What's the number of times the letter "e" appears in:
This nighttime illumination photo...
...with its 'jack o' lantern'-like appearance...
Here are its spooky 'innards'...
...a metal ring with three braces leading to a center hole...
...plus an cord set like this one.
Conceptually, I imagined an oblong, exterior shape...
...with circular piercings...
...filled with a second, spherical shape...
...fashioned with circular inclusions that would show up as dark spots...
...when the lamp was illuminated.
I wanted to be able to look through the cut-out circles...
...to see circular 'dots' on the inner (circular) felt sphere...
...and also all the way through the lampshade...
...via circular holes on the opposite side.
(This detail shows the inner sphere with its darkened circle...
The finished lamp at night.
...mid-way through felting.
This photo of Fiona and I is for Dawn...
The finished lampshade.
The small slit that I cut in order to remove the resist...
...plus a couple of enlarged holes...
...were the only entry points available...
...for stuffing it, in order to block it.
In all, I used two inflatable Gertie balls, a pool noodle...
...and a number of cloth placemats and napkins.
While removing the stuffing materials (once dry)...
...the felt stretched a little, forming a couple of slightly misshapen holes.
Luckily, this side faces the wall...so they're not visible.
To complete the shade...
...the smaller, spherical part is 'tucked into' the larger, pierced part...
...and the midline is hand-stitched to the metal frame.
Now, installed and illuminated...
...my lamp provides a welcome glow in a dark corner of the studio!
Next time: photos of the illuminated lamp at night!
Fiona's Highly "Illuminating" Workshop- Part 1 of ?
Laying out wool...
...and adding felt circles (cut from my original project samples)...
...to only the smaller segment of the resist...
...then covering them with additional wool roving.
In the larger segment, mid-way through felting...
...I cut small slits in the felt...
...and gently teased them open with my fingers...
...to create small holes.
Adding to- and enlarging the openings...
...and rubbing their cut edges to 'heal' them.
...I spent several days in Ottawa on a 'Fiber Retreat' with Fiona Duthie.
We spent 1 and 1/2 days on the topic of 'felt illumination'...
...and each of us designed our own unique lampshade...
...for functional use at home.
Next time: the felt begins to take shape!
The front of the acid-dyed felt...
Here's a peek inside, too.
A hand-fashioned leather closure...
...features a vintage button gifted to me by my friend, Elis.
I used variegated thread to attach the straps and closure.
The finished purse in all of its 'golden' glory (back)...
By crumpling up the felt bag...
...into a no-longer-safe-for-food crockpot...
...and adding two different acid dyes...
...I achieved this mottled effect.
A strap and buttonhole closure were fashioned from warm brown leather...
...and were machine-stitched to the purse with variegated thread.
...the dark edge remains quite visible at the top of the bag.
My fully felted project, prior to blocking and drying.
Turning the bag inside-out...
...and filling it with leaves and berries prior to tying and steaming it...
...results in these rather faint prints...
...(and side two is no better).
The red splotches that you see here...
...are from the writing on a plastic grocery bag...
...used as a thin resist during felting.
Sadly, even after dyeing it with plant matter...
...this purse still seemed a bit "meh" to me.
Next time: I overdye it with acid dyes in a crock-pot...
...for a bold new look!
Assembling my supplies.
Laying out layers of white wool roving.
Please use caution if using plastic grocery bags as resists...
Adding a layer of darker, variegated roving...
...to the mouth and bottom of the bag...
...to help disguise any eventual 'wear and tear'.
Making loops for the strap attachments...
...and felting them into the bag.
Next time: the results of the first dye bath...
Fiona's Highly "Illuminating" Workshop- Part 3 of ...
"Big Sister" Crown and Unorthodox Baby Blanket- Pa...
Extra Large 'Reptile Skin' Purse- Part 2 of ?
Felt United 2014...With Fiona!

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There are 353 "e"s.
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