Stepping Back

     Yes, I know I've been very tardy with the blog but I really have been rather busy. We just wrapped up the In Hants Christmas Craft Show this weekend. We both pulled a shift in the canteen and had to just generally be around in case there was a need for more staff. The show itself was a great success. The revenue was flowing again this year. That's such a good sign as last year was pretty much a dismal bust for some sellers. My husband didn't do very well with selling his woodworking, and another gentleman was practically giving away his intarsia pieces but they weren't moving either.  All my small needle felted sculptures sold. I have a bunch more that need to be made right away too, as I have an order for Colorado, and I need some on hand for next week in Dartmouth, so I'm thinking of getting started on some of them this evening. I have to make a bunch of small birds and a couple of Woolfins. I'm up to G with the names of the Woolfins, so I'm thinking of a fishing outport kinda guy named Garge and a female named Hilda. I haven't dreamed up a persona for her as yet. 


     The spinning has been going very well and I have a great stash of wool yarns for my felting projects, as well as some for knitting mittens. I just love to knit mittens. My next plan with the wheel is to make some laceweight beaded yarn for a drapey triangle scarf/shawl. I using grey Corridale roving and size 8 white opalescent seed beads. There will also be a generous smattering of 4mm Bermuda Blue crystals throughout. I'm hoping the project will turn out a very elegant piece. 


     On the wet felting scene, I've taken a step back to catch up with some bookwork. I purchased Uniquely Felt and I'm not making anything else until I read it all, cover to cover. It's an amazing book and I'm now going to be able to correct bad habits, do things the correct way and have all the methods and reasoning right at my fingertips. I can't believe I was muddling through the process so awkwardly. I'm hoping all this knowledge will be making the felting process more enjoyable. A couple of projects are stewing away on the back burner of my brain just waiting for a chance to emerge and evolve into 3-D tactile objects. Stay tuned for more creations. 

Felted FiberFish

    


      Here is the finished Fiberfish. He's actually very handsome and has lots of bling thanks to the many, many beads and crystals adorning his fins and gills. This is my first project of this kind and he was, admittedly, a challenge. I first had to figure out how to make his fins and gills, which I ended up doing separately, then needle felting them to the body. The rest was done in one seamless piece using resists ... note the plural ... as there were separate ones for the dorsal fins and the tail, then a space before the body resist. Yes, he was an engineering challenge to begin with. The material is an art batt I received as a trade from Linda Koch. It was amazing as it contained tons of different fibers, a great deal of which were synthetic, so felting was going to be difficult. I underlayered it with the bright blue as I wanted a contrast. That was Corridale roving. After the wet felting process was taken as far as it would go, I blocked it out and stuffed it with plastic bags, added the fins and gill and worked on the beading while it dried. It hangs in my front window now, and Don came up with the idea that since there are five panels to that window, I should do an installment of five sea creatures hanging there to simulate an fantasy aquarium. I think he's on to something there as I've been giving it some serious thought and I really want to take this a bit farther anyway. I've been thinking about a jellyfish which would give me practice in making thin coiled ropes. Perhaps later on, some aquatic plants or other undersea life. I find it an inspiring concept, so I think after the craft show next month, I'll be delving into this project if I'm not too swamped with Christmas commissions. 


     And speaking of the craft show: 

Flashy Felted Slippers

     This is the second pair of slippers made in the wet felted technique using a resist. I love the way the colors worked out. I made the inside with violet and mulberry, then put two light layers of yellow over top. Lots of ultraviolet Angelina and a wisp of yellow to lock it in.  A bit of embroidery, a suede sole and presto ... my new slippers. They're nice and warm too. 


     Using this technique, you can make several different styles. It's just adjusting the length between the feet. You could make boots if you wanted to, but would have to enlarge the instep so you could get your feet inside. After separating the feet, you can change the style by how you shape the opening. 

Journal Covers

     It's been awhile since I've written here. Been busy with social events, most notably the Dutch Mason Blues Festival in Truro, Nova Scotia last weekend. I've finally recovered from sleep deprivation, dehydration and sunburn and back to my normal self. I just finished up a series of journal covers for the craft show in the fall. I was able to find the journals at a very small cost so can keep the price low in hopes they all sell. This week has been very hot so working with wool has been put aside until it cools down a bit. In the meantime, I'm catching up on housework. My husband is returning next week from six months working in the Arctic so I have to give the place a good cleaning while the clutter is at an all time low. 
I've been looking at more work from various fiber artists and have decided to attempt something new. Not sure how it's going to work out as there are some technical issues that I don't know how to do, but I'm going to wing it and hope for something great to evolve. Stay tuned for progress on that. Here's a couple more pics of the journals. 

