COLOURS OF SUMMER

'Smash Box' ~ nuno felted merino wool on silk

'Smash Box' ~ inside

I am inspired by the colours of the summer garden more than any other lovely thing in nature and my hands always seem to reach for wool fibres in shades of pink, purple, red, orange, yellow and green (even when summer is long over).  On the other hand I think that sometimes a change is good.  Still, I have to push myself into other palettes when making colour choices for new hats.  The colour for 'Smash Box' above was a stretch for me but in the end I do like it.  'Cerise' below is a more typical colour choice, making me very predictable I suppose, but every now and then I surprise myself with something different.  So...I'm aiming to use "other" colour choices for the next few new hats just to see what turns out...for a change.  I may have to tuck the pinks and purples out of sight... but just temporarily mind you.  This will be a serious colour challenge for me requiring some serious self discipline!  Hmmm.....    

'Cerise' ~ wet felted with merino wool & silk fibres

Hard to resist these summer colours

`Cerise`~ top view

Speaking of colour, recently I attended a fantastic gathering of the Belleville Spinner's at Grace's glorious farm in Northumberland County not far from Campbellford.  About 25 of us spent the day spinning and dyeing yarn, wool rovings, silk and cotton fabric.  This was the first time I'd ever actually put anything in a pot of boiling hot pigment with fabulous colour results.  I learned many useful things from this group of creative, interesting and wise women that day.  As we stood around our bubbling cauldrons of colour (OK, we actually used the barbecue), the witches scene from Macbeth suddenly appeared in my mind's eye and it occurred to me that, in a very contemporary way, we were continuing an ancient, mysterious and unique female tradition.  One of special secrets for which, had this been the middle ages, we would have been feared, shunned and probably burned at the stake for practicing witchcraft.  Now, more than ever, I'm pretty sure that witches cauldron was a simple pot of dye! 

"Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog."

"And now about the cauldron sing,
Live elves and fairies in a ring,
Enchanting all that you put in"   

I dyed wool to felt hats but of course it's pink and green so I won't be using it for a little while because of the new "other" colour challenge I've committed to (I'm sure I mentioned this was temporary... didn't I ?).    





Spinning on the porch at Grace's ~ photo
by Sandra Emlaw

Out of the dye pot and onto the line

Rosemary stirring the pot!

Lately I have had more time for knitting and less time for felting so I have made lots of wrist warmers and headbands.  Here are some photos of what I have been working on.

Frida Kahlo Headband ~ hand knit with felted flower

Frida Headband ~ hand knit with felted flower

Frida Headband & wrist cuffs~ hand knit with
felted flower, modelled by Anne Boleyn

Ruffled wrist warmers ~ hand knit silk and merino

Noro ruffled wrist warmers ~ hand knit

Ruffled wrist warmers ~ hand knit silk, merino & alpaca

Ruffled wrist warmers ~ hand knit silk & merino

Accordian wrist warmers ~ hand knit soy and mohair

Ruffled wrist warmers ~ hand knit merino & alpaca

Ruffled wrist warmers ~ hand knit merno & mohair

Ruffled wristlets ~ hand knit ribbon

Noro Fingerless gloves ~ hand knit merino and silk

SHAPING IS EVERYTHING IN FELTING

'Ruby Begonia' ~ wet felted with
merino wool and silk

'Ruby Begonia' ` side view

When I was first learning to felt I used to think the shape of the pattern resist was the most important element in the final shaping of the hat.  What I have learned instead is that when making a cloche hat (one that fits snugly to the head), I can use the same basic shaped resist patten for any style. The end result comes from the actual felting process combined with stretching, fulling in at the bottom edge or the top of the brim, cutting, trimming, folding, pleating or the final coaxing out of a lovely brim.  It is an amazing procedure!  Having a hat block helps tremendously with the final shaping of the finished hat. 

So, after four or five hours of felting and hard work, just when you think everything is done, you must begin the most important part of completing the hat.  Shaping can take an hour or more and involves some experimenting and even some trial and error.  The end result is always worth the extra effort.  In felting, shaping is everything. 

'Lettuce Felt' ~ wet felted with
merino wool and silk (the bow is on
the hat stand, not on the hat!)

'Lettuce Felt' ~ back view

Of course different resist pattern shapes are used for other styles of hats such as berets or pointed pixie hats which can be shaped over other things like bowls, vases or plates.  'Eliza Doolittle' below was not shaping well until I wedged a dinner plate inside creating a flatish top and a pretty crease similar to a beret.  I'm not sure which was harder ... getting the plate in or out in one piece!

'Eliza Doolittle' ~ wet felted with merino wool

'Tangerine Skies' ~ wet and nuno felted
with merino wool

'Tangerine Skies' ~ back view

'Tangerine Skies' ~ surprise inside!

