Red Textures

 I am having a delicious stretch into new work....making pieces for the felt::feutre exhibition....It is so delightful to work out ideas without too much time pressure; just exploring pure creativity.

This is a technique that I teach in my Surface Design class....using slow felting wools to create nodules....and in this case, worked on a foam resist to make the finished piece take on a three dimensional form......

  I'm quite enjoying having these displayed in the studio, just as they are...I love their redness...it's powerful, and especially in combination with the charred wood piece underneath. The wood is part of a collaboration I am working on with my eldest son, Finn McGuffin....an interior design line in charred wood and felt...more to come on that....

  These red pieces are part of a sculptural piece that is another exploration of Joomchi felt.  They will be turned inside out and become the inner layers of a snowy white multipocketed piece...reflecting on what we show on the outside and all the layers that exist behind that social facade....the life experiences that inform our every movement and word, in multiple ways, but that those we interact with cannot always fully know....

Finishing up the white outer shell today...will show you some pics when complete!

This week is bringing on so many creative ideas...it's been a big week for communication, imagination and manifestation....a "yes" kind of week. 
I've got to go out and get another sketch book....most of the new ideas are for collections of pieces, and I just can't start on those until....until.....maybe December? The calender is very full....so I'll just  fill up the notebooks, and let those collections come to realization when the time is right!

Warm wishes,
Fiona

Trickster Tales

Last week was the last week in our Storytelling and Arts day in the studio. This was a weekly series of classes I have been running since the early Fall. So much fun! What a sweet, talented, and creative group of children!

In our Spring session we studied Trickster Tales, and we explored these through storytelling, painting, drawing, plant dyeing, and of course, feltmaking! 

 The children each chose the Trickster they most identified with, and slowly transformed themselves....This picture was taken on the last day of our classes- introducing Squirrel, Fox, Coyote and Monkey....I was Raven, but also photographer! They did wonderful work...on all of their projects!

It was truly a pleasure to get to have these afternoons together.... 

And now the studio is cleaned up and transformed once again into my full time adult space ...ready for visitors and for me to focus on my exhibition work and book....here we go!

Happy summertime....
Fiona

Immersion Multi Colour Dyeing

  I get a lot of emails/messages with questions about techniques and ideas, and sometimes it takes me a really long time to answer them....Usually because I want to answer thoroughly and have difficulty setting aside the time to do so. I thought I'd answer some of your questions here, as the information may be of interest to others as well....

When I am dyeing my felt work, silks for felting, or yarns for my fibre company, I most often use a simple immersion technique for achieving multiple colours. I enjoy the very hands on aspect of adding colours in this way, working directly over the dyepots, and adding dye as needed to the pots to achieve the exact colouring on the felt or fibres.

 I use a big dye pot, filled only with about 6 inches of water. Having only a small amount of water keeps the majority of the fibers out of the dyebath without having to hold the fibres high up above the bath.

 I add the acid and the dyes to that bath. I usually use citric acid, available for relatively low cost at brew your own wine and beer shops, but do use ordinary vinegar in a dyeing emergency when I have run out! The citric acid does not have the strong smell of the vinegar and is less expensive if you are doing a lot of dyeing.  I mix up my dyes in a measuring cup with some water, to ensure the dye powders are entirely in solution, then add the dye to the bath. To dye a small section of yarn, a medium to deep colour, dyeing six skeins at a time, I will use about 1/2 teaspoon of dye powder. (Note: be sure that work with the dye powders in a well ventilated area, wearing a dust mask!)

I dip only a small section of the wool into the pot at a time, and leave that colour to steam and exhaust the dye bath completely, before rotating the skein and dyeing the next section.  For this tutorial, I am dyeing my Seaglass colourway, and have dyed the top 4 -6 inches in tobacco, then the bottom 4-6 inches in silver grey. The yarns are quite damp, because I want to colour to migrate up the skeins a bit, to get a graduated colour shift. The dyeing shown here will produce a yarn that is predominantly turquoise blues, with small sections of grey, green, and ochre.