Just Playin' Around

     I've been experimenting again ... and while I'm doing that, have satisfied a need for a small case to carry my business cards. They always seem to get messed up on the corners in my wallet, due to the heavy traffic in there, I'm sure, so I needed something just for them that would keep them clean and free from rubbing against other things. 


     The experimental part was playing with the Angelina fiber. Up until now, I've just been gently "sprinkling" the fibers over the second to last layer from the top, then applying a very thin layer of fiber to lock it in. I've been finding that very time consuming as I have to pull it apart and almost let the air place it on the fiber. It always seems to take me a long time to place it. Then I have to be so careful not to cover it with too much wool or it vanishes completely. I was also finding that some of the fibers were coming loose and falling out. My solution was to bond the fiber to itself first by pressing it with the dry iron between a folded piece of paper. It will only stick to itself. This creates a flat sheet of Angelina which I can now place were I want it and cover with a very whispy layer of wool. Because it's bonded, I like the look when it sort of bubbles in spots and no fiber is lost. The extra sheen is amazing too. 

     This will probably be my last attempt to photograph this effect as it's just not working. I can't seem to capture the effect at all. This photo sort of gives you a vague idea of what I'm talking about. You can't really see the fiber, only the holographic shimmer it reflects as the light hits it. I'm truly in love with the effect and tend to use often in small projects. Now that I've discovered that bonding it works better, I'm thinking of using it in sheets with resists for slits and cut outs as well, Oooohhhh ... the possibilities! 

A Great Canada Day

     I couldn't have asked for better weather! I was able to drag myself out of bed at an early hour, feed and secure the dog for the day, and get on the road early. I grabbed a coffee at Tim's in Elmsdale for the trip in, and arrived at the free artists' parking area early. It wasn't far from there to the artists' area and after registering with the coordinator, I was directed to a table at the far north end under a canopy. It was the only table that had a canopy! The early bird gets the worm! In this picture of the Halifax Dartmouth Ferry, I was located directly behind the vessel. The air was crisp and refreshing, and there was barely an odor from the Harbor. The sewage treatment must finally be up and running. To my right were some painters who had their dog with them, a beautiful male whippet. However, they were in full sun so I was a bit concerned for the dog. Directly across were a nice lady and her son selling t-shirts and bags with fabulous silk screened fish prints on them. I loved the art and found out the son did the design, this was his first selling event and he was going to Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. To their left was a pottery table with wonderful, original things of all types.  


     It didn't take me long to set up. I brought a table cloth that just fit perfectly, whipped it over the table, fussed with it for a bit, duct taped it down and laid everything on the table. Still Going Strong, my old ladies sculpture, took front and center position and I hung the purses from the canopy support bar over my head. Looking around, I decided I had the very best spot on the boardwalk! It was only a matter of minutes before two lovely ladies came and chatted with me for quite awhile, then purchased several items. They also took my card for a friend. Great! 

     One of the painters approached me and asked if I would mind sharing my shade with their dog for a little while. I had no problem with that so had a very pretty dog tied to my table for about an hour. He was a people magnet as well. I got to meet a famous former mayor of Dartmouth which was nice. A very nice lady. Quite a few of my friends stopped by and they were very kind to purchase a few items, some of which were a bit higher end. I even received a commission for an interesting purse. I'll be making it next week and look forward to designing it. It's a unique concept based on two of my other pieces with elements of each. 


     In return for dog sitting, I asked the painter to watch my table while I went in search of a bathroom. It wasn't far and on my return I stopped to chat with a very sweet Pakistani lady who was selling lovely treats from her native land, in the middle of the terminal building. I ordered a lentil samosa, and while it was heating up she told me she was 70 years old (she sure didn't look that old!) and was taking the rest of the summer off after this event. The samosa was delicious! When I returned to my booth, and I'm calling it a booth now as I feel very special having the canopy, I'm the envy of the other sellers as they're in full sun. Some have brought large patio umbrellas. Good plan except the wind was picking up. They were beginning to spin at an alarming rate! Then it was calm again. The next few hours were much the same, with occasional gusts that forced me to rearrange my wares and tack some items to the table. 

