 |
| '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 |
No comments:
Post a Comment