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| 'Blue Rose' - wet felted with merino wool & silk |
The other day my Mum and I dropped into Miss Lily's Cafe in Picton to warm up with a nice cup of tea and have a chat. Next to our table was a hat stand which drew my eye upward to a very familiar looking hat. It took me a second to register that it was one I had made and sold to a lovely young woman named Alex. I scanned the cafe and saw that she was sitting at a nearby table. How exciting that was, to see a hat created by me out and about in town!
When Alex bought the hat at 'Busy Hands' last December, things were...well...busy and I didn't have an opportunity to take her photo. Later I was quite disappointed about this because she and that hat were so perfectly suited to each other. As she retrieved her hat from the hat stand and was leaving the cafe she told me how much she loves wearing it and let me take her photo. Seeing again how cute Alex looks in her hat, I decided I should make a few more in a similar cloche style. So, I have begun and here (above) is the first one called 'Blue Rose' because February is the bluest of months.
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| Alex in 'Belle Cloche' |
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| Leslie in 'Blue Rose' |
The beret style hats I made last week are made with a built in feature that looks like a cabbage rose. Christine Muir who is a beautiful felter from Hastings showed me how to create the resist pattern for this very unique and appealing style of felted hat. She is teaching a felted hat workshop this Saturday, March 2 in Belleville which I unfortunately can't take because I promised to work at Rose Haven Yarn Store that day. But it's ok because I love being in the shop too.
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| 'Cabbage Rose' ~ wet felted merino wool & silk |
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| 'Cabbage Rose' ~ pink inside |
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| 'Cabage Rose' ~ on Leslie |
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| 'Raspberry Ripple' ~ wet felted with merino wool & silk |
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| 'Raspberry Ripple' ~ top |
As if I didn't have enough felting to do to keep me busy (and happy) forever, I just joined two local spinning groups. The Prince Edward County Hand Spinners and the Belleville Spinners and Weavers Guild. There are two very good reasons for this...really! The first is that I am now connected to a flurry of talented, creative and delightful women and in only three meetings (so far) I have been exposed to a life time of inspiration and skill. If it has anything to do with fibre, these ladies know how to do it. Some even raise their own sheep and alpaca which they shear and then wash, dye and prepare the fleece for sale. Now, I'm not saying exactly how much I bought at the last meeting... but it is home grown and hand dyed...just so you'll understand why I couldn't come home without it. The second reason is that I have a beautiful Lendrum spinning wheel that came from a very special friend, Riny, which is why I treasure it.
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| My Lendrum spinning wheel ~ made in Canada |
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Riny ~ an inspiration with her spinning
wheel that is now in my care |
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| I've been spinning! |
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Lovely lime alpaca ~ hand knit and embellished
with sari silk |
