Wet Felting

The wet felting workshop I hosted on the 25th of February, I thought, was great fun!! 

I know I learned a lot. I can't wait to do more of it :) 

I've included some pictures here of the process and of the finished projects!

Choosing fiber for wrapping the potato(used as a form).

 

Add thin layers of fiber, make sure not to make it too thick.

Pouring hot soapy water over the fiber on the potato.

Squeezing soapy water through fiber.

Keep turning and squeezing until the fiber felts, this may take a little while.

A fine example of felted fiber.

An original design!

Cutting out the flap.

Slide the felted fiber off of the potato.

Starting the fulling process, using ridged liner for a resist material.

Made sure to get all sides.

Turn it inside out and full the inside as well.

Any loose fiber that just wouldn't felt can be needle felted into place.

Rinsing the soap out.

Select roving for the handle to make a small hanging pouch.

  

Using the resist material to felt the handle.

Also, you can roll it in your hands to felt the fiber.

 

Needle felting the handle into place.

This is a very interesting design, all done during the fulling process.

A cute little cup or bowl!

Finished pouch.

Another fine example!

I feel fortunate to know so many talented people!
Thanks to everyone who attended :) -K

PS - I know some of the pics were a little blurry, my camera just wasn't cooperating that day, sorry about that. Maybe it's time for a new one...

Fiber Dyeing for Wet Felting Workshop

I'm so excited to be able to offer the upcoming workshop on wet felting. 

In preparation for it, I needed to wash some suitable fiber and then after consulting
a few friends, decided it would be a good idea to offer some bright colors! 

 My friend Merian, (who generously offered to head the workshop)
 was happy to help with the dyeing. 

I myself have only dabbled in natural dyeing.
This was going to be mostly Kool-Aid dyeing!

How fun and interesting. I knew I would be learning something new...
I'd like to say that I helped, but Merian is a one woman show when she's dyeing! 

I've included pictures of the steps involved with this kind of dyeing.
It made some very vibrant colors..

First the (pre-washed) wool is soaked in warm soapy water.

Add kool-aid packets to gallon size plastic bag.(anywhere from one to 4 or more)

Add a glug of white vinegar(no photo for this), then add some water and make sure all of the powder has dissolved.

Add a couple handfuls of the wet fiber and then pour boiling water into the bag.

Seal the bag and gently turn bag to mix the contents together. Be gentle, you don't want to cause felting. Then let sit so the fiber can soak up the dye. The water will become mostly clear or slightly milky colored when the dye has been absorbed.

Next, take fiber out of bag, squeezing gently, then add to a bath of soapy water to wash out any remaining dye.

Drain and rinse, then squeeze as much liquid out of fiber as possible, remembering to be gentle.

Lay fiber out to dry!  Wonderful colors!!

The batts I've drum carded up so far for the wet felting!

Matron of the Woods

Last Saturday we made Matron of the Woods,
an idea my dear friend Bettie Sue came up with.

  We had a wonderful time playing around with what mother nature provided! 

See our beautiful creations!! :)

Gatherings from the woods to decorate the cones.

Adding the hair with glue and a toothpick.

 Works in progress...

The final stage of sprinkling with mica and then a spritz 

of clear coat to hold it all together!

I very much appreciate all who came! 

...and I hope you all enjoyed it :)

Holiday Wreaths

Following are some pictures of the wonderful
and interesting wreaths everyone made today!

Thank you to everyone who came and helped make it an enjoyable morning!

All of your wreaths were beautiful !!

Observations from Fall Fiber Festival 2011...

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that so many people believe that the yarn I am making goes around the wheel inself. (I must admit, I think I had the same impression before I learned to spin). So when I explain how the wheel works and where the spun fiber actually goes...I get the 'ooooohhhh' reaction. 

It's cute, someone will stare...I notice them watching...they keep watching...then get brave enough to ask how it works. Sometimes I just say hello and that seems to put them more at ease...after all, I don't bite ;)  

I put myself out there when I demonstrate for the simple purpose of showing and teaching anyone interested, just how making yarn works,
either on the wheel or drop spindle. 

