FABULOUS Felt Flowers...

I’ve recently been felting flowers in preparation for ‘The Felted Garden’ flower workshops - the aim was to create flowers with different petal formations that can all be felted and shaped using the same method of laying out fibres… 

So with a little artistic licence here are my flowers -

pansies, clematis, poppies and lilies…

Felting flowers is a perfect class for beginners as it introduces the basic 

techniques of felting and gets everyone used to handling the fibres, 

but when first timers come into the class and see the samples they always 

shy away and worry that they’ll never be able to do this…

Well... after a couple of hours things change! 

As you can see by these workshop photos, contagious enthusiasm takes hold 

and by the end of the day everyone goes home with several beautiful flowers, 

leaves and stems, and a desire to continue making more…

  

Now I'm busy getting ready for the Isle of Wight Open Studios which takes 

place in July, and 'The Felted Garden' workshops will continue in September 

at some great garden venues, with suitably autumnal themes..

I will be holding a "Painting with Fibres" workshop at Northcourt Manor, Shorwell 

and there will be plenty of inspiration to be found in the extensive gardens 

surrounding this 400 year old manor house.

And I shall be back at Ventnor Botanic Gardens in October

 for a ‘Seeds & Pods’ workshop.which should be great fun!

These workshop dates will be posted as soon as dates and details 

are finalised!

Introducing "THE FELTED GARDEN"...

A NEW name for my felt making business...!

It seems like a natural step to combine two great passions of mine -

a love of plants, gardens and the wider environment together with felt making - 

and “THE FELTED GARDEN” says it all perfectly!

No obvious changes, the workshops will continue much as 

before with all the popular classes like ’Painting with Fibres’ and making

3-D forms vessels, bags and flowers... 

But the emphasis will be very much about seeking inspiration 

from the natural world around us.

I plan to hold workshops at different garden venues across the island
and this is already happening with the recent ’Painting with Fibres’ day
 at Wayside Herbs in Yafford, hosted by Joy Verrinder. 

Not only did we enjoy the wonderful setting 

but Joy shared her enthusiasm and knowledge of herbs, explaining their history, 

cultivation and practical benefits. The plants provided perfect inspiration 

and gave an extra dimension to the felt making day!

There are two more workshops coming up in the next few weeks…

“FELTING FLOWERS” at VENTNOR BOTANIC GARDENS on 30th May.
 Participants will be free to wander round the gardens & greenhouses, 

sketching or photographing the flowering plants before bringing their 
ideas back to the studio where I will show how to 

create 3-D flower and leaf forms in felt.

 A ’FELT JEWELLERY' workshop will be held at BRADING ROMAN VILLA 
on Sunday 7th June. This time the focus will be creating flower jewellery. 

More details about both workshops and booking details can be found here...

Felting is a completely natural process and

"THE FELTED GARDEN" describes every aspect of my work

as I've always looked to the natural world for inspiration.. .

Flowers, plants, seed pods and the wider landscape 

all lend themselves to felting and painting with fibres... 

Teasing wool into shape by hand, moulding and shaping vessels 

naturally result in very organic forms...

I've been experimenting recently with hand and machine stitching

 and I'm continuing with this, making plenty of fresh 
new work for Open Studios in July.
Although I've made felt for many years now it seems incredible 

that this event will mark five years in business...!!

This year has found us spending more time in our garden.at Freshwater Bay.

It's a very challenging site and a real uphill struggle! 
Half an acre on a very steep slope, 

relentless salty winds and heavy clay which bakes in the summer heat...

 But we do have our own underground springs which give a constant 

supply of icy water - great for rinsing felt! 

It’s a perfect spot for growing lavender which I cut and dry,

 and use in many of my designs!

So these are exciting times, with lots of plans ahead… 

and “THE FELTED GARDEN” seems a perfect way to describe this step forward...

Felting FLOWERS...

With this wonderful weather over the Easter break I guess many of you 
are enjoying your gardens, visiting garden centres and maybe venturing 

further afield into the glorious countryside… 

Here on the Isle of Wight we have an exceptionally mild climate and the camellias, magnolias and cherry blossom are spectacular this year, vivid purple aubretia clings to almost every wall and primroses, daffodils, tulips are everywhere you look. But April can be a cruel month, tricking us into thinking that spring is finally here… Frost is never far away and can easily destroy any early planting out so we can’t afford to be too optimistic!

I have some workshops coming up which connect beautifully with this flowery

 theme and feature felt flowers, plants and Island gardens... 

The first is a ‘PAINTING with FIBRES' workshop on Saturday 11th April at 
WAYSIDE HERBS in Yafford at the home of Joy Verrinder. 

Here you will find plenty of inspiration for your felt pictures in 

Joy’s amazing herb garden and the countryside surrounding her home. 

  

I’m also delighted to announce another new venue...

