Iceland anyone?

Dear Felt-makers ,

I have an hankering for the out of the ordinary places to travel, often to places less traveled with wide open spaces. While at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool festival I spoke with a new friend and felt makers about wanting to go to Iceland, in the winter! She was curious about why I'd want to go in the winter. First off, I'm Sooooooooo menopausal...the cold could be welcomed with open arms! Second, more night sky and hopefully more opportunity to see auroras in that vast sky. Third, more felt makers might be able to go since our fiber art season in on the slow end of things. Fourth, something to look forward to between the holidays and spring. Fifth, if I take a felting class, tax write off!

Here are the details...so far from the gal putting this together for me!
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February 18, 2008 leave Boston on Iceland air flight.

February 19Th arrive Reykjavik early the next morning. private transfer to hotel after a two hour sightseeing trip around the city. among other things we will stop at the farmer's market store which offers only Icelandic wool products.

February 20Th Reykjavik and vowel Icelandic wool factory. we will visit the Alfi's factory outlet in Moselle's. there is a huge selection of woolen sweaters raning from traditional to high fashion. many other things including mittens, caps, scarves and blankets. we may also tour the factory if the group is interested. we will then proceed to istex, a company producing the famous alafoss-lopi yarns (great for embellishments). after a light lunch we will visit kraun, a design store in the city center. many Icelandic designers have there work there. afterward our guide will walk with us and show us some of the many stores that sell felted products.

February 21st felting workshop...either the Icelandic handwork association or a designer will teach a class in intermediate to advanced felting techniques. we will also have time to visit kirsuberjatero (a boutique that sells Icelandic design.

February 22ND Reykjavik and sheep farm. we will visit a 200 ewe farm (and 20 horses). the family will greet us and show us around the farm and their home. after this visit,we will move on the gullfoss )the golden waterfall), and then the great geysir which spouts up to 30 meters. we will see many of the Icelandic natural landmarks on this tour.

February 23rd approximately 5 hours prior to departure we will be picked up by our private coach and taken to the blue lagoon (a man made oasis in the lava). we will stop for a refreshing bath or swim in the pleasantly warm mineral rich water reputed for it's healing powers. they also have skin care products available here. we will continue on to the keflavik airport and out flight home.


the land cost per person is $1215.00 usd. it includes all of the above; plus a breakfast at the hotel every morning. the taxes are also included. the air from Boston to Iceland is $590.00/person and includes all of the taxes. we will have to add flights for anyone coming from any other part of the country.

the land deposit is $450.00 usd and the air from Boston (full payment) is due at the time of booking. i would also recommend travel insurance for everyone and i can be contacted for that individually.
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If you are interested in going with us, please e-mail me as soon as possible. This should be great fun!

Mt. Bruce Station and lovely women!

This gal(second photo) bought the brown hat. I think she looks fantastic! What a great gal! Click on her photo to see her stunning eyes. She sparkles! Wish I had taken pictures of all of the folks who purchased hats from me. ( I've got to get better at that!)

Mt. Bruce was a great show and the weather was just about perfect! Mostly finished goods sold, much teaching and so many really wonderful people. The place was decorated with gords, pumpkins, and hundreds of mums all over the farm. To see more, visit their website: www.sheepstuff.com Truly a wonderful show.

I taught two classes on felt flower making. Had fun and funny students who made some really wonderful felt flowers. I love teaching and watching the lights snap on when the novice felter "gets it". It's an amazing thing to behold each time it happens. It's just the best thing to be apart of.

Have lots to do before Rhinebeck, NY so I'd better go for now. Happy felting! Oh, forgot, go check out who is on:

http://felting.craftgossip.com

How flattered am I to be in a such great company!

Have a great week!
Shalom,
Suzanne

Felting Books, finally!

I've been collecting felting books for about the last 3 years and have finally listed them on the sidebar of the blog! What ever takes me so long? I am always looking for more books, so if you have any that you'd like to recommend, please do share them with me.

I am absolutely in love with Chris Whites' book, Uniquely Felt. It is one of the most complete felting books out there, IMO. The photos, the details in instructions, the all of it is very good. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn even the smallest details of felting. Chris did an outstanding job on this book. The writing is superb, great read!

The month of September is nearly gone and looking back on it, I find sadness in falling short of the goals I've set for myself. Always time crunching, always falling short, always trying to find ways to get more time for felting! Had planned on making 5 hats a week and find that if I get one a week, it's a huge accomplishment. Need to get more done for some orders as well as upcoming shows. I've decided that I need to be cloned rather rapidly or sleep a lot less than I do. I'm leaning toward the cloning...

Did get this one hat done this week. I like the softness of it. The inside is black merino with 80/20 hand dyed merino silk in varied golden browns on the exterior. It has a demure quality about it. I am planning on making several more in this style over the next few weeks....right after the cloning gets done!

My Buddy Dawn, We make felt together and laugh!

She was not quite what you would call refined. She was not quite what you would call unrefined. She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot.
Mark Twain

Nuff Said!
Shalom,
Suzanne

PS:

check out her website
www.feltsoright.com

Wisconsin Sheep and Wool and Beyond

Had a wonderful time in Wisc. I always do. Just super great people, wonderful talent all over the place,and let's not forget, CHEESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just simply the best cheese! The hats below and the gauntlets did find their new homes in Wisc. I am so happy for them! I need to make more of the gauntlets, but they are time consuming. Many hats sold in Wisconsin, so I am making as many as I can during the next week. Will be heading out to the wonderful Finger Lakes region of New York in little over a week. It will be a first time experience for me and I think it might be wise to have a good supply of hats with me. I hear it gets a bit chilly there.

Oh, nearly forgot to mention that I will soon have the scarf pattern available soon. I cannot read a pattern, nor can I write a pattern very well. However, I am greatly blessed to have folks around me who can do it for me. I've several patterns that I've made up along the way that will written for crochet. The scarf on previous blog entries, will be called "Gitti Girl Curl Scarf'. In fact, all of the patterns that I put out will be under the name "Gitti Girl". I'll post it here first when the pattern is ready!

It's SWEATRER WEATHER! ....my favorite weather!
Wear yours well!
Suzanne