fatcat felt

can you tell what it is yet ... ?

2012-02-12T09:18:00.002Z

yep, finally, the long-awaited, much-anticipated part 2 of 2!

components for pieces one, two and three

piece three of four

piece four of four

and as a wee reminder, here's the first two pieces ...

piece one of four

piece two of four

all will be revealed soon :)

snowdrops by starlight news

2012-02-08T15:42:00.004Z

i’ve finally finished all of my pieces and even managed to get them installed on time (despite quite a few setbacks along the way) mum is coming up for a long weekend to come along to the preview evening with us, and i'm really happy to say that the snowdrops by starlight festival (including some felt sculptures/installations by me!) starts very soon …

11 to 19 february
snowdrops by starlight
daily from 5.30pm – booking essential!

enjoy the mesmerising light effects as these unique snowdrop woods are transformed by light and sound. an inspiring and artistic spectacle!

new for 2012 – story telling with lizzie mcdougall and snowdrop lantern workshops with jon warnes.

prebooked tickets and car park voucher available online at http://www.snowdropsbystarlight.com/ or phone 01333 450054/450313

cambo house
kingsbarns
st. andrews
fife
ky16 8qd
scotland

telephone: +44 (0) 1333 450054
email: cambo@camboestate.com
website: www.camboestate.com/snowdrops

the snowdrop spectacular will be running until 13th march and is open daily from 10am to 5pm, so you still have a chance to view the vista of snowdrops plus some wonderful artworks, just not under the sparkly lights at night though.

here’s a little more information about cambo and their snowdrops:

“the gardens, including a victorian walled garden and informal woodland garden, boast over 300 varieties of specialist snowdrops and a limited number of these are sold each year.

catherine’s collection of snowdrops, which is being added to yearly, is the largest specialist snowdrop collection in scotland.

you can follow the cambo burn to the shore, it is the 70 acres of woodland, historically laid out with a series of walks in mind, which provide the snowdrop spectacular in february and early march – possibly the best in britain."

it was dark by the time i finished setting up, so i've no photos to share yet, promise to remedy this soon!

can you tell what it is yet ... ?

2012-01-29T06:53:00.000Z

part 1 of 2
(in honour of my lovely friend heather here is a two-part teaser)

piece one of four

piece two of four

me neither - hee hee!

answers on the back of a postcard please :)

fatcat felt is proud to present ...

2012-01-28T12:26:00.000Z

my new ad!

i've been playing around with my newly acquired photoshop skills again. i was quite pleased with the business cards i made recently, so i developed that design to create this ...

as i'm not going to be taking part in any markets until later in the year i thought it might be worthwhile to try some advertising to let folk know that i'm here and have lots of lovely felt goodies available.

have you tried advertising before? if so, i'd welcome any advice on what worked for you and any tips on good places to advertise :)

queen of hearts

2012-01-22T17:14:00.001Z

to celebrate valentine's day, this wonderful array of felt hearts are now available from fatcat felt's folksy shop

folksy shop now updated

2012-01-15T06:45:00.000Z

thankfully i've had just enough daylight to get photos of some of my recent work :)

there is now a small selection of goodies available to purchase from fatcat felt's folksy shop, with hopefully much more to follow soon.

here's a wee preview ...

necklaces

bracelets

brooches

pebble gift set

pebble brooches

feltmaking kits

horst workshop in ireland

2012-01-12T06:24:00.000Z

my lovely wee pitch at the campsite

i can't quite believe it was seven months ago that i went to ireland for the workshop with horst, it really has been such a quick year.

so, in the spirit of 'better late than never', here are a few pics from my trip.

it really was the most amazing weekend - it was the furthest i've ever travelled on my own, the first time i've been overseas on my own and the first time (and thankfully not the last) that i've been camping on my own.

busy, busy

i did get off to a bit of a shaky start though, as the ferry was late leaving and once we had boarded, the tannoy announcement to apologise for the delay also mentioned that the journey would take longer than expected as one of the engines wasn't working quite right.

the two hour delay and the five hour drive meant that i didn't arrive at the campsite until 4.30 in the morning, in the middle of a thunder storm! as i didn't really feel like pitching my tent i tried to sleep in the car, without much success.

however, i'm really happy to say that the weekend started looking up after that! the sun came out, i got a lovely spot in the campsite, i met wonderful people and learned so much from horst. in fact, by the time i got back to the tent at night i was so excited and my head was so full of ideas it was hard to get to sleep.

