All posts tagged felting

Fleeced

I have an increasing number of friends who keep sheep and, therefore, they have lots of fleeces around at this time of year. This means that, because of my interest in things woolly, I get plenty of offers of fleece. In general, I turn them down because my real loves are knitting and crochet (and a bit of felt-making on the side) and I really don’t want to have to go through all the rigmarole to get to yarn (or wool tops for the felt). However, when one of my Twitter friends said that she wanted to have a go at making felted fleece rugs from her collection of fleeces, I asked if I could join in (just in case I loved the activity and would have found a reason to accept all those fleecy offers).

whole fleeces
tatty fleeces

So, last Sunday, another friend and I trundled down to Carmarthenshire, and rolled up our sleeves, to get felting.

The idea is to use a whole fleece and felt the underside of it (using wool from a different sheep) whilst keeping the top unfelted. You do this (according to the instructions we were following) by working on a mesh, so that what will be the top of the final rug hangs down through the gaps and doesn’t get involved in the felting process.

You start my making lots of fluff from a tatty fleece, pulling it gently apart and separating the fibres, then you spread these out over the underside of the fleece. First in one direction, then in the other. After that, it’s simply a case of using soap and water to work the wool into felt. I say ‘simply’, but it’s actually really hard work to persuade raw (although washed) wool, in large quantities, to become felt. We made some progress with three of us working together, but we didn’t complete the rug.

It was an interesting experiment and, despite not ending up with a finished rug, we learned a lot:

  • It turned out that the gaps in the mesh of the fence panel we were working on were a bit too big – not providing enough support to felt successfully without moving the fleece around periodically.
  • The panel was a bit too bouncy as well, so a bit more support would have been helpful.
  • Our instructions suggested using washing-up liquid as the soap, but it’s harsh on the hands after a whole day and I would use olive oil soap in future, as I do for other felting.
  • There was no mention of covering the work with net (as I usually do when felting) to stop the fibres lifting up. It’s absence made the work much more difficult and I would employ a net cover next time.
  • The process could have been speeded up by using a rolled bamboo mat as a sort of rolling pin to give extra friction a bit later in the process.
  • A whole fleece was a rather ambitious first project – it would have been better to make some mats to begin with.

Nevertheless, we had a lovely sociable day, a fabulous lunch which we all contributed to, and an audience with a special interest in the project:

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Ken and Dave

I’m sure there’s going to be a next time! I might even remember to photograph the finished item second time round.

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by The Snail of Happiness on July 16, 2017  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on July 16, 2017

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2017/07/16/fleeced/

Three Things Thursday: 13 July 2017

My weekly exercise in gratitude – three things that are making me smile – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog [or Twitter account or Facebook page or diary or life in general] with happiness.

First, being busy. You may have noticed the absence of posts this past week. It’s because I have been very busy. I’ve had two full days out felting, I’ve had a friend over for a crochet lesson (and cake), I’ve been out for breakfast, I’ve been out for lunch, I’ve even been shopping this week. It’s rare that I spend so much time out of the house, but it’s nice once in a while.

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one day I was busy with fleeces

 

Second, berries. I listed red currants as one of my three things last week. We still have more of those to come, but this morning I had blueberries and raspberries for my breakfast… plus the red gooseberries are ripening up. And not only are they delicious, they are also really good for you.

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a berry good morning

 

Third, baking. The hens are busy laying lots of eggs at this time of year, so it is very much cake season. The current one is a chocolate cake.

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chocolate cake

 

So, those are three things making me smile this week. What is making you happy?

-oOo-

Emily of Nerd in the Brain originally created Three Things Thursday, but it’s now being hosted by Natalie of There She Goes.