'Circus Cloche' ~ wet and nuno felted
with merino wool and chiffon

'Circus Cloche' ~ inside

Here is how I made the 'Circus Cloche' after laying out and wetting the fibres with warm, soapy water.  To see laying out of the fibres check out my previous post called "Felting Foxy Flapper Hats" (January 27, 2013).  Following the laying out and wetting of the fibres I roll the flat hat (over the resist pattern) between screens (or bubble wrap) around a pool noodle.  I check the process frequently by unrolling and smoothing the seams. The rolling continues until the hat is fulled enough to remove the resist pattern without the two sides felting together.

Now the throwing begins and continues until the hat is ready to be stretched over the wooden hat block.  This is when the fun and the real shaping begins.  The brim can be folded up or stretched out and pleats or folds can be added.  The edges are trimmed and re felted (or healed).  The hat, which is still soapy will allow itself to be pulled, pushed and manipulated into a shape that pleases.  Once it's perfect it comes off the hat block and is rinsed, first in warm water, then in vinegar and water and again in cool to cold water.  The cold water shocks the fibres so they tighten up and must be stretched again over the hat block into the final shape.  Occasionally this process requires gorilla force grip strength and I've noticed that with practice I'm getting much better at opening the pickle jar!  Once the hat is dry and off the block it remembers and holds it's lovely shape for good. 

How I made "Circus Cloche' after laying out
and wetting the fibres. The fulling starts with rolling

Opening the roll to check the felting

It starts out as a flat hat over a pattern
resist to stop the two sides from felting together

Smoothing the seams is important

Here is the big, soggy, soapy mess before the
final throwing and shaping take place

Have to make the flower too!

Once the hat is fulled to the right size
I shape and trim it over a wooden hat block
followed by rinsing and reshaping to dry



After the final shaping the hat dries on
a hat block and the flower in a bowl

FELTING FOR 'THE MAKER'S HAND'

'Alba Rose' ~ wet felted merino wool

"The Maker's Hand" is an annual Prince Edward County Arts Council show where 40 selected artisans "whose work exemplifies creativity and technical excellence offer unique and beautifully crafted products to please a variety of tastes".  Artisans come from all over Ontario and Quebec to participate in this exciting and very well attended show which takes place right here in our lovey little town of Picton.  AND...what's even more exciting for me and my felting friend Carol King is that 'Cake~Tin Hats' and 'C.K. Woolies' have been accepted into the show!!!!!!  We will be sharing a booth under the umbrella name of "WOOLWORKED".  The show takes place November 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 2013.  To find out more about the PEC Arts Council and the show have a look at their website: http://pecartscouncil.org/.


"The Maker's Hand" is swiftly followed in December (usually the second weekend) by "Busy Hands" which is another wonderful show and sale that Carol and I have participated in for the past four years.  "Busy Hands" also takes place in Picton but differs from "The Maker's Hand" in that it features 50, strictly local artisans.  So, it isn't an understatement to say we have work to do and that it's going to be an extremely busy summer of felting and knitting!

Here is what's been happening so far....

'Alba Rose' ~ top view

'Silk Leaves" ~ wet and nuno felted with
merino wool and silk fabric

'Silk Leaves' ~ back view

'Silk Leaves' ~ top front

The lambswool and silk fibre that I used in 'Violette' and 'Cameleon' below came from some little lambs who live on a picturesque Hastings County farm. Gilly, who lives on the farm, is a long time member of the Belleville Spinner's and Weaver's Guild. She raised those soft little lambs, hand dyed their wool, blended the fibres with silk in a ratio of 70% wool to 30% silk and then prepared them into irresistible batts.  This gave the finished hats a lovely sheen but it made them very tricky to felt!  In fact as I worked on 'Cameleon' I despaired that it might never finish felting and that all was lost.  Because silk doesn't felt and 30% is a lot, it takes some extra effort to attach it to the wool.  After switching from screening to bubble wrap in the last stages of the felting process it finally came together however it required an extra hour of elbow grease!  When it dried it was beautiful and so I subjected myself to making a second hat using another colour of Gilly's lambswool and silk.  At least I was prepared and the results are so shimmery and pretty it was worth the extra effort.  I still have one more batt left in gorgeous shades of green....and sadly Gilly and her lambs are moving to Nova Scotia in June so it may be the last one.
 

'Violette' ~ wet felted using merino
and Gilly's lambswool blended with silk

'Violette' ~ with the camera making it look bluish
instead of the violet it actually is above

'Violette' ~ pink inside

'Cameleon' ~ wet felted using merino
and Gilly's lambswool blended with silk

'Cameleon' ~ top view

'Cameleon' ~ blue inside!

'Peacock' ~ wet felted merino and silk

'Peacock' ~ top view

'Peacock' ~ side view

Aqua ruffled wrist warmers ~ hand knit
merino and silk

Noro wrist warmers ~ hand knit wool and silk

Assorted ruffled wrist warmers ~ hand knit
merino, soy and silk

Terra Cotta wrist warmers ~ hand knit
hand spun corriedale wool



Fingerless gloves with thumb hole ~ hand knit from my
hand spun yarn with mohair ruffle