A very good week

It's been a great few days here. Had lunch with Dawn, of Feltsoright.com on Thursday, got to spend some play time with Ms. Allison on Friday, and 14 dear friends here for Sabbath dinner. It's been wonderful to relax and enjoy friends.
On Friday, Allison brought a needle felting machine with her, one she borrowed from a friend. Neither of us had used one before so we decided to try it out on one of the merino prefelts I have here. She took some of the colorfully dyed Northern Lights from Louet and did random placement of the roving onto the prefelt. What fun, and how fast! She had an art date with her boyfriend that evening and wanted to wear it. I think it looks wonderful on her. She is going to wet felt it later. We were both amazed at how fast the machine works. I am unsure, but I think I may try a few things on it as well.



I made two more bags, this blue one has a cell phone pocket on the front. I am finding that more and more, I look for cell phone pockets on bags, and thought I'd better start adding them to this series of bags. My camera also fits into the pocket nicely. There is another one drying right now, it is made of hot fuchsia and hot orange. It is nearly the same as this bag with the exception that it has a pocket on the inside as well. I used corriedale in the blend, and the texture is not as smooth as I had hoped. Looks like I'll go back to the merino/teeswater blend. I just like the surface far better.

I've carried this hat to a good many shows, with little attention paid to it. It was a muted rose color, simple elegance in style, but the color just did not lead itself to looking really great on any skin tone. So per my usual, it got the great dip into the dye pot. I over dyed it in chestnut first, then added burgundy and red. I love it so much, I may keep it. the colors are like a water color in the rain. This photo does not do it justice.

A few days ago I was trimming up my geranium plant, getting new starts for the upcoming spring season. When I cut off some of the main stack, one of the leaves fell off and landed near one of my scarves on the table below. I placed the leaf on the scarf and was shocked at how close the colors where. Can you see it? The leaf is in the upper right hand corner of the scarf. It was so cool to see these same colors in nature that I had put into my scarf. Just kind of cool. I love the dye pots! Wonderful things happen there!

I've got a lot of Spring Cleaning to get done. I need to get rid of clothes in the closet, things I'll never wear again and simply de-clutter my life. This will be the focus of the week.
I need to get back to hat making. 10 have sold this past week, so my hat stash is getting low, but for the next few days, got to get some stuff out of the house.

I hope you have a wonderful week exploring felt and the wonderful world all around us.
Shalom,
Suzanne

Subtle Changes

While I was doing the lay out for this laminate / nuno felt scarf, I decided to play with the lay out a bit to see if it would bring about the subtlest of changes on the surface of the silk. It is very subtle, but it did make some very nice different patterns in the silk. Now I am wondering if by leaving strategic places on the layout if I could create a design that would actually look like something, flowers perhaps. I am random in texture and color play, so that will be an idea for someone else to try, but if you do, I'd like to know if it works. Maybe I will try it with geometric designs. That might be fun.

Looking over my show schedule for this year, I've come to realize that my stock is rather low and I need to kick start the felting again. I see 12-16 hours a day ahead of me, but I count it all joy when I am making felt. I never get tired of making felt.

Oh, the hat, well, it was blue and I just never really loved it, just thought it was ok. Well, as you know, I am prone to throwing things in the dye pot, and this hat fell victim to the GREAT DUNK. I love it now, and it sold immediately. It has a deep chestnut color to it, even though I over dyed it with black. The color is warm, rich, soothing now. I love what happens in the dye pot. Now, I'll miss this hat!

I hope you get to spend your weekend with people you love to be with, that your ideas are overflowing, that your efforts are appreciated and that your felts give you joy.

Shalom,
Suzanne

Midwest Felting Symposium, YAHOO!

It is my favorite event all year long, the Midwest Felting Symposium in Madison Wisconsin. The Alliance Center is lovely, the classes are great, the air is passionately filled with the magic of making felt. While felt making is my passion, it's the people that I'll meet, or get to know better that make it so wonderful. They really are treasures. To see all of the talents, all of the designs, all of the colors, the laughter, the foods, the joy of being around other felters...I can hardly wait! I'll be leaving in about 3 hours for Madison. It's going to be great! I'll tell you about it when I get back.

Make great felt!
Shalom,
Suzanne

I cannot belive I get to go!

I am sooooo thrilled to be asked by Susan McFarland to go with her and her incredible friends to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. We'll work our self hard, we'll feed ourself well and we will sleep soundly, I am sure! I am so looking forward to this great adventure. Susan called and asked me to work her booth with her. What an honor! I'll be having a great time, promise!

In the meantime, I am dyeing fibers to spin or work into my felts. Some may also be for sale after I get back from Maryland Sheep and Wool. I am working primarily with merino/silk 50/50 blends, silk laps, silk fabrics and locks from various sheep, mostly long wools. Photos here are of the merino silks in 4 ounce braids. Could really get lost in the dye pots far too easily. There is magical stuff that happens in a dye pot!

Vernal Equinox,... or The Season of Mud and Orange Cones

The moon was wonderful last night, nearly full when I went to sleep. I think the moon is wonderful all the time, but the clarity of it in this Michigan sky was especially nice. The sunset and moonrise were wonderfully in sync as Jim and I left the restaurant last night. Maybe it was because I was having dinner, alone, with Jim, maybe it was the clearness of the sky, perhaps it was looking at the last "winter moon", but no matter why, it was worth writing about! While I appreciate all of the season in Michigan, the moderate Spring and Autumn are dearest to me.

Here in Michigan, Spring brings with it return of many birds, many ducks, geese, humming birds,and the much loved song birds. It also brings a great season of mud and the Orange Cones. The state becomes covered in Orange Cones as the road repair time begins in earnest. If you come to visit here, be forewarned!

I've been dyeing a lot, getting ready for the Spinning Retreat and Greencastle. I love this colorway because the color split in the dye pot. I first saw this effect in some roving that I'd purchased from Ruth Walker at Midwest Felting Symposium. I was fascinated by that. Now I seek it. I wish I had the time to spin this fiber. I am using it it a felt, but I think a yarn would be pretty as well. While not the "springiest" photo one could post, there is snow, dirt, green and a bit of blue in the roving... Yeah, that pretty much captures it from my vista.

Happy Spring