FeltWEST

Volume 2 2011 Feltmakers of Western Australia www.feltwest.org.au

In this issueEditor’s Letter 2

Toss and Tell 3-11

Kalgoorlie Feltmakers 12

Workshop Reviews 13-15

Workshop Previews 16

Charlotte Buch 17

2011 Programme 18

Contacts 18

Web Links 19

Bill Board 19

FeltWEST Inc.newsletter

ISSN 1834-9994

This newsletter is published quarterly. Deadline dates for material to be submitted are as follows:

Volume 1 15th February Volume 2 15th May Volume 3 15th August Volume 4 15th November

We will endeavour to have it distributed by the first week of the following month. Correspondence should be sent to the editor: Heather Davis, 265 Pickering Brook Road, Pickering Brook, WA 6076 or email: colourfulheather@gmail.com

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Notice of exhibitions by members that involve felt will be advertised free of charge (subject to availability of space). Advertising inquiries are welcome, contact editor for details.

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Visit our website www.feltwest.org.au

editor’s letter

If you would like to contribute to the newsletter please send any text in Word or email. Photos should be saved as jpegs and emailed or saved to CD and posted.

Cover photo. Dresses by Charlotte Buch. Back cover. Hat made by Ai-Lin Chen and modelled by Vianne Sleypen who designed the pattern.

The best season for felt is approaching, I hope you are all busy making and planning your winter outfits now.

The last few months of toss n tell have been a hive of activity and Emma has dutifully reported on all the gorgeous things we saw, a big thank you to her.

Many things from workshops were shown and the reviews and pictures are all included here. A thank you to those who contributed articles, Terina, Alison and Ai-Lin. Many more workshops to look forward to including some essential winter slippers and outstanding hats.

Most exciting is the upcoming workshops with Charlotte Buch, one of the most established and inspiring feltmakers from Europe.

Charlotte visited us many years ago and I still use the samples I created in her workshop now to inspire new projects. I strongly recommend anyone to attend her workshop, you will not be disappointed.

There are more websites to check out, lots of yummy things to tempt your textile senses, a few of them with thanks to Tanya’s keen eyes. Plus some forms for the upcoming FeltWest AGM, if you think you could join the committee and help us keep FeltWest the strong and creative group that it is, please do not hesitate to sign up.

Finally a big welcome to all our new members, Linda McEwan, Deb Mulroney, Joan Sheppard, Liz Benwell, Ann Bonny, Sue Clay, Jenny Cornwall, Jane Patterson, Kim Gordon, Karen Holloway and Pauline Karelse.

We are almost at the end of financial year and that means FeltWest memberships are due now.

If you want to attend any of these amazing workshops you need to fill out the enclosed membership form and send it off asap.

Happy Felting!

Heather Davis

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For the first gathering of 2011, the old Craft House was abuzz. With so many ladies felting like machines, the temperature of the room was pushing

into the red. The energy created could have been fed back into Western Power’s electricity grid.

Sue made special welcome to Sue Clay, a visiting felter from Yorkshire in the UK. Sue Clay found out about Feltwest from ‘Felt Matters’ – the journal lists all international felting association details. Sue suggested that Feltwest might like to consider contributing an article to the journal to enhance international representation, potentially boosting membership.

Sue has a studio in Yorkshire where she runs felting workshops. She exhibits fashion textiles and accessories, as well as wall hangings, both nationally in the UK and internationally. She gave much praise to the work she had seen that morning at FeltWest, and encouraged anyone visiting Yorkshire to look her up.

Returning to business at home… One change in the newsletter line-up is the replacement of Lucy Bourne with Antoinette Boyd as the publisher. Thanks to Lucy for all her great work!

The doll project raised $600, which FeltWest donated to the Karakamia wildlife sanctuary in Perth’s eastern hills. There are still some outstanding dolls that have gone AWOL and need to be returned swiftly, please.

With a new injection of donated money, the library at FeltWest has expanded and includes a few fabulous new additions to the collection. A reminder from Lyn, please take care of library items. Individuals are responsible for the items they’ve borrowed from the time they are signed out, until the time they’re signed back in.

The Alice Springs Beanie Festival runs from June 24th until June 27th 2011. This year’s theme is the celebration of the Elements: Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. There are 13 categories that beanies will be judged according to. For more information and to see

the winning designs visit www.beaniefest.org

For those wishing to whip up a scarf to match their beanie, and travel from the Top End (well, more like the centre!) to the Bottom End, the National Wool Museum in Geelong is holding their annual Scarf Festival. Running from the 24th of June until the 21st August, this year’s theme is Rhythm of Life and includes an installation of handcrafted scarves, as well as textile workshops and events, both in Melbourne and Geelong. Find out more at www.nwm.vic.gov.au

Well, with all that business dealt with, it’s time to move on to Toss n Tell to see just what amazing projects people have been working on over the pass three months. It was a spectacular start to the year, I must say.

The bar was set extremely high when Soosie Jobson revealed her breathtaking fan coral piece. One side orange and one side red, this impressive artwork is going to be mounted on a blue-green canvas and hung on a wall in the Jobson house – and a fine statement it will make.

