Sunday 5 February 2012

New year - new ideas

I started off January by making a list of themes I wanted to explore this year.. And I actually started working on 2 of them IN January - now thats good going from me! There are a couple of other themes that I really want to work on soon, but I want to show you what I've been upto so far :)  I'm going to be running with these for a while I think 'cos I am really enjoying them.  So far I have started on Petroglyphs & Pictographs and Hundertwasser inspired projects..  and I'm going to start off by showing you my first Hundertwasser inspired bag, which was a nice little learning curve :)

I have been very much inspired by the work of Freidensriech Hundertwasser the renowned Austrian artist.. I love his use of colour and spirals and his love of nature.  If you have a few moments and are unfamiliar with him, please go google.. the site I have linked to is interesting but there is so much more online.. I enjoyed this essay in Hello Magazine.

So far I have kept it simple.. using lovely colours and spirals, nice natural shapes and texture..  My first bags have been inspired by The Big Way painting..

Hundertwasser inspired bag #1
close-up finished spiral
I made my resist with the idea of 50 to 55% shrinkage.  I enclosed my resist in 6 layers of fibre; the inner 3 layers are white Falkland and the outer 3 are coloured merino.  The first thing I laid down was 2 inegral pockets to be on the inside.. with this first bag I just used 3 layers of Falkland for the pockets (forgot to take photos this early). 


 After laying 4 layers of fibre, I added loops to run the handle through..  These were short cords with a fluffy root left at each end, I incorporated the fluffy root in between layers 4 and 5 of the layout stage. 

I didnt position it right at the top of the resist as I wanted room to cut the resist out and even up the top without having to worry about the loops getting damaged or weakened..


 Once all the layers were laid I started spiraling :)  This was the fun bit, it did take a lot longer than I expected though I must say.. laying out a nice spiral takes time!

I drew spirals on the front and the back of the bag using thin lengths ofmerino fibre, pretty BFL slubby yarns and boucle yarn which is an alpaca/wool blend - this is what the dark blue and charcoal is.


These BFL yarns are part of the stash I brought back from Wonderwool last year,
all naturally dyed by Alison at Pure Tinctoria
 

I got so carried away felting that I forgot to take pictures for a while now :(  I dont have any of it partially felted, or as I cut the resist out.

For the handle I wanted to creat a double cord - a big loop that runs through the hanging hoops.. I felted a loooong cord leaving fluffy tufts at each end again.  Onto the cord I twined all the colours that were in the spirals, they twist all along the length.

 And then I felted that - the cord handle has a white Falkland core and 2 layers of merino, then the twist of fibre and yarn.  It was worked in between each layer, but once the twist was on I REALLY worked it hard.. leaving the ends till later.

Internal pockets
The pockets are not as tightly felted as I would of hoped.. I think its to do with the different character of the Falkland wool compared to merino.. and possibly 'cos I only used 3 layers.  This is an area for improvement next time.. 

I am very happy with my bag.. and this one is MY bag :)  a keeper - yay!  I love the way that the white Falkland has crept through to the front making it all heathery - it brings all the colours together - so what could of clashed horribly is actually very harmonious. 

There are a couple of things to tweak for next time..  The hanging loops are strong and stable, but maybe look a little thin on such a big bag - next time make them chunkier!  The handle is super long.. I like that, I can wear it across my body comfortably, if I want to wear it over the shoulder though I would probably have to tie a know to shorten it a little - next time make it a tad shorter.  And the inner pockets need to be sturdier, these are stable enough, but I like them to be tight and even edged, these are a little 'frilly'.

Next time Hundertwasser bag #2

xx



12 comments:

martine said...

This is fabulous, thanks for sharing
martine

Sonnentaucher Filzlinge said...

wunderschön, Hundertwasser ist einfach genial, ich habe da Fernheizwerk in Wien gesehen, einfach nur schön...deine Tasche ist sehr gelungen
Liebe Grüße..Jana

FeltersJourney said...

Dankschon Jana :)
Ich liebe Hundertwasser's architektur
x

FeltersJourney said...

Thank you Martine :)
x

Valerie said...

I love Hundertwasser and I love your work. I have made a rag wall hanging of his architecture. I visited his public toilets in N Z! When I return to UK I hope you will help me improve my felting.

Zed said...

The bag looks great :)
I like Hundertwasser's work

Heather Woollove said...

Deborah--It's a wonderful bag and I think it's brilliant the way you put the loops down low, so you could easily cut out the resist. I absolutely love Hundertwasser, too, and I look forward to your next 'felt-o-vision' of his work!!;)

Ali said...

Wow what an amazing colourful design Deborah...I love the close up photo of the dry part spiral..
We have a Hundertwasser painting book..full of his colourful designs and quotes, with spaces and suggestions to let your imagination run wild!
Thanks for the reminder to revisit our book and looking forward to more spiral vibrancy!
Ali x

FeltersJourney said...

Thank you Zed & Valerie :)

Valerie I would love to go to NZ.. and love to visit a Hundertwasser building (those loos are fabulous!) Would love to see your rag wall hanging, do you have pics up anywhere?

xx

FeltersJourney said...

Thanks Ali & Heather :)

Ali that book sounds right up my street.. shall have to go look on Amazon

xx

Ruth said...

Gorgeous bag!

FeltersJourney said...

Thank you Ruth :)

Its been lovely having so many lovely comments.. you are all really making me happy

xx