Success with Felting/Fulling

Normally I am not afraid to try something new, but I have to admit that felting/fulling has me a bit gun shy as of late. In the Fall, I made my sister a beautiful knitted and fulled bag, complete with a handmade button. It was so easy to knit, it felted wonderfully, and gave me enough confidence to make one for myself. The knitting was easy, and it used up some good-sized scraps of Patons merino wool. I thought that I was set...or so it seemed.



I ran the bag through the washing machine twice (both times in a garment bag), and the result was not pretty. The straps did not shrink evenly, and so I was left with a bag that still needs to be made into something else.

So, needless to say, I have been less than thrilled about trying felting again. And yet, the optimist in me remains strong. I have been making several hats for Christmas 2008, and each has left me with scraps of yarn. The hats are made from Patons merino wool, so I decided to give felting another try. I used a pattern for a felted bowl from The Year-Long-Gift-A-Long, and it was a joy to knit. It knit very quickly, and looked like this when I was done.




I knit the sides to 3", rather than the 1 1/2" listed on the pattern. I then decided that I would agitate the bowl by hand, instead of trusting the washing machine to do the work for me. Using hot water and Dawn dishwashing liquid, I set to work.

Once the dish pan was full, I immersed the bowl and started the shrinking process. The water was really hot, and Dawn is super concentrated, so I think that I ended up with as many suds on myself as I had for the bowl! It took a few minutes to see or feel any progress, but once the wool began to shrink, it was amazing how quickly it began to take shape.


After a few more minutes in the hot and soapy bath, I had what resembled a felted bowl. I could hardly believe my eyes.


Of course, there was still some adjusting to be done, but I was so close to achieving my goal. I took the almost-done bowl down to the dryer, placed it in a garment bag, and waited in anticipation. With a hot dryer, a few other towels, and a short amount of time and shaping, the end result was...
The bowl looks great, and will soon be a gift for me or my brother, still not sure who gets the prize yet. I am planning on starting another one today. I think that I will double the yarn on my next venture, and knit a smaller base and taller sides. I guess that it is good to keep trying because eventually I will have more felting successes than failures.

Happy Birthday Idgie!

Idgie, my Louet s-10dt turned four today. I first met Idgie at Halcyon Yarn while on a February Break trip with my sister, Laural. It had already been a long, hard school year for us, and we needed to escape from our normal surroundings for a while. Her friend, Jess, had offered us the opportunity to visit, and we took her up on the offer.

As I think back to that visit, what I remember most is the wonderful hospitality shown to us by Jess, and her now in-laws. They were very gracious to us, and welcomed us with open arms. We were fed wonderful food, had great conversations, and were surrounded by the Maine wilderness for close to a week. It was so refreshing!

In the fours years since that visit, Idgie and I have covered a lot of ground. We have spun many types of wool, demonstrated at the New York State Fair, and participated in a sheep-to-shawl competition. Idgie has earned a few bumps and bruises along the way. Ernie left a puppy chew mark on her right treadle when he was a few months old, she has received a new break band, and had to have her back post replaced as it was starting to split. She still spins like a breeze, and is a joy to work with. Many other wheels have come and gone, but I have always remained faithful to Idgie. I look forward to many more years of spinning with her. Currently, she is occupied with some Romney roving, and soon will be moving into some merino/angora/silk blends.

Happy Birthday Idgie, and thanks for the memories!

WOOL!!!

Today is a wonderful day! It is very cold outside. Things are icing over and the roads are not fun. And best of all, school is canceled for today. As a child, I used to love the occasional snow day, but I think that I relish them even more as an adult. You can never fully guarantee when you will have them, and they always feel like an extra special gift. I have been using today's gift to complete some weekend chores, sip some coffee, knit a few stitches, and best of all, play with fleece.

This fleece is complements of McCauley, a lovely Romney Ram, owned by Phebe. I purchased this fleece at the 2006 New York State Fair, and up until this point had not really taken the time to enjoy it. On Wednesday, I began sorting the fleece by staple length (short, almost medium, medium, and long) and also bundling the fibers. I am trying to maintain lock structure as much as possible, so that I can spin from the lock if I desire. The crimp is very consistent on this fleece, and the luster is beautiful. I haven't made up my mind what I will make with his wool yet, but it will be many wonderful somethings, as there is close to ten pounds of grease wool. As long as the weather stays wintery, I will be busy inside.

I just finished posting to the year long gift-a-long, and added my February goals as well. I did not meet all of my January goals, but when I made them I forgot about how busy the end of a semester can get. Now, a new semester has begun, so I should be able to catch back up. Having a week off in February will also be a plus. Belonging to the group is helping me keep knitting that has a deadline on task. It will be great not to be overwhelmed when special occasions come along.

Ernie and Zoe are finally napping. This morning I was organizing canned food and dry goods, and every time that I went to the utility room, they were sure that it must be time to eat. I think they are both happy that I have decided to sit still for a while. After all, I am interrupting the daily nap schedule.

I am being beckoned by the wool, resistance is futile.