Versatility of Felt

The other day I finally found a tiny bit of time in the studio for some felting. I really need to be spending more time there, as I need lots of new items for my booth at the Francisco's Farm Art Festival in June. So.... I got to work.

First I made a flat piece of felt that incorporates cotton scrim, alpaca, fine merino, locks of our sheep's fiber, and silk. (I would later add some stone buttons). The piece is especially thin and transparent, you'll soon see why!

I love the various textures of this particular piece, it's why I love felting so much.

After some trimming and stitching, the flat piece was turned into this:

These are always difficult to photograph, but I hope you get the drift! I can hardly wait to do the next one.....

Hunting... or Finding?

It was kind of funny, two different family members called yesterday for advice on hunting for morel mushrooms and a cousin was talking about it on Facebook. I think it's probably prime time in Ohio, but in this part of Kentucky I believe the time has passed for morels. Perhaps I've made it sound easier than it is, as the timing is of great importance (they only last for a few days before shriveling up or being eaten by wild animals) and just being in the right place to find them is critical- there is definitely a lot of luck involved!

We have found morels on only a fraction of our farm's wooded areas, and there doesn't seem to be a common denominator with the the two areas they've been discovered, other than that there is plenty of shade. If you read what the experts say, you'll see a diversity of opinions about what kinds of trees to look under, etc.

A grey morel, the best tasting (we only find a few of these here)

The morels we found this year were in about the 2nd week of April, which is almost always when we have found them. It has been an exceptionally wet spring, as it was during the banner year for morels that we had two years ago (last year we didn't find ANY).

So, my best advice is to take your time and enjoy the woods. There is something very relaxing about getting out into nature, especially in the springtime when so much new life is happening before your eyes.

Your eyes will become trained to spot the shape of a morel, but don't dismiss everything else you see on the forest floor (can you spot the two small morels in the picture above?).

There is so much beauty in the shapes, textures, and colors you'll see.

Even the lichens are beautiful if you take the time to look.

The "morel" of the story? If you're REALLY lucky, you'll fill the sink with these (small morels from this year's harvest). If not, well you'll have been lucky anyway... just to get out and enjoy nature. My next foraging experience? We're going to forage nettles this week, stay tuned!

All over the place!

If this blog seems to hop all over the place, it's because that's how life has been lately! We did get to Florida for spring break, the first time my husband has ever gotten away for the whole time with the kids. Siesta Key is as beautiful as I remember, and hadn't changed a whole lot in the 25 or more years since I'd been there.

We also enjoyed an afternoon at Venice Beach, looking for fossilized shark's teeth. I found two small ones, the kids mostly enjoyed the sand and surf. They got along GREAT on this trip and handled the long drive there perfectly, too. It made for a very pleasant time.

This is who we saw on one long walk on Siesta Beach! He drew a crowd, as you might expect.

The sunset also drew an enthusiastic crowd. There's just something awe-inspiring about watching that huge burning orb drop into the ocean before your eyes, even though it occurs every single day.

I also got to see a long-lost friend from the neighborhood where we lived when I was in junior high and high school. We've been writing for the past year or so, our lives having gone very different directions. It was great to see him and introduce him to the family.

There has been a LOT going on at the farm, will post about our new cria and hope to have lambs as well in the next few days so check back soon!

Springtime Hodge and Podge

The choir trip with my son's school to Orlando was a lot better than I thought it might be and (with the help of a little Tylenol PM) I actually was able to sleep on the bus! Universal Studios was really nice (minus the super-loud music and sound effects and commercialism), and it was fun to see the kids perform, but I was predictably thrilled to return to the tranquility of Seldom Scene Farm. Hogwarts was by far my favorite part, but there's tons of magic going on right here with spring on the rise.

We're waiting on our first alpaca crias to arrive any time, very exciting! Also, our daughter's ewe is due to lamb soon but since we're going to be gone we've left her at our friend Dianne's place to deliver (thanks again, Dianne!). We are completely addicted to her new Lamb Cam (live barn views via the internet), and will be anxious to pick out our own lambs "on TV" when they get here and watch them bounce around on the screen before we can see them in person.

