The Felting Saga - Part III

Had to try Wonder Washer again!  This time, I tried a few different tricks.....not knowing what the result would be.  Here is the knitted bag BEFORE the start of the felting process- about 10" x 10."  It's mostly knit with crocheted flap edging and strap. First problem.....I ran out of the teal-colored yarn, so I had to improvise to complete the bag!

I normally leave all the cut ends of the yarn hanging out during felting.  Once felted, they (usually) can be simply cut off, leaving no trace of the cut.  I like to leave them on - especially at the corners, so I can pull on them to reshape the bag.

I placed the bag in a small pillowcase (I cut it down from a standard pillowcase), added hot water and then additional microwaved water, and a small amount of Woolite to the Wonder Washer tub.  I set it to agitating and pulled it out of the water to view the progress about every 6 minutes.  Nothing much seemed to be happening for about the first 15 minutes.  So I added two tennis balls (with holes drilled through).  Next check....some of the rubber from inside the tennis balls had seeped out from within, and there were tiny pieces of rubber merged into and through some of the felt.  In addition, parts of the bag were felting to itself, and other parts were unevenly felting.  OMG!!!  Another disaster, maybe!!!!

I removed the tennis balls and added instead two hard rubber balls that belong to our dog, Griff.  They each have 2 large holes so they bumped around suitable, I think!  I also scrapped the pillowcase bag and resorted to the mesh lingerie bag! The heck with loose fibers!  I need this process to work seamlessly - both literally AND figuratively!  After what seemed like an eternity and the addition of more microwaved hot water, the bag emerged, looking like this:

It is now about 7" x 8," so it has definitely shrunk, but the felting seems uneven to me.  It's not a perfect process or product, and I am discouraged since this type of felting has been such fun, such a pleasure, with occasion surprises.

OK, so NOW I am too disgusted to write my tips and strategies for felting with the Wonder Washer.  I promise to do that.....tomorrow maybe....along with photos of the final result - which I think will get some needle felting of yarn, roving, and pieces of silk.  Stay tuned for the final product!

Funky Feel and Felt!

Nuno Felt Brooch Combo,
originally uploaded by scarfitup.

Mmmmmmmmm! I LOVE fiber! I guess that's why I'm a fiber artist and not some other kind!

Nuno felt is a wonderful thing! It's soft, pliable, delicate-looking but not delicate, and it allows the artist to create diverse pieces of wearable art.
This piece was made from two separate small pieces of nuno samples, folded and wired together, pin attached, and VOILA! it's a brooch!

But not so simple, really! The process is awesome and awe-inspiring, requiring a full day of felting and fulling in a process that is far too long to explain right now. If interested, there is much to learn and lots of examples to see. Go to Etsy and do a search for "nuno felt." You'll be awed too!



And do you love the FEEL of fiber? Do you love funky? OK! so here is Smokey Cachecol, the latest from my collection of scarflettes or cachecols - for that lightweight warmth for your neck. This one pulls together all sorts of greys (grays) with black, cream, and silver accents. It's finished with funky knots and a large swirly vintage button (thanks, Karen!)

Work of the Week!

Scarf It Up! Work of the Week!

The Year-Long Rag Bag!

It's been several days since posting - too many doctors' appointments, commitments, tennis, etc.  It's not that I haven't been producing; it's just that I haven't found time for the blogging. 

So....here are some photos of the latest work, all being held here at home for the November 13 show at Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts.  Sara Westermark and I are the hosts of this show, called "Holiday Show of Wearable Art."  It's to be held at the gallery in the Cotton Exchange in Wilmington NC from 2 - 8 PM on November 13.  

Sunset Haze Scarf

Sac Sauvage Rouge

Holiday Loop Bag

Lavender Blue Cachecol, available on Etsy right NOW!!

Laboring on Labor Day!

I have always considered Labor Day JUST THAT! A day to labor before Summer ends - although not officially - and school begins. Labor Day always marks the beginning of something for me: being a student, being a teacher, being a career counselor in an academic setting, getting the kids off to their own school settings and activities.

