A finished Lizard

I really didn't have much more work to do when I got home.. just hot water and rolling from nose to tail and vice versa.  

After rinsing and spinning

I stuffed him with wool fibre & pinned his tail in position to dry

Dried and released.. love the curl :)

Now some beady glass eyes.
these have been in my stash for about 9 years and were just right for him

A finished lizard
101cm / 40" from the ends of his fingers to the tip of his tail

Basking in the sun by the pond

I love the raised features..

I think 'Oscar' suits him for some reason :)

I'm so glad I did this workshop!  It was actually the first one I've attended but won't be the last I hope..

And I brought goodies home with me..

Judit's book 'On Gentle Threads'
and some gorgeous Piiku batts

Making lizards with Judit Pocs

This week I had the great pleasure of attending a 2 day workshop with the lovely Judit Pocs :)  Not only is Judit amazingly talented, but she is a very good tutor!  My advice - if you get a chance to take a workshop with Judit, don't think about it just sign up and do it!  

Judit's lizard (stunning colours!)
A slightly smaller version of the ones we were to make :)

I didn't take many photos while I was there.. I was too busy taking it all in, making notes and getting on with things.  I did manage to snap a few though :)

Covering my resist.. purple inside

with red and green bits added as the layers went on

getting rubbed well prior to rolling

It took a long time to build our lizards.. we were all felting like fiends through day 2 to try and finish.. I'm not sure how many were completely finished, but I do know that mine wasn't quite. Here are a few pics showing some of the lovely lizards produced by the end of day 2

I hope nobody minds me picturing their lizards here..
 if you do please shout out and I'll take 'em off

It was a really good couple of days!  Spent in the company of a group of lovely and very talented felters.. it was so nice to just spend time with people who love felting as much as I do.  The course was at Felt in the Factory which is just over an hours drive away from me.. I stayed overnight at the Factory and it was very nice.  Judit and Angela (hello Angela :) were also staying there so we got more chances to chat :).  I was really glad to be staying there 'cos I got to spend extra time in the studio working on my lizard.. I did an extra 2 hours in the evening to try and catch up - I was the slow kid in the group I think.  But I was back on track for the next day so everything was ok :)  

Next time.. a finished lizard 

Making Soft Cotton Labels..

For months and months I have been wanting some labels to sew into my hats. I didn't want just any labels though.. I wanted soft, off-white good quality cotton with a simple design.  Which wouldn't of been difficult to find. But I wanted them bias cut so they wouldn't fray without the need for zig-zagging stitching the edges or fray-checking (which I've found to be scratchy in the past). I felt like I was searching for a needle in a haystack.. the only labels I liked worked out really expensive with postage costs factored in.  

The answer? Was waiting in my stash..

Bubble Jet Set & Rinse, freezer paper and
good quality cotton fabric

I didn't take photos of the earliest stages.. in a nutshell I cut the cotton on the bias, into just smaller than A4 sized pieces.  Which I soaked in the Bubble Jet Set solution for an hour or so, then let drip dry.  The great thing with BJS is that you can reuse the liquid.. just pour it back into the bottle after use.   I ironed the cotton flat then ironed it onto the freezer paper.  Now it was ready for printing on :)

I used a blank label template which gave me 50 labels per sheet.. picked out a font I like, typed the first one then copy pasted the rest.

I printed 3 sheets.. then left them a while to settle

I peeled the freezer paper off

Rinsed them in cold water with the Bubble Jet Rinse in,
let them dry and then ironed 

Time to trim

I started off cutting the columns

Then trimming each label

At this point I realised just how long it was going to take..
So started cutting across several columns at once :)  

Which was much faster :)
And in no time at all I had 3 lovely little piles of labels.. 

The first one sewn into a hat

Now I have 150 labels to keep me going for a while, and all it cost me was materials from my stash and some time :)

Back to Alpaca #2

Now for my second alpaca rug :)  This one is made from the coarser parts of the brown fibre.. the leg and neck hair which is shorter and hairier.

Cutting the design from white commercial prefelt

Using the box picker.. close-up of the 'out tray'

Finished batts.. I made 6 really thick, dense ones.
I used my new drum (thank yiu Classic Carders :) for these,
with the extra long pins so I got really fat batts!

