Petroglyph-ish... closer to home

The petroglyph work I've showed you so far is inspired by glyphs in Kyrgyzstan and Northern America.. which I love.  But I really wanted to do some from closer to home, knowing  that we have some beautiful Celtic carved stones.  The stones that inspired me for this bag are not exactly petroglyphs.. they aren't old enough.. but I love them.  They are carved stone figures in Caldragh Cemetry, Boa Island, Northern Ireland.. I have not been there or seen the figures in person, but for years I have been aware of and very taken with these enigmatic monoliths.  I found lots of really good photographs and detailed descriptions online, which I used extensively.  This was a good one.. Irish Megaliths 

There are 2 figures in the cemetery and they are thought to be over 1000 years old.  This bag is based on the bigger one - the Janus figure.  Janus was a Roman all seeing God, said to see everything from sunrise to sunset, past and future.  He was represented as a two faced God, looking both forward an back.

The stone of these figures is so deliciously aged & weathered - pitted, discoloured, lichen spotted - full of character!  I have always had a thing for lichen; I can remember my nan telling me off when I was little (regularly) for sitting on her garden path to examine the lichen on the slabs.. (she really didn't want me to ruin my socks :)   And I have quite a few close up photos of lichen covered stones in my inspiration folder - I've been planning to make a piece of felt depicting lichen for ages.  SO, with this piece I got to knock 2 things off my wish list in one go!  

This bag is made mostly from Bluefaced Leicester, 3 layers of white inside and 3 layers of oatmeal on the outside.. then merino and silks to form the picture.

I cut  pieces of silk cap (dyed with Woad & weld by the Mulberry Dyer) for the lichen spots
chopped chunks of white, charcoal and darkest green and scattered them for a stoney texture

I carried the lines around the sides so they would line up.  What you can't see here is the interlacing hair in between the 2 heads..  you can see it a little bit on the finished photos.

The 2 sides are different same as on the actual statue.  One side is thought to be male (the side shown here) the other side female.. the female side is poking her tongue out :) 

Part way through

Bluefaced Leicester is, I find, slower to felt than merino.. but makes a lovely tactile felt, nice and tight and firm - perfect for bags!  I used resists to make 2 internal pockets.. which I doodled a curly pattern onto so the inside has a bit of interest :)

internal pockets

Got my eye on you..
I love this close-up :)

Male side of bag

Female side..
don't think you'd know she was poking her tongue out unless I told you though lol

The Janus stone has a hole in the top for votive offerings.. perfect for turning into a bag :)

I'm planning to make one based on the smaller figure too.. that one is known as the Lustyman because it came from a place called Lusty More.  Don't think I'd best call it a Lusty Man bag though... it might attract the wrong sort of attention lol.  

TTFN xx

And my mystery resist project is.....

da-da-da-daaaaaa................... A HEDGEHOG :)     

Well 2 hedgehogs actually..  Here it is in pictures

Its a twin hedgehog resist :) nose to bum

Covered in 2 layers of white Norwegian then 3 layers of natural brown merino
and tan-brown merino for the face

Wetted, rubbed and ready to roll.. 

Cutting to remove the resists.. and separate the hedgehogs

Time to get physical :)
I worked them hard and shrunk them down well

Stuffed the noses with a plastic carrier bag &
the bodies with tea towels to hold the shape while they dry

I used a remnant of tweed wool fabric, cut into LOADS of small strips (300+) which I folded in half and stitched the middle of each strip to the body to make his prickles... much the same as with my lions mane, but the strips are wider and I figured out a more efficient way of sewing them on so it was quicker (thank goodness).  I think the hedgehog shape was simpler to cover too...

I stuffed him with local wool fleece and stitched a rice pack with a leather base.

Handstitched the rice-pack base in with upholstery thread

Meet REMY
So named because his prickles are made from a remnant :) 

His eyes are black plastic shank button

 My first hedgehog is complete :)  The other one will have to wait for now..  

Following yesterdays post.. Unfortunately my friend Lindsey didn't get through to the live shows on The Voice last night.. I think that she should of gone through, as does everybody that I have spoken to.. but there you go. 

Anyway.. thats it from me for now, I'm off for a cup of tea and an early night - I am shattered today

xx

Resist project teaser :)

Can you guess what this is going to be...?

We have had a nice chilled out weekend.. sorting the pond out - the fish actually went in yesterday :)  will post pics soon - its too grey today to take nice photos.  Cooked a lovely (even if I say so myself ) Indian meal last night; tomato chicken curry, chickpea curry, rice and naan bread YUM.  Good news is I cooked 2 great big cauldrens full - so tonights dinners is sorted too .. yay - no cooking this evening!

