Wednesday 14 October 2009

Details and tips for those who asked.

Last week I presented in this post a group of wraps (for you) or throws (for your house) called "Retazos", which in spanish means "Scraps". After listing them in my shop I was too tired from editing pictures, so I just added a mosaic here. Well, as there were some questions sent to me, I thought I would show some details of each.

1- Purple Poppies in the Field: I actually really like the pictures I took with this wrap. Not because of me modeling...ahahah nonono... but because we are in a pretty medow, a bit windy, with autumn light and horses in the back... nice mood.



I used some hand spun yarn, different shades of purple, bamboo and a blend of hand dyed merino + silk for the poppies which make the flowers soft and with a little bit of a shimer. It is all wet felted which meant that I worked each piece of surface design with my fingers (and water and soap...).

2-Wrapped in gold: This one demanded lots more work (days) because I worked each individual square separately, and then felted them together. There are over 25 different pieces that make the whole wrap. It has an autumn palette with lots of browns, orange and a bit of gold...


I used merino, linen, bamboo, silk, silk rods, hand dyed and hand spun yarns, hand carded wool, prefelts I made myself, and even some stitching for decoration. A whooole lotta work. And I love it. But I can't keep everything, can I?... can I?

3-Wrapped in Red Cherries: Red, pink, fuchsia and white are the colors. For this one I had a different approach since I layed the whole design at once and then felted it (as opposed to working on each panel individually).


Again lots of different fibres: silk, wool, linen, hand spun and hand dyed yarn, bamboo, prefelt (made by me again), hand carded wool. If you see on the bottom right picture, there is a ceramic heart like this added as a pin (or better seen on this other simple neckwarmer in my shop, although this last one is much bigger), which comes as a gift if you order this wrap THIS week (which already has free shipping!).

*For all those felters that asked me if I used needle felting for the designs, the aswer is no. I rarely use needles in my felting. Sometimes for a small detail but I always do everything "by hand". However, needle felting is an option for whomever wants to use them.
*Prefelts, which I use quite often when I want a defined shape on my design, I make myself ...and it is no science to do so. I wrote a post about it here.
*The use of yarns in felting is a good, simple addition which can bring a whole new texture to your piece. Felt provides a very tactile experience. I repeat that while working you have to "look with your hands". Whether you use commercial yarns or your own hand spun, it doesn't matter. Just remember that the more "acrylic" the yarn has, the harder it will be to get "attached" to the wool you are felting. I always try to use yarns with at least 40% wool in them (and a blend with bamboo or silk if they are my own). But a whole world opens up for you because nowadays there are such gorgeous yarns out there in the shops.

Well, this is already too long. If there are more questions don't hesitate to ask in the comments or email me at info@florcita.eu I don't mind replying and sharing. I don't have secrets really, this is all the product of my own experimentation (which I always highly recommend... ).

Don't forget that this week there is FREE SHIPPING FOR ALL ORDERS, if you are looking for gifts... now is the time! Check out this post with more details if you rather a private order instead of using e-commerce platforms.

And now back to work...

12 comments:

Helle said...

Gorgeous pieces!!! Thanks for your lovely comment.

eralamaga said...

La verdad que no puedo dejar de mirar todas esas bellezas que haces!!!! y el paisaje! que lugar divino!!!
te manod un beso, y que tengas buen dia, aunque no se ya que hora es por alla!!!
Lucia

florcita said...

Helle thanks, and thanks for stopping by!
Lucia aca ya estamos en la tarde... con ffrrrrio. Buen dia para vos.

Christie Minchew said...

These are just so great! And you are very generous to share so many of the details of what went into them. You must have a back of iron...and a dining table a very resilient wood :).
thanks so much for the eye candy...

Andrea Bustelo said...

Que buen trabajo Mariana. Me encanta realmente.
Una pregunta: el bambù... son fibras o hilos de bambù tipo raffia o algo asì? Lo leo en un montòn de blogs y siempre con la intriga.
Felices primeros tiempos de otoño!!!
Andrea

Chrissie said...

Marian you are making some beautiful colourful works of art - thank you for sharing the details!

Tweed Thoughts said...

These are all so beautiful Mariana - what a talent you have! :D

Anonymous said...

Opened your blog to say thank you for your comment on my wordpress account, and now I will make myself some tea and take a proper look at all your felting and pictures on your blog. Nice :)

florcita said...

Christie you are welcome! My table is actually the french oak dinner table. It is strong but Im afraid water and soap are not its best friends. I will have my own felting table soon! :)
Andrea Hola.. son fibras no hiladas... hmmmmmmmm si tenes tiempo, mandame un email: info@florcita.eu
Chrissie no problem... what's the point in keeping it all to my self?
Alison THanks dear :) Soon you will own some of that talent!
Elis Hoi! Thanks for stopping by! I believe we have exchanged some emails regarding the Felting day. Would be cool if you came to Limburg... love your installations!

Lily Pang said...

Although I don't do felting, I can see that you have great skill in this area.

BTW, thank you for your comment in my interview in Dawanda.

Anonymous said...

You have great blog and this post is good!
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