New for Fall

Merino Wool, gray and white Merino Wool, brown and white

Reverse of a large purse, gray wool background with silk waste in blues and greens.

Gorgeous color and new and interesting shapes is what I'm aiming for this season. I shared some of my new items with my good friend, Deb Golden, a very stylish woman, and she told me that it was as if I was creating scarves that would double as jewelry! I thought to myself, "Yes, that's exactly what I was hoping for as my work evolved!" So, the new things for fall and winter are all about scarves as jewelry. Purses too! I've embellished some of my purses with antique drawer hardware as a way to use the beauty of the shapes and the patina of age in a new and exciting way.

Natural linen laminated on brown wool with red wool accents. Antique drawer hardware sewn on as an embellishment over the magnet closure and to add additional weight to the front purse flap. Felted all in one piece over a resist.

I'm Thinking Spring!!!

The first hint of spring is in the air with days getting up into the 30's and nights a little warmer too. The days are beginning to lengthen, but we keep getting more snow as is the rest of the country. But I am thinking Spring as the eternal optimist I am. So, I'm designing lighter scarves that double as jewelry. Their purpose shifts from keeping your neck warm to adding texture and beauty amid the change of the season.










I worked with my dreads in a different way, thus the "New For Spring Felted Wool Dreads Scarf." These consist of many long pieces of "spaghetti" in wool, wet felted, some with felted beads and I'm adding silk for texture and softness. These are definitely fun to make and can be used in many different configurations so one doesn't get tired of one look. I created an all white piece and added some vintage brooches to the piece. It looks spectacular!





Today I'm working on funky, large felted beads strung on a long strand of black silk. It is designed to compliment a spring dress that is black with white polka dots. I keep trying to achieve an "over the top" minimalist design. An oxymoron, perhaps.

Today's Project

I started creating this dreads scarf a few days ago. My thought in laying out the wool for this one is to create a more random weave rather than the grid. The dreads will hang from all 4 sides. Over the next couple of days I will wet it and begin the felting process. Because of its size it will take a couple of days to roll.

Happy New Year to All

What a fun year it was in 2009 and I look forward to new challenges in 2010. I made a vest for myself last year that I am especially delighted to wear. It is pictured here. One side is black merino wool and the other is white and where they come together in the back you can see there is a design. The white half has circle cut-outs so that the black shows through. It has a nice drape and length so as to wear with jeans and boots.

Perfecting Wool Projects

One of my goals for next year is working on perfecting a type of felted wool art project. I have been making several of my "dreads" scarves and trying different lengths, widths and manners of laying out wool. Here is my latest creation. I am very satisfied with the way it turned out. In laying out the wool I have pulled apart the long lengths so that they are very thin and airy.

The cross pieces have been woven in and out of the longer lengths. The important factor is to vary the weave so that the grid in not uniform. My next scarf is going to be layed out on the diagonal which I think will have an interesting effect on the dreds and the ability to make the scarf grid more varied.

I have also been working on the perfect length of scarf. For this dread scarf there are two measurements that are important -- the body of the scarf (the solid part) and then the length and width that the dreads add to the scarf. On a tall person (5'6" and up) the measurement that works best is at least 80 inches in the scarf body and then about 40 inches additional in dreds. The scarf pictured here (a Christmas present) is 120 inches in total lenght (10 feet). When wrapped around as a scarf the dreads are not too long and when used as a wrap the body of the scarf is sufficiently long to stay over the shoulder if desired.

Wow! Felting Lots of Scarves, Purses, Etc.

This has been a very busy time for me in the hand felted wool scarf world. I have been experimenting with different kinds of wool. Been reading my new favorite book: The Knitter's Book of Wool-The Ultimate Guide to Understanding, Using, and Loving this Most Fabulous Fiber by Clara Parkes. I received this as a gift and it has some really great info on wool fiber, sheep and the properties of wool. I have been using Merino wool which is characterized as a "next-to-the-skin" wool and is probably one the best known wools. Lots of sweaters are made of Merino wool and I think next to cashmere (not a sheep wool it comes from goats) is pretty well known. Another soft wool is Cormo and I've been using that in my hand felted wool scarves. It felts great! and is soft and a bit fluffier than Merino wool. Here is a great scarf that I made of the Cormo wool and cotton gauze fiber.

The wool is torn and laid out in squares and the cotton gauze is cut to fit in the middle of the square. The result is a very lightweight scarf with lots of beautiful texture.

I also used the Cormo wool and combined it with wool yarn for a fun texture in this red scarf. Again the Cormo seems to felt into a fluffier consistency than the Merino. I'm still researching why this might be and it works to create an illusion that the wool is even softer than Merino wool. Very good for those who thinks wool is difficult to wear on the skin.

I've been creating hand felted wool scarves with dredlocks and perfecting the different ways to lay out the wool, how much to use and how long the dreds need to be. Here are two of my latest scarves with dreds.

The Making of a Scarf/Shawl/Wrap

I've been working on this scarf for a couple of days. Just to give you an idea of its size, the table is 72" round. Laying out the dry wool took me about 3 hours and 4 pounds of wool in black and gray. Merino of course. The dry size was 24" by 93" -- the largest one I've ever done. I've made two other shawls but not in this format.

Here I am hand rubbing the wool. The whole felting process took about 8 hours over two days (not including the time to lay out the dry wool). The dreds dry range from 45" to 30" and each dred needed to be rolled on a piece of non-skid cloth.
I was so concerned that the dreds would either come off or be felted together that I was only able to roll the body of the scarf for a short period. Which meant much more rubbing to felt all the grid together.

Here are pics of the finished scarf. Four pounds of wool is very heavy and the volume is really too much to handle easily. After I got the scarf to the soft felted stage I began to throw it on the table to harden the felt. I couldn't see trying to rinse the scarf in my sink as I do with my others, so I filled the washer with water and vinegar and rinsed it in there with as little agitation as possible. This really saved my arms (which are quite sore today). I also spun the water out in the spin cycle and then put it in the dryer with my trusty tennis balls. The finished size of the scarf is 19" by 63" and the dreds average about 30 to 35 inches with a couple of them quite long. The dreds turned out quite thick. I was worried that they would be too thin and would be out of context to the rest of the scarf.

The mannequin stands about 4" 10" and I don't have any sun today which is why the pictures look quite dark. The flash just makes it worse. The black side of the scarf is much more of an open weave than the gray side.

It is really an amazing scarf. Very dramatic and will look really great and be quite warm.