January 22, 2015

Claire:


After figuring out the felting process I have been experimenting with creating artistic and practical pieces.

The first piece I made was a tapestry with a yarn drawing of a goat head on it. Although it is a bit abstract, the design was based off of a contour line drawing I did of our goat Latte about a year ago. When the wool was just barely starting to felt I laid out yarn and felted it onto the background by agitating with my hands. I was pleasantly surprised with how well it turned out.


Felted tapestry featuring a yarn drawing of a goat head

Lindsay and Kari helped me make a piece of felt with the intention of creating a pillow stuffed with Windward down feathers and sewn with Windward yarn. We mixed our dark brown wool with our white wool during the carding process to create the marbled effect.

The feathers were from a recent chicken harvest. We plucked the feathers while wet, put them into a pillowcase, knotted them in, and threw them in the dryer. They turned out beautifully!


Felt made with two different sheep's wool carded together


It doubles as a hat


Down(ish) feathers from our chickens


Stuffing the pillow with our chickens' down feathers


The pillow was stitched with Windward's homespun wool


100% Windward pillow!

While in St. Louis over Christmas I made presents for my family. Instead of using a smooth surface to roll the felt on I used a large boot tray that I drilled holes in for drainage. I also tried out rolling with my feet instead of my hands. It was much less labor intensive and went considerably faster.


A felt sausage ready to be agitated on a clamped down boot tray with drainage holes


Using my feet to agitate the felt

I made tapestries for my brother and dad. I let the wool felt too much on the yarn-drawing of Le Corbusier's chapel and the yarn didn't fully stick. I touched it up with a felting needle.


A felted drawing of Le Corbusier's La Colline Notre-Dame du Haut in Ronchamp, France, for my dad


A felted tapestry with an olive tree on it for my brother

For my mom I made slippers. I first fashioned a large piece of marbled felt then cut it into a pattern. I used Martha Stewart's pattern.


Felted slippers sewn with embroidery floss


Lindsay modeling the slippers before I sent them to my mom

I made my other brother a pencil case. Instead of using the white and brown wool I made the inside of the bag with turquoise.


Felted zippered pencil case for my brother


I also experimented with felting and repurposing old hole ridden sweaters. I made a crown for my cousin's five year old daughter. It is two pieces of felted sweater sewn around craft foam and then extravagantly bedazzled. I sewed two ribbons on the back of the crown so that it could be tied on and adjusted.


Me trying on the felted crown