Rambling Rose

Experiment gone wild

I had a piece of wool felt that I wanted to experiment with. I tried to felt on to the felt fabric by wet felting method.It actually worked pretty good using a thin layer of roving but where I had a second thick layer of roving I Had to go back and needle felt those areas by hand to fully attach them. I got that far and had a big piece of fiber so decided to try and make something out of it. It became a challenge to make it work somehow. I Felted on some sheer organza roses I fussy cut from a piece of stash fabric. I Needle felted on some white yarn swirls trying to tie all the areas together and add some contrast. They over powered the flowers so I free motion stitched on top of the yarn with green and brown thread. That helped tone them down. The flowers did not show up enough so I thread painted on them with the sewing machine. Still didn't pop enough so I thread painted a white edge around them. That sort of helped. I added more free motion stitching and added the thorns on the swirly stems.

I'm not saying it was a successful piece but it was not intended to be anything more then an experiment. It kept me busy for a couple days and was a learning experience. I call it Rambling Rose....Experiment gone wild.

Close up Photo

  

More Mandala

Wet felted mandala 2 & 3

Just completed two more wet felted mandalas.  Thinking about combining them all into a wall hanging. I will post photos if that comes to be.

Each mandala is about 15" across. The two new lower ones have dyed cotton

gauze and yarn embellishments.

  

Mandala

Wet felted mandala

I did this mandala last night and in doing it I finally figured out how to achieve that bubbly texture I've admired in other felters work. I placed silk hankies on top of my layers of wool then placed a real real thin layer of wool on top of it and then wet felted it. This piece can be used as a table topper or can be hung on the wall.

  

Burst of Spring...

Wet Felted Vessel

Yesterdays project was this colorful vessel made with wool roving and silk hankies and yarn embellishments. It was made using a small beach ball as the resist form. I soaped up the ball and applied the thin layers of silk then added 3 layers of wool. I sprayed hot soapy water water on each layer to help it stay in place. After it was all layered up I placed a pair of panty hose over it all and soaped it up some more. Then I hand massaged it and then used my sander to complete the felting process. Removed the panty hose and put more hot water on it to shrink it a little then used the sander some more. Then I removed the ball and rinsed it out and threw it a little in the sink. Next I put the ball back in and blew it back up and let it dry over night. Then I removed the ball.

      

      

Burst of Spring... 9.5x9.5 

This and many other felted items will be available for sale at my studio at the Art Studio Trek coming up in April. Check the website for AST at  www.artstudiotrek.com