Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Fiber Felting Fun!!

At the request of my brother I designed this bag for his wife...the only instruction I had was not to use purple (Helen doesn't like this colour)...other than that it was up to me. I decided on the colour combo then came up with a wee sketch.

(I do plan to put up a free pattern for this-or at least the basics of it's make-up on this here blog..very soon)

My initial intention had been to work it in intarsia but after plotting it on graph paper and a test run on a swatch which involved a lot of cursing at all the loose ends I had to take a different approach! (Me and intarsia not so compatible)!



After flicking through the wonderful Felted Knits by Beverley Galsakas I was reminded of needle felting..aha...the answer! I'd never actually done any before so again I had a wee practice first and was utterly convinced it was the way to go! It's like drawing on a felted canvas....so brilliant...and I love how it adds texture and layers to the finished piece. So I limited the intarsia to just the orange center circle (although I'm not thrilled with how that bit came out-a tad too stair-steppy around the circumference)....and then needle felted to my heart's content....oh so much fun......stabbing away (into a piece of foam).....if you've never done this I highly recommend it!


Did you notice the design is diferent on each side?

Sadly I have to say goodbye to it (it leaves for New Zealand tomorrow) but I know it goes to a good home.....and because my sister-in-law is a friend of the small furry creatures (rabbits in particular) I threw in this little guy (great pattern here and more variations on Ravelry).


(BTW Helen has been explicitly told not to visit my blog until she receives a package from me....so mean, I know)!




12 comments:

Lise aka Pindsvinet said...

It's amazingly beautiful. Looking forward to the instructions.

Laughton and Patricia Johnston said...

Maybe you should have gone to Art College! How do you do it?

Connie said...

What a lucky sister in law you have. She's going to love both the bag and the bunny surprise! :)

Romi said...

WOW! What a fabulous bag! Awesome work. :)

marit said...

Love it! Needlefelting is so much fun. Your SIL is lucky:-)

Beth Armstrong said...

As Dad said - perhaps you have found your true vocation - Artist! It's absolutely beautiful Gudrun and sounds like it was fun to make although I'm not sure if I would have the patience! Looking forward to seeing what else you come up with...xxxx

Just call me Ruby said...

The bag is beautiful - the needle felting creates a lovely effect. A truly special gift. I love the bunny too.

Anonymous said...

gorgeous bag. i've missed visiting your site and ooohing and aaaahing at everything you create. our computer died and then we were so busy we didn't have time to do anything about it. it's good to be back. i have knitting envy again.

James McLauchlan Johnston said...

Wicked good sis. The bunny is, of course, a masterstroke. It will have pride of place in our new Kiwi home!

Anonymous said...

Helen is going to love this! What a star sister-in-law you are! As well as a very gifted, creative and industrious artist.

Anonymous said...

great felted bag! although how can someone not like purple.

what a great idea to use needle felting instead of intarsia.

Helen said...

As the very very very blown away sister-in-law I can tell you this bag is fantastic!!! And the bunny- who looks deep in thought - was a great wee surprise. I do like my bunnies.
I've used it loads already and it's a great size, not to big, not too small, easily fits a newspaper and a pair flip-flops. Ideal for kiwi living!