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by The Snail of Happiness on July 13, 2017  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on July 13, 2017

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2017/07/13/three-things-thursday-13-july-2017/

Three Things Thursday: 5 January 2017

Inspired by Emily of Nerd in the Brain (note her new self-hosted web site) here are my Three Things Thursday. As she says…

*three things that make me smile: an exercise in gratitude – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog with the happy*

First, my birthday (even though it was a big one). I had a lovely time on Monday going out to lunch with my family plus Mr Snail bought me these:

Can you spot the theme?

Can you spot the theme?

Second, I finished knitting my jester work bag. It’s currently in the washing machine on a hot wash so fingers crossed the felting works. In the mean time here it is stitched together before felting:

Big and floppy... soon to be smaller and firm!

Big and floppy… soon to be smaller and firm!

Third, threading my overlocker. Despite everyone telling me how difficult it would be, I successfully rethreaded my overlocker after two of the threads broke the other day. Now, I’m not saying it didn’t take me a few attempts, but the diagrams in the manual were clear and once I had worked out why the first thread had broken (a bit of entanglement in one of the thread guides), it wasn’t too bad. I’m feeling rather less intimidated now.

Not as bad as it forst appears

Not as bad as it first appears… look, there’s even a little colour-coded diagram inside the machine on the right

So, those are three things making me smile this week – what about you?

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by The Snail of Happiness on January 5, 2017  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on January 5, 2017

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2017/01/05/three-things-thursday-5-january-2017/

Floral felting

This weekend the weather here was dreadful – high winds and driving rain, a typical British summer. But was I downhearted? No I was not, because I spent two days felting. I went to Aberystwyth Arts Centre to attend  course by the fabulous Ruth Packham, learning to combine wet and dry felting. It was a lovely informal course, with everyone choosing a plant or flower to make and Ruth helping us to work out how to achieve our goal. All the wool we used was British and some came from the Cambrian Mountains, making it very local.

Arranged, to coincide with an art exhibition entitled Flora, the course focused on making plants and flowers in felt. In fact, we didn’t exactly stick to the remit, so as well plants, between us we also made a caterpillar, a dragonfly and some coral. I really didn’t want to make a flower, so I chose to focus on something smaller, taking my inspiration from the capsules produced by mosses:

and look at all this that the other participants did…

We also each took home a porcelain flower from the Flora exhibition. For one of the exhibits, visitors are asked to record their first flower memory on a small card, and then to exchange the memory for a ceramic flower. The idea is that this particular exhibit changes over time from a collection of flowers to to a collection of memories… isn’t that lovely? The artist responsible is Clare Twomey:

 

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by The Snail of Happiness on August 22, 2016  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on August 22, 2016

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2016/08/22/floral-felting/

Trying times

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an early jute prototype

Ages ago I wrote a pattern for my crochet bird roosts. The plan was to sell both the pattern alone and kits with all the necessary materials in. Unfortunately things didn’t quite go to plan… my testers never got back to me with comments about the pattern, and then the supplier of the jute twine that I used during the design process went out of business. In a fit of gloom I put it all to one side.

Some months later I tried to source an equivalent twine, but didn’t have much luck, although I did buy some (unseen and, as it turned out not entirely suitable) from a British manufacturer – I really needed a local supplier who I could visit to allow me to see and feel the different types or a more distant supplier who was prepared to send me samples. I’ve had no luck on either count. However, recently Danielle from The Make It Shop offered to test the pattern for me and, as a result of chatting to her, I decided it might be worthwhile to try making a version in wool for subsequent felting.

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trials and tests (note empty wine glass in the background!)

And so, over the past week I’ve been playing around with different designs and different wool yarns plus the new jute. Some of the wool I tried refuses to felt, some of my trials have ended up silly shapes, and some are promising, the new jute was so thick it turned into an extra-large roost. We’ve found a few mistakes in the pattern and a few places where the instructions were unclear. However, progress is being made and I’m hoping that in the not too distant future the pattern will be finalised and at least a woolly feltable version of the kit will be available. My desire to use British fibres as much as possible isn’t helping and I’m sick of doing internet searches for twine, so I’m planning to brave some real shops/garden centres in an attempt to locate some twine of the right gauge.

