Midwest Felting Symposium

Lucky me. I was able to get into Andrea Graham's Painting with Wool class at the Midwest Felting Symposium in Madison, Wisconsin. This piece is called "Memories of Moweaqua". It is based on a photograph that my dad took several years ago of his cherished tree that sits at the end of his driveway to welcome visitors to Spring Creek Acres.

Cria at Southwind

Today we made a trip to see the cria at Southwind Alpaca Farm near Springfield, IL. Cria is what baby alpaca are called. This one is a baby boy. He's healthy, alert and very watchful of the visitors who are there to see him.

Catz Pizzazz

My quilt, Catz Pizzazz, won a Best of Show award at the Macon County Fair in Decatur, Illinois, where I new spend my summers. It is pink and black and features cats. It was the color that drew me to it initially. This quilt was also displayed at the Arizona Quilters Guild Annual Show in March.

Hoosier Hills Fiber Arts Festival

I had the good fortune of vending and teaching (and even signed up for a class myself) at Hoosier Hills Fiber Arts Festival held in Franklin, IN, just south of Indianapolis. It was a lovely venue with good weather and a good crowd. The class I taught was Beads, Baubles and BLING!! and here are some photos of student work from that class, which focused on embellished felting... I provided a wide variety of fibers for creative play including silks, velvets, taffetas, and feathers. The orange piece used a maroon velvet and three marbles for the dimensional effect, while the green featured Hannah silk. What great fun.

Nan Talley, of FiberAntics USA, is busily teaching the rolling process during the nuno felting class . Nan is a very experienced nuno teacher. Her website is www.fiberanticsusa.com

I also had the privilege of meeting Boyd and Jeri Hastings who live near Troy, Ohio. Boyd was doing demos of his needle felted projects, which as you can see, are of exceptional quality. In fact, he won the Grand Prize for his artwork . The pieces on the right are made out of treadle machine drawers. What a creative man. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more of him in the future. And the wool he uses is from his own animals. Such a talent.

Prickly Piecers Workshop

Today, the Prickly Piecers Quilt Guild of Ahwatukee (where I live and play) have come to Gypsy Studios to wet felt.

Mavericks Felt too!

Tonight it was a visit to the Mavericks Art Quilt Guild. Nancy Green, our hostess is felting and Laure Fagen is modeling one of our nuno wraps. I think she is hooked on felting. Her tall, slender figure shows off the wrap very well indeed. I think she wants one of her very own.

Nimble Thimbles Presentation

I went with my friend Sue of Back to Back Alpaca Products to do a presentation on using her alpaca fibers and also her quilt batting made from the alpaca. Nimble Thimbles Quilt Guild is located in Chandler, AZ and Sue was a featured presenter for an evening meeting. Sue and I both do fiber and felting lectures and demos.

Nuno Felting at Withers' Ranch

These photos are from a day at Withers' Ranch where we made nuno felted scarves in the beautiful weather of February in Tucson. Pictured here is Sue Bunch of Back to Back Alpaca Products and her friend Zell. I am of course behind the camera as usual. Kathy Withers is show here in blue with her back to the camera.

Nuno felting is a method of blending natural fibers into silks or other sheers to create a textile that is soft and that drapes well. lt is my new favorite kind of felting since I love wearable art. We started with silk gauze for the base as it is very sheer. Ours was hand-dyed by Kathy herself at her ranch which made it extra special. We were all very successful on our first day of creating nuno felting.

For more information on classes at Withers' Ranch, go to www.uniquedesignsbykathy.com.

Pebblz Sink Mat

This textured sink mat from Bed, Bath and Beyond has a pebble-like surface which is yet another style. Rubbing and creating friction helps the fiber to felt.

Tipped Needles

This is our new tipped needle. The blue end coating is helpful for children and for older and perhaps arthritic hands, although I must say I love this needle too! It swivels so easily in the hand, making dimensional work a breeze.