it was also a great opportunity to see some of horst's garments up close - unfortunately my photos don't do them justice. i really fell in love with the gold coat with the green dreads and it felt amazing when i tried it on.

unfortunately, i didn't get too many piccies as i was either too busy chatting or too busy working to catch up after chatting too much!

laying out the top part of my coat

laying out the skirt of my coat and attaching it to the top

attaching the 'leaflets' around the skirt

so many colours to choose from!

busy at the dyeing station

where we were 'assisted' by a friendly local dog

exhaust dyeing the finished garments

a small selection of finished pieces

and here is the end result ...

i cannot tell you how much it meant to me to be able to take part in this workshop. it was great to finally meet nicola who worked so hard to arrange everything, it was amazing to get to work with horst (you know how they say you should never meet your heroes? well, in this case that saying was entirely incorrect! horst is a fabulously talented, inspiring and giving person), and it was an honour to get to meet and work with gina, lorraine, kirsten, girda, natasha, sigrid, nessa, michelle, cristina and tricia. with big thanks to cristina and niall for the fab food that kept us all going through the weekend.

you can find much better pics here ...

from kirsten
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elisefilt/sets/72157627045592490/

and from nicola
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28367475@N02/sets/72157627013061886/

quite exciting (but a little bit scary too) news ...

2012-01-06T06:36:00.000Z

... i submitted my first proposal for my first outdoor installation to the snowdrops by starlight festival - and it got accepted!

now i just hope that i can turn the images that i have daydreamed about into lovely felted reality.

more info on the festival here:
snowdrops by starlight
snowdrops by starlight blog

merry christmas one and all

2011-12-22T06:00:00.012Z

i wish you every happiness over the festive season and for the coming year. may it be peaceful, joyous, full of hope, health, happiness and love.

thank you

2011-12-14T06:20:00.006Z

to everyone who braved the chilly day on saturday to come down to the perth christmas craft market.

we were so lucky with the weather - the winds and rain had gone, we didn't have any snow and the sun even shone for a brief while!

i will be updating my online shop over the weekend but if there is something you would like to order in the meantime, please feel to drop me an email to fatcatfelt 'at' hotmail 'dot' co 'dot' uk or get in touch through this blog.

every day is a learning day!

2011-12-13T06:25:00.001Z

i was doing a little shopping online recently and, as well as buying the usual pre-dyed merino i use for the majority of my feltmaking, i thought i would buy some undyed fibre to practice dyeing with.

while i was looking, some 'superwash' fibre caught my eye.

oh, thought i, superwash must mean that it has been 'super' washed and will be really clean ... those of you who know what superwash is will be groaning by now!

superwash, in fact, refers to wool that has been treated to remove the scales from the fibre (using an acid bath) or by coating the fibre with a polymer to prevent the scales from attaching to each other.

which pretty much rules it out for felting!

apparently it was developed in the 70's to enable woollen garments to be made which were machine washable. great for spinning and knitting apparently.

but not feltmaking.

when i started to work with it, i thought it felt wonderfully soft. and i also didn't take the time to lay out a test piece first, surely i didn't need to as it was just regular merino which had been washed really, really well?

goodness me what a mess! i had laid out a number of pieces as i usually do, wet it all out and then went to felt it. it turned into a soggy mess of fibres and not surprisingly didn't felt to the regular merino too well.

i now have a new rule - before buying anything that i haven't heard of or haven't used before, i will do a little research first.

a lovely swap

2011-12-08T06:02:00.003Z

well, this must have been the longest-running swap in the history of swapping!

i think angela and i first chatted about making a swap for each other at the start of the year, but between one thing and another ... well, you know how it goes!

we did both agree that it was more than worth the wait though as we were able to swap in person when i popped down to ilkley recently for one of angela's workshops.

angela couldn't have made anything more perfect for me. i must admit to being a bit of a notebook fanatic and angela has made this wonderfully soft and beautifully purpled journal cover. and, knowing, that i like bugs (and shiny things) has added this rose chafer bug which is just stunning - the photo doesn't do it justice.

as my hands aren't very happy at the moment, i haven't been able to get any felting done. i can't knit or crochet (yet!) but wanted to keep to a woolly theme, so i made angela this knotted woollen scarf in her favourite colours to keep the chilly yorkshire winds at bay.

thanks angela, i really love my journal!

