view from the hostel
some of the locals
oh dear, i have such a juvenile sense of humour that this had me giggling for ages!
'queueing' for the ferry to harris
on the ferry
Friday, May 13
hols - berneray
hostel on berneray, in the most amazing spot, right on the beach
view from the hostel
some of the locals
oh dear, i have such a juvenile sense of humour that this had me giggling for ages!
'queueing' for the ferry to harris
on the ferry
view from the hostel
some of the locals
oh dear, i have such a juvenile sense of humour that this had me giggling for ages!
'queueing' for the ferry to harris
on the ferry
Wednesday, May 11
Monday, May 9
meet a maker
being the inquisitive little feltmaker that i am, i thought it might be interesting to hear about other maker's stories. if you would like to be featured, please leave me a comment and i'll get in touch with some questions for you.
so, grab a cuppa, put your feet up and lets meet mattie, who continues our international theme ...
Please introduce yourself …
I'm Mattie van den Heuvel, 36 years old and mother of two kids (4 and 6 years old) I'm Dutch, but we live with our little family in the south of Germany.
How would you describe your work / style?
My passion is needle felting, but I do the occasional wet felting as well. I love making faces, especially fairy inspired faces.
Who, or what, inspires you?
The person who inspired me most and keeps on inspiring me is Birgitte Krag Hansen. I learned nearly all that I know about needle felting from her books and course.
Do you sell your work? If so, what helped you decide to start selling your work?
I have been selling things since the beginning of this year and I would like to sell more, but I'm still working on building my business. I had a part time job, but there was no more work, so I decided to open my own studio. The rooms for that are in our house and the lady renting them moved out 2 months ago, so it can all go ahead now!
Where can I buy your work?
I sell my things at markets and on the internet at Dawanda.
Do you have a website or blog address?
My Blog address is: www.filz10a.blogspot.com and I try to write in English as well.
How did you learn your craft? How long have you been creating?
I have been felting for 7 years now. I started off with one needle and some wool scraps and it was instant love. Fortunately the first book I bought was that of Brigitte Krag Hansen. I did some wet felting every now and again, because I am a very practical person and you can make more practical stuff like bags and toys, but I kept returning to my needle felting.
Is there any other craft skill you would like to learn?
I would like to learn to spin on a spinning wheel and to knit.
Anything exciting planned for 2011 you’d like to share?
Well... building up my business, giving courses, finish decorating my studio, spend lots of time felting felting felting...
If I wasn’t doing this, I’d be …
...looking for a part time job now and not so happy!
I couldn’t do this if it wasn’t for …
My husband, who supports me all the way!
Describe your proudest moment.
Of course the birth of my two children ahum ;) and when on my first market people got other people to see my work.
What animal would you be, and why?
I often ask my cats if they would swap with me, when they are lazying around in the sun, unaware of the world's troubles...
How do you keep motivated?
I have a lovely workspace. When I feel unmotivated I start tidying it up, or cleaning it and inspiration pours in. But mostly I have more ideas buzzing around my head than my hands can actually produce.
What do you wish you’d known when you first started out?
As said, I was fortunate to buy the right book at the right moment.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out?
Buy one of the books of Brigitte Krag Hansen and if you are interested and get the chance, follow a course. And do not buy the best, softest quality for needle felting!
What question did you hope to be asked but didn’t?
Why needle felting and not wet felting?
What would your answer have been?
The thing with wet felting is... you have to plan ahead and work pretty precisely. And I am not a planner and too chaotic for that. Needle felting is so forgiving! You needle felt a nose, you don't like it, you tear it off and make a new one. Your cheek turned out too big? Needle more and it will get smaller! Too small? Put a bit of extra wool on it. That is what I like so much about needle felting. It stays flexible till nearly the end.
thanks for taking the time to chat mattie. i have to admit that i've never been able to get to grips with needlefelting before but now you've managed to get me interested! i must look out for birgitte's book :)
so, grab a cuppa, put your feet up and lets meet mattie, who continues our international theme ...
Please introduce yourself …
I'm Mattie van den Heuvel, 36 years old and mother of two kids (4 and 6 years old) I'm Dutch, but we live with our little family in the south of Germany.
How would you describe your work / style?