     The first disaster of the day happened shortly after 1 pm. The young man across from me walked out from between his table and the pottery table. He tripped over the table leg and caused the pottery to go flying! Oh my goodness; what a tragedy! The casualties were the unique but obviously top heavy sign the potters had made, from pottery, with their shop name on it. Also in pieces were a piece that had been on a wrought iron stand. Such a shame. The look on the boy's face was heartbreaking too, as he clearly wanted to die. I was afraid he might cry, adding further shame to his already shattered inner being. His mother came to his emotional rescue and made things right with the pottery folks. I'm sure they were pissed though. For an artist, each piece is dear to the heart, and we constantly hope to find a home for them where they will have the respect they deserve. 

     Another drama soon ensued. Two of the sellers from inside, a young man in a red shirt and an older gent in khaki shorts approached the bicycle police in a frenzy. Red Shirt was using some pretty foul language and saying that Khaki had "laid his hands" on him.  I heard the part where they were beside each other inside but didn't hear exactly what happened. A couple of the terminal security arrived. Could they not find bigger men? These two giants drew looks from sheer size! Red Shirt slunk off back to his table, leaving Khaki talking to the authorities. Red Shirt had been hanging out at my booth earlier (booth; notice the attitude I've developed over this prime real estate) and he was just plain weird. I was glad when he buggered off. Khaki and the Two Giants headed back inside to have a chat with Red Shirt. I saw them later in the day working in close proximity of each other and successfully ignoring their neighbor's existence, so I guess it all worked out. Khaki had the popcorn stand and Red Shirt was selling God knows what, looked like fridge magnets and key chains but I wasn't going close enough to investigate. 


     A great gust of wind came up, sending those aforementioned patio umbrellas airborne. The one shading the t-shirt folks landed on the pottery table, sending more precious pottery to the cement. It was hard to look. I really couldn't watch this. My heart broke for the t-shirt family. The potters only stayed for a little while longer, then packed up and left. So did the painters next to me. I stayed until 5:30 pm, then packed up as well. I was among the last to go and there really wasn't a lot of traffic on the boardwalk by then, as everyone was seated at the free concert or the beer garden. I didn't make any great amount of money, but a lot more than I came with, and the entry fee was so low it was really a great day. Lots of cards were given out to sincere people who were genuinely interested. Overall,  I was fairly pleased and well attend this show again next year. 




     

Getting Ready for Canada Day

     And so a new week begins. I'm nearly ready for Canada Day. Watching the long term weather report and hoping the rain is going to move off by then. In the meantime, we're in for a wet week. They're still calling for showers on Thursday morning, which will force the event to be inside. I was hoping we'd be outside, but that might have drawbacks as well, such as wind, in which case all my things would have to be pinned down to the table, and sunburn, which would be inevitable with my fair skin. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. This is a photo of one of the new hair combs I have to offer. The flowers are really pretty, and I've already had gaping jaws of disbelief that they are really made of wool. They're very fun to make and I never really know how they'll turn out until I have them finished. 


     I enjoyed another nice gathering with friends on the weekend. We went for a boat ride, a swim, a great barbeque and a bonfire.  It was really fun and the weather held up for us. Can't ask for more than that. Today I'm packing up items to sell on Canada Day at the Alderney Landing waterfront Boardwalk Artists event. I'll be there selling from 10 am until 6 pm if anyone is interested in coming. There will be lots of artists there talking about their work. I'm told there is a small cover charge to get in.  I hope to see you there. 

Enjoying Summer

     Here is a picture of my spirea hedge in front of the house, heavy with blooms. It's a rather pretty hedge for about one week out of the year, so since this is the time, I intend to sit and stare at it because it won't last long. The weather has been quite nice and not too hot yet. I'm bracing for the extreme humidity that seems so hold us prisoners to our fans and air conditioners every year for two solid weeks, but it's not here just yet, so I'm still enjoying beautiful, dry days. 

