The UK weather is about to take a turn for the worse with the remnants of hurricane Bertha heading our way tomorrow so I have been making the most of the sunshine over the last couple of days and carding my White-faced Woodland (WFW) and Jacob fleeces outside.
I have been making a few rolags to try on my new drop spindle too:
And I made a felt sample from the WFW:
This is quite a coarse, hairy wool, definitely not a good choice for scarves but has lots of potential for slippers and handbags. Its shrinkage rate was 40%.
Those of you on the Felting and Fibre Studio Forum may recall I was looking to join a felt-making or other textile group a few months back and I think I may have found one through the International Feltmakers Association. It’s not particularly close (they meet in a village hall an hour’s drive away) but I am hopeful it will be worth the effort and they only meet once per month. Their next meeting is tomorrow – wish me luck!
With my City and Guilds course nearing an end I have also taken the plunge and signed up to a couple of workshops in addition to a 1-week contemporary weaving course I signed up to in May. Fiona Duthie’s Surface Design workshop starts at the start of September and runs for 6 weeks, then I have Karoliina Arvilommi‘s workshop in the middle of September and Tim Johnson’s weaving workshop at the end of the month. I am hoping that I can use Tim’s techniques to incorporate felt and textiles into some contemporary basket weaving. September is already shaping up to be a busy month! Exciting times 🙂
Well done Teri! I hope you'll enjoy your new group meetings!
And so many exiting plans! Are you going to Finland for Karolina Arvilommi's workshop? I've heard about her a lot…
Well done Teri! I hope you'll enjoy your new group meetings!
And so many exiting plans! Are you going to Finland for Karolina Arvilommi's workshop? I've heard about her a lot…
Hi Felicity, the felting group was fantastic, I had a really good time and nearly completed 2 hats during the day. I will definitely be going again 🙂 I'm joining the Devon IFA group for Karoliina's workshop, she's running workshops all over the UK for the next few weeks (check out the International Feltmakers Association for more details).
Hi Felicity, the felting group was fantastic, I had a really good time and nearly completed 2 hats during the day. I will definitely be going again 🙂 I'm joining the Devon IFA group for Karoliina's workshop, she's running workshops all over the UK for the next few weeks (check out the International Feltmakers Association for more details).
Sounds like you're going to be busy. Glad you found a group that you like. That is wonderful to be with like minded people and exchange ideas. Have fun!
Sounds like you're going to be busy. Glad you found a group that you like. That is wonderful to be with like minded people and exchange ideas. Have fun!
You will love Fiona's online class! I wish I could find a felting guild or group to join that wasn't too far away.
You will love Fiona's online class! I wish I could find a felting guild or group to join that wasn't too far away.