Obviously Soosie was highly motivated during the break, as she was also armed with several long strings of glass beads, fabric and felt. Collectively, these will become a beaded curtain, transforming the doorway between her studio-room and the rest of the house: strings of sushi, glass beads and liquorice allsorts.

Nancy Ballesteros pulled a very serious felting-weapon out of her bag: a “fulling

tool”. This beautifully carved tool looked like a fancy rolling pin – a very solid and heavy instrument used to harden felt, particularly useful when creating robust pieces such as carpets. The instrument comes from Eastern Europe and cost about $130, including postage. Nancy has also been working hard towards creating her new website over the summer break.

Vera Sergeev revealed her exceptionally cute bush creature, that serves both as a hat, as well as a play creature in the childcare centre she works at. Vera says she uses it as a puppet to hide surprises for the

Centre: Soosie Jobson’s fan

coral art piece. Left: Vera

Segeev’s work

toss and tell

February 2011

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children, something that delights them, I am sure.

So many great projects have emerged as a result of Catherine O’Leary’s workshop last year, including Vera’s gorgeous red, grey, pink and purple patterned scarf

Vera also attended Judy Calderwood’s workshop coming away with a beautiful, vibrant, velvety, tree picture that she had created.

Our new member Kate Ryder has been busy beavering away needle felting the cutest wee creatures: an elderly lady’s head, a hedgehog, owl and Samoyed dog.

Both Lindy Frayne and Ai-Lin Chen-Van Leeuwen exhibited beautiful floaty long wraps, created from divine silk fabrics.

Lindy’s wraps were made from silk hand dyed with natural fungus and were very delicate. Both had bands of colour created by panels of wool overlayed onto the silk and sat beautifully when worn.

Ai-Lin’s mustard-coloured tea-rose wrap was admired by all, and received many-an ‘ooh and aah’. Ai-Lin felted the top half of the garment, leaving the remainder free flowing. She created extra definition by bringing the middle-back in with two lovely buttons.

The other wrap from Ai-Lin was created from a fantastically coloured, ice blue piece of Vietnamese silk, layered with dark brown and dark blue wool. The wrap is reversible, with a border of the blue silk peeking through on the dark wool side.

One jacket Ai-Lin did make was of miniature proportions and an ingenious solution to trying to work out how the pattern worked. Instead of wasting great quantities of wool and fabric,

Ai-Lin cleverly decided to make the pattern doll-sized as a sampler.

Ai-Lin had also executed a lovely collar with a bit of razzle-dazzle. She used red fabric on the bottom, silver chiffon beaded fabric on top, overlayed with wool, tied with a chiffon red ribbon. Very glamorous!

A fine collection of accessories was revealed on the day. Gwenda Upton’s stylish black and white clutch purse, lined with black cotton with a big black button on the front; Sue Eslick’s beautiful scarf – fashioned from samples from dye pots used at the natural dyeing day, sewn onto a silk and gauze scarf – and her array of delightfully quirky and colourful hats.

Sue’s scarf used the subtlest of colours, a practice, Sue admitted, that was unusual for her – usually she uses very bright and striking colours. The result, though, was stunning. In contrast, though equally as spectacular, Sue’s hats used a myriad of bold, striking colours and brilliant form. Katrina Virgona’s original black, red and grey handbag created at Lucy Bourne’s handbag workshop

Clockwise from top right: Heather Davis’ rug, hats and scarf by Sue Eslick and Ai-Lin Chen with one of her wraps

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– with a series of curls and curves, this sculptured bag is bound to receive many a compliment when Virginia is sporting it out-and-about, and, finally, Alison Gomes’ most sublime scarves. One of glorious lime wool, scalloped edges and in-filled with large dots (the dots reminding me of the colour and appearance of a river estuary: ribbons of blues, browns, creams and greens). The second scarf had separate panels of orange and olive fabric, interlinked with purple and pink fabric flowers. The scarf was finished with decorative stitching around the flowers and leaves, resulting in a very beautiful and very delicate creation.

Not only were accessories for the body exhibited, there was an array of accessories for the home: Judy Calderwood’s fantastic picture depicting black trees and orange and pink skies, her very Australian brown windmill picture, as well as her beautiful bright red velvet floral pictures Lyn Lukich’s windmill picture (which she created for a ‘dummy run’ for Judy’s workshop); Jill Jodrell’s lovely white moon flower; Beth Klokeid’s fantastic feast of cushions she created through the rug-making technique of ‘hooking’; Heather’s glorious eye-catching yellow, green, orange and blue rug was simply stunning, one of several she created for Christmas gifts (quite the workout from the sound of it!) and lastly Sue Harrington’s two white table runners featuring diagonal black-lined patterns and impressive red poppies in the centre, and her other table runner with ribbons of bush colours: greens, yellows, browns and oranges.

And the final note comes from Judith Shaw, who commended everyone on the exceptional quality of the work produced. A quality, she insisted, that was good enough to professionally exhibit.