Totally off topic now.. but I just gotta shout about a friend of mine who I am so proud of

One of my friends is on TV tonight and I am really excited to see her!  Lindsey Butler is on Tom Jones's team on BBC1's The Voice - its battle rounds tonight and I am soooo hoping she makes it through to the live rounds.  I think she will.. she has the most amazing singing voice! I have heard her singing acapella so many times & break out in goosebumps every time!  You can see her audition and see some of her videos (she's a song writer too) on her Facebook page Lindsey Butler - The Voice.  If you like her please LIKE her official facebook, I know the support will mean a lot to her and will help her self-confidence.  We worked together at Sandwell Museums for about 9 years .. there are scores of children who know her a Mistress Rose - the cheeky fun loving Tudor serving wench ;)  She is one of the nicest people you could ever meet and I hope all her dreams come true..  Tonight I will be yelling GO ON LINDSEY!! :)  

xoxo

Finally finished...

My lion now has a mane!  I tried a couple of ideas which just didn't work.. and then got my lightbulb moment :)   I LOVE rag rugs... and I wanted my lion to have a nice chunky mane... so I decided to give him a rag-rug effect mane

I embroidered his facial features on, and added a couple of nice old
dark slate coloured plastic buttons for his eyes

Luckily I had a bag of Harris wool tweed remnants knocking around :)  I picked 2 nice brown based pieces and fulled them in the washing machine.  I have no idea how many tiny strips I cut from them, but there were a LOT.  Each strip was handstitched in to place individually - certainly the SLOW way of doing it, but I liked the effect of having them placed iggledy-piggledy.. I couldn't do it all in one go, the sewing made my fingers sore.. so I spread it out doing a bit every 2 or 3 days whenever I had an hour spare.



He is just what I wanted with his raggedy-ruggedy mane..



He is one half of a pair of doorstoppers I made for MARCH.  Last year my March doorstoppers were hares, this year it was a lion and a lamb.. from the old saying about March that it 'comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb'



Here he is with his 'other half'



I'm planning to make him a brother as soon as I am able to track down some nice suitable tweed.. I am totally kicking myself after missing 2 gorgeous pieces on ebay last night.. I was watching 4 yards (perfect colours in 2 different designs)  and I forgot that they were finishing! The vintage piece went for less than a fiver and it was lovely.. why oWHY did I forget to go bid?! 

Anyway, I'm planning to take progress pics next time and post them. 

Have a good weekend.. xx

Progress in the garden.. and a felting play day :)

Yesterday saw a return of wintery weather here.. we had snow - with MASSIVE flakes and hail, rain spells and very strong winds all day.  The kids had pressing things to do inside (in the warm!) and Gary quite happily carried on with his project.. finished off this morning by adding the stone chips.  I am really happy with it.. think he has done a lovely job :)

I really should take the pegs off the line BEFORE taking a photo lol

We can't introduce the fishies to their new home until May, when it is warmer.. but that gives us time to set everything up, fill it and let the water settle :)

While all of this was going on I got to PLAY!!  I had been picturing a light, airy poncho.. slightly asymetrical..  the shrinkage has made the finished piece a bit less asymetrical than I had planned.. but I'm really pleased with it. 



Orange and pink (I'm liking this colour combo at the moment)



What I am NOT pleased with is how much the colour run out of the silk! This is a really lovely vintage silk sari - its so sheer its an absolute DREAM for nuno! But I have never had colour run out so badly.. it just keeps on coming out as long as its wet.  Even using cold water (my hands are still orange today - looks like I have been henna'd). I will wear this... and hope like heck that I don't get caught in the rain or I will be orange!  But I couldnt use it to make for anybody else..

At the moment I dont see how I can make use of this lovely sari unless I can find a way to fix the dye... if anybody has any suggestion or experience with this PLEASE, I would LOVE to hear from you..  I hate the thought of this lovely silk sitting unused in my fabric bag forevermore..

xx

Busy busy..

My garden is a hive of activity today!  Gary and the kids are re-landscaping an area of our garden to add a pond!

My 2 hard at work -
Gary and Rachael were taking grass up and Matthew relaying it

Just after I took this the 2 little boys from up the road came around and joined in too.  Gary rummaged and found protective gloves for them all to wear .. and the little 'un ended up wearing Garys hard hat too :)  It was so sweet watching them all working away (our helpers are 6 & 10 bless 'em).  Now Rachael has gone with the boys and their mom to feed their ponies, sheep and chickens.