I always measured my year from September to June! It's only since my employment with Duke ended in February that I went out and bought a REAL calendar - one that actually began in January and ended in December. And still, I think of beginnings. Now that I am "retired," I live those academic calendars vicariously through my children and grandchildren. One daughter is a school psychologist, and she begins her school year on Tuesday - with a new job, I might add. And the other daughter, who has three school-age kids, has already sent them off - this year to three separate schools.

But for me, Labor Day always meant doing all the things I didn't get to do in the summer and needed to get done before I started my own work once again. And I always resented all that laboring! So instead of that, I "worked" all day yesterday and four hours today at Port City Pottery and Fine Crafts, where there was loads of traffic and some sales too! And I'm happy to say that tomorrow - the real Labor Day - the only thing I have pressing is the completion of a tennis match, already postponed THREE times due to rain! And we had won the first set, were losing the second set, and so my job is to do something right on the court tomorrow so we can win this match!

Such is my life right now! Can't really complain!

While I was working both days, I also completed some new fiber art - photos are NOT ideal! The black and cream is a remake of the scarf sold yesterday at PCPFC. And this wild and funky rainbow scarf in nubby, bumpy, Sheela yarn: Oh, and I guess I WILL vacuum and straighten up the house! Such is life! Laboring on Labor Day!

GONE CRAZY in CHARLESTON!

We went to Charleston, SC for a few days to show it off to family visiting from France. It was a glorious few days of eating, touring, eating, shopping, and more eating! This is DD day! (drastic dieting!)

But the best part was the discovery of the best yarn store ever! I mean it! I was impressed on first glance around what turned out to be only the first of many rooms. The storefronts in Charleston are very narrow, but the buildings extend forever towards the rear! Several more rooms awaited us AND THERE WAS A HUGE SALE GOING ON! It seemed like half the store and half the yarn were 50% off! They are making way for their new Fall lines. I stooped, stretched, and scooped up ALL the (14) yarns and (8) buttons in the photo for a very reasonable sum. I could have spent all day and all my money there - just in the sale sections!

So if you ever get to Charleston, I urge you to visit KNIT on Wentworth St. The folks there are knowledgeable, helpful, and fun! In the meantime, visit Knitk! for an online preview.

Sassyglass and Scarfitup Together!

Another bit of collaboration!

Sassyglass' Andrea Cumming and Scarf It Up have collaborated once again to produce some delightful designs in neckwear. These three distinctly different necklaces - fiber with dichroic glass pendants - will be available at our gallery, Port City Pottery and Fine Crafts in Wilmington NC, very shortly. They sell for $39 each.

Comment below or email scarfitup [at] ec.rr.com if interested or if you want additional information. More photos available here.

STASHING THE STASH!!!

Yesterday I finally decided it was time to reorganize the stash. If you're reading this and have no clue what stash is, you are definitely NOT a fiber fanatic!

Several months ago, I bought a clear, lucite cubby from a retail store that was going out of business. I imagined using it to display my own finished items and my husband's pottery pieces. In fact, I used it for our December in-home trunk show and thought it worked very attractively and effectively. I offered it to the PCPFC gallery, but they declined. So.....I decided to use it in my laundry/stash room to TRY to reorganize my stash!

First of all, the hanging of the cubby.....it required LARGE holes in the wall - not my husband's favorite thing to do to our non-plaster walls. My plan? To color-coordinate the "balls" of yarn wound on those small cardboard tubes. My rationale? They take up space because they are not crushable and squishable. As was suggested in a Knitters Review forum, stash is a collection of art! That was my own belief as well! (http://knittersreview.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=76640)

Well....I must not have the knack for color because the result is an ugly, chaotic, messy-looking wall of horror. It did free up some space in my cupboards, as I shifted spaces, but what I had hoped for was beauty in the laundry room, and I definitely failed at that.