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Clockwise from top: Bag by Katrina Virgona, Alison Gomes and Judy

Calderwood

A little note from a new member Sue Clay (UK)

I was so delighted to meet you all: in February. Thank you for making me so welcome.

Reading your magazine from cover to cover I recognised some of you in the pictures. That was great.

I wish I was joining you for the retreat. Do have fun. Also I would have loved the 2 day workshop ‘making patterns for felt garments’

Never mind - a bridge too far to travel!

Work is very busy here, and I have lots of Residencies in Schools and colleges and IFA groups around England in June/July

My FELT LACE and GLITZ workshops for the IFA agm in Yorkshire. last week. were well received.

I manage to dye some of the old lace I bought in Charity shops, and along with a selection of fabulous Indian fabrics from the local market, we had lots of exciting fabrics to work with. I had about 14 members both days. The IFA also were featuring an amazing Felt exhibtion the climate is Changing at the same venue. which is travelling Europe for 2 years. There is an Austalian artist exhibiting (however, not from Perth)

Today I have just completed a Banner commission for a local Musuem who are celebrating their 40th anniversary Phew! it took some doing. It started as a collaborative community project., but ended up on my studio table. Relieved it completed.

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March 2011

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The hall was alive with the sound of felting (minus the Austrian accents and Lederhosen). Most of the floor space was taken with tables and all

the paraphernalia associated with felting, with people working busily on their latest projects. It’s always such a great sight to see!

Sue Eslick opened March’s meeting by introducing new member Kim Gordon to the Feltwest fold, as well as reminding members that places are still available for both Nicole Lawrence’s “Nuno” workshop (2nd April), and SoosieJobson’s“Making Patterns for Felt Garments” workshop, which runs for two days (7th& 8th May). Given the extensive felting experience of both Nicole and Soosie, Feltwesters are sure to learn some new and impressive skills at the workshops.

A reminder for anyone thinking about attending the Retreat: you best hurry if you want to take advantage of the early bird price, and remember, places available are limited.

Cherry Johnston introduced workshops run by Fibres West at The Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School, October 9-15th. Tutors include: Anita Larkin (NSW) “Multiple Resists”; Marianne Little (Vic) “Sculptural Books” and Charlene O’Brien (WA) “Eco-Couture” (natural dyeing, hand felting and embellishing). For more information regarding these and other workshops, please visit the Fibres West website at www.fibreswest.com.au Bunbury Regional Art Galleries is running the exhibition “Unique Perspectives: Two Solo Exhibitions”, between 23 September – 13 November 2011, in partnership with Fibres West 2011. The two exhibitors for 2011 are Helen O’Hare (Ireland) with “Felted Work”, and Jiyoung Chung (USA/Korea) with “Joomchi Paper Works”.

Jan Stroud and Sherron Wake have made private

arrangements for the Craft House hall to be available the first Tuesday of every month for those wishing to have some extra felting time in their lives. Between 9.30 and 3.30, individuals can come along to make use of the facilities. The cost of the hire fee will be divided amongst those attending ($30).

Judith Shaw commenced Toss ‘n’ Tell with a swag of items she’d created from the Easter egg template in the latest newsletter... and not an Easter egg amongst them! Judith ingeniously fashioned three hats and a knitting bag from the one template. Both the multi-coloured pink hat with rosette and adjustable chin-strap, and the Easter-inspired red, gold and blue hat, were made by doubling over the Easter egg to create a two layered hat. For Judith’s blue hat with coloured flecks, she used wool to created the rolled brim, as done in Afghanistan. Her coloured ball and tray-mat were made from scraps of wool and finished with decorative stitching – a cathartic process to help lift the spirit, according to Judith.

Another creator of a fine hat was Ai-Lin Chen Van Leeuwen. Her coral coloured hat had flecks of pink dotted about, and some lovely curves to its architecture, including an asymmetrical brim that came to her chin on one side but above her ear on the other, framing the face beautifully.

Jennifer Blair had made a bundle of scarves for her relatives in Scotland and will be warmly received, I am sure! Including, a beautiful orange scarf featuring big bold green and yellow gumtree blossom; a rich blue nuno scarf with silk frilled border and coloured flower and

Scarves, scarves, scarves… A bountiful display of scarves this sunny March – obviously many preparing for the up-and-coming winter. And how stylish they will look!

Emma Murdoch modelling hat by Judith Shaw, Ai-Lin Chen and Claire Adams modelling her top

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Lindy has recently been making some lovely summer nuno wearables, and won the Wagin Woolarama with

one of these fantastic pieces.

leave design; a bright purple one with splashes of olive and brown wool, and finally, a striking white scarf with two blue flying birds. As well as scarf production, Jennifer had also created five impressive collars for gifts, detailed with gold beads, ribbons, lace, fabric and braiding. Alison Gomes showed two beautiful scarves: one purple silk with curving bands of lime-green, pink and purple that created light gathers along the length of the scarf, giving it a beautiful floaty texture, and the other, a burnt orange one with boxes of earthy colours at each end.

