I’ve been trying to work out the best wet felted wooly bangles possible and I think I’ve almost got it. I’ve always liked bangles, but one thing I’ve always disliked about the clunky styles is banging them on things; they always seem to be in the way. I wanted something similar that would be comfortable. That is what led me to create these felt bangles which are flexible, super soft and light. I should have the final results up in the store very soon.
I finally caught a big red squirrel digging around in one of the little winter homes that I made for the neighbour birds. I think it may have been storing nuts or seeds in there, or it may have been raiding someone elses stash. I tried to catch a shot of him through my binoculars, but that little ninja didn’t end up showing up in any my photos. You’ll have to believe me and imagine him.
The little home which you can barely see in this photo (I apologize, best of the batch) was created as an experimental winter roost for little birds that need shelter from storms and bitter winter nights. It is constructed of earth friendly biodegradable materials. Its inner layer is a soft needle felted pod made from natural fleece. I added a birch bark covering, steamed and sewn in a spiral, and then treated the whole thing with wax to keep it cosy and dry on the inside.
Accumulate Brooch
This little brooch is inspired by the process of accumulation and molecular geometry. It is made with glass beads, beading wire, thread and a bar pin back. Check it out at my store.
I made this bee book for my mother. It has a hard cover wrapped in orange canvas. The honeycomb decoration was painted with watercolour and varnished for durability. The bees are acrylic transfers of old engravings.
I’ve been working on some new brooches that are based on a process I developed while working on an installation a while back. I love organic structures; loops, bone, foam, soap bubbles, the microscopic insides of flower buds. I am also inspired by space. sci-fi, geometry, patterns in the seemingly random, tessellations and data in general. Last night I was looking at all the stuff I have pinned up on boards at various stages of completion, (most of which will be slowly revealed through future posts). I was trying to decide how to describe most of the designs I’ve been brewing up for the past couple of years and I’m not sure how to describe them as a group, maybe some sort of crafty bio-punk? I’m not sure.
I’m not sure what to call this new series yet either, so I’ll just describe the process en bref. These are made of ribbon (and a lot of little stitches). First I pin little bits of ribbon into loops, which then get sewn together into an accumulated form. I do this by hand with a little beading needle and it does take quite a bit of time. Then they are embellished after words, with glass beads in this case, and treated with a light wash of professional quality acrylic gel to make them more durable. I plan on expanding this series to one of a kind earrings and pendants as well. The result is a graphic yet delicate handmade form. If your looking for a daring but sweet little thing for spring, one of these brooches might be a good candidate. They are now available through my shop at a special introductory price.
Here are a few things I am sending off to my friend Marianne Collins. We studied together at nscad and later worked together at an art store downtown. She moved to Montreal a while back and I have been meaning to send her something ever since.
I especially owe her one for this great owl pin she gave to me.
Marianne makes pins and other accessories for her company MID. She is a really talented artist and maker, besides for dreaming up wearables she also paints and draws. At the last craft fair we both attended she was still taking commisions for portraits, which she paints and sews on textile. They are really fantastic. I’ve asked her a few questions for the blog. I’m sure I’ll find out the details in the next letter back and I will fill you in then. (Here’s a link to one of her works which was featured on the crafters site)
I just had to write a post to say how much I love the white chocolate from Just Us. Dan and I often have a few square of this with dark coffees. It is so much better than the big brands! Most of the white chocolate on the market out there is too sweet, lacking in cocoa butter and certainly not fair trade. This one is a little darker in colour, pleasantly sweet with a rich texture and nice caramely finish. I just made an orange white chocolate icing with this and I am very pleased with how it turned out. It sure tastes and feels good to buy fair trade!
I didn’t write down the recipe for the icing unfortunately, most of the time I just make up things as I go now. I have to remind myself to write things down so I can share my creations with you. Oh well, there is always next time. Melt 1 100g bar of chocolate, add 4 tablespoons of butter, the zest of 1 orange, about 2 cups of icing sugar maybe a little more, thin with the remaining orange juice to the desired consistency.
Here is the end result; an informal bunt cake and some cupcakes. I think I am going to serve them with sliced strawberries for desert tonight. (I know they aren’t in season, but my mother is crazy for them.)
I love how this project turned out! I made this while I was visiting my friend Renee the other night. She loves clothes and works at a clothing store so naturally she has an abundance of it. She is also dedicated to recycling and reusing things, so she had a little pile of clothes that were just waiting to be transformed. We decided to experiment with some fabric paints and tie-dye techniques. She washed luminous impressionist colours on some leggings. I have yet to see how they turned out, but I have visions of her wearing them on a misty grey Halifax day with her rain boots.
The technique I used for the shirt is called arashi shibori, it is a Japanese resist technique that involves tightly binding the cloth by wrapping with string. “Arashi” comes from the Japanese word for storm, “Shibori” refers to the technique of tied resist and dying. Traditionally you would use wrap the cloth around a pole, but in theory any cylinder could work. You will need an old tee shirt, a brush, some fabric paint or dye suitable for painting on cotton (I used a seta colour paint which Renee bought at Loomis for my t-shirt), some string or wool and an appropriate bucket (or tube). It is important that the t-shirt “fit” the bucket, it needs to fit over the bucket easily without too much bulk to get the desired effect. This works best with v-necks or open neck shirts because is easier to stretch the whole shirt over the bucket. A tube dress or stretchy skirt would also work great.
Step 1. Pull the shirt over the bucket and tie a loop around the bottom hem to secure it. Keep wrapping the string tightly around and around the bucket and the t-shirt, stop every few loops to push the fabric and string tightly towards the hem where you began wrapping. Don’t be too precious about the wrapping process, wrinkles will give you neat irregularities in the pattern. Keep wrapping it all the way up to the top.
Step 2. At this point the shirt should be wrapped and bunched tightly around the bucket. You should take this to the tub with a towel, dampen the shirt and use the towel to soak up any excess water.
Step 3: Put some newspaper down and you’re ready to apply your colour. Go wild! The more contrast the bolder the pattern, natural colours and monotones are also lovely. (I mixed setacolour soleil transparent fabric paint in “fawn” with a little of a few other setacolour fabric paints. In the end the colours all mixed together into a complex brown. I think it would be necessary to use more of the thicker fabric paint to see more colour differenciation.)
Step 4: Wait until the shirt is completely dry and unwrap. This is the fun part since the results are always a surprise. Before you rinse anything iron your garment to fix the paint, there should be full instructions on the paint package.
If you aren’t the crafty type check back because I’ll have some fresh ones up in the store for the spring season soon enough!