My passion is needle felting, but I do the occasional wet felting as well. I love making faces, especially fairy inspired faces.
Who, or what, inspires you?
The person who inspired me most and keeps on inspiring me is Birgitte Krag Hansen. I learned nearly all that I know about needle felting from her books and course.
Do you sell your work? If so, what helped you decide to start selling your work?
I have been selling things since the beginning of this year and I would like to sell more, but I'm still working on building my business. I had a part time job, but there was no more work, so I decided to open my own studio. The rooms for that are in our house and the lady renting them moved out 2 months ago, so it can all go ahead now!
Where can I buy your work?
I sell my things at markets and on the internet at Dawanda.
Do you have a website or blog address?
My Blog address is: www.filz10a.blogspot.com and I try to write in English as well.
How did you learn your craft? How long have you been creating?
I have been felting for 7 years now. I started off with one needle and some wool scraps and it was instant love. Fortunately the first book I bought was that of Brigitte Krag Hansen. I did some wet felting every now and again, because I am a very practical person and you can make more practical stuff like bags and toys, but I kept returning to my needle felting.
Is there any other craft skill you would like to learn?
I would like to learn to spin on a spinning wheel and to knit.
Anything exciting planned for 2011 you’d like to share?
Well... building up my business, giving courses, finish decorating my studio, spend lots of time felting felting felting...
If I wasn’t doing this, I’d be …
...looking for a part time job now and not so happy!
I couldn’t do this if it wasn’t for …
My husband, who supports me all the way!
Describe your proudest moment.
Of course the birth of my two children ahum ;) and when on my first market people got other people to see my work.
What animal would you be, and why?
I often ask my cats if they would swap with me, when they are lazying around in the sun, unaware of the world's troubles...
How do you keep motivated?
I have a lovely workspace. When I feel unmotivated I start tidying it up, or cleaning it and inspiration pours in. But mostly I have more ideas buzzing around my head than my hands can actually produce.
What do you wish you’d known when you first started out?
As said, I was fortunate to buy the right book at the right moment.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out?
Buy one of the books of Brigitte Krag Hansen and if you are interested and get the chance, follow a course. And do not buy the best, softest quality for needle felting!
What question did you hope to be asked but didn’t?
Why needle felting and not wet felting?
What would your answer have been?
The thing with wet felting is... you have to plan ahead and work pretty precisely. And I am not a planner and too chaotic for that. Needle felting is so forgiving! You needle felt a nose, you don't like it, you tear it off and make a new one. Your cheek turned out too big? Needle more and it will get smaller! Too small? Put a bit of extra wool on it. That is what I like so much about needle felting. It stays flexible till nearly the end.
thanks for taking the time to chat mattie. i have to admit that i've never been able to get to grips with needlefelting before but now you've managed to get me interested! i must look out for birgitte's book :)
Sunday, May 8
you have to laugh
this ...
is the day i have put aside to photograph all of my new work!
at least i won't have to water the garden tonight :)
is the day i have put aside to photograph all of my new work!
at least i won't have to water the garden tonight :)
hols - barra to eriskay, south uist, benbecula and north uist
waiting in the ferry 'queue' at barra
view from the ferry
heading back on the return journey
got about two minutes out of the ferry terminal and had to stop to take a pic!
stopped here to look for otters but no luck! although i did get to watch some eiders nesting
hhhmmmm ... i think these signs are put here on the causeways to slow the tourist drivers, didn't see so much as a whisker!
dun an sticir
running across this in the rain was fun! of course, i fell in :)
huge chambered cairn on north uist
well i didn't really get much of a chance to explore, the wind was at m's back so he cycled along so quickly i had to dash along the single-track roads in the van to catch him up.
although the landscape is quite flat and in places could look bleak if you weren't used to it, it was really captivating and of course, lots of birdlife and gorgeous beaches mean we shall return for another, longer visit.
view from the ferry
heading back on the return journey
got about two minutes out of the ferry terminal and had to stop to take a pic!
stopped here to look for otters but no luck! although i did get to watch some eiders nesting
hhhmmmm ... i think these signs are put here on the causeways to slow the tourist drivers, didn't see so much as a whisker!
dun an sticir
running across this in the rain was fun! of course, i fell in :)
huge chambered cairn on north uist
well i didn't really get much of a chance to explore, the wind was at m's back so he cycled along so quickly i had to dash along the single-track roads in the van to catch him up.
although the landscape is quite flat and in places could look bleak if you weren't used to it, it was really captivating and of course, lots of birdlife and gorgeous beaches mean we shall return for another, longer visit.
