Yorkshire Terraces

I can still remember being amazed by the Yorkshire landscape when I first moved from London to come to university - now nearly 25 years ago. In many parts of southern England there is a distinct difference between urban and rural areas, but here in Yorkshire the two blur together - rows of terraces tumble down hillsides against a backdrop of majestic moorland, and memories of the region's industrial history are everywhere.

This little piece is inspired by the Yorkshire landscape and, in particular, the little town of Hebden Bridge that's just a short drive from where I live. The houses are actually rather a steely grey, but it's a place that definitely has colour in its soul! If you like wholesome veggie food, wonderful little shops and handcrafted wares, then this is the place to come. It's also a wonderful place for live music and, of course, makes a good base for wandering the gorgeously desolate moors.

Next time I go, I'll remember to take my camera!
Liz x

Ethical Felt Making

Yesterday I spotted a field full of tiny lambs - such a welcome sight on a bright, sunny day, and a sign that spring is just around the corner!

Apologies to those of you who aren't fond of sheep...

You may choose to browse my blog for alternative reading matter :)

I've been sorting through my photos and realised I have rather a lot of sheepy images!

Sheep are an integral part of the landscapes that I know and love around Britain - north and mid Wales, the Scottish highlands and islands and, of course, my own home county of Yorkshire.

I've written before about using British wool in my felt making.

We have so many native sheep breeds here, and many are great for use in needle felting and wet felting. 

Look at those gorgeously pink ears - so pretty!

This is Swaledale, one of my favourite places in the world, and home of the Swaledale sheep, whose wool I use in many needle felting projects.

I still use a lot of Merino - its softness and felting qualities are hard to beat - but there are some very cruel practices associated with some sources of merino wool. I buy from Yorkshire-based Wingham Wool Work who supply ethical, non-mulesed Merino - one day I'll write a post about their tiny shop in the pretty south Yorkshire village of Wentworth - it's a textile lover's dream!

Liz x

Why I love felt...

I've always enjoyed crafts, and I've experimented with many things...mosaic, printing, beadmaking, to name but a few. Although I enjoy them all, nothing gives me as much pleasure as the simple process of felt-making. I really am addicted, and find myself thinking about new ways of exploring and combining fibres as I drive home from work, wash up the dishes and drift around the shops!

Felt-making is such a versatile craft. One day I can using my felting needles to shape little creatures, and the next I can be creating chaos in the kitchen as I explore the wet felting process. Here are some examples of my experiments with colour and texture over the past couple of years. I think the images are a wonderful celebration of the versatility of felt!

Liz x

Bunnies!

Good evening! Things have gone a little mad here, with people ordering bunnies and nests left right and centre...it seems that Easter decorations are popular this year, to say the least!  Things should soon resume to normal, when hopefully I'll get a chance to share some more explorations into colour and texture with you.

Liz xxx

Raising funds for Gretel

I hope you are well. I wonder if any of you have heard of the Raffle taking place in Blogland? The raffle is raising funds for a cause that has touched my heart very deeply, and I hope you don't mind me sharing it with you here. 

   

Gretel Parker, a felting artist of Middle of Nowhere Blog, recently lost her lifelong partner, who very sadly took his own life leaving Gretel alone and devastated by her loss. 

A group of Gretel's friends have set up a Raffle Blog, to which many makers, creators and artists have donated work as prizes.   If you fancy buying a £1 ticket, you have the chance of winning some beautiful things...and all the funds go to Gretel to help her rebuild her life.  Here is the Raffle Blog fundsforgretel

Liz xx

More textured felt explorations

 Apologies to those of you who have seen these photos on my Facebook page, but I'm so excited by the results I wanted to share them here, too. I've been playing with texture again, once more making use of the washing machine to introduce texture into my felt. You may recall that last time I enclosed the dry fleece in a stitched up parcel - this time I completed the initial wet felting process of adding hot, soapy water to the laid out wool tops, before tying pebbles and marbles into the underside of the piece using elastic bands.

The result is a strange, other-wordly landscape of colourful mounds and valleys.

Next time, I'm going to explore the same process using a more subdued palette...but for now, the sun's shining, it's the weekend and t's time to emerge from hibernation for a few hours!

Enjoy your weekend.

Liz x

Custom Made Birds

 Hello! More snow fell last night, enough to go over the top of my boots when I went down to the hen house this morning. Now the sun has come out and I can hear the steady Drip! Drip! Drip! of melting snow...so, other than a brisk walk to the library, today has turned into another day of indulging in cosy, pottering household pursuits. Tonight I'm going out to one of my favourite restaurants, Prashad - I absolutely love their tasty Indian vegetarian food. We've been going to Prashad for many years, and until very recently it was based in a tiny place in central Bradford - just before Christmas they moved to a larger building that is just a couple of miles from us...good news!

This morning I've finished off a custom order - a pair of needle felted birds.

 I've tried to create what the customer requested, down to the wire glasses and the little flower in the blue bird's beak...

...and the white bird's blushing cheeks,

I do hope they're what she had in mind.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

Liz x