At her inaugural Toss ‘n’ Tell, Kim Gordon presented a rich red scarf nuno felted with circles, and a brown woollen scarf where marbles were used to create flat buttons on one side, and holes on the other – a fabulous feature.

It was necklaces-a-plenty for Cheryl Brigden and Vianne Sleypen. Cheryl’s glorious rainbow of felt balls was very funky and looked smashing on her. Vianne created a multifarious mix of neck-sculptures that were constructed from silk, wool, beads, wire and coral and were just amazing. The ropes of wool and beads can be twisted, bent and re-arranged to alter the appearance of how it is worn… moving works of art.

Claire‘s fabulous halter top had a turquoise wool bodice that was overlayed with a delicate silk ‘skirt’, with circles of blue and gold on both the wool and silk, giving it real interest. The halter part of the top was made from a thick rope of turquoise wool with a ball at each end threaded through ‘button holes’ on the garment.

Both Jill Jodrell and Antoinette Boyd had cushions to show: Antoinette’s for the home and Jill’s for the hobby. Jill’s turquoise pin-cushions were made with a resist and then needle felted to keep their shape. The colour and shape of them were lovely.

The affect of the little ‘anemone’ features on Antoinette’s black and red cushion was achieved by using marbles in the felting process. The black and white panel she made also reminded me of lovely sea anemones – this time the texture was created by sewing soya beans under white lace, overlayed on black wool. Both were exceptionally effective.

And finally Kate Ryder’s very, very cute white needle-felted Samoyed dog, which received many a compliment.

Top right clockwise: Kate Ryder’s Samoyed dog, Scarves and beaded collars by by

Jennifer Blair, neck piece by Vianne Sleypen, scarves by Alison Gomes and cushion and

panel by Antoinette Boyd

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toss and tell

April 2011

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Anyone would’ve thought with temperatures in the mid-30’s, that this month’s Toss n Tell was in February, not half way through April. Blimey it was hot! Thankfully

the sea breeze kicked in to cool things down a bit. Still, the heat didn’t stop the Linda McEwan and Sue, a couple of visitors popping in to see what Feltwest was all about.

With the final call for those wishing to exhibit their felt in the up-and-coming Craft and Quilt Fair, Sue explained the fair is namely about demonstrations, rather than sales, but individuals can opt to sell if they wish. FeltWest will be demonstrating how to make felt flowers.

With many a member attending Nicole Lawrence’s ‘Nuno’ workshop at the start of the month, it was accessories galore this sunny April. And glorious ones, at that!

Maureen Hill’s pale olive green and bright pink neckpiece received much adulation. Constructed from series of felt strips bordered with silk frills, interconnected with knots and ties, the resulting piece was light and floaty and just gorgeous. As was Maureen’s beautiful rich purple and pink wrist cuff, which also had silken frills and a felt tie.

Another gorgeous wrist cuff was the creation of Kelly Comber. This time the silk frills were teal blue, and the felt panel shades of gold and the palest blue, giving the cuff the appearance of the sea.

Alison Gomes, another attendee of Nicole Lawrence’s workshop, produced couple of lovely green and purple scarflettes (not an actual word, I know, but one I felt would describe a mini-scarf!), as well as an olive and pink wrist band with dreadlocks up each side. Alison said that the pieces she made shrunk a lot more than

Left from top to bottom: Pieces from Nicole Lawrence’s workshop by Alison Gomes, (next two) Maureen Hill, Kelly Comber and Vianne Sleypen. Tea cosy by Judy Barkla

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she anticipated, due to the exceptionally fine laying of the wool onto silk.

From those who attended the workshop, to those who created other adornments for the body….

Soosie Jobson showed her boldly coloured “Floods Aren’t Blue” piece; the cape she made several years ago, and the first large project she created. Once felted, Soosie machine stitched and hand embroided to finish it off.

With her Beanie Festival entrant, a very pale blue hat with concertina-type folds, Heather Davis said that it represented the Element of Water.

Carmen Tyrer’s fabulous chocolate-brown collar will keep her neck nice and toasty this coming winter, and will look very stylish as well.

Lindy Frayne’s prize winning, desert coloured long silk top was just glorious. With bands of brown and cream, and a ruffle around the knees, the garment tied loosely around the décolletage and had two shell buttons.

With another silk garment, Ai-Lin Chen Van Leeuwen modelled her dark olive and green sari which she lightly felted at the top, leaving the remainder free flowing.

Top: Neck piece by Carmen Tyrer, Joan Sheppard’s

first piece of felting, wrap and vest by Judy Barkla

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Ai-Lin also showed the very impressive hat she created from Vianne Sleypen’s pattern. A combination of dark blue, light blue and burnt red wool on the outside, and lined with the same burnt red on the inside.

The hat was finished with decorative straight stitching around crown and the expansive top of the hat was folded over and pinned at the side with a button, giving it a series of lovely folds and an interesting shape (modelled on back cover by Vianne).