  I don't rush the process at all....I make sure that each section is fast before moving on...but much of this time is passive so I can work on other projects while the dyes are setting. Sometimes I create a hanging rack to suspend the yarns over the dyepot, but if I am working only on small batches or on felt pieces, I position the fibres at the desired depth in the dyebath, place the lid on top of the pot, and drape the extra fibres over the top if the lid. In this way only the section I need to be dyeing and setting remain in the pot, and my hands are free to do other things.   The colours in any previously dyed sections are already set, so the colours will not bleed out in any way on the rest of the fibres.  It's all very low tech....but simple and highly functional for me in my studio.

Here are the results so far. Each end is dyed in a neutral colour. Now I will dye it in the main colour, a handblended mix of blues.

 Both of the dyed ends are looped over the spoon, so that both undyed sides of the yarn can be immersed in the bath. I have added extra water to the dye pot now as there is more fiber to be immersed.

 An initial dipping, to get a basic coverage, plus get a light, transitional overdyeing at the ends.

Now I will leave most of the fibres in the dyebath to develop the colour and set.
I just use my trusty wooden spoon to hang the fibers over the dyebath. I cover it with the pot lid and leave at a low simmer for about 20 minutes then turn off and leave until the dye bath is exhausted. Then rinse as usual.

I plan my colourways so that there will be small amounts of overdyeing in each section. Blues and reds I always dye last, and leave overnight in the dye bath to ensure they are very well set. 

Using this immersion technique,  I can get a handpainted effect, but without the sponges/brushes/applicators, or the use of plastics to wrap it all up in to steam set.  I handpaint only occasionally if I need only a very short run of colour- so short I can not achieve it through immersion.  

I have found I can have up to 5 different dye applications on an ordinary skein of yarn, so with all the over dye effects also, that is an amazing range of colour....

This method also works very well with natural plant dyes....

 After the dyeing process is complete, I usually reskein my yarns, as customers love to see the colours blended together in the skein. It looks more as it will when knit or woven. Reskeining feels like the completion of the process for me- it tidies up any loose thread.....

I hope this is helpful....in writing this I came across my notes that are part of a dyeing class I teach.  I'll post the introduction to acid dyeing here next...a little backward...but better written than not! 

 Also coming up, tips on felt bag making, and fibre arts and internet....
But for now back to the felting table!

Warm wishes,
Fiona

Celestial Jacket 2

The finished jacket....as I mentioned, it had been going into the reds and ochres, but on the day I dyed it, it just had to become blues and greens.... 

  Felting, drying, stitching, fulling, then dyeing....then I added the finishing stitches.  Layers of intention.  I used some lovely fine silk yarn in gold, but the predominant yarn is a Koigu KPPPM. 

  I find it a bit crazy that I have my own yarn company and don't dye my own embellishing yarns, but I really love Koigu for this. I love their colourways and the colour intervals, and since it is perfect for me, and my desired outcome, I am happy to support a wonderful Canadian yarn company!

Combinations of craters, organza circles, prefelt stitches, and then hundreds of french knots. It is so wonderful to be working on a piece that can have as much time as I want to give it....no commercial pressure....this piece will be for sale, but it is not made with production in mind. 

Onto the next celestial piece...this is just the start of the collection.....

Warm wishes,
Fiona

Celestial Jacket 1

 This coat made it's first appearance in my sketchbook early in the year. Once I had opneed up some creative time this week, it positioned itself determinedly in the forefront of my attentions, allowing for no distraction.
 It is a felt jacket, created all in one piece, with lots of surface texture in the form of nuno craters, and stitching both at the prefelt stage and after dyeing.

The craters are still sealed in this picture. The coat has been prefelted, then dried so I could add all the stitches, that will all later be overdyed and become more subtle shadings in the coat. I had never thought before about felting on one piece and the relationship this can have with knitting and steeking. The jacket is designed to have a zipper opening, but the opening will only be cut at the very end, after dyeing.

 Opening the craters.....

And the coat...ready for dyeing. I had always thought this coat would be deep reds and ochres, but something changed during the dyeing day and it became oceanic blues and greens.....finished images tomorrow....