Worked upside down again.. laying my prefelt design straight on to
the bubble wrap - back to front so it would be the right way round on the finished rug

Covered with batts.. then a layer of purple cotton scrim on top

Folding the wetted edge over the scrim

Partway through.  The design was incorporating really well.. 
see the brown fibres creeping through?  There was still quite a long way to go at this point.

I worked this rug in exactly the same way as the white rug.. being careful to ease out any wrinkles before they could get set in (the white one didn't try to wrinkle, for some reason this did).  I needed to be careful that the design didn't wrinkle too.. my felting needle helped here.

I did have a panicked moment when I took it out of the washing machine (cool rinse & spin only).. it had become insanely hairy, the design was almost obscured by it.  My initially moderate panic was made worse by my lovely husband :) being convinced that I had ruined it!  I forced myself to stay calm and proceeded to SHAVE the rug.. I have never needed or wanted to shave my felt before.. but boy did this piece need it.  I didn't take photos at this point, but really wish I had now.  I carefully shaved the whole front surface of the rug using a new, and very sharp, stanley knife blade.  Several hours and aching fingers later..

Finished.. very slightly shorter than the white rug,
but a little wider and thicker - this one is just over 1cm thick

Another Nordic petroglyph inspired piece..

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Shrinkage

For the two rugs, taking both directions into account it averages out at 30%
For this one it was 28% in length x 33% width

I was wondering why the shrinkage rate was greater in the rugs than in the sample and trivets... I think it's because I folded the edges in on the rugs thereby reducing the size more than if I'd left the edges natural (the edges of the sample and trivets were not folded in).

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At one point there was a possibility of me getting 15 whole alpaca fleeces.. which I was a little unsure quite where I was going to store them and just how I would manage to get through them (though I'm sure I could of found good homes for a few of them :)  Luckily my sister in law has found a buyer, so I can take my time and finish these 2 off as and when I fancy.

Just to finish off I wanted to share with you these gorgeous flowers 

Aren't they lovely?  I love sunflowers and snap dragons -
and this is the first time anybody has given them to me :)

These were a gift from Gill - local blog reader and new friend - who came for a visit this Monday to talk felt, eat cake and drink tea.. we chatted like we had known each other for years it was lovely :) 

xx

Back to Alpaca #1

Earlier this year my sister in law gave me a couple of fleeces from their herd of pet alpaca.. one white and one brown.  A couple of months ago I featured my first couple of alpaca makes as Fibre of the Months projects.  Well, I had a rather large bag for each fleece containing coarser, shortish fibre.. and what I really wanted to do was felt mats with it.  Problem was it took me so long to pick & card the fibre there was no way I was going to have time to prepare enough to felt a rug!  

Until I got my hands on a box picker :)  Since then I've felted 2 rugs.. this is the first one

Box picker in action.
I don't like the nail heads sticking up around the handle!  Most of the time I laid a cloth over them to protect my knuckles.. one time I forgot and regretted it (with bloody knuckles!)

Carding.
I wasn't worried about it being perfect, so only did one pass through the carder..
though I was careful to get it as even as possible

Some of the 6 big fat batts I made

I worked upside down, laying out my abstract design (in petrol and mallard green merino) on the bubblewrap

Then covering it with the batts and adding a layer of cotton scrim to the top.
Once it was thoroughly wetted out I folded the very edges (you know how it often goes thinner at the edges) back over the edge of the scrim.

And in my typical style didn't take photos of the actual felting.. probably because it was such hard, heavy work!  It was of course far too big to go in the sink so I used the bath.. my goodness it was heavy when wet!  And I was amazed at how dirty the white fleece had been, first time it went in the bath the water went black you couldn't even see the bottom of the bath.. it was lovely and clean by the time I finished though :)

After many hours or rolling, massaging, throwing and pummeling.  All finished of most unusually by rinsing on cool and spinning in my washing machine (I was totally knackered at this point).  To dry I alternated between laying it flat on my table top and draping it over the deck rail in the garden when the weather was fine and sunny.. it took a couple of days.