The other hat shown this Toss n Tell was Sue Eslick’s very bright and very joyful yellow Souwester hat with affixed green frogs. Also to be shown at the Alice Springs Beanie Festival, Sue said she wanted to recreate the old yellow rain hat of her childhood, therefore representing the Element of Water.

The only handbag this month was the work of Noreen Willcocks. A dark brown rectangular wool body, with a panel of light brown and dark green fabric trimmed with olive green braiding, and a rolled woollen lime green and brown handle. The final result, a very smart looking bag.

I am talking about the couple of bathmats she created. These very amusing, and cleverly constructed, bathroom mats are made from brown wool, each one depicting two silvery brown fish in the middle of them.

Judy Barkla bought with her three fantastic felt pieces: a very cute pinky-green tea cosy with a scattering of orange, pink and purple flowers and felt marbles; a muti-coloured long waistcoat with olive green silk panels and buttons at the front and finally, a large coloured wrap to keep away the chill-factor this winter.

For the home, Robin Groom decided she would like to jazz up a brown cushion by creating a lovely eucalyptus blossom and gumnut picture, detailed with hand embroidery, using a silk hanky and alpaca wool.

Marie Marshall felt she needed to brighten her table with some mats to complement her newly acquired lounge suite.

Six individual circles of bright blue, red, yellow, orange and purple, Marie’s placemats will add some colour to her home during the grey old winter months.

Noreen has two enormous feet! No, that’s not me being rude about the size of her feet!

Lindy Frayne models her prize winning garment, felted scarf and Marie Marshall’s colourful table mats

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Joan Sheppards’ apricot and purple sampler was the first-ever bit of felting Joan had put her hands to, and I am sure Joan will look at it with pride. The purple flower she created in one corner, finished the piece off nicely.

The final two pieces came from Vianne Sleypen and Kate Ryder. Vianne named her grey, white and red sculptural artworks ‘Woozles’ and Kate’s new addition to the world of needle felted animals, was her super-cute Saint Bernard and guinea pig.

Top clockwise: Vianne Sleypen’s woozles, Kate Ryders Saint Bernard and guinea pig, flower

making demonstration from Judi Barkla and Judy Barkla modelling her vest

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kalgoorlie feltmakersRuth Koedyk

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I’m starting on the long trip home from Bunbury to Kalgoorlie and with the prospect of a seven hour

journey ahead of me I settle down to enjoy the passing countryside, relishing the knowledge that there’s hours ahead of uninterrupted thinking time!

I’m remembering how my personal journey with felt began with a visit in 2009 from Louise Snook who taught a small group of Visual Art students the basics of felt making. I made a pair of red boots of which I was immensely proud! Conscious that ‘felt making is easy to learn but hard to perfect,’ I’ve launched out and held introductory workshops for children’s school holiday programs, high school students and our neighbouring art group in Kambalda. I’ve also created felt works for a couple of local exhibitions.

There are probably many felting folk out in our community and I begin thinking of how they could be reached. One inspirational person is Kaye Louwen who holds classes to pass on her passion for nuno felted scarves. Kaye says that learning about nuno felting opened

her eyes to felt’s versatility and the light and airy effects of wool on silk and silk on wool. Her beautiful hand dyed scarves are certainly a testament to her love of the medium.

As the landscape changes from hilly green pasture to tall trees flickering past in the low morning sun then opening onto land dotted with grey sheep grazing in dry grey paddocks, I ponder the need for a felt making group in Kalgoorlie. Having just attended Soosie Jobson’s two day garment making workshop I am buzzing with all the new information and stimulation that working with a group of fellow artists can generate. Soosie’s encouragement, supportive knowledge and advice now comes to mind.

“My patchy fibre layers were looking like this landscape” I muse.

“If holes appear fill with a button, a patch, some imaginative stitching!” Yes, I’ll start a felting group, somewhere to get together with others to share our knowledge, work and ideas. “Thanks Felt West, you’re a real inspiration!”

Ah here come the beautiful eucalypts of the semi arid Goldfields Woodlands National Park. The day has brightened and the salmon gums gleam pink and red in the sunlight. Only a couple of hundred kilometres now before I’m home. Can’t wait to finish my garment and make a start on my new idea.“Worry Dolls” was my entry to the 2010

City of Kalgoorlie Boulder Art Prize.“Stuffed” was my recent entry to the

2011 ‘Food For Thought’ exhibition at the Goldfields Art Centre this April/May.

Red boots by Ruth and scarves by Kate Louwen

“UFO’s, Unidentified Opportunities!” is Soosie’s bright response to cheer me up.

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workshopBags with Lucy Bourne

March 2011

All participants eagerly poured over the wonderful sample bags Lucy’s had brought along with her. Lucy apologised for the limited number of bags

brought, as most of her recent work sold at last year’s Fremantle bazaar and I am not surprised, the bags were gorgeous. The most impressive design feature were the little pockets tucked away inside the bag, in particular the mobile phone pocket discretely inserted inside the bag and accessible from outside the bag.

