It's snowing ... again ...

May as well get into the groove of some good "indoor" projects, because it's snowing again!  Those few days of "spring is on it's way weather" were nasty little teasers, because yesterday we got a good reminder that we're still in winter for another month or so.

So, I've got a good start on an Open and Closed sign (needle-felted) for a gal in Laramie who own Cowgirl Yarn.  I have a pretty neat plan for hanging these, but I'll have to see how it works out.  First, I have to finished the "closed" sign.  I have two ideas...so I'm pondering which one to start. 

Then, this morning I decided to get started on wet-felting another experimental piece.  I laid out the wool on top of a piece of 11"X14" store-bought felt, soaked it down with hot water with just a bit of soap, massaged it gently, then sandwiched it between layers of plastic and rolled it around a washcloth.  Finally, I stuffed the roll into an old nylon sock and put it in the dryer with some towels to finish off the felting process.   One thing about wet-felting is that the fibers and spread and move around more than you wish they would.  I'm sure I could remedy this by needle-felting the fibers in place a bit more, or using solid felted pieces on top.  But... I'm experimenting.

After it dries, I will go back over it with needle-felted details...and then you might be able to guess what it's going to be.  Or do you already think you have it figured out?

Anothers wet-felting class

Wednesday evening I led another wet-felting class, making Alpaca scarves. 

I thought about taking pictures, this time, recording the process.  Good thought.  But I totally forgot to do it.  I got too wrapped up in getting the area set up and meeting the folks in the class.  One was the husband of one of the gals!  I don't think he felt all that comfortable about being there, but it all went well, and he made a great scarf... actually the dimensions were more shawl-sized. 

Five students was a full class, as it takes a lot a room, everyone having their own 6 ft. table to work on.  And of course, there's lots of water and soap... so clean up involves a big ol' mop and bucket!  It's a fun time...and everyone went away happy.

Winter wool

I had another opportunity to teach a wet-felting class.  This one was at the Lander Art Center, and we made Alpaca scarves, using Alpaca wool from local sources in Clearmont and Powell.  I had four gals, and have another class scheduled this week for another 4 gals. 

It's kind of a messy project with all the hot water and soap, but with a cement floor, it's a pretty easy clean-up.  I did have a bit of a disaster, though.  When I was setting up all the materials before class, I put hot water into my crock pot to keep it heated.  I heard a pop, but dismissed it.  Suddenly, water was flowing off the table and onto the floor...lots of water.  One of the gals ran for the mop.  We had a couple other hot pots going to heat water, and we couldn't figure out what was leaking.  Then I took the lid off the crock pot...no water.  The entire bottom of the crock cracked away from the sides, and all the water had run out. Holy buckets!  Lesson learned:  If your crock pot was in the backseat of your pickup on the way to the event, and it's the middle of winter, the pottery is probably too cold to have hot water poured into it.  I don't suppose a person can just buy the new pottery to go into the crock pot.  Dang.

A little wet-felting...

I taught a wet felting class two weekends ago, and we had a great time.  It's wet and messy, but so much fun working with alpaca wool - luscious stuff - to create a scarf.  We used WY alpaca wool --all in the natural shades. 

Some of the gals got very creative with their combination of colors.  All went away with a lovely, soft, warm scarf.

On Sunday afternoon I was able to get the temperature up high enough in the "sun room" to use it to wet-felt another scarf.  I wanted to make one a bit longer, and the floor was the best option for a work space.  I made this one with what was left of the cream colored alpaca, with some of the curly baby alpaca mix on the ends for embellishment.

This is a scarf made from the baby alpaca mix.

Wet-felting a scarf...

I received in the mail some very soft, fluffy, Cria-mix,  Alpaca roving.  Linda says it's bits and pieces from the babies, all thrown in together.  It's not combed, so it's called Cloud.  It's the softest fiber ... well named... light as a cloud and soft as butter. It feels great!! No itchiness at all!!

I couldn't get into it fast enough to see how many ounces would make a nicely shaped scarf.  I discovered that I could make this one with just under 2 ounces.  Linda said that because it's a very fine fiber, and because it's so fluffy, the fiber goes a long way and actually take less to create a scarf.  It did not take me long at all to lay out 3 layers of fiber and get the felting (kneading with hot water and bit of soap) underway.  Easy-peasy. 

This scarf is narrower and thinner (lighter) than the scarves I've felted in the past, and I really like it better. 

I'm ready for the November wet-felting scarf class!!

Don't Fence Me In...

I'm probably pretty close to finishing this wet-felted piece I put on my post a couple days ago.  The first one got the cowgirl... and this one has a fence line and some Indian Paint Brush to add color and interest.  Haven't decided if I will add something more or not. 

The wet-felted piece.

Here's the same piece after I added the machine stitching and some needle-felting.

I think I'm ready to use the actual materials I got for the Fiber Challenge and hope for the best as I lay out the wool and start the wet-felting process.  I've learned a few things by experimenting; hope it pays off. Ha.