Raw Fleece Cat 'Ruglet'

Felting a small portion of raw fleece...

...with the addition of brown wool roving...

...and a layer of heliotrope gauze (for structural support).

                                      Adding my initials to the backside of the rug...

                                          ...with a length of narrow green roving.

                                  A close-up of the nubby texture and warm color...

                                        ...of the fully felted (and now clean) fleece.

                                                         The fully felted rug...

                                         ...is my cat's favorite new place to nap!

                                              While I was in Boulder recently...

       ...Cathy asked me to show her how to felt raw fleeces from her lovely sheep.

                       Because we were running out of time (and days for it to dry)...

                          ...I made a very small sample rug as a demonstration.

                                  (Once home, it quickly found a useful purpose!) ;)

Bright Knitted Scarf and a 'Blast From the Past'!

                                      I had a small ball of this shocking pink, yellow and purple yarn...

                                                      ...and I really loved the colourway...

                                                          ...so I knitted a cowl from it...

                                           ...and have been wearing it happily ever since...

                                                        ...chasing the winter's chill away!

                                    Some of you may remember the rug that I made last summer at 'Fling'...

                                                           ...well, over the Christmas holiday...

                              ...it finally made its way to its intended spot on the wall over the couch.

Many thanks to my daughter, Lydia and her BF, Rob...

who engineered the 'suspension' of this rather heavy piece of felt!!

A Plethora of Peculiar Projects- Part 10 (AKA Frankenstein Fleece)

More close-up photos of the finished rug...

 

...with its various staple lengths and mixed coloration.

 

The 'boingy bits' of a raw fleece rug are always my favorite parts...

 

...and this one had a lot of them! :)

 

It's a very thick and luxurious rug to walk on...

 

...and, oddly enough, quite the softest one I've ever made.

 

The finished rug...

 

...shown here with its 'suture material'...

...variegated green wool yarn! :)

 

A Plethora of Peculiar Projects- Part 9 (AKA Frankenstein Fleece)

Laying out raw fleece from a multiple-cross breed of sheep...

 

...and covering it with layers of wool roving.

 

Felting the rug...

...until it is fully felted...

 

...then feeling horrified to discover that somehow during my layout...

...the fleece 'tips' had not all been oriented 'out'!

 

To rectify this insanity, I then went a little insane, myself!

I pulled off bits of loose wool roving...

...ripped the rug into chunks...

...and 'Frankenstitched' the sections back together again...

...with green wool yarn!

 

After hand-stitching the rug back together again...

...I added a layer of cotton scrim to the backside of the rug...

...for structural support.

 

Some close-ups of the lovely finished texture...



...of this very strange rug... 

 

I had a large raw fleece that had been languishing in storage...

...for nearly two years.

It was some sort of 'this crossed with that and a bit of this, too'...

...and it was very soft and pretty.

Unfortunately, as I was laying it out...

...I could not tell the 'tip ends' from the 'cut ends' on a large swath of this fleece!

(Whether it was because of the long storage time or the breed, I cannot say...

...but I've never experienced this kind of thing before!)

Next time: more close-up photos of the finished rug...

...now in pride-of-place in my living room...

..despite its dubious origins!! Grin.

My Own 'Fling' Rug- Part 2 of 2

After turning the edges in...

 

...and rubbing for several more hours...

 

...I 'sign' the back with a friend's orange pencil roving.

(Thanks, Frances!)

 

My beautiful friend, Lindy...

...snapped this photo of me at the end of a loooong day of felting! :)

 

My finished rug, hanging to dry...

 

...and on display at our 'end of the week sharing'.

 

A close-up of the pre-felt rug details...

...perfectly flat and completely felted in...

 

...and at home, waiting to be hung on the wall.

 

My Own 'Fling' Rug- Part 1 of 2

Cutting bell-shaped pieces...

 ...from well felted Finn pre-felt.

 

Laying out green wool for the 'stem'...

...in a spiral shape...

 

...for less waste, later, after trimming!

 

Laying out the rug base, frame...

 

...and pre-felt embellishments.



Black yarn is used for definition within the 'frames' of some of the flowers. 

 

Covered in nylon voile and pet screen...

...the piece is wetted out.



After rubbing for quite some time...

...I'm nearly ready to fold in the edges!

 

Working with Finn wool is a unique experience.

It's quite an 'aggressive felter'...

...and Karoliina had me prepare pre-felts so fully-felted...

...that they really seemed like felt to me!

I layered ovals of colored wool, 'frames' of orangey-red pre-felt...

...yellow wool antennae, and small lengths of black yarn...

...to make flowers along a green, spiral pre-felt stem.

Next time: the finished rug!

Our Rug Class- Felter's Fling 2013- Part 4 of 4

Pam's beautiful felt triptych (plus bowl) were completed in record time...



...and speaking of eyeballs :)...

...here, Lisa 'eyeballs' her design during the initial layout phase.

 

Some time later...

...covering the partially felted rug with a nylon curtain.

 

Lisa's finished rug.

 

During this truly wonderful class...

...Kristey's natural landscape...

 

...plus Monarch butterfly...

 

...came to life...

 

...before our very eyes!

 

 'End of the week sharing' photos were meant to be next...

...but it just occurred to me that I haven't yet shown you my rug photos! :)

Next time: I make Finn wool pre-felts.