The other babies on the farm are these chicks which are being added to our egg-laying flock. We had the sweetest group of girl scouts come for a llama trek recently; they enjoyed playing with the chicks almost as much as they liked the llamas.

Fiber activity has been scarce, although I have continued to pick up the needles and work on my Tea Leaves Cardigan which I'm hoping to complete while there's still some cool weather around. I've made more felted birdhouses, but forgot to photograph them before they were shipped to Wyoming and taken to Damselfly Gallery in Midway.

Another piece of news is that we have decided to sell one of our premier alpaca studs, El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo, at the AOBA National Auction in Denver in May. We had fun doing some photography and video with him the other day (of course the dogs wanted to get in on the action). He's a very cooperative, charismatic and photogenic alpaca, so it made the process a lot of fun!

We have a dusting of snow on the daffodils today after near record high temperatures this week. That is the epitome of March in Kentucky, it's definitely going out like a lion. I hope that you're enjoying at least some signs of spring where you are!

Learning from Mistakes

It's never fun to have to throw out a messed-up felting project (at least with knitting, you can unravel the yarn!), but I suppose I can say that it's how one improves. Last week one day I had a block of time to make the first of Mirian's slippers. I chose her favorite colors and decided to make them slightly thicker and to use only wool, no alpaca. The alpaca in mine feels incredibly soft, however it is not holding in the rest of the felt very well. Although I love alpaca, it's not well-suited for felting that will take a lot of hard wear.

I traced a pattern for the resist and made it larger to account for shrinkage.... but not enough shrinkage! I guess that using more merino (which shrinks a lot) and not using alpaca (which barely shrinks) made it shrink significantly more. After trying to make this fit Mirian's foot (it felt like I was trying to get Cinderella's stepsister's foot into the glass slipper!), I gave up and started over.

The new slippers made from a larger resist turned out great! I had hoped to photograph them with the leather already sewn on, but I've not been able to whittle out even that little bit of time this week.

I did do a bit of dyeing, carding and spinning this past week, just wish I could have done more!

A friend told me that alpaca couldn't be spun into coils, one had to use merino, so of course I had to try- I love the result.

I'm off to the Southern Select Alpaca Show in Tennessee this weekend, then I'm chaperoning my son's choir trip to Orlando for 5 days! I'm beginning to forsee a time when our daughter will be back in school next year and I'll have larger blocks of time for fiber work again, trying hard not to wish the time away!

Dogs in my Life....

Our little Munchkin ("Munchie") was pretty stinky and scruffy before grooming this week, and now he's cold but oh so cute! My mom asked me the other day if he was my favorite dog ever. Hmmm.... that would be a tough call because I do adore him, but I have had a LOT of wonderful dogs over the years. They include....

Brandy #1 and #2- They were Boxers, the first when I was very young and the second a rescue dog that we found full of fleas and all skin and bones with a big rope burn on her neck. When she became well again, she was constantly by my side. I made a jumping course in our backyard, and we would run around it together... this was before anyone was doing agility competitions. One of the smartest and sweetest dogs, I cried sooooo hard when Brandy died when I was a freshman away at college. She was incredibly loyal- though we did have a break-in at our home while she was there- the police thought she may have been poisoned/sedated.

Bonnie- my grandmother's West Highland Terrier that we had for the 2nd half of her life, cute but very feisty. (Terriers have never been my favorite, though I have recently met a few older Jack Russells that I've liked).

Bear- a mixed breed puppy that I bottle-raised, had been found on a sidewalk abandoned at just a few days old and was brought into the vet clinic where I was working. He actually came on a few dates with me, in a box in the backseat! My parents helped place him in a new home when I went back to school, and my Dad actually shed a few tears. (I'm so grateful that my parents were always so tolerant of my pets, which included ducks, rabbits, and a ferret).

Buffett- a beautiful blue merle Australian Shepherd, very intelligent dog that I truly let down as I lived in an apartment and was a very irresponsible pet owner before I finally wised up and found a more appropriate home for him (he did a lot of damage to my apartment, expensive lesson and I deserved to pay for every cent!). That dog was extremely bonded to me and ended up having a pretty unhappy life after I "abandoned" him. I still feel bad that I let this dog down.