The last step was to iron it.. 

Measures about 4 1/2 ft x just over 2ft

I love how misty the design is now the white fibre has come through the green.
If I was doing this again I would carry the spiral on to the top edge..

Next time the brown rug :)

xx

Fibre of the Month June - Finnwool Piiku Project

I just loved making my patchwork top hats.. and the Piiku certainly felt soft enough that it would be comfortable.  I had also been lucky enough to see some beautiful Piiku felted vessels at Wonderwool Wales, so already knew that it was good for sculptural pieces.  I decided to make a colourful top hat!

I brought 4 differently coloured, variegated batts.  When I unrolled them they were more variegated than I had realised.. so I split each one into the strong colours (from the outside) and the softer, more heathery colours (which were inside).   I did find that there was a fair amount of veggie matter to pick out.. but they are such lovely colours, and the fibre is so soft and lovely, that it is well worth it!

I used the strong colours for this hat.

Though I decided not to use the lovely fresh ocean greeney blue in the bottom corner..

I know this just looks like a heap of fibre but it's
2 layers laid out on top of the resist.. I promise :)

Wetted, flipped, rays folded in, then 3 layers on,
flipped and put 3rd layer on the other side

 The strangeness at the top is the rays of the third layer in the top gusset sticking out under a separate piece of bubble wrap.

Part way through.
Lovely rich red, orangey red and smoky purple.

And then guess what happened..  I forgot to take photos of the rest of the process DUH!

Drying..

Modelled by my baby :)

I love these vibrant colours..  But they are only half the story, I still had the other half of the batts left.. 

the softer colours from batts - my left overs

Which I turned in to:

Another top hat..
this one is a lovely turquoise, coral red and heather
- an unusual combo but really pretty

I think Rachael rather likes Top Hats :)

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For comparison to sampling data:
Resist size: 18" tall x 19.5" across bottom (46cm x 49cm)
Finished size squashed as flat as possible: 10.5 x 12.5" across brim (27cmx32cm)
Shrinkage: 41% x 35%

Weight: 100g

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They felted beautifully - fast and easy.. I'd even have say faster and easier than merino!  It was a pleasure to work with.

I'm really enjoying my top hats at the moment :)  These two are in my Etsy shop if anyone is interested..

Fibre of the Month JUNE - Finn sheep / PIIKU

This month I am working with another of my Wonderwool Wales 'treasures'.. PIIKU.  Piiku is Finnwool..  reared, sheared, cleaned, carded and dyed on a family run farm in Finland.  

I brought mine from Felt in the Factory, unfortunately they don't have many details on the website, but they do carry the full range of beautifully dyed batts - which you can see here on the Piiku website.  If you're in the UK it's probably more cost effective to buy from FITF (postage from Finland pushes the price up) if you email Nina I'm sure she will be happy to sell you some :)

I love this picture!
This Finn ewe in the USA gave birth to 7 lambs.. aren't they all beautiful?!

Finnsheep landrace sheep are renowned for being prolific, it is common for them to have 3 or 4 lambs at a time.. with the record being 9 lambs born to a ewe in Finland.  

Their fleece is classed as medium grade, but it is fine and lustrous with a micron count between 24 & 31 and staple length between 3" & 6".  Colours; black, grey, white and brown, piebald & spotted.

Sampling

Finnwool Piiku sample

Laid out to the same size as previous samples (20cm x 20cm), with three layers of fibre and thoroughly felted to achieve maximum shrinkage.

Observations:

The layers peeled off easily and were nice and even.  This is such an easy felter it's unreal!  Very, very nice to work with.. the finished felt is strong and feels like it will be hard wearing, while still being soft to touch. It has a nice tight finish, very tactile.   

Findings:

Finished sample size: 13cm x 14cm

Weight: 9.3g

Shrinkage: 35% x 30%

I will definitely be using this again..  In fact I am planning to buy more batts in July when I shall be attending a workshop at Felt in the Factory.  (I'm making Lizards with Judit Pocs - I'm so excited!  I have been told there are a couple of places left if anyone is interested..)

Next time:  My Piiku project