Productive Waiting & Textile Design Inspiration from Nature

If you are a follower of my Instagram feed, you may already have seen the creative flurry happening at our house this week. I'm not sure if I've mentioned that NP and I are expecting our first child - in fact the mystery person was due last Friday! It's times liked these when I thank my lucky stars that I can fill my time with making and napping very happily. I've even been able to squeeze in some work for my Masters of design remarkably.

The Moreton Bay fig fruit seem to encapsulate the storing of memory, patiently waiting to drop from their home in the sky after a storm or strong wind. Seeds are released and awakened, just as memory can with the right triggers.

So far I have used them to naturally dye silk and wool, resulting in a beautifully soft neutral tones. Their rounded forms have been translated into bulbous felted textile pieces. The magnificent tones are the basis of a new colour palette.

And now a watercolour repeat design has emerged...

Thank you fig fruit - you are marvellous distraction.

 

Drum Roll for the Felt Ball Rug!

Slightly embarrassingly, I started making this Felt Ball Rug two years ago. Two years? Yes. Two years. November 2010. You might remember this post mid-way through the making... No? Well, neither do I... that was one year ago. A lot happens in one year... and a lot of nothing happens in one year, particularly when one has the habit of stopping and starting projects willy-nilly.

When I purchased 8000 felt balls, this kind of rug was a rarity. I think Anthropologie had a nice looking one out last year... but now... I see them everywhere! Not quite the same as mine, but still.

Never-the-less, I am proud to announce that I am literally days away from finishing this guy up. Just a few more stitches and this rug will be ready to adorn our living room. I must admit that it's only two-thirds the size that I had originally planned (thank-you to my sister who pointed out there was no way a bigger rug was going to work in said room). But despite this small change, I'm quite happy with how it is looking.

From the above photo you might thing that Wilton just loves sitting a top of these balls. The reality is, since he ate, digested and pooped one of the balls out, he's steered clear of the rug and was forced to sit on it for the photo shoot.

Speaking of photos, my marvellous sister Hannah took all of the above. She is super talented and very generous to make time to take shots of my work. I'm going to invite her back once it is all done and dusted for a final capture of TWO YEARS of procrastination and a bit of stitching results in.

Koskela Festive Felt Workshop hosted by Feeling Fuzzy!

Hi there! I'm writing from Singapore where NP and I are wrapping up a very demanding holiday... the eating and relaxing really has to stop!

I have some exciting news... I'm very happy to announce my Festive Felt Workshop taking place at the end of November at Sydney's Koskela space (one of my favorite places to visit).

The workshop is open to both kids and adults for felt-making fun. We'll be stringing and decorating felt-ball garlands and rubbing and rolling Christmas Bon-Bon's to fill with your choice of treats. Perfect little presents for your friends and family.

If you have been wondering about felt-making this is a great introduction to wet-felting. It's a little less delicate than needle-felting, which is why I prefer this method. The merino fleece has a mind of it's own and happy mistakes lead to lovely soft pieces.

I hope you can join me for this fun day - spread the word if you know anyone that might be interested.

x Emma

Workshop Details

Sunday, 25th November :: 10.30 – 12.30 / ALL AGES

Cost: $60.00: all materials provided

TO BOOK: info@koskela.com.au / or / (02) 9280 0999

85 Dunning Ave

Rosebery NSW 2018

 

 

 

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COFA Exhibition Announcement: Art, Design, Textiles, Sculpture, Ceramics and More!

In two weeks I will be showing my work in progress at the COFA Half-A-Desk group show. It is the first time my small samples of felt and small drawings will be shown outside of my studio in the flesh.
It's also a great chance to see the work that goes on at The College of Fine Arts as there will be 59 other students with half a desk to fill with their creations.

Consider this your official invitation. Hope to see you there!

This is my job now. Really.

A day at last to start making again. My fingers have been itching. It has been a few years since I have thought to make pieces of felt... just like riding a bike. Came back to me right away!

(Chocolate & Chai helped the process immensely, as they generally do.)

Making a Felt Ball Rug, Slowly.