So, I’m just off to crochet yet another bird house… I’ll be glad when I can get back to my skeleton hat pattern write-up!

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by The Snail of Happiness on July 5, 2016  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on July 5, 2016

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2016/07/05/trying-times/

Getting creative

As the ramifications of last week’s referendum become apparent and a large number of our elected representatives exhibit the leadership, statesmanship and charisma of a stale welshcake, it’s hard not to feel completely at sea. I really don’t like uncertainty and so the current situation is not a happy one for me.

So, I’ve decided to take control of of things that I can have an influence on… I’m working on patterns to sell and doing a spot of needle felting with a view to future sales. The state of the pound means that the rest of the world should be clamouring for our exports, so what better time to get some more items in my etsy shop?

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Trialling my own work

For a long time I have been planning to write up some of my patterns to sell. Yesterday I finally got round to finding some software to create knitting charts, and so I now have a draft chart for my dancing skeleton (a design I originally created for my masterpiece blanket). Hopefully I’ll have this fully tested and turned into a hat pattern very soon. Ages ago I found some fabulous beads for this project so I am planning, in the near future, to have kits for sale including everything necessary to make one in time for Halloween. I’m currently working up a panel from the chart to check it. In addition yesterday, I packed up the pattern/yarn for another kit that I plan to sell and sent that off for testing, so hopefully that should be finalised soon too.

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A variety of ‘vaarks

As I have mentioned before, recently I’ve been having fun making little critters called Mousevaarks from old socks. They were designed by my friend Danielle Lowy (you can buy her booklet, How to Make Monsters & Monkeys, which contains the pattern for them here) and I was inspired to make a crochet/knitted version with a snail shell (snailvaark). The basic shape is so versatile that I decided it would be fun to have a go at creating a tiny mousevaark by needle-felting. So, yesterday, I spent a bit of time honing my skills and creating a little chap whom I have named Lazlo (because his nose tip is a piece of lapis lazuli). Needle felting always starts off looking so unpromising, but it doesn’t take long to create the form you want (as long as it isn’t too big – Lazlo is only 4cm tall).

So, that was me being creative. I just hope I can maintain momentum!

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by The Snail of Happiness on June 29, 2016  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on June 29, 2016

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2016/06/29/getting-creative/

I’ve got it pegged

The original felted peg bag

The original felted peg bag

Ages and ages ago I bought a felting kit for a peg bag. It seemed like a great idea and having a kit would give me a chance to practice my (then) recently acquired felting skills but with a safety net, so the speak. I made it up following the instructions and produced a lovely, fancy little felted bag… much more beautiful than I would have designed if left to my own devices. The problem was that the main way to describe it was ‘little’: it held about 12 pegs. I simply couldn’t fit all my pegs into it and so, however beautiful, it really wasn’t much use. Since I  completed it, it has been sitting on top of the washing machine, unused.

The new felted peg bag

The new felted peg bag

Last week, I decided that the time had come to make a more functional peg bag – one that would hold all my pegs and that would be good for years of use. I didn’t want to spend a huge amount of time on it, so I chose a single colour for the interior and three for the exterior, with no embellishments. All but the  purple wool, which is Merino, is British Blue-faced Leicester. I used a wire coat hanger for the hook and to help it to hold its shape inside and edged the hole with embroidery silk that I’ve had for about 35 years! It’s a bit more square than I would have liked – the pod-shape of the original appeals to me – but I’m quite pleased with it.

... and together for comparison

… and together for comparison

I may have gone to the other extreme in terms of size and it’s certainly not as fancy as the first one, but I’m really pleased with it and, other than the stitching, it only took a couple of hours to make. The tiny original, I’m going to hang up in my office and use if to keep little USB cables in because I’m always putting them down and forgetting where… I knew it wouldn’t go to waste.

