Heat, Humidity and a Handbag

     The same thing happens here every year. We get roughly two weeks of damp, hot weather where you need to engage in multiple cold showers and you can't get dry enough to get dressed. I do not have AC. With the size and design of my house, it would cost a fortune, and it isn't feasible anyway, since it's only unbearable for approximately two weeks. There are ways to stay cool, and I've been trying to do just that, felting for short periods of time late in the night when it's bearable to handle wool. Now I have completed this bag. I don't have the handles made yet and will work on those later today or possibly tonight. It's supposed to rain today but there's not a cloud in the sky as I write, so it will be very hot long before any rain comes. Then it will be all steamy again. Please enjoy the pics of this pretty bag. The client ordered the fringe on this shape of bag. It's a large piece so will hold lots of items. 

Last Evening's Sunset

     This is a picture of the sunset last evening. I wish I could get felt to look like that .. those colors are so beautiful. I really must work more on that though. I saw a felted landscape recently that had the most beautiful stormy sky, so I know it is possible.




     I have begun working on a new bag idea. I'm still not convinced that the design isn't a bit too complicated for the medium, but I'm about to find out. I'll be wetting it out today, after I run a couple of small errands, then applying the design which I have cut out of red prefelt. 

     Here's a look at the bits a pieces that will be going into this. The bag will be black outside and red inside and have a lobster on the outside. The lobster has a lot of parts so we'll see what happens. I'm still going to have to needle felt some of the details at the end. 

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

     I'm getting a bit slack with my posting here, but I have been otherwise occupied by visiting relatives. The highest ranking member of the family as well as the second heir to the throne, after myself,  were here for a couple of days so we did some catching up and ate a lot. The one from Montreal brought me the squeaky cheese curds I wanted, as well as an amazing surprise assortment of soft, ripened Quebec cheeses. Oh my heavens they're good!  I had given myself a wee break from my cholesterol medication, but due to this extravagant gift, I'm back on it again, just to be on the safe side. The grand matriarch from quaint Sherbrooke Village brought a couple of her award winning, totally to die for, rhubarb pies and some deliciously healthy bran muffins to counteract the effects of all that cheese. 

     So, while the relatives have now toddled off to the  South Shore, to spend a couple of luxurious nights at White Point Beach's Lodge, I was able to complete this bag. I had laid it out and wet it down before they arrived, meaning to find some time to work on it while they were here, but since I wasn't feeling my best, it required all my energy just to keep up with the meals. I rescued it just in time as the mess had developed and faint but offensive oder and I had to wash it out before continuing before I drove the smell into the wool, which seemed fine at this point. This bag required a lot more hand rubbing than I've been used to up until now, due to the complexity of the pattern. The diamonds are made of prefelt and each had yarn around it. In order to keep them in place I had to work this through the mesh for a long time. The results were well worth the patience it required. This is also my largest project so far. I think this will be the limit for awhile as finding space for anything bigger is going to require moving some tables together, all of which have other uses. 

     So here are three shots of the bag so far. I still need to make some simple ropes to serve as handles. I'm not sure if I'm going to add any beading to this. The more I look at it, the more I think the pattern is busy enough and beading would take away from the effort that went into putting it on. All the prefelt has Angelina fiber in it anyway, so I doubt there will be beads added. Once the ropes are on, there will be knots and tails too, so it's quite well embellished. 


     Well, it's long past lunch time and I'm starving, so see yas all next blog. 

Holstein Bag ... Completed Wet Felted Art Bag

     So here it is. The Holstein Bag ... the ropes have been made and attached.  A kind friend was able to cut me some bovine tail hair which I attached to the ends of the ropes. I washed it, over and over again, but it still had that all too familiar cow scent, so I finally used the dog's Skunk Off shampoo which seems to have worked. The hair is very, very coarse and the fibers tend to work their way up the ropes as I rolled them. They are also very hard on the hands, which were stinging late last night when I finished this. However, it was worth it as this bag is true to the vision I had for it and I love the way it worked out. It's thick and tough. The ropes are knotted for extra strength and it holds enough junk for a day out on the town. I finally think I have accomplished a quality felted piece.