(thanks also to angela for letting me use her pics - my laptop has died on me and i lost my photos!)

winterlight festival

2011-12-06T17:53:00.002Z

thanks to everyone who stopped by over the weekend, it was lovely to meet lots of new people.

thanks also to mandy of an cnoc for doing a sterling job of getting the market organised - thank goodness we were indoors as it snowed on sunday!

and thanks to everyone at comrie croft - the festival was a wonderful weekend in a really unique setting, with so much going on over the two days from music to workshops to lantern processions, there really was something for everyone.

oh and one final thanks to my fellow stall-holders, who had me in stitches! the whole weekend had such a relaxed and happy atmosphere that it felt like a day out with friends rather than a hectic market.

perth christmas craft market

2011-12-05T06:58:00.006Z

~~~ saturday 10th november, 9am to 5pm ~~~
perth christmas craft market
king edward street, perth

fingers crossed that it's dry, not too windy and the snow stays away for a few more days yet!

perth is holding its annual christmas craft market on saturday 10th december, between 9am and 5pm. this will be a great chance to find some lovely christmas gifts or even a few treats for yourself.

just in case the weather is not looking too kind you can call gail cain on 07920 784085, or gillian coyne on 07920 784090 to check that the market will be taking place.

if you're passing, please stop by to say hello, it would be lovely to see you there.

for more details: perth markets

drum roll please ...

2011-12-04T06:06:00.002Z

i'd like to show off my brand-spanking-new-hot-off-the-press business card

(is it odd to get so excited over a piece of card? no matter how pretty?!)

i must admit that i do have a weakness for stationery in all its guises so is a business card really necessary ... ? well, i think so.

for me, it's the details that matter and this is one of those details that matter (to me).

i like to have them on my stall at markets so that folk can take away a wee reminder of my work, along with all of my contact details, in case they would like to buy something later on. it's also a nice wee thing to pop in with a purchase made online.

plus, it makes me feel that wee bit more grown up and professional about it all :)

very exciting news!

2011-12-02T09:58:00.002Z

tactile 2011 is now on display in edinburgh.

the tactile 2011 exhibition which ran during september and october has now moved through to edinburgh. kal ali visited the exhibition in alloa and thought it would be perfect for the new venue she was opening in edinburgh.

thanks to the hard work of angela, nic and lynn the arrangements were made and the pieces are now installed.

you can visit the exhibition, which is on until 8th january, at:

sewing bee cafe
360 leith walk
edinburgh
eh6

(if you're going down leith walk it's on your left just after pilrig street)

unfortunately i couldn't make the opening event as i was away that weekend and since i've been back i've been at markets, or getting ready for them, every weekend since. i see a small gap in my diary in about two weeks time so hopefully i can fit in a visit to the christmassy princes street gardens while I’m in town.

as an added bonus, after you have enjoyed the exhibition, you can rent out sewing machines by the hour, while enjoying a lovely cuppa :)

winter light festival this weekend

2011-11-28T06:16:00.002Z

i hope you can make it ...

perth christmas craft market next saturday cancelled

2011-11-19T06:38:00.002Z

*** sorry to say that today's market has been cancelled due to the high winds ***

hope to see you there ...

~~~ saturday 26th november, 9am to 5pm ~~~
perth christmas craft market
king edward street and st john's place, perth
more info: perth markets
this is an outdoor market, so make sure you wrap up warm (i certainly will!), a great opportunity to browse a wonderful range of talented makers.

winter light festival at comrie croft

2011-11-13T06:16:00.004Z

well i have to say that i am really excited to be taking part in this wonderful festival. the workshops sound fab - i can't wait to see the lanterns that visitors will be making, and the junk drum and samba workshop sounds intriguing. then, to round it all off, an evening of quirky folk music!

i really hope you'll be in the area and can pop in, i'll have a stall full of fatcat felt loveliness in the festive market so it would be great to see you there.

the festival is being hosted by remake scotland and comrie croft in aid of CHAS and action on depression. there will be a festive market, music and craft workshops, a lantern and drum procession, folk music …

workshops are just £5 each and you can book by calling comrie croft on 01764 670140. plus, if you would like to help out on the day or give a hand with the lantern making, please contact fiona gilbert on 0750 557 6361 or fiona.remake@gmail.com.

international day of felt gallery now online!

2011-11-12T09:03:00.001Z

so, there has been a distinct lack of photos here recently and to try to redress this - here's the link to the international day of felt gallery ... lots of lovely photos of blue, red and purple feltyness!

congrats to everyone who has their work featured, such an amazing range of work from talented feltmakers.

felt united 2011

tactile 2011

2011-11-10T06:11:00.002Z

thought i would share this fab catalogue from the recent exhibition i was in. this is the first time some of my work has been exhibited and i'm still finding it really rather exciting! plus, a lovely lady who had visited the exhibition has asked to move the whole thing through to edinburgh for a month! i'll share more details once i have them.

in the meantime, i hope you enjoy browsing ...

