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...

Flickr Favorites Tuesday: suitcases

Flickr Favorites Tuesday: suitcases
Originally uploaded by Marian Florcita

Where are mine? Has anybody been to the attic lately? How many can I take? how many kilos in each??
Yes, suitcases are already starting to cross my mind although Im not doing much about it yet... It always happens to me when Im about to go on a big trip... I start thinking about it, I pack in my head a few times and just a day before the trip I get it all together...
For now, beautiful shoots of vintage suitcases. All the credit to the photographers who took these pictures. For more info, click on the mosaic.
If you want to join Flickr favorites, hop on to Mitsy's blog!

Don't forget about this week's FREE SHIPPING FOR ALL ORDERS. Keep reading the post bellow for more info on private orders or check out my shop (don't forget to add "red tanseys" on the message to seller so I substract the shipping costs from the final price).

A bag for me and FREE SHIPPING!

I've been working on several custom orders over the weekend. As time goes by and my departure day grows closer, I seem to get more work instead of aliviate the agenda. But I did manage to squeeze in making a bag just for myself. I never seem to keep anything I make...
Since red is my favorite colour -in case you hadn't heard :) I made a seed bag like those in my shop, all red with some tanseys designed in grey on top, lined with a fantastic red Harris Tweed. Simple, but just what the doctor ordered ....

And here comes the big announcement: All week this week there will be FREE SHIPPING on all orders.
*For orders via my Dawanda shop , just add: "red tanseys" on the note to seller while checking out (easier than having to go product per product changing the shipping costs...thanks!).
*Private order? you ask... well, checking out my website or shop you can see my work. You just have to drop me a line: info@florcita.eu saying what you wish and I will send you a money request via paypal. Simple.

It all comes wrapped with silk paper and with a nice ceramic tag included.

Hope everybody is doing alright!

Friday' s links

Because life is not just about felting... well, my life at least. In this household we do a lot of things to try to change the way we think about our life and how it affects the planet. I could list numerous things that we have slowly implemented and included in our daily life like recycling, making compost, growing our own food, harvesting water, reducing the amount of plastic we buy (as per wrappings, bags...), etc. But instead, I want to do something else that I think is very important: sharing information. So every friday I will add a book, articles, links... Because the first step is to understand and believe that change is needed. For our children.

Short, to the point... video from WWF:

Felting...by mistake

A few weeks ago I made this handbag in a grey coarse wool (steinschafwolle) which I made especifically to be HUGE. Not a middle sized bag... nono... HUGE. My 15" laptop fit in there. I felted the straps in by using some metallic props I had. So, all ready I used it a couple of times with great success and admiration (mwaahhahahaaaa...).
Looked like this:

It' s hanging a bit croocked... I know. And there is not much to compare with when it comes to sizes. Maybe only the very trained felting eye can see the difference with the next set of pictures. The stripes are the outside of an embedded LARGE outside pocket.

What happened is that one day last week, I came home... it was raining outside, I had groceries... one of those messy days. I left my handbag on top of a pile of laundry in the laundry room where I took off my coat and shoes and kept going with groceries, kid, dog ...dinner... you know...the rest.
Next morning I was feeling a bit under the weather and my husband thought...hmmm Im going to give her a hand... Dread those moments, ladies! So he diligentely took everything out of my handbag -which was still hanging around the laundry room- and put it in the washer along with other clothes. When I heard the beeep beeeep beeeeeeep announcing that the washer was done I went and started to take things out and then I saw it... the bag... which had shrunk 1/3 of its size. We wash our clothes in a cold cycle always (green option)... but still... soap, friction and water (even cold water) kept felting the handbag. This particular wool felts very easily, so I ended up with a yet sturdier than before, compacted fibres...and a bit smaller handbag :


Laptop doesn' t fit in there anymore... but put a melon in there, handbag won' t break!
So, to those whom aren't felters: the same thing happens when you put a pure wool sweater in the washer... it shrinks... it felts. That is why, unless you want to pass it onto your kids, we wash wool by hand. Now, if you are a felter, and you got bored and tired and don' t feel like finishing the job (and don' t care to roll it up and continue later) throw it in the washer. Only (HUGE) disadvantage is that you can't control the process... so if it got croocked in the washer and it felts like that...it stays like that. And Im not to blame if a sock gets felted onto it... well, call it nuno felt!

Flickr Favorites Tuesday: Rainy days

Flickr Favorites Tuesday: Rainy days
Originally uploaded by Marian Florcita

Rainy days indeed... rainy weeks I should say. It's a very wet autumn so far. Previous years we' ve had fabulous autumns with warm afternoons and soft lights. Not this year it seems.
Wet and all I kinda enjoy these first weeks of autumn. A blanket, a cuddly afternoon with tea and cake... not so enamoured of chores and long queues at the post office though...

All the credit to the fantastic photographs whom took these pics. Click on the mosaic for a larger view and the name of said photographs.
If you want to join the Flickr Faves, hop on to Mitsy' s blog to sign up!

Tomorrow, more goodies... :)

International Year of Natural Fibres- Day of Felt

I don' t know if you' ve heard already that this year, 2009, has been declared by the UN as the International Year of Natural Fibres. The goal here is to bring back attention to the 15 most used Natural fibres and their characteristics, and the fact that by supporting these fibres you are supporting some of the poorest farmers and herders in the world.
Those fibres, such as wool, silk, mohair, alpaca, Angora, camel...etc, I use for felting and spinning. So they are very important in my work and by extension, daily life.

On adittion, 3rd October was named "Day of Felt". On this day, feltmakers from all around the world will gather and produce a piece of handmade felt and later show it for their neighbourhood, town, city, family and friends to see, apreciate and learn about it.
Felt United is an effort started and directed by Ellis Vermeule and Cynthia Reynolds, to gather, organize and expose felt pieces produced this day around the world. The idea is that on artisans will make a piece following a theme (color wheel portion: red, orange and yellow) and later submit it (pictures) to be exhibited in a multimedia library of woolly works.

So, I started working on the piece I am submitting, not thinking especifically on this day, but because this portion of the color wheel -red, orange and yellow- is one that I like very much using. Just another work I thought, and if it works out, I will submit it.
I gathered all my reds, oranges, yellows (a bit of pink and fuchsia too). Merino, silk, silk rods, bamboo, linen, locks. Hand dyed wool, hand spun yarn. A large piece of cotton fabric for the base and a whole lot of time... My idea was just to paint with the whool. To build a huge piece of fabric with colors that merge into one and other. The starting piece was long and wide: 2,50m long by 80cm wide... ending up, after days of felting, at 1.90cm long x 50cm wide. It took a whole lot of felting. But the result is a very compact, even nuno felt with windows into the fabric, and on the wrong side (although both sides are worth showing) a myriad of waves made by the rouches and gatherings in the fabric, product of the fibres going through its weave with the felting motions. I find it beautiful and bright. It livens up the grey autumn sky.


Some details:


This is the best way I found to photograph it' s entirety:

...hanging from the clothes line...

It will make a fantastic warm yet light wrap for the coming months. Or a throw for the couch... While I was running around in the -already very sad looking- garden to take pictures, my neighbour followed me down the fence asking me how much it costed, if she could have it, what was it made of...and I got to tell the story, so I guess my part has been done. This one stays with me though...
Do visit those links up there: UN' s page on Natural Fibres. Lots to read and learn. Felt United' s page for a lot of interesting work from around the world.

Happy day Felters...