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by The Snail of Happiness on September 14, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on September 14, 2013

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2013/09/14/ive-got-it-pegged/

Crafting my way to happiness

Alpha wave generator

Alpha wave generator

Regular readers of this blog will know that I dedicate quite a lot of time to craft projects – crochet, knitting and felting in particular, but I also do needlepoint, embroidery, paper-making, and more. Some of my creations are useful things (socks, gloves, bath puffs), but some are quite frivolous… the collection of knitted slugs probably have little practical use! However, there are more reasons for craft activities than just the finished item.

Knitting and crochet are portable and I take my projects with me to all sorts of situations. For example I often knit socks whilst travelling, attending courses and conferences, teaching  and when participating in meetings. I do often have to explain to people that my knitting does not mean that I’m not paying attention nor should they consider it disrespectful – it’s just something I do with my hands and that helps me to think. Don’t believe me? Well, I have been knitting for more than 35 years, so it does come quite naturally and  there is sound evidence showing that knitting is associated with the production of alpha waves by the brain. According to the Bicybernaut Institute

Alpha brain waves are seen in wakefulness where there is a relaxed and effortless alertness

Production of these brainwaves reduces stress and is associated with creativity. They are also linked to heightened imagination, visualisation, memory, learning and concentration. And knitting (along with other craft activities) encourages their production. The Circles website, for example, states that

The act of knitting has some inherent and intriguing qualities to it. It has been shown that when we knit, our brains produce the alpha waves of a relaxed meditative state… Clinical studies have found that the repetitive action of knitting creates a calming effect. Yes, more alpha waves than when meditating or doing yoga. Due to this, it is quite effective to use knitting as a mechanism for opening up to self-exploration, growth and healing. From simply adding knitting to a traditional therapy model of talking and processing with a guide, to knitting a specific project chosen or designed to evoke specific paths of exploration, knitting is one of the most relaxed and enjoyable, while highly effective, modes of growing your self-awareness that you can experience.

Last week I attended the latest in a series of meetings that have all been rather stressful. However, for the first time, I took some knitting with me and was delighted to find that I came away much less tense than usual and, along with the progress made in the meeting itself, with about a quarter of a sock more than when I started. I also didn’t feel the need for a large glass of wine as soon as I got home!

Alpha brainwaves are produced when we do all sorts of craft activities… things that are gentle and repetitive and that allow us to relax, thus freeing our minds. We can combine creativity with our hands with mental creativity. I have never been comfortable with sitting thinking about my breathing in order to relax and mediate, but give me some wool, water and soap and I will happily felt my way into a meditative state! So that’s what I’m off to do now, I have a felted peg bag to finish and some ideas about a chapter for a research handbook I’m writing to get sorted out in my mind, so excuse me whilst I go and get soapy… and thoughtful!

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by The Snail of Happiness on September 8, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on September 8, 2013

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2013/09/08/crafting-my-way-to-happiness/

Stocking up

So, after much dithering, I am starting to create stock for my planned shop – mainly bath puffs.

Bath puffs - upcycled acrylic, organic cotton, and recycled cotton + acrylic mix

Bath puffs – upcycled acrylic, organic cotton, and recycled cotton + acrylic mix

I have a variety of yarns to use – recycled cotton and new organic cotton (which will make very soft and absorbent puffs – more like a flannel than a nylon scrubby and ideal for the bath); upcycled acrylic (the closest I can get to the familiar nylon scrubbies and better for the shower); and a range of twines, including hemp, nettle and bamboo. I have come to accept that nylon is nylon and other fibres simply do not have the same characteristics. If you want a nylon bath puff, that is what you will have to buy. But if you want a greener option, then there are a range of fibres with a variety of properties that can easily be turned into a puff.

