Felt Beret

I was on a roll for a short moment there and actually found time to post on a regular day. But, alas, life got complicated again. What I have done recently is list a couple of handmade felt berets in my etsy store. I thought with winter on the way, there may be a few people out there who are looking for something beautiful and original to keep their heads warm. So, here are the first two. They are made using wet felting techniques. I have incorporated bits of shiny silk and tissue silk to create texture and tonal changes. They also have threads of brightly coloured silk that catch the light and make the surface even more interesting. I am fond of making long tails on my berets. It is just another design detail that sets these ones apart from your stock, standard, mass produced item. They remind me of the beautiful textures you find on rocks and trees which are covered in lichen and moss. If you like them they are available in my etsy store www.beljaysfeltnart.etsy.com

Noosa Country Show

My how time flies.... the Noosa Country show has been and gone for another year. Once again I entered the felt artistry sections in the arts and crafts competition. I did really well this time around. Now I know this is blowing my own trumpet, so to speak, but if I don't, who will??? 1st Prize for a felted garment with this capelette. It sits perfectly on the shoulders and the little glass beads in the flower centers make a nice detail. 1st prize for felted accessories with this beret. I just love the colors and the way the silk embellishment creates a sumptuous texture. 1st for felted soft furnishings with my rug. I used corriadale wool in this as it is a tougher fibre better wearing. It is also much, much harder to felt than merino wool. And finally a 1st prize and Reserve Champion in the nuno-felt section with my gorgeous vest.

Richly coloured vests

A couple of blogs ago I described my need to create something to wear to the races. I created a black nuno-felt vest. It was adorned with orchid motifs made from beautiful, subtle shades of purples and blues dyed into shiny paj silk and matt tissue silk. Well a lovely woman approached me at the races, to commission a vest for herself. We chatted for a while, discussing colours she liked (and didn’t like), things she liked and themes she was drawn to. I got her to send me her measurements and off I went to dye silks and cottons to felt into. The end result is this earthy, burnt orange nunofelt vest. She loved the dusty, earthy colours of inland Australia, but wasn’t fond of blue. She loved boab trees and the moon. I was really pleased with the result. My next challenge was creating a few items for the Artistic Felting section in the arts and crafts competition at the local Noosa Show. The Purple flower vest below is one of my prize winning pieces.

New Season Scarves

It's been a busy few months doing all kinds of non-felt related things. But I finally got back to the creative table.

For the new season I have created a series of lovely scarves. These use rich earthy colours as a base, with touches of bright contrasts to give them a lift.

These three beautiful scarves are listed in Beljays Felt. Click the button on the right to go to that store (unless you are reading this from the store already).

I have other equally gorgeous pieces listed in my Etsy store.

Next week I'll show you the fantastic new vests I am making.

A Day at the Races

It was the annual Caloundra Cup race day yesterday and, as usual, the local social club arranged a coach journey there and back. Again, as usual, the weather threatened to be bleak, wet and windy, which would mean the grounds would be soggy and muddy.

I'm no longer of an age that is silly enough to wear pretty, strapless, short cocktail dresses to such an event (especially in winter as it is here). Hence the predicament. What to wear. I'd settled on a warm long sleeved skivvy, longer skirt and thick tights with boots, but it needed something.... Again the feltwork came to the rescue. I settled on making this nunofelted vest. The design is made of various hand-dyed silk fabrics which have been cut into petal shapes and laid onto the wool before felting begins. Quite a few brightly coloured silk threads were also added to the composition. After quite a bit of rain over night, the race day began quite cold and grey. But as the day wore on, the clouds cleared and the sun shone brightly. There was however, a wicked cold wind. The lightweight nunofelt vest was snuggly warm. I forgot to take my camera so no race day shots unfortunately.

And how did I go on the horses? Lost my money of course. But it was a fun day anyway.

A walk in the bush

I gain a lot of inspiration from my little bush walks. I find a never ending treasury of colours and textures.

The sun finally came out today. So a couple of friends and I went for an amble in the bush. As you move deeper into the forest, away from roads and homes, it takes on a lovely hush. You foucus more intently on everything: smells, sounds, sights.

This little area is where a tiny creek crosses the path. It gurgles only slightly, as the water progresses on it's lazy journey to the lake beyond. The water is still enough to brightly reflect its surroundings. Where shadows fall, the russetty colours of the tannin rich water glows.

The Gallery Ensemble

I went to a friends exhibition opening last week and had a great time. But the lead-up posed a problem. As the weather here is chill at the moment, I wanted to wear one of my berets and scarves. Not an issue in itself but that morning, I realised I had no bag to match. Eeeek! Luckily, I did have time to quickly make something that suited. And while the bag itself is quite simple in its design, the addition of one of my flower pins certainly jazzed it up a bit. Speaking of jazz, the opening had a lovely jazz duo playing. It is a great gallery space in Nundah just to the north side of Brisbane (that's Queensland, Australia, for those international readers). It was a group exhibition, with 14 artists, presenting a wide variety of subjects and styles. My friend, Michele Knightley, creates wonderful, bright landscapes. They are influenced by the brilliant colours in the landscape up here in Southeast Queensland. Have a look at the address below, it's Micheles work at Martin Galleries http://www.martingalleries.com.au/exhibition/97/5 Take some time to have a look. Bag goes okay with the scarf and hat, I think.