busy day but always time to make a little special...

A day of bits and pieces...I liked making this bunting for little Aarons room.

Why is bunting now so popular? It was used to celebrate the ending of a war , it would be nice to think peace reigned...at least in a string of bright coloured fabrics. I am proud of myself , not a bit of felt in sight...

Where to start!

Sometimes at creative moments we get washed with ideas. As the tide of that idea withdraws we sift through what's left and if there is a grain of possibility we launch forward and try it out. Of course that is in an ideal world where there is no washing , cooking or cleaning to be done and yes the other orders that you may be working on. What is the solution? pen and paper always and allowing yourself playtime.

 Work by Mandy Nash

Work by Jenny Barnett

The motley Scottish crew

 A lovely couple from Virgina

 Prizes for wacky costumes

Taylor the full of fun felt maker

I love what I do, i love the people I meet who have fallen equally under the spell of feltmaking in general and produce such an amazing range of work. but there are times your head just thinks it will burst with the pure joy of all those ideas...now perhaps I should not have had that extra coffee or maybe I should just knuckle down and make a start...

Boys Dorm. early morning

Ah yes, you read correctly.
I write this blog entry from a bed in a boys dorm room...no there are no boys here just a lingering teenage whiff in the bathroom. I am thinking it is a little like placing yourself in the 'zone' to write about a particular event or emotion...but that is not why I am here. Felters have taken over this Harry Potter middle England school. i promise to get some photos up later as it is an amazing place.We had a full on evening after a school dinner, hmmm so al the stories are true then about that ( Loretto Convent never had school dinners in my day ha ha )
A full itinerary of events launch us into a bright dappled sunlit day. I think this may well be the only chance to draw breath and contemplate.
Today's workshop is a full day and should be very stimulating.
Breakfast calls and I still need to get dressed..
That's the news from the boys room for today.......................

Reluctant Models

When your friends come round to visit your Studio and something needs to be seen 'live ' on a model of course you convince them with a cup of tea and a smile how easy it all is ...the cat loved the show and I can think up lots of captions for some funny looks between canine and human models.
Bobby cat has become a bit of a mascot here and I am convinced that most of my visitors are here to see him and not me. I have always loved skins, even as a young child when I used to make purses out of cod skin or eels we had caught to eat. Learning how the Mongolians respect the life of the animals they very humanely kill by using every last part...skin and bones too, i appreciate the wool I use most day comes from animals farmed for their meat. Wool prices don't merit the keeping of animals for just their yearly gift of wool sad as that may be and using the skin in my work is a way for me to work with the whole industry of sheep. I have had to take a sharp learning curve re new skills and everyday finds me another lesson learned ( usually how NOT to do things)
I am happy with the direction I am developing my work in. These will always be bespoke items as both the felt and the skin is unique in its individual form and can't be repeated .
I always appreciate honest  feedback so go ahead...let me know what you think.

Fur and felt

Lots of work done yesterday. 
Getting the tension set correctly on my Pffaf sewing machine made a big difference. The hour spent picking out the threads from the bobbin shaft was a lesson in patience and humility.
I am now at one with my machine ( I'm sure we will fall out again due to my ineptness but for now we are doing well )
A lot of the process of creating is about thinking time. Mulling the design over and over in your head before you even touch the materials, strange thing is one months thought can go out the window when the hands on designing begins.
I am an intuitive designer , put simply I go with the flow. If it feels right I do it , If I make a mess, I unpick and begin all over again much the wiser and have learned from the mistake.
Finally I am working on the wonderfully soft lamb skins. Beautifully cured and coloured , they are luxury to the touch.
Now I am sure there is a primal response in most of us with regards to the feel of real fur, rather like a cat furling and unfurling it's claws. Some of course are vegetarians of vegans and think it a bit barbaric. All of the skins I use are from animals that have been farmed for the meat industry and the skin is a by product. I look for the best quality I can get to match the luxury of my hand made felt and I have to admit to loving it.
I will include some photos of the new garments. Today has dawned grey but the chirping of the birds is getting me motivated to get on with my real work.

Old piano books bring back memories

Holidays bring family together the dust is wiped from many pieces of furniture to make space or just to have fun. The T.V. ban in our house has brought on a whole lot of unexpected changes or returns to' how it was'.
My 12 year old son has rediscovered the joy of books as his 21 year old sister snuggles down on the couch with her kindle...The wood burning stove drives us together for warmth if not for company. Then the restlessness breaks the spell and now I am trying to pick out old tunes from some of the keys my daughter bashes out on the lovely piano...ok the piano is out of tune but so is my singing ( they pretend not to notice ).
Peace is a relative term and I enjoy the noise and treasure it in the quiet fledgling days when they all return to their new lives. Family is the important thing in holidays, the sharing and the suffering..only joking the playing is not too bad at least I can identify most of them.

Spring a different energy to creativity?

The sap rises in plants and the cycle of new growth begins again. Has anyone else found that the sea of ideas and creativity also rises at this time.? Is it the lengthening nights of daylight that spur us on into a frenetic attempt to make new work and take new ideas forward.?
There is always so much to do in Spring, in the home , in the garden and of course in the craft world.
I tried another new idea yesterday in the Studio one that has been rumbling around in my head for some time.

What do you think? 

The value of crafting

Sometimes artists and crafters wonder why they work intensely, hour after hour on creations that some can't see the value in. To take the time and skills developed over a long period of time and hone them into creating things for others. Too often for very little financial gain so why do we do it then?
Yesterday reaffirmed for me why I do what I do. I took a play day with a fellow textile artist Gina Lawson and we spend the day with an unfamiliar medium. Clumsy and sloppy at first we heartily laughed off our disasters as learning curves and shared a common goal. Through art play we chatted and both learned so much to take away into our various at forms.
Here is a peek at some of the things we played with.

Life is too short, remember it is important to give your self time to play.

What April already???

I am working on keeping up to date with Heartfelts day to day happenings by attempting the Ultimate Blog challenge.

I think the changes this Spring merit a day to day blog and I am sure the challenge will be good for me. I have started this month in a very productive way and have been sewing felted birdies with beaded wings and button eyes...what's new about that? Well to use my travelling time to better advantage I have been sewing as I travel, no I am not doing the driving but it is hard to sew and not prick your finger on some of the most scenic views in Scotland travelling along the side of Loch Lomond on a rare sunny day.

Now that I have got here the real work has started...rebuilding my new to be workshop, very exciting but at times overwhelming at the sheer enormousness of the task.