery stitches as I don't want the piece to be an 'embroidery' as such. I just need the stitches to add texture and accentuate the shapes and colours already in the felt.
I absolutely love the dry stone wall in this piece, and the little clump of trees in the background, I think they worked really well. I've never done anything 'hard' like the wall before, I've only ever done soft vegetation and flowers so every time I see it I want to dance a little jig while my heart does a little squishy thing in my chest.
So.....
Till next time
As I'm quite a control freak I think it does me good not to have complete control. It makes me have to find ways to work with what I have rather than what I would have liked, which in turn stretches me and makes the whole piece more organic, it has to grow rather than be designed and just made. Once the felt is dry...the good bit starts...the embroidery! I always have a little panic at the start though, it's that blank piece of paper syndrome; where shall I start, what colour and type of thread shall I use! You wouldn't believe how long I put this bit off sometimes!
Once I have a few patches of embroidery started and I've 'tasted' a few colours, I'm ok.
All these tiny little flowers are made from pure silk which I hand dye myself and then shape and individually stitch into place.
I try not to use too many different embroidery stitches as I don't want the piece to be an 'embroidery' as such. I just need the stitches to add texture and accentuate the shapes and colours already in the felt.
I absolutely love the dry stone wall in this piece, and the little clump of trees in the background, I think they worked really well. I've never done anything 'hard' like the wall before, I've only ever done soft vegetation and flowers so every time I see it I want to dance a little jig while my heart does a little squishy thing in my chest.
So.....
Here it is, complete and in all it's glory!
A true Ta daa! moment.
A true Ta daa! moment.
Till next time
love fi x
35 comments:
Hi Fi, love your picture. A real work of art, just beautiful.
Carol xx
Hey Fi, it's just lovely.........I can understand the 'blank piece of paper syndrome'. Putting off making decisions I am doing just that, in fact I'm even going to do housework so I don't have to make choices, eeek!!
Love the dry stone wall, it looks great.
Nice to see another felt pic, I do love them.
Sending blue sky and sunshine wishes for a great week.
Claire :}
That is gorgeous.
Hi! Just wanted to say I thought it was so beautiful! Kind of makes me want to take up felting ;)
Love the blog! :)
That is so beautiful! I have also now looked at your Bolton Castle garden post and the one about wet felting...I had read of Wingham Wool only yesterday in another blog so have visited their website - to say I am tempted to take up a new craft is an understatement!
x
Wow, that's so beautiful.You are very talented! xx
It is completely beautiful and perfect - it has a lovely 3d effect so you feel you are looking into the picture.
Beautiful
Julie xxxxxxx
I found myself holding my breath as I scrolled down this post. The amount of work - and love - that has gone into that one piece is awesome.
it's beautiful.
WOW, it's absolutely beautiful, thanks for sharing. :-)
Wow wow wow. Fi that is truly stunning....I am now longing to have a go.
Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
Hugs,
A x
I agree with all the other comments - that's a really lovely piece of work. I wish I had somewhere in my garden that was as inspiring for me to do something similar :)
Can I just say Ditto to what everyone else is saying. :- )
Such a lovely result, well done!
Wow, that is so beautiful....I wish I had just a teensy bit of your creative flair and skill -xx-
Like Annie - just reading your blog and seeing how you build up your collage makes me want to have a go myself! It is so beautiful Fi.
Too busy with the little outfits for Ben's dressing up box this week. Maybe next week.....
x Jo
This is so wonderful and I can really appreciate the amount of work you've put into it. What a great moment it always is to see a piece finished and framed in all its glory.
Another one of your absolutely gorgeous creations you are soooo talented, Lucey x
Wow, that is stunning!
Your picture is so gorgeous - it must have taken hours and hours of work. I have done some felting, but nothing as complicated as that, and I would love to be able to create something so beautiful. Cathy XX
That is absolutely lovely, I really feltI could walk into your picture, the colours were wonderful.Clever Lady!
Yes, I like that Fiona.
I am getting rid of all my machine embroidery stuff as I want to concentrate on other things. I am selling it off for just a few pounds for the air ambulance as they transported me to James Cook in my hour of need.
Do you have any use for a heat tool (like a hiar drier but more concentrated), a soldering iron for doing fabric burning (mostly chiffons and metallics) and a light box? If so you could have all three for just a little contribution. IU also have thousands of beads and have no idea what to do with them. Any chance you do beading and could make use of them?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes i could pop up for a cuppa one day.
I love your felt pictures - they are so beautiful.
That is absolutely gorgeous!
This is very lovely. I love making felt pictures like this too, although I haven't 'embellished' any of mine like you, I might have to start! I tend to use needlefelting to add the details afterwards. Felting is so satisfying isn't it?
CKx
Rewelacja!
Oh my! I'm truly speechless... how very lovely....absolutely soothing to my soul.
Gorgeous!!
Helen xx
It's great seeing the whole process from start to finish and your heart well deserves to be doing little squishy things in your chest! x Cathy
Absolutely beautiful, a complete work of art :) xxx
Stunning. Thank you for the inspiration I feel - I do a little needle felting - now I feel I may take it a step further . . .
Absolutely beautiful work - you are incredibly talented! Thanks for the inspiration!!
Absolutely breathtaking piece of glory, well done!
A woman after my own heart. Love your art! Julie
Ok this one is so beautiful I really really want to learn this where do igo. Please! Thanks mollie
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