    The top for the ottoman is finished and just needs to dry out. My attempt to make it resemble stormy clouds against and multi hued sky is so-so. I like some of it ... other parts not so much. It's good enough to sit on  and cover the current top which is badly torn. This was my first time using curly locks as well. They stick rather well and the root ends felt into the other fibers quickly and solidly. Being an experimental piece, I'm almost happy with it. Today I'm going to clean up a bit and get ready to make some smaller things ... I have some flowers in mind that I hope will turn in to nice necklaces. Wish me luck .. as it's another project I've never tried before. 

Finished Wet Felted Handbag

     I had some doubts about this design, but it actually worked better than I expected. The lobster is rather cute, if I do say so myself, even though it's pretty much anatomically correct. There is even a difference between the pincher and the crusher claws. I really had to do quite a bit of hand rubbing through the mesh in order to secure all the parts of the prefelt design, but eventually it stuck enough that I felt it would stay in place while rolling it. I'm pleased with the result but I doubt I'll make another unless it's a commission. It's just too fiddly and I still had to do some needle felting of finer details at the end. 


     I did a good job felting this one. The felt is very firm and tough. One thing about these bags is that they are durable. I also noticed that water will pool on the surface of a dried bag. That's just cool. 

     This is probably the last of the new stuff before the big Canada Day Boardwalk Artists event. I mailed my entry fee in the other day and hope to get confirmation this week. My plans for this coming week include a large round felt to cover the top of my ratty old ottoman. I'd love to just chuck it in the garbage, but my husband brought it home from Cyprus and it's so comfortable to sit on that I suppose I can't get rid of it. It needs to be covered though, so that will be this week's project. I saw a picture taken by Andrea Graham of the work of one of her students that inspires me to try to replicate a very stormy sky, so that will be the theme of the felt. I will also give me a chance to use some of the new curly locks I bought. The kind people at Gaspereau Valley Fibers gave me a free package of white locks because they didn't feel the quality was up to par. They're wonderful to do business with and I can get the Louet fiber through them, quickly and at a better price than ordering directly from Louet, thanks to the drop shipping feature. I think the yellowed tips will look great in a moody sky scene. Wish me luck, because I really have no idea how to put them on the felt ..  this is going to be an experiment as well. I think my felting needles will be coming into play again very soon. 

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. 

First Rose of the Year

     This was peeking out at me this morning when I went outside to put Daisy in her pen. It's the first rose this year and it's just beautiful. The bush is literally drooping with the weight of buds and since my lazy butt didn't get to pruning it properly this spring, there's likely going to be breakage. I promise myself to do the pruning after the first bloom. The bush loves to be cut back and it seems you can't cut too much off as it grows so quickly. I'm sure my lawn man would appreciate it being pruned as well. I can't help but giggle when he get caught up in some of the longer canes as he goes past on his John Deer ride-on mower.  I'm evil, yes. 


     It's been a great weekend. Warm and dry, sunny and calm. Just perfect weather. I applied to enter the Canada Day Boardwalk Artists event at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth so spent yesterday making sure all inventory items were labelled correctly, printing and cutting business cards and packing the stuff in a way that is easiest for me to transport. A large suitcase on wheels seems to be holding all my stuff and another tote bag with that should be enough for one day of selling on the waterfront. I hope, I hope, I hope it's a nice day as I so much want to sell outside on the boardwalk. There is another place booked in case of rain but it won't be as nice or as busy. The is really a weather dependent event. I wanted to take some of Don's woodworking as well, but the way I interpret the rules, it looks like they want the actual artists of all the work to be there, so I have to ask if it's ok to sell his work there too. There are still a couple of weeks to work out all the details and get my entry fee in. 

     Yesterday, everyone in the neighborhood managed to get their lawns mowed, so this morning was unusually quiet ... for hours there was no sound other than the birds. Even the traffic down on the highway was sparse, and I enjoyed a great sleep in until almost 9. Lazy me. I finished all the laundry yesterday and got the civic number sign mounted outside to appease the powers at the municipal office, who have begun sending out threatening letters to those who haven't complied. It was a very productive day which means I actually have time to work on my art today. I have an idea for a novelty bag with a lobster design. I'd like to get a couple of them done before Canada Day as I think they will sell to tourists visiting our beautiful province. The idea is to have a lobster on them ... since it is one of our native delicacies and who doesn't love it? So much of our culture depends on lobster and novelties with this theme sell very well. 