Woolly wash balls (left merino, right Shetland wool) and their little soap 'hearts'

Woolly wash balls (left merino, right Shetland wool) and their little soap ‘hearts’

My exploration of bathing products is not finished, however. Thanks to inspiration from my friend Anja (have you checked out her blog Free food for rats?) I am now creating what I am calling woolly wash balls – felted bars of soap*. I think that these will work well – they are self-soaping, but once the soap is used up you have a lovely felted scrubby or puff. I’m currently working with soap that was in my store cupboard, but I’m hoping to get hold of some lovely locally made soap. I’m also testing out different wools – I particularly like the idea of undyed wools (like the Shetland in the picture) and have just bought a variety of these to play around with… more on this in a later post.

The trouble with making things to sell is that I don’t get to keep them! So, I’m trying to have at least two projects on the go at all times – one for me and one for the shop. Compared to knitting a pair of socks (20 hours) a bath puff is relatively quick (haven’t timed it yet but perhaps 6-8 hours), so I should be able to make a couple of bath puffs for every pair of socks if I share the time out right. And felting is quicker, but a lot messier and not something you can just pick up whilst you’re watching the telly. At last I have decided where to start now…

-oOo-

* Which has led me to an exploration of soap… a whole new can of worms that, no doubt, I’ll write about in the future

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by The Snail of Happiness on April 7, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on April 7, 2013

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2013/04/07/stocking-up/

Never felt better

I decided this weekend to take some time off from paid work and do some activities that I would enjoy just for myself. I did get slightly distracted yesterday and spent rather a long time on the phone arranging a trip away (which will be great when it happens, but required quite a bit of organisation) and writing a piece of text for the Permaculture Association, but today has more or less been just about me… a lie in with an audiobook, a walk on the beach with the dogs and my sweetie in the sunshine (yes, sunshine in west Wales in November), tea and cake when we got home and then an afternoon of felting.

My first ever attempt at wet felting

Making felt is an activity that I had been interested in doing for ages, but it wasn’t until two years ago that an opportunity finally presented itself to go and learn how. I know that I could have bought a book and just got on with it, but wet felting is such a tactile activity that I really wanted to learn from a real person. And the autumn before last the wonderful Lorraine Pocklington of Greenweeds ran a beginners felt-making workshop at Denmark Farm. And from that moment on I was hooked. I started off, at the workshop, making a case for a passport… a simple thing, but it introduced me to the idea of being able to create three-dimensional objects without the need for seams. I knew that this was possible in knitting, through the use of double-pointed needles, but the fact that felt can be thick enough to hold its own shape and can be sculpted opens up a whole range of possibilities.

Slippers from the recent course – mine are the front middle, awaiting decoration

Last year I went on another course to learn to make felt hats and last month, another for felt slippers, both again at Denmark Farm, which is less than 15 miles away from home. The slippers are not yet finished as I want to decorate them with some needle felting and I haven’t got round to it … I just need more hours in the day, or fewer projects on the go! Next spring it looks like there will be a course on nuno felting (that’s where you felt onto fine fabric)… I can’t wait.

The camera case under construction

However, this afternoon’s project was to make a case for my new digital camera. Because felt can be thick, it can be used to make covers for electronic equipment to provide protection. A couple of months ago I made a case for Mr Snail-of-happiness’ new tablet computer. This did not come out quite as I had intended because I was using a new fibre that shrank more than I expected, but it is still serviceable. Today, however, I used I wool that I have worked with before and the properties of which I know reasonably well. I wanted to experiment with a sort of flame effect with the colours, and I’m quite please with the result. It’s drying now and I will finish it off with a couple of buttons to close it and possibly a wrist strap.

After cutting – felting needed around the edges

Felting is a particularly enjoyable activity for me… it’s very tactile, involving repetitive physical activity that isn’t too strenuous. Your mind can wander whist you are being creative and for me it beats meditating. In fact, this afternoon, I listened to part of an audio book whilst I felted… my mind has been busy enough recently as it is! My next project will be a peg bag…

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by The Snail of Happiness on November 11, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on November 11, 2012

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2012/11/11/never-felt-better/

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