A Gem of a Find!

Bugs and Fishes by Laura "Lupin" Howard, UK, came to my attention today. One of the embroiderers (thanks Jewel) tagged it as a place to visit for a free cross stitch heart brooch. However, Laura's site has lots of other interesting handmade felty things too. Yes, she works mainly in felt.  Laura shares lots of free projects and writes tutorials for various craft publications. I own a copy of Fa la la la Felt in which she has original designs for a Gingerbread House; Star Bright; Cherry & Bright, a christmas stocking and Layer Play, a rainbow of circles ornament. Her own published book is Super-Cute Felt.
Why not drop by her site for a visit. You won't be disappointed!
Enjoy!           

Felting

I spent yesterday at a felting workshop with teacher, Caroline Lindsay from the UK. We used a combination of wet felting and nuno techniques to create rich fabrics ideal for hand or machine embroidery. Today, we will be embellishing our pieces with stitching. Here's a sample of her work:

Textile Artists from the UK

Lately I have been looking at the work of textile artists from all over the world. I sometimes loose track of time when doing this. However, it is time well spent especially if it triggers an idea. It's quite inspiring to see how these artists use colour, line, shape, value and texture to create a piece of textile art. My focus this time, is artists from the UK or who have ties to this country. Take a look!

• Barbara Weeks, textile artist & tutor
• Sandra Meech, art quilts & textiles (I've taken several work shops with Sandra)
• Gina Ferrari, check out the gallery
• Lynda Crosthwaite, 
• Mary-Clare Buckle, abstract art
• Lindsay Taylor
• One Step On, a West Lancashire group of textile artists
• Laura Stevens, hand stitched artwork
• Rachel Jennings, textiles & printmaking
• Linda Kemshall
• Gillian Travis
• Helen Howes