This all came about because my lovely man rescued a pond full of fish last week!  He surveyed a house who's owner died back in December.. there was a pond in the back garden and its his employers policy to have ponds filled in before a new tenant is allowed to move in (incase they have small children).  Gary did his usual thing and checked whether the pond was occupied.. it was.  There was no family or friends to take the fish and they would of died when the pond was filled.. So next day he took our fish moving boxes, a bucket and a net.. and went fishing :) 

He emptied it to the very last bucket to be sure nobody was left behind - there were just 8 goldfish and they all came home to our tank.  Originally we planned to rehome them.. but Bob (the rescued goldfish from this time last year - abandoned in a tank in an empty house for AGES) has gotten pretty huge now and will need to go in a pond soon too.  It may sound silly but we have all got very attached to Bob, he's a very friendly fishy :) the idea of him not having to leave home is nice.

SO, we now have all the supplies.. Gary has a week off (and the kids are off for Easter) so my man gets to play with building blocks and sand out in the garden.. yes he is like a little boy, he gets excited when he has a nice creative building project to work on :). 

I cant wait to see it.. think its going to be lovely.  I'll post pics when its done

xx

Petroglyph inspired #3

My second wallhanging:



Laid out on my work bench

This hanging is felted from the same fibres as my picture & the pumpkin bag in the last post; golden pumpkin orange merino with deep cherry red at the edges. The design is drawn on with merino fibre in browns, burgundy and oranges, with lots of the hand dyed silk caps in terracotta and brown at the bottom and around the edges, with alpaca/wool blend boucle yarns for texture.



Shame the photos don't quite match up..



Love this silk cap!



This is a fair sized hanging.. it measures 33" x 20.5"

Kelly asked about the story behind my last piece.. so I thought I should explain this one :)  Not knowing the meaning the ancients attached to the symbols.. MY pictograph represents having an awareness of our place in the universe and being considerate of the earth, the creatures we shall her with and the people around us..

I decided not to mount this one.. I hung it from an iron rod suspended between 2 nice metal hooks instead.  Dont have any photos of it hung to show you.  BUT its now on its way to a new home in New Mexico and I am really hoping that its new owner will be kind enough to take a photo of it hanging for me..  I would love to see it in its environment :)

I stitched a cotton tube on my machine, pressed it flat and handstitched it to the top at the back to run the rod through.

xoxo

Petroglyph inspired #2

Oh my, the weather has been absolutely glorious this week!  Spring really is letting us know that she is here.. the irises, daffodils and crocuses that Rachael planted last year are flowering for the first time (they are lovely and she is thrilled with them :)  And we have a pair of blue-tits seriously considering nesting in the bird house Gary made just before Christmas.. its lovely watching them popping in and out and looking at each other as if to say.. "what do you think...?"  Another week has absolutely FLOWN by.. I hope you will forgive me dribbling out these posts.. I am so behind!  I really could use more hours per day.. or days per week (or a time-turner!)  Ok here goes..

My 2nd and 3rd Petroglyph projects this year were dainty little Ancient Sheep ROUND shoulder bags..

 

I wanted integral handles on these bags, and my lovely friend Heather at Woollove makes fabulous bags using a peanut shaped resist to make round bags with integral handles.. so I decided to ‘have a go’.  I stuck with the same colour schemes as with my previous petroglyph bags.. for the first I used 6 layers of merino in cherry red and turquoise, with my fave red slubby yarn swirled on the surface and ancient sheep drawn on in bitter chocolate merino .. then felted as HARD as I could get it.

I cut the handles at the same time as I cut the felt to remove the resist, healed all the edges with soapy fingers, stretching the handles out a little as I worked it.

After drying I turned the edges of the handles over and machine stitched them.. then machine stitched along the top opening.

 

This bag found a new home the day it went into my shop :) and I was absolutely thrilled to bits to hear that another family are planning to hang it on the wall for display when its not being used.. what a compliment!!

The second bag was a little different..  Made over a pear shaped resist again, I decided this one would have a closure flap and single handle.

 

adding interest to the inner pocket
 - this was laid down first and the fibre went ontop

Then the pocket resist goes down. 
Now the layers go down to cover the whole pear shaped resist... 6 layers of golden pumpkin.. yum

The red spot was to remind me which was the front of the bag (didn't have the inner pocket)
so I cut the flap from the correct side

 I laid down a design using LOADS of hand dyed silk caps in terracotta and brown, slubby red yarn and merino for the sheep.  I put one sheep low down on the front and two sheep low down on the back, so these are on the body of the bag.. but I wanted one on the flap too, so he was laid out on the BACK of the bag and upside down, so he would be the right way up when it flapped over.