Preparing for a modelling shoot with this and a couple of other new pieces....fun, fun....just waiting for the rain to clear up!

Warm wishes,
Fiona

Spring Holiday Camp

The week after getting back from FibresWest, I hosted two fibre art camps for children in the studio.

It was great fun, and such a pleasure to share my passion for fibres with enthusiastic young people and get to know some of the island's children a little better. They are just so sweet....and sometimes left me nostalgic for my own boys younger years...

We did some plant dyeing on silks, making a mystery bath from the children's garden collections, and then  eco-printed them with golden rod, rose leaves and petals, carnation flowers and cinnamon sticks (deliciously scented bundles!).... left to age until the last day of camp...

 We felted, of course! Needle felted figures and animals...wet felted flowers and pictures....experiencing some roving, batting, prefelts and inclusions, like magic mirrors! Which made for fibre adventures to try and find them and make them shine again!

 

  
One of the groups also made fine nuno felted scarves, sharing the rolling process....we also did some sewing, wool fiber paintings...and on the last day we opened our eco-printed bundles, and the children danced under the plum tree blossoms, flying with golden silks behind them....

 The days were glorious and sunny, and went by so fast. It is a nice balance to have some time working with children, in amongst all the more adult fiber pursuits....A truly enjoyable week... thank you all for joining me in my studio!

Warm wishes,
Fiona

ps..for those wondering...the rose leaves, golden rod flowers and cinnamon sticks all gave nice prints....the rose petals left no trace...but the red carnation flowers were a very pleasing surprise- the deep purple marks on the silks above are all from the carnations....

Kattikloo @ FibresWest

As usual, it's been a very busy few weeks!

I've rebranded my handyed yarn and fibre company, Kattikloo, all ready for FibresWest in Vancouver last week.  I still have to make all the website changes and load up the shop, now that I'm back...but it still feels like a major accomplishment to have gotten this far!

I was able to use most of my display units from the studio at the show...so wonderful and easy....and the show was a great success.....we doubled our sales from last year, with equal sales in yarns and felting fibres. I was so happy to bring all of the felting wools and prefelts....to have the intensely coloured yarns that I dye, and also the walls of felting supplies, which is most true to my creative heart! This was a dream from last years show...and so great to have realized that goal!

I hardly spent a minute in the booth though, as I was teaching all day on both days of the show. My wonderful friend Rachel talked with all of our fabulous customers, and I am so grateful for her company! Every other year all of my boys have come with me, and they don't enjoy fibre talk half as much as Rachel does...so all around a good plan! 

 I have no pictures from my first class in nuno felted vests....but my 10 students were wonderful, and their finished vests, amazing....We used sheer, handdyed silk gauze and extra fine 19 micron merino rovings in a vast array of colours....the finished results were superb and I think everyone was pleased with their results...and a little surprised at the ease of construction. Great students, great fibres and great felting.....

(In the getting to this class there was a little incident with a long train and a very large roll of bubble wrap that I may tell you about separately!)

The second class was a shibori class of 12. It is an idea I developed for an article in Living Crafts magazine last year.  It was quite delightful to teach....a refreshing departure from full on felting or dyeing, but a process which certainly has applications in both.  The last 30 minutes of fulling provided a fun balance to the time spent stitching traditional nui shibori patterns in the habotai and chiffon silk scarves. 

In addition to feltable yarns, we added silk organza, prefelt and silk ribbon elements. Experimented with shibori and yarn to create three dimensional shaping and texture.  One of the best parts of workshops- the new directions that emerge as we share...Lots of fun- room for creativity and application in other textile crafts.   The finished results were fantastic. No finished pictures- I'm sorry...It is a challenge to get picures while teaching, and also of finished items in thses short, one day classes.

Thank you to everyone who came...to my classes and to my booth at the show. Thank you to Rachel for being my super salesperson! And thanks to Brenda from Penelope Fibre Arts for organizing such a warm, friendly, and inspiring show once again!

Warm wishes,
Fiona