Friday, September 25, 2020

Our Needle Felting Machines




Our Needle Felting Machines are available in three sizes:
36 inch working area
48 inch working area
60 inch working area

Go to www.FeltCrafts.com for pricing and more information.

 

Sunday, January 5, 2020

2019 in Review

I tried some new adventures in felt making and sewing in 2019. Here are a few examples!

1. I was approached by Mary B. to make a jacket from a heavy piece of felt that her neighbor gave her. It was made in a class 30 years ago at a craft center and the teacher was Laine Goldsmith. Laine is one of the first felt teachers here in the USA. The piece was more of a wall hanging material and the wool was coarse not exactly for clothing. There was a different design on the fron and the back. I took the challenge and met with Mary deciding on the design for the jacket and I chose a pattern. I decreased the pattern form an extra small to an extra extra small since she is a size Two. I lined the jacket with some hand dyed silk I had and used felted prefelt for the sleeves and trim. Here is the result:




2. I wouldn't have been able to make Mary's coat if I hadn't spent several months working on the coat below. The body is needle felted BFL and Gotland cross (from Judy Colvin in Montana). I needle felted angora goat locks into it and then laid it on my rolling mat and placed a layer of white merino wool on top, then wet felted it. The sleeves are silk and wool felted then dyed charcoal. This coat was also lined and the buttons are raku from a local Taos artist. The edging is leather. Sherry pictured, purchased it at the Form and Fiber show in Santa Fe in August. She is modelling it in front of my booth at the Fall Fiber Fiesta in Santa Fe.


3. I attended a retreat in August in Cimarron NM with Susan Lazear (www.cochenille.com) to learn more about the garment designer software program. After purchasing the software in 2010 I finally feel confident using it. I designed a coat and made up the coat in alpaca and merino wool. I dislike making pockets and Susan suggested making detachable pockets. Below is the coat modelled by Cathy M. at my booth at the Taos Wool Festival. The collar edging is Elk hide.


4. I had several men ask if I made men's jackets at the Taos Wool Festival in October and I told them to come back next year because I am working on it. I used my Garment designer software and printed out mens patterns in sizes: 38 (which I found out is too small) 40 and 42. I started a jacket for Don (my husband) and then finished two in sizes 38 and 40. I brought the 38 and 40 to our guild meeting and the husband of our previous president tried it on and it fit great.
Below are pictured Virginia and Mike wearing the jacket at the Fall Fiber Fiesta in Santa Fe. It is grey alpaca and green merino wool inside. The sleeves are grey alpaca that I dyed with black walnut that I have had a long time so the color is more of a buckskin.




Sunday, March 17, 2019

New "Spring" Work for the "La Moda IV Fashion Show" this Friday March 22, 2019 at noon in the Eloise Restaurant at the Drury Plaze Hotel in Santa Fe.

This coat is felt made with 8 mm Habotai silk and merino wool. It is dip dyed using wash fast dyes - Golden Pear and Lilac. The buttons are clay and placed above magnetic snaps.


I call this a French Vanilla Coat because that is the name of the dye I use to dye the pinkish color you can see on the sleeves and other places on the coat.

Saturday, December 15, 2018

La Moda III Fashion Show December 14 in Santa Fe New Mexico

Alpaca and merino jacket with
leather embellishment and vintage
buttons. SOLD

Hand made felt jacket with burn out velvet
felted in. SOLD

Black locks jacket with silk lap
 and merino wool sleeves. SOLD





Silk lap and merino wool
studio dyed


Needle felted fleece
studio dyed. SOLD



"Mountain Snow" silver
fabrics felted with merino
wool, beading.


Raw silk and merino coat. SOLD
It was fun to see my garments on models at the La Moda III Fashion Show in Santa Fe.

Thursday, December 13, 2018

A collection of work from 2018.

Reversible coat (SOLD)


Grey, white and black Coat (SOLD)

Salmon/Shibori coat (SOLD)
Reversible Spiced Pumpkin Coat(SOLD)

Marsala Coat (SOLD)


Mandarin Vest with Moroccan band. (SOLD)

Reversible Coat (SOLD)

Organza and merino, studio-dyed

Jacket with silk trim

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

A successful show season ends with the La Moda III Fashion Show in Santa Fe.

As the Holiday season is approaching I am planning my production schedule for new work. We are having below zero temperatures at night and several inches of snow which seems early for the year. My alpaca/ merino felt jacket received the second place for Garments at the Taos Wool Festival in October. I finished it 4 days before the show and neglected to take a picture of it. This was the first garment I made using alpaca fiber. I loved the feel of the alpaca wool blend felt and my second piece made with alpaca is shown in the last post. I have purchased some Huacaya/Suri blend roving from Ranchos de los Suenos which I have already needle felted into 5 mm habotai silk fabric along with a thin layer of merino wool roving. I will be wet felting it and look forward to the feel of the felt with this blend. The fiber is white so I will be dying the finished felt for a garment. Below is a picture of the beautiful New Mexico landscape showing fall colors, that I took about a month ago in Abiquiu, en route to Santa Fe.

La Moda III Fashion Show


An assortment of my garments below will be in the show.

Hand felted, raw silk fabric and merino wool. Studio-dyed.
SOLD
Hand felted, alpaca and merino wool. Silk fabric and merino wool sleeves - studio dyed. Leather embellishment and vintage buttons
Blue violet coat, hand made felt from studio dyed
 merino wool and silk fabrics, printed silk fabric,
wool yarn and silk roving
Hand made felt jacket, studio dyed merino
 wool roving, burn out velvet
fabric and silk fabrics. SOLD