Needle Punch Pause

I'm in Maine...there's lots to do but I'm taking a break. When we bought our last place in Maine it became a place to "pause." Pausing has actually become one of my favorite things to do. I pause to look and listen and to rest and relax...it's good to pause. So I'm putting my box cutter down and my feet up and pausing to write about needle punch....something I've wanted to do for a while now.

My best description of needle punch is a mini version of a punched or hooked wool rug. Using the needle tool shown below you work from the back (which is actually the top while you're working) and punch the needle through the fabric. As you pull it back it leaves a little loop on the other side.

This little work in progress was inspired by the inspiration piece I wrote about a few weeks ago. I was experimenting with different loop heights... not as successful, I'll admit, as the inspiration piece. Like anything...it takes practice. I'm still practicing a lot of things.

You can adjust the height of the loop by adding or subtracting the little red stoppers on the needle shaft. I generally punch with 3 strands of floss which gets threaded through the shaft of the tool with a handy long wire threader.

Once you draw your pattern you punch your loops....this ends up being the back of your piece. This fabric is weavers cloth...which has a very tight weave. The fabric needs to be taut and tough so it can handle all the punching and poking. Other heavy fabrics work too...like denim and upholstery fabric.

Then you just fill it in. It takes a little practice...the hardest part is the tension as you move the needle. You want the back side, or the top while you're working to lay nice and flat. 

With just a tug the continuous thread could be pulled out easily....like unraveling a knitting project.  So when I'm done I snip my threads and cover the back with white glue.  This seals everything up nicely.

For this project I punched rows of colors leaving spaces where I'm adding beads on the front as I go. Who knows where this is going....it was an experiment. It may end up mounted on canvas. 

Here's the front and back of a little sun that's still in progress. I could keep it round and continue filling in the blue...or even square it up.                                                                                                                                  

This was another experiment....I'm still deciding what's going to go in the middle.  This is a covered button...but it's not attached....and not right. Yes...sometimes I mull things over for years. At some point I hope to get back to these projects and actually do something with them. It's been fun to pull it all out again.

To finish the edges of this piece I cut the weavers cloth to about 1/2 an inch and clipped the curves.  Using white glue I covered the back of the piece to secure the threads and pressed the weaves cloth into the glue.

I used a row of needle punch for this little piece I made for my show a year ago. I do like the way it turned out so will revisit this idea again.

There you have it....a needle punch pause. Now I think I need just a tiny nap before I get back to work.

May is Done....

....just in the nick of time! Look how well it goes with the paper tubes at the top of this blog! I do love color!

In the end I decided to mix in more buttons on my May project. The needle punched tufts on all the flowers was too much and the buttons seemed to tone it down a bit...if that's possible. I wonder what's coming next for Folt Bolt's June color scheme. I'm a little late submitting this month's...so we'll see what happens. It doesn't really matter because it's all about the challenge...and of course the joy! 

I fused the fabric around the paint panel again this time...a pretty slick and easy way to finish a piece. This one is a tiny 5" by 7".

 It's a little goofy....but also happy and fun. Did I mention it's done! Yay! You can see the first 4 months here.

Rainy Day Dots

I got the rainy day I asked for in yesterday's post....but I actually had to be home to get chores and craft projects done.  I did sneak a few hours in the middle of the day between events, appointments, and class to work on my May color scheme project. Notice I chose crafting over chores.  Thank goodness I'm not obsessed with a tidy house.

One of my goals with this year long project is to try different techniques and media each month. This time I'm using needle punch...more on that soon. It may end up being a little goofy....but I think that's OK with a rainbow scheme.



This is where I left it at the beginning of the month....an idea in the middle of the night and little tufts of needle punch.

And this is what was in my head....a flower with the tuft as the center.


I cut out a tuft leaving a little of the background fabric. Next I fused layers of fabric around it creating a flower.

I collaged and stitched a neutral background and made a fun polka dotted vase. 

I thought this striped foreground fabric worked well with the dots.

This piece is going to be 5 x 7....or maybe 6 x 8 depending on the border.

I played around a little more with the tufts....but I need to mull it over for a few days. These are not attached to the tufts or the background yet....I'm just auditioning.

Do I keep them more simple like this....with a little stitching?  Do I use the more complex flower from above? Should they all be different?

A fresh look another day will help.  But it is May 22nd....and I do want to get this done by the end of the month.  I need another rainy day...and a housekeeper!