Lucy used two types of pocket. The patch pocket which could be placed in or outside the bag was constructed by covering the resist with the desired amount of layers of wool then placing it on to the selected location on the bag.

The pouch pocket is an interior pocket made by sticking the pocket resist onto the bag resist by the top of the resist only. This is then covered both sides with the desired amount of layers of wool and covered with glad wrap to prevent it from felting to the sides during rolling. The resist could then be removed easily when the bag resist is removed. The end result is a discreet opening on the outside of the bag with an interior pocket. A little felted cord could be added before felting just above the opening, with a button sewn on it, making a great way to keep the pouch pocket secure. This pocket is a great idea for mobile phones, as you no longer need to rummage around in your bag trying to find that ringing phone. I think everyone’s bag design included a pouch pocket.

A considerable amount of time was spent in the design phase, one of the most important processes in felting, and one that admittedly I spent far too little time on. One day it will sink in. We spent time considering the functionality of our bags. From this exercise we determined the size and shape, how long the strap(s) was to be and if it/they were to be felted onto the bag or attached by some other means later. Other considerations included the opening of the bag and whether there was going to be a flap or press stud at the entrance (for the more adventurous a zip). Looking inside the bag, we then considered if we wanted interior pockets or any other design features that needed to be added before felting, rather than being stitched later.

A practical suggestion from Lucy was to always consider the function of each design feature and when it was to be incorporated.

Functionality considered, we moved on to the aesthetics of the bag. How gorgeous our bags would look. This included colour combinations, incorporation of fabric or yarns and whether we wanted to include pictures or patterns.

With heads full, everyone was sent off to begin measuring for size. One of the hardest things for most of us to get our heads around was the initial size of our resist. Lucy explained the importance of achieving 50% shrinkage on our felted piece giving it more strength and reducing pilling. Admittedly, I’ve never shrunk something to 50% so my 1m2 resist looked rather too large for a bag. Each of us felt even more unsure when what we imagined as little interior pockets measured up to by rather sizable resists.

But under Lucy’s assurance we soldiered on. Laying out the wool was a long process and I think next time I would consider some wool batts, though you may be limited on colour selection. Some of Lucy’s bags were made with corriedale for extra strength. A handy hint was to place the resist on a sheet of plastic large enough

to be able to wrap over the top of the resist as well. As some pieces can start quite large this makes it easy to flip over.

No one managed to finish their work, which is not surprising considering the size of some. But Lucy very generously opened herself to any phone calls further down the track if any of us needed the assistance. I finished my piece the next day and ended up with a few whoopsies.

My piece was longer than anticipated (probably due to my rolling) but I had placed my interior pockets to high so I had very little room to cut it back to a better length. I had also incorporated an old silk scarf which had a tassel on the end. My plan was to leave the tassel flowing free at the bottom of the bag. However I also wanted to sew the bottom corners of the bag to give it a flat bottom rather than an envelope style. When laying down the scarf I did not consider this and laid it so the tassels hung down over the bottom of the bag. The end result was that I lost the corner tassels when it was sewn and most of the others ended up forming the flat bottom of the bag.

Like Lucy said, the initial design phase is everything.

Terina Adams

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workshopNuno with Nicole Lawrence

April 2011

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On Saturday, the 5th of April, an eager group of felters set off on a nuno felting journey with Nicole Lawrence.

For those not yet familiar with Nicole’s work, she creates beautiful pieces – both small and large – of the softest, wearable felt accessories. For our workshop, Nicole would be concentrating on nuno techniques.

The day began with Nicole giving us a demonstration on how she creates her bohemian bracelets and neckpieces.

These colourful concoctions, made with little scraps of tissue silk, small amounts of wool tops and some silk textured waste, seemed to come together in no time yet were very pretty.

And because they usually began as a long narrow piece, they could be worn in a variety of ways... as neckwear, wrapped around a wrist, a headscarf or a belt... wound around, knotted and tied, shortened, joined together for length, etc. Virtually anywhere and any way you might think of.

With all this inspiration, we went off to start on our own pieces.

Nicole had very thoughtfully brought along a stash of wool tops, tissue silks and some silk fibres for sale, in an array of lovely colours for those of us who were in need of these for the day.

After lunch we were treated to a second demonstration, this time of a larger piece, with Nicole talking us through her design process, and how it usually isn’t pre-planned, but rather comes together as she works.

Overall it was a lovely day experimenting with some new, some familiar nuno techniques, and the results were beautiful and delicate pieces of Nicole-inspired nuno felt.

Alison Gomes

This is just a quick note to thank Nicole for a most inspiring workshop for nuno felting. I joined Feltwest last year and came to a beginner’s afternoon, then attended the rug workshop. I am very much a novice felter and as I live in Toodyay,

I find it difficult to attend Toss n Tell. I have alpacas and llamas and mainly felt and spin their fleeces as obviously I have them at hand. I have fallen in love with Nuno and can’t wait for more workshops to learn more.