Of course my overwhelming preference is the spinning wheel.

I know how wonderfully portable the drop spindle is, I just can't
get over the stop and go associated with using it.
I admire all those who can make amazing yarns on a drop spindle!

Then comes the approach with the accompanying question,
asked as follows..."I have a stupid question"...

Now, I know we all do this...we feel like our question has to seem 'stupid' to those who make things look easy that we just can't imagine ourselves doing.
I am overly guilty of doing this myself!

BUT...I always tell people that there is no such thing as a stupid question...I think it's stupid NOT to ask...how ever else would we learn anything new?

There also seems to be interest in what I'm doing for a few different reasons...

There is the person actually interested in the making of the yarn, either because they knit or crochet and have wondered how it's made
or have been inspired to learn to spin but didn't know where to start...

There's the generally curious person who looks in wonder, doesn't do anything with fiber, but thinks it's just 'cool'...and there's the engineering type that actually wants an explanation of exactly how the spinning wheel works. 
A lot of men ask this type of question,
they have no desire to learn to spin,
but they are so interested in how it all works..

 So next time you walk by and see someone doing something that interests you...
go ahead...ask your 'stupid' question,
you'll probably be glad you did and I hope you are inspired to learn something new!

Thanks to all of you who stopped and inquired about what I was doing...I had a fabulous time demonstrating at the Montpelier Fall Fiber Festival ! :)

When the Flowers Fade...

In the fall, after the first frost, when most of the lovely flowers have faded, we look for other types of nature to bring inside.I find it just as enjoyable to go hunting for pine cones, rose hips, and evergreen cuttings, as to cut a wildflower boquet...I recently spent a whole afternoon with Bettie Sue searching for just the right fall items to bring inside!

 Wild Rose hips make a wonderful window accent!

 Or they can be displayed in your favourite piece of pottery!

Or in a basket.

 Juniper berries are just wonderful...

 I just love the frosty blue colours!

These are absolutely gorgeous...and I have no idea what they are...

More of the same in the above picture...(I need to find out what they are).

Pine cones from a huge white pine tree!

(That's me with my grandpa in the picture behind)

Even deer antlers add a wonderful feel to a room (these are sheds found in the woods).

This is just some of what there is to find if you just go out and take a walk in the woods!

Perhaps you will be inspired :)

The Joys of Romney

I think Romney fiber is so wonderful!  It is so easy to work with. When washed, it keeps lock integrity and doesn't sproing shorter like Merino or Rambouillet after it's washing. Usually just one wash and one rinse will do, unless it's really dirty. It comes in the most wonderful shades of gray, from silver to charcoal.  Not high lanolin content. Easy for beginners with just enough grab, not too slick and not to clingy...all around fun!

 

 This particular fleece came from Harmony Farm Fibers on Esty. 6 pounds total.
It is wonderfully clean!

  The average seems to be between 4 and 5 inches. This is an ideal length to work with, at least in my opinion :)  Beautiful color variation. When blended, it's just gorgeous!

Depending on the light, it looks silver to a light brown. I brushed out the lock ends and fed it lengthwise into the drum carder(just one pass), then rolled the batt lengthwise and pre-drafted it for spinning. What I spun seems to be an ideal weight for this particular fleece, average 9 wraps per inch, it's 160 yds to 3.3 ounces(94 grams). Great feel!

Romney may not be the softest, but this wasn't coarse at all. Almost soft enough for a scarf, depending on how sensitive you are.  I've spun two skeins up so far...I keep holding it and snuggling with it, it's quite nice and generally pretty soft. I keep thinking about a nice warm shawl or maybe my first sweater!

This has so far been one of my favorite fleeces to work with...
and I've got over half of the bag left to wash!
After many Romney fleeces, I have decided that Romney is my all around favorite !!!