                  

So, with Daisy content in her pen and Portia happy to sit at a safe distance and watch her, I'm off to work on the pattern for the lobster prefelt which will be attached to the new bag design. Wishing everyone a wonderful day. 

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. 

How I Make a Wet Felted Bag

     I was sitting here this morning thinking I should be catching up on emails, when it hit me! I had a brainstorm of an idea for a new bag which excited me to no end and really got my creative juices flowing. I don't need a sketch to work from this time as the idea is very vivid in my mind. I can see all the details clearly, but it's not going to be an easy or quick project. I want the bag to be large, over shoulder straps ... likely a double rope with knots here and there. I want it to be black and white and look like Holstein hide. I want the rope ends to have real Holstein tail hair. (A request has been made to a farmer I know quite well.) I want it free form, organic and fluid. I want it to be very very special.


      It wasn't long before I had a pattern cut from craft paper. It's actually under the wool in this pic, so you can't see it. This is only four layers of roving so I'm already halfway there with this layer. 

     As soon as I had eight layers laid out for the back of the bag and the flap, I placed the resist on top. I used corrugated box board. Once it's wet, it becomes pliable and serves to separate the layers. In this pic you can see how I have folded up the overlap over the resist. Wetting the resist helps the wool to stick. Now I need to add eight layers to the top of the resist so the thickness will be even on the front and back. 

     Time to get wet. After I have applied eight layers of roving to the top of the resist, I fold up the mesh over the project and using a hairbrush, sprinkle hot soapy water all over the piece. Using the flat of my hands I press firmly all over to remove all the air pockets. This picture shows that there are lots of air pockets left to be dealt with. 

     When the front is completely flat, and I've taken care of the opening so that no fibers from the front connect with the inside of the flap, I flip the work over and wet down the back through the mesh in the same way. Then I fold up all the overhanging roving, watching that the white and black join in a way that looks realistic, then adjust the shape of the flap and the bottom edge, as I want that to thin out. I make sure the wool is tight to the edges of the resist on both sides. Then I cover the work with the mesh and begin rubbing by hand until I have a nice skin on both sides. 

     Once I have a nice surface on all sides, and paying particular attention to the edges, I roll the whole thing up in bubble wrap and roll in all four directions at least 20 times. Each time you must turn the work and readjust the mesh to make sure the wool isn't sticking to it. When this is completed, the resist will be visibly buckled. 




Stay tuned for next installment of this project. 

More Wet Felted Bags

     Here is the green handbag with the open edges done in blanket stitch. I think it gives the piece a more finished look. I'm surprised by how much it shrunk. I measured before and after and it is 27% smaller than the resist pattern. The inside, which is white looks very even and there are no thin spots. Wet felting sure is a wool consuming craft though ... it doesn't take long to deplete your stash. 


     None of my new supplies have arrived yet, so I laid out another bag, this time in hopes I'd like it for myself. Based on my original design, it took two hours to lay out the wool the way I wanted it to hopefully look. Special attention was paid to the fringe. The inside of the bag is dark brown and the outside is grey. Both wools are rather coarse. I added a tiny bit of white to the fringe,  but it got lost in the brown somewhere. Next time I'll be a bit more generous with the lighter colors. 

     I also had to make the strap so that was an extra step. I spent most of the afternoon rubbing and rolling, which eventually wore me out. The end result was a bag which was too wide at the top and had several thin spots. 


    The next morning I had a brainstorm. That antique washboard I have decorating the wall might be useful. I began working the bag over the washboard, with hot water and soap, and voila!  it didn't take long at all. A bit of good elbow grease did the trick and I was able to shape the top so both the bag and the flap were narrower, with really nice results. This is my bag for sure now, and it's already full of junk. I love it. 


     That was my weekend ... how was yours? 

Wet Felted Handbag

 

     Well, here it is. No, I couldn't wait for my new supplies to come. It was calling to me and I had to answer. Actually, it wasn't a trial at all .. it went very smoothly ... only took a couple hours to make and all day to dry. I had already made the strap before as a rope project so that was ready to roll. The only thing I don't care for is the shape of my fringes .. looks like I cut them out of solid felt ... actually, I almost did .. the red solidifies very quickly and I should have teased them apart earlier than cutting them later. All in all, I rather pleased with this. The surface texture is really nice. 


