Inspired by the Astornomy Picture of the Day today, I made a night sky and tossed an aurora across it. More aurora are forecast as the sun-spot cycle intensifies. Alice and I tried to look the other night, after a coronal ejection from the sun was expected to cause intense auroras that might have been visible, but there were clouds along the northern horizon and we couldn't see anything. We'll keep hoping. It is something I'd like to see again.
My children will nod with weary agreement; I have an abiding affection for small, stupid jokes. For instance:
How do you get down off an elephant? You don't get down off an elephant, you get down off a duck!
At which point one child asked "how do you get down off a duck?" and I could say "with a veeery small ladder."
Which is a long way of saying that this feather looked like baby duck down, and it made me think of getting down off an elephant.
………..
And then, to make today a joke filled extravaganza, I offer you a picture of my soft palette. Which is also fuzzy.
Felt is not eactly the right material to demonstrate the hardness and shine of a shell, but I approve of the background, and will try something different on it.
Anybody know any pink fish?
I know it looks like a leaf, but I was thinking feather when I was constructing it. I think felt, with its lack of grain and structure, is harder to make a feather from than something that is woven and can be unravelled in interesting and effective ways. But I could be wrong.
The base for this is unsupported felt – I just started running the machine through some mixed layers of green until it started to solidify into actual fabric. I didn't stitch cobbling into the background, and I think maybe I should the next time. It adds coherence to the background, and is an opportunity for additional color and texture.
So I made the background from a dramatically different set of colors, both darker and farther away from the pinks of the leaf on the color wheel. The leaf is also a deeper color, but that isn't so noticable. I am very pleased with this one!
I like working with wool, a great deal. It takes steam, flattens when necessary, stitches easily, and has a nice hand.
Kaboose and I went out today with a big gray mare who fidgets and worries. We walked everywhere the sun was shining, avoided the shadows because they were icy, and turned around any time the footing was vile. We were out for almost an hour, wandering around. The gray horse finally settled down, Kaboose was fine; we had a nice time.
This one I worked in layers. For the base layer, I felted a fine layer of light pink over some green wool I'd fulled in the washing machine. I stitched a pebbled pattern onto it. The leaf started as a thin layer of darker pink wool felted without any backing in the felting machine. That gave me an airy, open fabric to work with. I cut out an oak leaf shape, and stitched that down onto the base.
I have a critique for it: I think the leaf is a good beginning, but it could be even whispier. I like the stitching on the leaf, but the stitch colors could stand out more. Two layers attached with stitch makes a stronger statement than the previous circles.
I'll try this again, with a thinner leaf, more contrast between the leaf and the veining colors, possibly more weight contrast in the thread used as well, and a background I like better.
My best news today is that my sewing machine is home!!!! I am so pleased. While Timna's machine worked like a champ, I have spent the last long while improving my skills and rapport with my machine.
Using (pink) craft felt (the basic, cheap, polyester, nasty kind) as a base is more stable than I remembered. The felt supports some silk thread scraps, silk fabric, and some raw felting wool, all needled together. I pressed the final fabric pretty aggressively. Then I located the most interesting part and cut it out, stabilized it with iron on mid-weight interfacing, and stitched it using the sewing machine.
I used two strands of thread this time, both the same acid yellow-green as yesterday. They show up better, but I'm having tension issues now. I should fix those by the end of the month! Practice, you know.
I also, finally, changed out the felting head on the felting machine. One needle broke, out of five, and from straight aggravation I'd been using it as it was. It took an enourmous scrimmage, including six trips up and down the stairs to fetch various very large and very small tools from the toolbox. However, nice sharp needles affect the texture of the fabric, in a good way, so I'm glad I did it, and faintly embarassed that it took so long to get to it.
It looks much more yellow here than in the box! The thread I used (Sulky rayon machine embroidery) is that awful bronzey yellowy green that shows up before spring really gets started. It does not show up so well in the deeper texture of the machine needle felted fabric. I'll try using some heavier thread on the next one. I do have a layer of iron-on stabilizer on the back because without it the stitches go right through the felt.
I wonder, too, what I really need for a base layer. I was told to use basic craft felt for most work. I don't like the looks of that, and I can make huge amounts of topography in it by overworking particular areas. I have some wool jersey that I felted (on purpose!) that is a little heavier. I could try not using anything, and letting the wool felt to itself. Wet felting relies on the wool felting to itself, and containing any non-felting inclusions. I don't know if dry felting does that.
So, I have some experiments to try.
I will leave you with a picture from Family Circus:
I like Alice just hanging out on my back, holding Aerin's foot.
February is Pink!
February is also making more use of the embellisher machine, also called a needle felting machine. A set of felting needles is powered by a (small cheap plastic) sewing machine with the bobbin case removed. The resulting fabric has a distinct texture and character. There are some people who can make lovely art with them, using wool roving and other fibers for color and texture. Several Flickr groups exist, including Made with the Embellisher Machine - that gives you a feel for the kind of whispy, dreamy things you can do.
Timna pointed out that while she uses a lot of pink, her quilts don't tend to read as PINK!!! because she combines it with other colors. In fact, this one of hers is a study of Pink&___ (fill in the blank).
In other news, the drawing class is mixed. The teacher knows whereof he speaks, but he tells long stories with no discernable moral. The teaching is what I'm there for. I'll show some drawings at some point.
I was worried about putting enough stars on one circle, so I made a little book full of stars, and stitched it to this last circle. I am pleased with myself for getting every single day of January.
February looks like it will be pink, and I am going to use the felting/embellishing machine and see what I can do with it. The circles will still be the same size.
If you like pink, talk to me about what you like about it – I am having trouble thinking about it.
Lee Thomson 