Hmmm, what's with all of the "B" names?

McKenzie and Toulouse, in front of our house under construction

Toulouse- the first dog that Paul and I had on the farm, she was a beautiful red-tri Australian Shepherd. Sweet, sweet dog, well-behaved and smart. She seemed to have 9 lives, and used up several at once when she was run over by our big Dodge pickup and came away with only a bloody nose and black eye. Toulouse helped to mother the two coyote pups we raised (that's a story for another day....!) I think she'd win for the #1 favorite! (Don't anyone tell Munchie).

McKenzie- a huge wolf hybrid, she was gorgeous and bright and gentle, never hurt a flea (except for killing a fawn once). She once had both ears "pierced" by gunshots when she wandered onto a neighbor's farm, LUCKY dog! (In fairness, they probably thought she was a coyote). Although she had never shown any aggression, I insisted on finding her a new home when we brought our baby son Robert home... just couldn't take any chances. She went to a great home and lived a long, healthy life with another family.

Moon(shine)- I'd always admired Border Collies and wanted to potentially try sheepdog trials. A great dog, eager-to-please and energetic (which we'd expected), we couldn't keep him out of the neighbor's cattle. We found a good home for him where his talents were put to work as a trial dog.

Kate (Spanish Water Dog) and Chicklet (Corgi)- nice dogs, but neither were good with kids and tended to be high-strung and a little aggressive. Both went on to other homes.

Farley- our first LGD (livestock guardian dog), this huge Great Pyrenees had the run of the entire farm and he patrolled it well. A gentle giant, he inserted himself into any and every group photo and escorted us on many llama treks around the farm. We've had many other LGD's since, and currently have Dillon, Crockett and Rosa (Maremma sheepdogs) and Lucy (a Great Pyrenees). They literally allow us to sleep at night, guarding our alpacas and sheep in all weather and at all hours. At one point, I started saving the shed undercoat from a few of these dogs to spin, then realized how ridiculous that seemed since I had over 40 fine alpacas in the field! Each and every one has had a memorable personality.

As you can tell, I've been mostly drawn to larger dogs that are working breeds. Not our "lap dog", Munchie (who is a Shihtzu that was rescued by a friend).... He is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's great at warming my lap, and snuggling by my feet in bed, and he's gentle and not too yappy, doesn't shed, and he loves everybody. He travels well, likes the cat, and doesn't try to bite the UPS driver. He's definitely a keeper!

I wonder what other dogs will join our family in the future? Watching the Westminster Dog Show last week made me realize how important dogs have been to me and our family. If you are a dog lover, be sure to read A Dog's Purpose. It will make you appreciate every dog that's ever been a part of your life.

TGIFAF (Thank God It's Fiber Arts Friday!)

This has been one of those not-so-great weeks (a LOT of running kids around with little free time to enjoy the beautiful weather, though we did have a llama trek yesterday). Our teens have been pushing my buttoms and my fuse has been short (is there a full moon or something?... yes!), but as I pondered getting out of bed early this morning I thought, “YEAH, I can wear my new slippers!” (Sometimes, no maybe always, it’s about the little things).

My last blog post described my first attempts at felting slippers. I scoured the net for tips on finishing the bottoms. A lot of people paint latex onto the bottoms to make them skid-proof, but I liked the idea of keeping them more natural plus I felt that leather would protect the bottoms a lot more. This blog had some good information on felted slippers and adding bottoms. Someone mentioned using scrap or even recycled leather thrifted from old coats, and a search turned up this Etsy seller. I ordered enough leather in a neutral color to make many future pairs, and had it within a few days. The leather is huge with a few scratches and holes, but for $30 I can probably get about 30 pairs of soles compared to $10 per pair that I’ve found elsewhere.

I made a template by tracing the slipper, then easily cut the leather with regular scissors. I may have trimmed it down a bit small, but time will tell. I used an awl to punch holes in the leather, and sewed them on using a heavy, waxed leather thread.

From the way they feel on my feet this morning, I declare this project a success!