     I had an email from Louet yesterday too. My order has been shipped but one of the colors is on back order and to follow in another couple of weeks. Hopefully the most of it will be here by next weekend, as well as the Angelina fiber from the states. I'm having my friend Lu out for part of the long weekend and she is interested in seeing how this is done.  That gives us something to do, besides our trip to Masstown in search of Dragon's Breath Blue Cheese.  We have both declared this to be the absolute bomb of blue cheeses. 

     It was quite late last evening but I still wasn't ready to retire for the night so I made this pretty piece of prefelt from some of my needle felting wool and the long stapled yellow which I have no idea what kind of wool it is. That turned out well and was a quick process as it's only half felted. It will be used to make cutouts for embellishments for future bags, etc.  I'm kind of thinking about making a pair of slippers too. I saw a couple of different ways to make the seamless ones, but I don't think I have any leather here for making the soles, so that might be a project for much later on. 


     So, I'm not sure what my projects will be this weekend. I think I'm going to make another bag. Can't decide on the color or style just yet. That decision is going to take another cup of coffee. Have a great weekend everyone ... the sun just came out here and it was supposed to be raining, so all is great in my world. 

If At First, You Don't Succeed .... Try, Try Again

    Not one to be defeated by my own stupid mistakes, I made three more cellphone cases yesterday. I am pleased with these. The dark brown one I made first. I was quite happy, except I didn't have quite enough white on the outside of the fringe of the flap. That was my error on layout. The grey one came next and even though the grey is a very coarse, long staple wool, it worked better than I expected. I was happier with the fringe. 


     I attempted the red wool again. As soon as I wet it, it tried to get away from me again. I have no idea what this wool is .. the staple is short and it's very fine and soft. I'd guess merino, but not sure. I was able to control the wool but you can see this one is a bit wider than the others. A tiny bit of the red solidified and didn't stick on the front so I snipped it off. Not sure what happened there either, except I think it might have folded off initially on the bottom side where I couldn't see it, during the beginning stages. I also dared to cut some holes in the flap with pleasing results. I found out these holes can get a lot larger in a big hurry where the wool is very thin. More valuable knowledge for the data base in my brain. 

     I was really happy with the flame look of the red flap. I don't know what kind of wool the yellow is either. It's a long staple a slightly coarser than the red. I got both at a fabulous price on EBay in large amounts. I imagine it is left overs from the International Day of Felt project quite some time ago as this was themed in red and yellow colors. In any case, it was inexpensive and I have a lot of it. 

     This is the sketch I have ready for my first handbag. I'm waiting on an order of four colors of dyed Corridale top from Louet in Quebec and a sampler of Angelina fibers from the states. Once those treasures arrive, I think I'm ready to dive into handbag production. The little cases were a great experience, but I just fell in love with the handbag concept and can't wait to try it. 

Learning Through Mistakes

     A new case for my Blackberry. If I'd had to grade this project, I'm afraid the mark would have been very disappointing. However, I again learned so much by making the errors. In the first place, this is not the design I was going for. I wanted a seamless case but not this ravioli edge. I know what happened though ... it totally got away from me as soon as I wet it. The reason for this was the material I used for my resist. I used two layers of bubble wrap, bubbles facing, and whip stitched them together. This flattened out the edge of the resist and when I wet it, I had a problem feeling where the edge was. Back to corrugated cardboard. I really worked at it to correct the grossly flattened out edge, but could see I couldn't save it. I didn't do too badly getting the edges straight, but this was disappointing. The second huge error was simply a matter of not paying attention. I got a bit carried away laying out the wool and mistakenly laid a double layer on the flap with no resist up there. I just wasn't thinking as I was getting excited about laying out the spots. 

    The spots are the slices from the bracelets that I had saved for this purpose. Then I laid a few barely there wisps of a long stapled yellow wool over the spots here and there. I lost a couple of spots during the felting process and had to pull one off at the end as it wasn't stuck very well. The best parts were that I made my resist the correct size for shrinkage and the phone fits in perfectly. The fringe turned out really well and I'm thrilled with it's final look. The whole piece is very firm and the flap is stiff as a board and protects the keys so what was a horrible mistake really worked out.  The color is kinda cool too. 

Wet Felting Process

     Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. I hope you have a wonderful day. That goes to my mom too, who I know will be reading this. Love you Mom. 


