Another Hunt

This time for spring fairies.

With Gabe’s classmates.

Altar cloth

A friend has started a forest church which gathers a group of us together each month to worship in the woods.  She asked if I could make an “altar cloth” and we used it this month for the first anniversary of this church.  It’s the first time we held communion, with spelt bread and homemade grape juice.

I felted the mat from wool that was dyed from local sources by this fine artist.

A close-up of the other side – which was meant to look like leaves, moss, living earth.  As opposed to the festive colours of the other side.

Gabe helping me pick more colours.

Wonder

I taught a playmat workshop last weekend.  My favorite subject by far.  I still find the transformation from wool fleece to colorful landscape a thing of wonder. 

New terrain

I have some new felted material to experiment with, the results of a botched felting project.  It’s cobweb felt and i plan to combine it with vintage blanket scraps to make playscapes of different habitats.  

Originally, i intended this fabric – together with dyed silk organza – as a nuno felted dress.  That was my first flaw, the idea itself.  Then i mixed too many shades of blues and greens. 

The result was a little too camo-looking.  
 

I gave up on the dress.

Instead, i managed to tear the wool off the silk.  I hope to rebuild it into two separate playmats, one oceanic and perhaps the other similar to my first. This is my inspiration.  That mat is pure brilliance – just look at that mini vegetable garden!

Mine won’t be knitted and it won’t be truly felted (i plan on sewing these together) but Reuben has already given me enough indication that it’s play worthy.

   

April afternoon

Our felting projects….
A doorstop-

And Eily’s felted pod-

Silk scarves

Scarves dyed and ready for nuno felting.

Workshop next Saturday at Globe Studios in Kitchener. Hosted by the Button Factory.

The finished mat

(This is the sewing part. Here’s the felting part.)

More felting

I used a ball as a template and was trying for an apple but it really resembles a tulip more.

Wet felting project in prep for this Saturday’s workshop

Sunny weather….perfect for felting. Though this project is better suited for winter. I used harrisville and karakul to make a tray/mat for wet shoes and boots. The wet sheep hanging on the line is the finished project. I still need to sew up the edges and cut at the outside layer of karakul to expose the colourful harrisville down inside.