Open publication - Free publishing - More artists

and just in case that's not working for you, you can find the catalogue online here: tactile 2011

thanks ...

2011-11-07T11:35:00.001Z

... to everyone who came along yesterday.

it was lovely to see some familiar faces and great to meet lots of new folk too.

dawn did such a fabulous job organising this event, it was so well advertised in the run up to the day and we had a steady stream of visitors all day long, plus it was a treat to be indoors on such a chilly, frosty day!

next event is the perth christmas craft fair on saturday 26th november - more details to follow soon.

in the meantime, if there is anything you saw on my stall yesterday that you would like to purchase, please feel free to get in touch (i'm hoping to get my online shop up and running this week but sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day).

handmade show in perth this sunday

2011-11-02T06:46:00.004Z

just a wee reminder that the handmade show is being held in perth concert hall this sunday.

it would be lovely to see you there, and you never know, you might just find those perfect christmas gifts (all under one roof!).

~~~ sunday 6th november, 11am to 5pm ~~~
handmade show
perth concert hall, mill street, perth, ph1 5hz
more info: handmade show
have a wee look at the gallery - so many talented makers with lots of tempting goodies.

international day of felt 2011

2011-10-28T06:41:00.001+01:00

it's hard to believe that this event has been running for three years now! i find it a lovely excuse to have a play and create something just that little bit different.

this year's colour scheme was red, blue and purple. and here's my offering ...

it didn't quite turn out as it looked in my imagination but it was the first time i had tried making a pod shape so i'm not too discouraged. just makes me want to try again! hopefully my design will improve and it won't be too long before pods are appearing in my online shop and on my stall.

if you'd like to take part next year, you can find more info., here felt united

i'll let you know when the gallery is published, i'm really looking forward to seeing all this year's entries.

a few events for fatcat felt

2011-10-23T16:42:00.004+01:00

i will be exhibiting at the following fairs in the next couple of months:

~~~ sunday 6th november, 11am to 5pm ~~~
handmade show
perth concert hall, mill street, perth, ph1 5hz
more info: handmade show
have a wee look at the gallery - so many talented makers here with lots of tempting goodies.

~~~ saturday 26th november, 9am to 5pm ~~~
perth christmas craft market
king edward street and st john's place, perth
more info: perth markets
this is an outdoor market, so make sure you wrap up warm (i certainly will!), a great opportunity to browse a wonderful range of makers.

~~~ saturday 3rd and sunday 4th december, time tbc ~~~
comrie croft winter light festival
comrie croft, braincroft, crieff, perthshire, ph7 4jz
more info: comrie croft events
a beautiful setting with lots of interesting things planned for this weekend, more details to follow.

if you're in the area, please pop by, it would be lovely to see you there.

hello and welcome to fatcat felt

2011-06-15T06:30:00.000+01:00

making the world a cuddlier place, one piece of felt at a time …

my work includes a range of items: keyrings; bagcharms; necklaces; ear-rings; bracelets; seasonal decorations; brooches; purses; bags; journal covers; hats; bookmarks; scarves; clothing; cushions; mobiles; and cards.

all of my work is hand felted, either needle or wet felted (sometimes a combination of both), hand cut and hand sewn which means that each item is unique and individual.

all of my colours and designs can be tailored to your preferences and i am always happy to accept commissions to create that special something for a gift or as a treat for you.

new ranges and seasonal items will be added throughout the year so please pop back regularly to see what’s new.

please have a look around and feel free to get in touch, it would be lovely to hear from you.

tracy

fatcat felt

can you tell what it is yet ... ?

snowdrops by starlight news

can you tell what it is yet ... ?

fatcat felt is proud to present ...

queen of hearts

folksy shop now updated

horst workshop in ireland

quite exciting (but a little bit scary too) news ...

merry christmas one and all

thank you

every day is a learning day!

a lovely swap

winterlight festival

perth christmas craft market

drum roll please ...

very exciting news!

winter light festival this weekend

perth christmas craft market next saturday *cancelled*

winter light festival at comrie croft

international day of felt gallery now online!

tactile 2011

thanks ...

handmade show in perth this sunday

international day of felt 2011

a few events for fatcat felt

hello and welcome to fatcat felt

perth christmas craft market next saturday cancelled