The challenge these days is staying awake as I've returned to nursing full time and am working third shift. It's HARD!...very, very hard. My body is all messed up and my mind even more so. My morning is when most folks are heading off to bed and my nights are when everyone else is awakening to start their days. I have coffee at night and a glass of wine in the morning. Does this sound crazy to anyone besides me? Then when I get a day off, I have to flip back around to being a day person. I am totally fatigued and more confused all the time! But, we do what we gotta do and stand thankful for the work.
This past July I picked up some lovely polka dot tulle and used it in this black hat that has sari silk, synthetic organza, and the tulle. For as long as I've been teaching nuno one of the common phrases is that if you can blow through it, you can use it. Well....the tulle should have been a given a long time ago. I've since been collecting bridal and gown materials, some with sequins, beads, wonderful metallic threads, etc....if fact, the more the better. Gives the finished product the appearance of a lot more work that what was actually done. I am not one to sew, beading eludes me, but if it is the fabric that I apply to the felt is already beaded and sequenced...I am delighted!
I did learn some valuable lessons along the experimental way.
One this green hat, the black tulle almost overwhelms the sari
and the hat. There are three pieces on it and it looks okay, but
I think it would have looked better if the same color wool was
under it so the the dots showed up, not the tulle or netting.
So with that knowledge...
I made this black and grey hat....and the netting does not show up to the casual passerby. The texture with the tulle changes the felt a bit, makes it firmer, and in some cases a bit more bump-ally. (new word!)
It also changes the way in which the felt shrinks if the hat is not covered with the netting. It's a goodly amount of experimenting, but I think the end results are well worth it
This hat has tons of sequins and lovely metallic threads. Because I used two colors of wool, the blending of those colors through the felting process "hid" the tulle nicely.
With the white hat, the netting was all white and all that remains on the surface is the design of the sequins, beads and polka dots. It turned out pretty nice and I think that it will simply sparkle on a cold winter day or evening.
I am going to encourage you to get to your local thrift stores and buy up those gaudy dresses with the beads and sequence all over them. Way too fun!
I am also making as many of these bird pods as I can. I love, love, love working with this shape and the Finn Wool. It is just an amazingly wonderful felting, sculpting wool. In fact, so much so that I am now selling it in my etsy shop. (see side bar)
I leave you with these:
Heavy sequins
LOTS of bead work! (felts in beautifully)
Sequins with flowers!
more sequins and flowers.
Felt Happy!
Shalom,
Suzanne
