On Friday I had the pleasure of taking a class from Fiberella - aka Paula Scaffidi. The class/workshop was hosted by my local sewing machine store and featured Paula showing about 20 avid sewers how to let our creativity flow using the Babylock Embellisher.
I purchased my Embellisher last fall, and have yet to use it. I took it out of the box and plugged it in - but that has been about it. Needless to say, I was stoked to have an Embellisher to play with all day under the tutelage of Paula.
The Embellisher is a needle felting machine. It has seven barbed needles and uses no thread. The needles force fibers to fuse (if they are willing!) I dig that concept because in essence you can create your own fabric. Needle felting machines are just gaining in popularity in the US, so there aren't many "experts" on the techniques one can use on the machine. Paula, however, is one of the experts. We learned several different techniques while we created textile sketchbook pages.
My first ever needle felting attempt was a random direct application of some varigated mohair wool onto some silk noile. Once it was down, it began to look like a school of fish. So with some not-so-good free motion stiching on a regular sewing machine, I decided to make them fish. It's a sketchbook page in progress...
Another technique we learned was how to create a very stable felt that could be used for dimensional applications. The flower petals are a felt I created using layers of rose and camel colored roving onto a water soluable stabilizer. The stem is silk needle felted to the page. Again, the not-so-good free motion stitching around the flower.
Speaking of not-so-good free motion stitching, in my 15+ years of sewing, I've never dropped my feed dogs. Go figure. So, in the upper corner, you will see my absolutely first attempt at free motion. The nice swirls were after some coaching and practice.
If you are textile junkie, you should seriously consider checking out the Embellisher. No matter what your poison, some needle felting can only open up more creative possiblities for your art.