Saturday, May 7
hols - oban to barra and vatersay
a week off saw us heading to oban for the ferry to the western isles. m had wanted to cycle the length of the islands for a while and i'd never been south of harris so off we went!
in the ferry queue at oban
view of oban from the ferry
lovely patterns in the water
think the gull may have got the ferry confused with a fishing boat, it followed us for quite some time
barra hostel
view from the front steps of the hostel
around barra and vatersay ...
st barr's church
this was a mosaic made completely from shells
kisimul castle
yes, the plane really does land on the beach!
a piece of the plane wreckage that forms part of the memorial in the previous pic
at the barra ferry terminal i saw the only otters i would see on our trip
despite living on lewis for a while, i'd never made it down south to any of the other islands so i was really glad to finally get here (especially after the five and half hour ferry journey from food-poisoning hell!).
i was amazed that all of the car drivers wave to each other as they pass - how lovely is that?! and one of the locals stopped me in the street for a blether one morning, regaling me with lots of funny tales. although it's a fairly small island there is quite a lot to see and do (especially in the summer), i would definitely recommend a visit.
in the ferry queue at oban
view of oban from the ferry
lovely patterns in the water
think the gull may have got the ferry confused with a fishing boat, it followed us for quite some time
barra hostel
view from the front steps of the hostel
around barra and vatersay ...
st barr's church
this was a mosaic made completely from shells
kisimul castle
yes, the plane really does land on the beach!
a piece of the plane wreckage that forms part of the memorial in the previous pic
at the barra ferry terminal i saw the only otters i would see on our trip
despite living on lewis for a while, i'd never made it down south to any of the other islands so i was really glad to finally get here (especially after the five and half hour ferry journey from food-poisoning hell!).
i was amazed that all of the car drivers wave to each other as they pass - how lovely is that?! and one of the locals stopped me in the street for a blether one morning, regaling me with lots of funny tales. although it's a fairly small island there is quite a lot to see and do (especially in the summer), i would definitely recommend a visit.
Friday, May 6
dandelion dyepot, tea, coffee
the day after we got back from hols was a bit dreich and i was feeling quite fed up with myself to be honest.
i really loved being back under the big skies, being at the coast and being outside for the whole day. i always feel a little twitchy and claustrophobic when i come back!
so i decided i should get out in the garden and pick some of the hundreds of dandelion flowers we returned to, and experiment with some natural dyeing - it's been on my to-do list for waaaaaaaaaay too long.
i'm sure the neighbours thought i was daft - out in the rain, picking the flower-heads off the dandelions! as well as being able to experiment with dyeing, it means the dandelions won't go to seed, so i'll hopefully have less weeds to deal with later on in the year.
here's the dandelion heads in the dye pot. it took a wee while to get to this stage - the flower heads had mostly closed over because of the weather, so i wanted to open out each one to make sure i wasn't committing any wee critters to a boiling pot of water.
just as well i was so careful, look at this wee fella ...
while i was online reading up on using dandelions for the dye bath, i read about dandelion tea. i kept a few flowers back, gave them a good rinse, covered them with water and simmered them for a while (i think it's supposed to be five minutes but i was so occupied with the dye bath, i forgot to check the clock).
it's hard to describe the flavour to be honest! i tried it both with and without honey and i think i preferred it without, it wasn't quite as bitter as i expected it to be. while i don't think i would drink it every day, i did enjoy it and would think about using it as a base for blending other infusions.
i also read about dandelion 'coffee' so a few days later, when the garden had dried out, i went back out to dig up the dandelions to get to the roots. the trick is to rinse, and rinse, and rinse until all the dirt is removed but it's taken me so long to get them to this stage, i'm not sure i can stand much more rinsing! i think i may stick to my jar of barley coffee in the cupboard.
progress report on the dyeing to follow!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)