Weyfest 2015

I have taken few weeks off from blogging and almost all social media over the last few weeks for a much needed break. I have still been felting, including finishing the rainbow wall hanging I started in August.

I like how the rainbow colours are subtly coming through the grey and brown background.

And I started a new hat, using some of the lovely BFL locks I bought at woolfest:

I didn't even get a chance to photograph it before it sold, literally the first person to see it fell in love with it, here she is sporting her new head-gear at Weyfest, one of our local music festivals:

Her blond hair complements the locks on the hat wonderfully.

We (West Surrey Spinners Weavers and Dyers) received a lot of interest from the fabulous gothic morris dancers that have attended for at least the last few years. I taught one of them to use a drop spindle (she was a natural) and they even treated us to several dances right in front of our pitch.

You can see some of my hats in the lower left corner of the bottom of the picture, most of which sold, I really couldn't have asked for a better or more exhausting day. I can't wait for Weyfest 2016!

Concertina Hat Tutorial

I'm afraid I don't have very much to share this week but I have been very busy working on a new tutorial; Concertina Hat. It's true what people say about it taking more twice the time to make a piece when you need to take photos of each step and notes as you go, not to mention all the post production work.... so, although I have been working hard, I don't have much felt to show for it!

This is the hat I made over the weekend

But the tutorial will also explain how to make these variations too

another hat

It's been another hectic weekend, Saturday was spent with the "oldies", dropping off my old piano and clarinet for my niece and nephew to "play" with when they visit the grandparents. I say "play" because at just 9 years old my nephew is already better on the piano than I ever was! This weekend saw the finale of the Imagine Festival in Watford so we had a wander into town to watch a couple of the street performances while we were there.

Yesterday evening, I finally found some time to get wet and woolly and started this hat, it is based on the same resist as last week's top hat but I added a little piggy tail. It's still drying, hence all the pins...

There's something about it that reminds me of Guinan from Star Trek...

I think it's the upturned flattened brim?

I also found time today to make a journal cover from some of the lovely silks I purchased from Carol's stand at Woolfest. I'm afraid I forgot to take a photo before I started felting but here is an off-cut to give an idea of what the pattern was like before.

The green wool rather engulfed the finer detail of the pattern while I was fulling it, but I still rather like the final effect:

Front

Back

Top hat

I've been itching to make something with all the silks I brought back from Woolfest last weekend and today I finally found a few hours spare to make a hat.

I used a mixture of hand-dyed silk hankies and tops over a base of hand-dyed merino.

I didn't set out to make a top hat but it just seemed right to stop folding down the pleats at this point. It's drying at the moment so the colours might change slightly and I'm hoping the silks will become more shiny as it dries.

I like it best from the back, is that a bit perverse?

Chinese year of the sheep

This weekend I felt (pardon the pun) inspired to make a hat in honour of this being the year of the sheep, it was inspired by the curly horns that some rams display. I took a bit of artistic licence with the colours...

Front

Back

I think I will add a few discreet stitches to make sure the horns stay in place and I'm also toying with the idea of adding some fabric stiffener. I have some spray on ironing starch and some CMC but have been reading that milliners paint on a specific hat stiffener on their felt hats. What do you all like to use?

Some more dress-making, a sun hat and some fishes

Following on from Tatiana's workshop, I have been making more nuno felt yardage for dress making. This is a top made using the same basic pattern from the orange shibori jacket.

I started this sun hat in January, using some hand dyed merino, the variegated roving yields a lovely mottled colour when felted, I also felted in a piece of hand dyed silk for decoration and texture

Today, I started working on a new wall hanging of fish on a reef. I am using some hand dyed pongee 5 silk and hope that the ripples and sheen will give the impression of water.

The weather was lovely, so after making the nuno felt I moved outside to "work" in the sunshine.

I have just ordered some longer stretcher bars and hope to share the final hanging next week.

Felt Shibori and Some Hats

As promised here are some photos of the jacket I made on Tatiana Sherverda's workshop at the end of April. The workshop was intended to be focussed on tailoring and pattern making but as you can see we went off on a bit of a shibori tangent! :)

Of course that did mean very few of us managed to finish our jackets during the workshop (I was still working on mine 3 weeks later...). I'm afraid I don't have any "during" photos but Terriea posted one on her blog, it's near the bottom of the page.

While making this I wasn't 100% sure I would feel comfortable wearing it (it is very OTT compared to what I would normally wear) but now I love it and can't imagine parting with it. I'm not sure why but something about it reminds me of Game of Thrones, there is something theatrical about the silhouette I think...?

Another long-promised offering (sorry I have been really rubbish at finishing projects this year), the brain hat that you all very kindly provided ideas on how to finish it. The brim won out in the end (although I really didn't expect it to) and I am rather pleased with how it turned out:
 

This is rather naughty, I know I should be making more of an effort to empty my UFO box but you know how it is when you get an idea for a new project....

This is my wooly prize from the IFA conference a few weeks ago, all along it has been crying out to be turned into an ocean / something watery.

When I started, I had ideas of waves of felt with white foam "crashing" over the surface of a hat, here it is at the layout stage.

The wool is English 56's, not a breed (I suspect it is a blend of wools) I am familiar with, but it feels quite course to the touch so I used a couple of layers of merino batts on the inside for comfort.

I have to confess the waves are looking more and more like whirlpools as this hat has developed but I think it still works, it's still drying, hence all the pins....

Just a few stitches and hopefully this one will never get to see the inside of my UFO box :)