I’ve been invited to hold a FELTING FLOWERS workshop at 

Ventnor Botanic Garden on 30th May which is exciting news!

 In this workshop you will be taking inspiration from the flowers in their 

famous gardens and greenhouses and you will have the opportunity to 

sketch and photograph the wonderful flowers growing at their best! 

Then back in the studio I will show you how to create 3-dimensional 

flower shapes, organic leaf forms and stems from felt… 

 There is also a FABULOUS FELT JEWELLERY day on the 7th June 

at Brading Roman Villa which continues the flower theme!

I will show how to make some fantastic felt flowers, which can be turned into 

unique wearable works of art… Fabulous felt flowers brooches and fascinators! 

Perfect to wear to all those summer parties. 

I hope this might inspire you to come along to one of the workshops!  

You will find more information about all the workshops and booking 
details click here 

And I'm sure just the thought of flowers and warm summery days

 ahead will get us all out into our gardens

 over the coming weeks...

Happy New Year...

The lull between the Christmas holiday and the New Year is a good time

 to reflect and look back over the past year. 

We've been enjoying some wonderful wintery sunshine here and I took some felt 

down to the Bay to photograph in this amazing light... 

It's just a couple of minutes from the house 

and on days like this it's hard to believe 

that we do actually live in such a perfect place...

KC bought me a tablet for Christmas with the plan that a portable 

archive could be created for ALL my photographs... 

This has spurred me into sorting through thousands and thousands of photos 

which certainly have mounted up over the last few years...

BUT it's been a great opportunity to look back over this past year

so here's a snapshot of 2014...

Workshops at Spring Farm Alpacas in Sussex

with my Alpaca Hat winning 2nd prize in the National Show...

  

Lots of very colourful scarves and wraps...

New developments with hand stitching & beading...

Open Studios 2014 at Shalfleet & Quarr Abbey...

Outdoor experiments with natural dyes...

and scarf workshops at Quarr.

It's been another busy year and 2015 promises to be just as exciting

with lots more workshops planned here on the island and 

further afield in Sussex & London. 

Dates will be posted as soon as they are confirmed.

A very happy New Year to you all !!!

WINTER SOLSTICE...

Today marks the Winter Solstice and the shortest day of the year!

I'd like to share my Winter Tree with you - not a felt robin in sight -

just some wonderful decorations made by friends... 

 ... with the three wise mice sitting underneath!

It has been another very busy year 

and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all for taking such 

an interest in all the felt making going on in the Isle of Wight...   

THANKS for coming along to all the shows we've held throughout the year, 

especially the Christmas Fairs which have been really special!  

THANKS for taking part in the workshops! 

Demand seems to grow from year to year and there are plans for more

 two-day weekend workshops at Shalfleet Village Hall in the spring,

 as well as single days at Quarr Abbey. 

Dates will be posted here in the New Year as soon as they are finalised.

THANKS to all my blog followers, where ever you are! 

I hope you all have a well-deserved peaceful Christmas holiday 

and I hope your 2015 will be happy, busy and very creative. 

SCARVES on ETSY!

 Just updated my ETSY shop with some new scarf designs...

I've called this one Red Parrot - felted from 100% pure Merino in 

brilliant reds, lime greens and turquoise blues. 

It really is unique, with small slashed holes along the length 

and feather shaped fringes at both ends... 

All these lattice scarves are felted with wonderful

 rich blends of hand-dyed wools.

They have lovely soft fringes which give a real organic feel ...

and they can be twisted & tied in many different ways

making them so easy to wear!

These nuno scarves have been felted using 

hand-dyed 100% pure Merino in subtle autumn shades!

You can find more details about all the scarves at

https://www.etsy.com/shop/gillianchapmanfelts

AND they are all available at very special introductory prices! 

SCARF WORKSHOP at QUARR...

On Saturday I held my first Scarf Workshop at Quarr Abbey in the Old Bookshop.
What a great day! I was so excited to be invited here - it's such a 
perfect location for a workshop...   

I had a lovely group too, some new and some familiar
 faces, full of enthusiasm for the day ahead.

Joanne (a brilliant fibre artist from Shunklies Fibre Studio in Sheffield) 

hand-dyed these hanks of merino specially for this workshop...

Working with such fantastic fibres makes the 
whole felting process a real pleasure. 

  

The Old Bookshop at Quarr makes a great workshop space.
Good light and plenty of room...

Lots of smiling faces at the end of a very enjoyable day...

and lots of wonderful scarves to take home!

And I even had time to enjoy the sunshine in the Abbey gardens.

I hope I am invited back for some more workshops.

 In the meantime there are still places available on the 

Scarf Workshop at The Seaview Hotel, I o W

on Saturday 11th October.

This workshop is being organised by the hotel

for more details please contact them direct...

 http://www.seaviewhotel.co.uk/events.asp#.VAS8_fldV8G