Jan Manning (Toodyay)

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toss and tell

November 2o10Making Patterns for Garments with Soosie JobsonMay 2011

workshop

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Please Miss, my brain hurts!You know your teacher is determined when you get an email a month ahead outlining the weekend workshop, and another email a week ahead, to make sure we’ll come with our felt samples done.

And came with samples we did – including faraway members, Ruth Koedyk from Kalgoorlie, and Cheryl Armstrong from Cranbrook, near Albany.

“In order to draw a template that will fit you, you have to get your shrinkage rate right,” insisted Soosie Jobson, who led the pattern making for (seamless) felt garments workshop.

Working in pairs, we measured each other, divided numbers, multiplied numbers, taped endless bits of insulation sheets together, scratched our heads, got black texta marks all over our hands and face – but we all managed to draw ourselves at least one template to make a seamless garment.

Some of us just keep on drawing more templates. Others proceeded more cautiously by making Mini-Me’s, ie a mini version of our intended project to make sure that our template was correct, and details like collars were going to work as we intended.

Throwing caution to the wind, Nicole Lawrence and Ruth K launched into laying out their garments on the second day.

It was fantastic to have the group doing all sorts of different things. It allowed Soosie to call us together every now and then to illustrate a point, whether it be how to felt a large project on just one trestle (by rolling it up as you go), how to design the additional ‘fin’ for lapels and collars, or how to fold the wool over edges without getting a ridge of thick wool.

Thanks to Soosie’s fantastic technical expertise, experience and ability to explain things (again and again and again), we all got our heads around template making.Chatting among ourselves, we agreed the key things we

learnt from the workshop were:

• Always make a sample – in the exact way you intend to felt your garment

• Worthwhile making a Mini-Me, if unsure. Don’t rush into the project

• Check your measurements – then check them again

Despite our brains hurting, by the end of the workshop, we were all confidant that we had a good understanding

of making patterns for felt garments.

Thank you Soosie for a wonderful workshop, which was amazingly fun and full of laughs and mucking around, despite the hard work!

Ai-Lin Chen

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A note on workshop registration procedureIf you have sent in your form and payment, you can safely assume you are enrolled.

You will be notified immediately if the class is too full, and your payment will be returned to you. You will not receive confirmation of your booking.

A workshop requirement list will be sent out one week prior to the class.

Please make sure your email address is clearly marked on the registration form.

If you have not received a materials list (check your junk box) by the Wednesday before the class, you should contact Lindy and request one.

Mad Hatter Workshop with Sue EslickAugust 6

upcoming workshopsCosy Felt Slippers with Judith Shaw

July 2

If you have been wondering about he following questions, then this workshop is for you:

• How do I get rid of those ridges to make a nice round hat?

• How do I shape a hat to fit my head?

• How do I make a rim?

• How do I make those crazy hats with folds, tucks and dangly bits?

The workshop is suitable for people who have mastered making flat felt but want to know how to make hats in different shapes and designs using a template as a resist.

We will learn how to felt around a resist to make a long felt hat, then shrink it to fit and fold and pleat it to your design.

Handmade felt slippers are a luxury your feet deserve!

We will make a pattern based on the sole of your shoe.

Students should have some experience with using a resist and be prepared to do final finishing at home if necessary.

Any well prepared felting wool is suitable but top or sliver is recommended. Depending on the slipper style chosen you may need 150 to 250gram for basic scuffs to low boots.

Guidance will be given in adjusting patterns to create various styles. Detailed “What to Bring to Class” notes will be supplied to those who enrol.

Then look forward to the bliss of a well felted sole! Students are welcome to call me on 94475659 for further advice.

This workshop is for those of you who love hats and want to learn how go about making them.

charlotte buchSoft, light and delicate, multi-functional felt clothing

September 10,11 and September 13,14,15

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2 day course September 10th & 11th Saturday and Sunday

Wembley Downs Scout Hall

Cost: $220

On this two day course, I’ll introduce you to some very simple models that can be used in many different ways.

Are you most concerned about the design process with colours and fibres and the many opportunities it provides for the decoration and surface texture. Then this course could be something for you.

We will work with many different combinations of materials, which you can then mix to your personal expression. We will work with silk fibres, merino tops, merino needlefelt, and silk fabrics.

On the course it will be possible to make one great project.

3 day course September 13th, 14th & 15th Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday

Wembley Downs Scout Hall

Cost: $330

On this three day course, I will explain the many different ways to create / design a clothing so everyone gets a palette of techniques and opportunities to experiment even further after the course. Depending on the expression / design you want to do, some techniques may be better suited than others, that we will review then look at the benefits of having the various techniques available.

• We will work with dress patterns and pattern magnification

• Simple multi-functional coatings

• Techniques for textures and patterns on clothing

On the course it will be possible to make one great project.

Residential workshop with Charlotte Buch

Expressions of interest are also being taken for a 4 day retreat, all the above will be taught and a greater opportunity to create wonderful finished projects. Please fill in the enclosed form or contact Lindy Frayne directly with your interest.