Last November I made the grand purchase of 8000 felt balls from a very industrious Etsy Seller.

I'm sure like me you've seen those nice squishy Felt Ball Rugs in catalogues this year?

I thought making my own would be a fun project for the house. Almost 10 months later and I'm proud to say I'm half way through threading my 8000 balls into a rug that when I put down on the living room floor NO ONE will be allowed to tread, lie, roll or touch. Practical, huh!?

It's been a bit of an ordeal, though I find the process once I have a spare hour or two quite cathartic, something like the action of Rosary Beads, though I guess I'm praying to the felt god to get me through this one!

I just popped over to the Hay Studio site to see there Pinocchio Rug, and looks like they've come up with some nice new designs too...

Photo 1: Taken by E Peters.
Photos 2-4: From the Hay Studio Website.

Oh! Cat-Rabbit!

I've sent my Mum on a wild goose chase... last week when visiting her in the Southern Highlands we stopped by the Pop Up Co Op in Bowral. I'd been reading such good things about this little store in numerous blogs and was reminded by a few friends with very good taste to go take a look.

While perusing the goods we spotted a little fellow made by Cat Rabbit . I left behind the little fox-boy and have had deep regret ever since. After tossing and turning all night I rang my Mum in a panic, requesting that she go straight to the store to acquire said fox-boy for me! Alas, he may have been purchased, or put in a box ready for the Pop Up's move to another space, but I still have hope. Fox-boy and I are meant to be.

Please enjoy the following images, found along with lots of others at Cat Rabbit's Flickr page...

P.S. I was intrigued to hear that Cat Rabbit collaborates with Ghost Patrol, and you know how much Yumi and I love Ghost Patrol!

Just resting my eyes...

My mum used to tell me she was "just resting her eyes" when I was little and she was trying to catch up on some much needed sleep. I remember trying to prise her lids open with my little fingers... I often wonder how in the world she coped with this kind of action.

So let's just say that this has been the case for the past couple of months for this little blog and pretend that I never really left you behind. I hope just a little bit that you may have missed me?

As a peace offering I have just placed 5 of my home-made Learn-To-Felt kits on the Feeling Fuzzy? Etsy Shop at the special price of AUS$5 + Postage (US$4.70 at the moment). They could make lovely gifts for crafty friends and family perhaps? They usually retail for $15 so I hope this makes my disappearing act up to all of you!

New friends...

We've just added our finger-puppet friends to our etsy shop - we hope you love them as much as we do! It's quite hard to part with them (their little faces look just a little bit nervous as we pop them in the mail). But we know you'll give them a nice home, with lots of hot chocolate and sleep-ins to keep them happy.
If you buy 4 or more of these little guys you also get a little draw-string bag to keep them cosy. Just mention that you would like a bag in the check-out comments!



x Emma & Yumi

PS Thank you Martha Stewart for showing us how to make these little guys!

Felt Love - Nuno Felting

I was lucky enough to be asked to be a guest speaker at The College of Fine Arts this week. Of course my topic was felt. Researching for my presentation gave me a new invigoration for felting and I thought I would share something of my lecture here...

One of my favourite techniques is Nuno Felting... this is when a piece of silk or cotton fabric is embedded into the wool - the effect is something very magical - very fine but strong fabric can be achieved.

You can see a piece I was commissioned to make for a glass door... big pieces like this take a lot of patience!

Also, if you're interested in how Nuno felting is done there is a great YouTube video showing the artist Janice Arnold creating her modern yurt for the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum here.

Fashioning Felt - Cooper Hewitt

I'd do anything to get to this exhibition happening right now in New York - I've loved felt since a fateful University textile class where I was taught how to magically make wool into fabric.

Since then I've been smitten with the possibilities of this versatile technique. An honours paper tracing the historical and contemporary application of felt followed,  and my own felt vessels made up the practical component. These little fellows have been rolling around our apartment for the last couple of years, and I thought it might be nice to share them with you today...

As well as the video above, Martha Stewart explores the exhibition here, so you can see a bit more of the lovely felty things! Bliss...

xEmma