Felting alpaca, classes in Tampa and dyeing

This is a sample of the alpaca roving I got from Rowan Tree Woolery, felted to some magenta Cambodian silk organza and photographed to show off the lacy matrix that it forms when it felts. It's a far different surface than merino or finn, both of which form a solid, non-fibrous surface. I have a few samples of corriedale that have a similar matrix - you can see it when held up to the light - but only alpaca so far has this very pronounced pattern that I got - beginner's luck - with the icelandic fleece in my first trials. Icelandic has a very long staple length, so both types of fleece have that in common.




I am using the alpaca to make another cocoon for someone who admired one that had sold, and the original had been made with icelandic fleece. The alpaca will have a similar lacy pattern as the original, but with a much softer feel. I'll post some photos next week of the finished piece.

In other areas, I am doing a class here in Tampa - and the participants are seeming to love it! Yes! Felting in Florida! Well, we'll see how they do with seamless felt on Saturday. I'll be taking photos at class so I can post them to my site. Hyde Park has turned out to be a really good location - it's all about table height and running water - for felting classes. I am hoping that some folks in the class will want to take a weekly felting project class afterwards so I can keep up the excitement. I have to wonder if people really go home and felt or if they wait til they take another class. I am trying to convey the idea that felting is perfect at home, but maybe I should see the obvious point here - people like to take classes to get away from home!

I am also doing some back-yard dyeing, and as I work on it, I am developing another class in my head - yes, "BackYard Dyeing." Or I could call it, "Beyond Rit - easy professional dyeing at home" Anyway, everything from Kool-aid in baggies to powder sprinkling, quick shibori and stopping just short of chem-lab-gram-scale-boiling-holding-steaming. While I did learn alot about dyeing at Haywood, and I learned from the best, Catherine Ellis, my eyes tended to glaze over when it came to heavy duty immersion dyeing, not to mention natural dyeing and vat dyes. I propose to you that immediate gratification is universal, and that it's only when you HAVE TO dye pounds and pounds of fiber that it's good to be obsessive compulsive about it.

That's all on the home front for now. I'll be posting more photos soon.

Quick news

More photos to come, but the update is, I have just gotten some exotic fibers in for testing, with exciting results! Alpaca felts beautifully, in a lacy matrix that is so so light and soft! And, yes, cashmere! Cashmere doesn't felt well on it's own, but in conjunction with merino or alpaca, it creates a whisper soft surface, that makes everything more luxurious!

The other news is that I will be putting together felting kits this summer, for those who like to work on their own at home. The Introduction kit will have all the basic tools and wool, with a set of cards - one with the basic felting process in a step-by-step format, and then 8 projects that can be made with the wool. Each kit will contain enough wool for one project, and then you will be able to get "refills" with more wool and choices of colorways.

I will try to get the first kits on the website in July, and you'll be able to buy the kits and the refill wool on the site. Between now and then, I have a lot of felting and photographing to do, so I'll sign off for now!

Am I showing off my niece or her blankie?

My sister sent me these pictures of her baby, Margot, with the blanket I made for her this spring. I sent it off in a hurry for her 1st birthday and forgot to do the requisite photo of it. Is she adorable or what!

This was my first baby blanket and I made it from some navy blue merino that I already had space-dyed. I thought that a dark color would be better for a baby blanket, since they get so stained over time. I thought that felt would be a great material for a baby blanket also - she can pee on it, chew on it, knead it and bunch it up and it will just get more dense and felted! And her mom can clean it in the bath with her! Todd also mentioned that babies really respond to contrast, and you can tell that she is focusing on those areas.

The imagery makes me think of New York City (they live there in Battery Park) at night, with the squares being the high-rise windows, interspersed with stars, moons and galaxies, which I made out of pre-felts.

The white squares are actually little woven angora squares that I found in my mom's closet after she died and I was clearing out her house. There was a box of French angora yarn and about 30 of these little squares, made from those little square looms (now called Weavettes) which she was obviously planning to crochet together to make something, but never did - the angora box looks like it was printed in the 60's. I just laid the squares in with the merino and they felted in beautifully.

Since Margot was born well after Mom died, and she'll never get to meet her grandmother, I really liked that I could put something in the piece that Mom made. I can tell that Mom would have been knitting for the baby if she was still around - there were 4 or 5 sweaters that she made for us but needed to be finished (weave in threads, sew up sides, block, etc). I did the finish work and sent them out to my sisters. They don't all fit so great, but they are still treasures to me. I like to think that even if the things we make for our families aren't exactly perfect, the fact that our hands made them will be meaningful sometime later. Like the love that those angora squares have held all these years.