Hello and welcome to 2022 and the first week of January. This year I want to build on what I have learnt so far in 2021 and build on it to turn my hobby into a little business that I can be proud of.
The year has started off really well as I have heard from Isobel Knight who is part owner (along with the daughter Jo) of Bee and Bear Gallery. I met Isobel at a Craft Fair in Aston On Trent in the Autumn and she said she was looking to open a shop in early 2022. Her and her daughter Jo wanted to take over an empty shop (based in Castle Donnington) and start a new venture as a gallery, shop and a place to have craft classes. She has the keys for the shop now and is hoping to open in Mid February and has asked if I would put some of my little pictures in their shop! I am very excited and am working towards making about six and see how they go.
I have also bought a 'felting machine' to enhance my work and take it to the next level.
What is a felting machine I hear to ask??
Over the past few years the art of felting (that is using the fleece from sheep before it has been spun to add to fabric and create 3D objects or designs). has become very popular. To turn the fleece into the finished article you have to stab it with a barbed needle! - sounds fun ...... The barbs on the needle force the fibres together enabling them to stick together. You can buy single needles or a group of about 5 needles that makes the work a little quicker. I can do it but find it rather tedious until I discovered a sewing machine that has turned ito a felting machine!
One of the Tutor's from College brought hers in so we could have a go, we used a background fabric and then added small pieces of other fabrics over the top, put them under the group of needles and pressed down on the foot! Oh my goodness - this was my answer, I loved the process, no needles stuck into my fingers and so much quicker than being done by hand.
To buy a new machine is about £300 and I had put it to the back of my mind, then just before Christmas I was at a Craft Fair and one of the ladies said she wanted to sell hers as it had hardly been used and she didn't get on with it. We agreed a price and hey presto I had my very own felting machine.
I have used it for the first time today to create my 'Poppies at Sunset' little picture. I already had some 'rovings' they are small pieces of coloured fleece and decided to have a go at felting the fields infront of the hills. The result was amazing, it gives a wonderful background to the picture and adds depth and intrest.
The picture is a field full of poppies with the sun going down behind the hills and turning the sky a wonderful yellow colour. The clouds have also turned a pretty shade of pinky purple. I found a photograph I had taken a couple of years ago and this is where I got my inspiration from.
I am sat here patiently waiting for a new six inch hoop to arrive so I can work on the front part of the poppy picture. I will post a picture once it is complete.
Happy Monday!