Cutting the handle and flap

I healed the cut edges and carried on fulling... and fulling.. and fulling some more, I rolled it, threw it, pummelled it, you name it I did it (well not quite I didn't stamp on it :) .  The only thing I had trouble with was the flap!  I had drawn the sheep too low down on the flap, and I couldn't get it to shrink enough for it to sit in the right place when the bag was closed - it partially covered the sheep on the front.  In the end I cut it off!  Trimmed an inch or so from the straight edge and then machine stitched it back on.. I used several parallel rows of stitching for strength and to make a bit of a feature of the join.

 

I hand stitched the edges of the handle together with strong thread to form a tube..

I used sew-on magnetic snap fastners for this bag

 I was really chuffed to find the sew-on magnetic snaps.. they are really pretty, they have four 'flower petals' sticking out which you sew into to attach them and they're a lovely antique brass finish.  I don't like the normal magnetic snaps - the ones that have the metal prongs which go though the felt and a metal plate on the back.  I have found that they can damage felt.. the ones I used had too strong a magnet, and continued pulling on the felt to pop the opening caused the metal parts to cut through the felt.. That may of been a one off (and thank goodness it was on my own bag!) but I would not use them again.

The sew-on magnet snaps are nowhere near as magnetic - they are just right.  I stitched mine onto a small felt pad and then stitched the patch into the bag..

Inner pocket detail and the front of the snap

Next time:  Even more Petroglyph inspired work :)  hope you aren't getting bored

 

Have  a WONDERFUL weekend.. whatever you have planned!

xx

p.s. I am GLAD this post is finished blogger is being a real pain in the a*** - hope it is displayed right..

Petroglyph inspired #1

Looks like this is going to be the year of the bad blogger!  I am SO behind with my posts.  No joy with the lions mane yet.. I tried something which was not succesfull, but have another plan in mind.. so more to come soon (hopefully).  SO, back to my original posting plan..

Another theme I wanted to work with this year was PETROGLPHYS and PICTOGRAPHS.  I felted a couple of bags last year which were inspired by petroglyphs, and its something I have been wanting to come back to since then. I had a boost when a lovely lady in New Mexico brought one of those bags and told me that she and her husband liked it so much that they were going to hang it on the wall when it wasn’t being used – what a lovely compliment! She asked me whether I had considered making petroglyph wall hangings.. which I had been planning for over a year and just hadn’t gotten around to. This gave me a nudge to GET ON WITH IT.

My new friend in Mexico has sent me lots of links and photographs of North American petroglyphs and pictographs, which have been very inspirational. One thing that amazes me is how SIMILAR many of the images are from different continents. Everyone perceives things in their own way, but some images (for example sheep) are depicted in almost exactly the same way, there are images which are wildly different – but its the similarities that pull at me.

My first wall hanging is very richly earth tones; gold, reds and browns. I made a thick piece of merino felt – 7 fibre layers; mostly gold but with a red border around the very outside. I didn’t want a solid band of colour but more mottled fading in and out.

On top of the 7th layer I added some hand dyed silk cap in terracotta and brown.. then 'drew' the pictures on in brown and burgundy merino fibre.

It made a lovely solid piece of felt.. (oh how I love the pebbly texture you get with merino!) Its a long, narrow piece – would of made a good table runner to be honest.

I decided to mount it on canvas to hang on the wall, as I didn’t have a box canvas the right size we made one. Gary made a wooden frame for me, and we stretched first calico and then Irish linen over the frame, stapling them (calico first, then the linen) at the back stretched as tight as a drum. Once that was done I could sew the felt into place.. I used an invisible stitch to attach it (I think its is called ladder stitch but I’m not sure – its one that you can’t see from the front anyway).

Hanging in the dining room (aka my felting studio :)
Measures about 3ft wide

I love the silk..

This picture is a keeper.. Gary and the kids took a shine to it and its a nice splash of colour in the dining room :)   The next wallhanging I make is going to be hung from a rail so it can be posted more easily.. I really must get to work on that soon! 

Next post: Petroglyph shoulder bags - nice n bright :)

xx

HELP... Advice and suggestions needed please

My lion needs a mane!  And I can NOT figure out what to use!

Poor naked lion!

I had thought to use some naturally dyed BFL locks from last year... problem is I can only find one pack of them (think I might of overdyed the others) so I don't have enough.  I no longer have the right colour dye to do more.. the other wool locks that I have a just too WOOLY looking for a nice silky mane.. and silk would be too flyaway.  I had a piece of tibetan goat skin that I considered cutting up and sewing on.. but the fibre length is too long. 

Please someone HELP.. I have been racking my brains and trawling my usual supply shops for something suitable to no avail.  I wanted to try brown or golden bamboo fibre .. but the only seller I can find is out of stock :(  Whats a girl to do?  Suggestions would be very much appreciated..

I want to get him sorted asap as he is part of my March themed pair of doorstoppers..