    I'm still playing with the wet felting ... holding off on the handbag project because I just am not yet skilled enough and I really want to make it nice. I'm learning quite a bit about the art just from making these bangles. I've already learned that not all wools like each other and have had a couple of disasters. The black and red number shown fell apart on me early in the wetting process, so after fighting with it for a little while, it wouldn't go the way I wanted it to, so I discarded it. 

     I've learned that the hotter the water is, the better this works. I'm starting to develop a feel for  the process, beginning to understand when to add water and when to add soap. I'm completely amazed by the process and how hard and smooth it becomes. I've been flaming the fuzzy hairs off the damp finished bracelets, before beading them because I love the look. The smell of burned wool disappears once they're dry. I can't find any instructions where this step is mentioned .... so it's not likely recommended. Remember, I don't have the luxury of an instructor. I'm trying to learn all this from internet resources. I can't afford to buy the books either. I've also been sharing this with my talented artist cousin, Deb, on the South Shore. She has made some very pretty unbeaded bangles and has also become obsessed with the process. 

     The ones shown in this pic have just been flamed and I took them outside to brush the burned bits off. Notice how smooth they look. The more I make, the more I realize I need to learn. This is especially true when something doesn't work out and I then have a need to find out why. So many questions ... so much to learn .. but it wouldn't interest me if there was no challenge. 
I'm looking for a list or chart or something to tell me which types of wool work best for needle felting vs. wet felting vs. spinning. So far, I have found no such chart, but lots of info. It looks like I will have to make the list myself based on many different resources. Any helpful hints from my readers are gratefully appreciated. 

     There are volumes of things I want to know. Like all about wet felting with resists, and how to stick on pieces of prefelt and how to attach ropes for bag handles and the like. I now realize a beret with a resist was a silly thing to do for a beginner project and the fact I was able to save it with so little experience was a pure miracle. This is so much fun and at the same time so difficult. The learning curve will surely take years to master. I now understand so much more about the accomplished artists in this field, and have so much more respect for the time they invested to get to where they are. 

Some New Creations

     I thought I'd have another try at the beret as I was so disappointed in my first attempt. I cut another resist, 3/4 " smaller, reversed the hat and applied more wool to the inside of the top, then proceeded to wet felt as before. Before long, I had a skin strong enough to start rubbing and rolling for real. Taking it to the sink, I realized I'l skipped a step previously as well. I'd barely worked the felt against itself with the really hot water. Hmmm ... I was diligent with this step and success was achieved. This is the finished product. I will likely sew in a nice binding around the head hole, and it needs a good steaming and a bit of a tug here and there, but I'm rather pleased. If you hold it up to the light, you can still see a few thin areas, so it's far from overworked. I think even a bit more material next time. Not bad for a beginner tho. 

    Now I'm addicted to wet felting and although it can be a great upper body workout, I've never had cleaner hands. I actually burned my hand last night with water that was a shade too hot. It's wasn't a serious burn and is fine today. I'm very pleased with this attempt at making a simple bangle. I now have an idea of just how much wool to use, and sizing them is fool proof with the thin piece of hemp in the center. You tie the hemp to the size you need and roll the wool around it. Finishing touches were added with seed beads from www.thebeadingroom.com and I really think the finished product is quite elegant. I'll take a bow for that photo as well. It's one of my better shots. 

                                                                            
     Getting back to the very first bangle I wet felted; the blue one that all caved in because I used way too much wool in the first place, and rushed the process of course. A bit of creative beading and Presto! A very cool if somewhat abstract, chunky bangle. I actually love it now. So the whole experience of wet felting over the last few days has actually been rewarding. It will try my patience, which I have very little of most of the time anyway, but I think I'm going to enjoy the results. A nuno scarf and a handbag are on my list of projects to try. I will be trying to dream up a handbag design very soon  ... the sketchbook is on standby in case of a brainstorm. 


     I'm also planning a small gathering of ladies next Wednesday for supper. It's going to be hot and cold buffet style finger food, so I need to decide on a couple of things for that, and make a grocery list.  A couple of the guests will bring along something to add to the choices, but we have to collaborate so we don't all make the same thing ... don't laugh ... it's happened before. Well, that's all I have for today. I'll try to keep you updated on my wool adventures.