Current estimated cost for four days accommodation and workshop is $670

upcoming workshops charlotte buch

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programme 2011F

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DATe AcTiviTy TuToR

June 2-5 Retreat

June 18 Toss and Tell Demo Working with Raw Fleece Judith Shaw

July 2 Slipper Workshop Judith Shaw

July 16 Toss and Tell Demo Resist Flowers Heather/Lindy

August 6 Hat Workshop Sue Eslick

August 20 Toss and Tell* AGM

September 3 3D Sculptural Felt Tanya Peters

September 9 Charlotte Buch Slideshow September 10,11 Two day workshop Charlotte Buch September 13,14,15 Three day workshop Charlotte Buch

September 17 Toss and Tell Demo Sushi Rolls Jyah Gage

October 1 Natural Dye Workshop Lindy/Judi

October 15 Toss and Tell Group project Lucy Bourne

October 17/18 Artistic Scupltural Hat Workshop Anita Larkin

November 5 Felt Jewellery Workshop Katrina Virgona

November 19 Toss and Tell Christmas party

Sue Eslick, President2 Shakespeare Street, Leederville WA 6007P. 9444 1067 e. hobbes2@iinet.net.au

Virginia Campbell, Vice President62 Goldsmith Road, Dalkeith 6009P: 0416 264 175 e. vcam1917@optusnet.com.au

Alison Gomes, Secretary6 Stenton Crescent, Leeming 6149P. 9332 0900

Jude Newman, Treasurer 8 Ballater Heights, Bibra Lake 6163 P. 9337 1241 e. lbjnewman@iinet.net.au

Sue Harrington, Membership Secretary34A Holland Street, Fremantle 6160P. 9335 5182

Heather Davis, Newsletter Editor265 Pickering Brook Road, Pickering Brook 6076P: 9293 7015 e. colourfulheather@gmail.com

Lindy Frayne, Workshop Co-ordinator16 Long Street, Beaconsfield 6162P: 9337 4069 e. lindyfrayne@hotmail.com

Tanya Peters, CommitteePO Box 438, Willeton, 6955P: 9457 0331 e. tanya_anthony_peters@yahoo.com

Jo-Anne Saunt, Committee3 Tipperary Mews, Subiaco 6008P: 9381 8174 e. jo@medelect.com

Louise Nidorf, Committee32 Melrose Crescent, Menora WA 6050P: 9271 1235 e. lnidorf@gmail.com

Antoinette Boyd, Newsletter Publisher67 Tamar Street, Palmyra 6157P: 9438 3402 e. jamant@iinet.net.au

*Treetops wool shop will be available these days. Lindy Frayne will be selling a selection of silk fabric and fibre at each toss n tell.

2011

contacts

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toss and tell

November 2o10

billboard and weblinks

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FibresWest 2011October 9-15 www.fibreswest.com.au Fibres West is proud to present its seventh residential event, to be held in the scenic and relaxing natural environment of the Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School Western Australia.

This is a fantastic opportunity to participate in one of ten workshops with renowned Australian and International textile and fibre tutors. Download a brochure from the website, or contact Convenor Iris Whitelock info@fibreswest.com.au

Bunbury Regional Art Galleries 23 September – 13 November 201In partnership with Fibres West 2011, presents UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES: TWO SOLO EXHIBITIONS – Felted work by Helen O’Hare (Ireland), and Joomchi Paper Works by Jiyoung Chung (USA/Korea).

Brilliant, expressive, inspiring work representing the diversity of textile and fibre art across the world. (Both Helen O’Hare and Jiyoung Chung are tutors at the Geelong Fibre Forum in October 2011)

Goomalling Art Awards 17-25 September 2011 Humble Fibres Vivid Creations Historic Slater Homestead, Goomalling, WAArtisans are invited, using fibres of their choice, to explore the theme of humble fibres, vivid creations and how it inspires them.

Entries close Friday 12 August

Details and entry forms available at www.goomalling.wa.gov.au/events/hfvc

For more info contact Cathy Jensen 0427 634 047 yowera@bigpond.com

WENDY LUGG exhibits at the State Library of Western Australia to July 10, 2011An exhibition titled Mapping Memory – an exhibition of family history. Every family has stories to tell, and each story is an important part of Western Australian heritage.

Artist Wendy Lugg, resident artist with the Royal Western Australian Historical Society, has explored the collections of both the Society and the State Library of Western Australia for stories that resonate with her own family memories.

Entry to the State Library is free; exhibition open during State Library opening hours.

www.jarmolowska.decoart.plbeautiful nuno wearables

www.clairederuiter.co.ukvisual artist and feltmaker

www.etsy.com/shop/GrazimGorgeous felt slippers galore!

www.etsy.com/shop/AleksandrabWiniarskaFunky felt jewellery and scarves

www.etsy.com/shop/giiaindustrial felt necklaces

www.lenefrantzen.comfelt slices-interesting interior design and jewellery

www.andrea-graham.comearthy felt pods (pictured below)

www.kietsustudios.comfelt rugs and homewares, all natural colours and WA

www.etsy.com/shop/TianaCHEBeautiful boleros, shrugs, capes.

webl

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