"Shadow Vest" Felting Retreat Project- Part 3 of 3

The finished vest...

...with striations of silk selvedge...

                                        ...layered, multi-colored 'tulip' structures...

                                               ...and areas of shadow and light.

                                 The once hectic layout 'mellowed' during felting...

                                                   ...into a subtle interplay...

                                                          ...of tints, shades...

                                                           ... and textures.

                                             The inside of the finished vest...

                                                   ...and the full exterior.

                                        Next time: I start a new kind of hat! :)

"Shadow Vest" Felting Retreat Project- Part 2 of 3

Mid-way through felting...

                                          ...I cut arm-hole slits in each side.

                                                           My first 'fitting'.

                                                            A bit of fulling...

                                  ...and felting is still required to achieve a good fit.

                       Cutting into- and felting one of the decorative embellishments...

                                             ...yields this tulip-like structure.

                                                 The finished project, drying.

                                                A trio of my lovely classmates...

                                                 ...and their incredible projects!

                               Aren't these bands of colorful ruching eye-catching?

                                                Next time: my own finished vest.

"Shadow Vest" Felting Retreat Project- Part 1 of 3

Laying out the vest resist...

                                     ...and covering it with a layer of white roving...

                                             ...and then with a piebald layer. :)

                                    Adding pieces of silk gauze in black and white...

                                     ...plus a bit of sour apple green silk chiffon.

                          Fiona Duthie and my classmates, hard at work.                                  

                  Strips of silk selvedge are used to finish off the back side of the vest.

                                         Side two begins in the reverse order...

                                                        ...silk additions first...

                                             ...and then the multiple wool layers.

                                        Next time: the vest begins to take shape.

Felting Retreat With Arrowmont Friends- Part 2 of 2

Some of our felt experiments.

                                            Lattice scarves, infinity scarves made with pre-felt...

                                               ...centipede scarves, mittens and detritus totes.

                                                     I think that my vegetarian meals...

                                      ...were a bit of a surprise (at first) for my omnivore friends! :)

                                         We experimented with lots of fun techniques and fabrics...

                                            ...open-weave linen and wildly patterned silk chiffon!

                                               Kiki and Lorin's finished pre-felt and fabric totes...

                                                                 ...are really wonderful!

                                                What a terrific week of felting and friendship!

                                                            (I can't wait for next year!!)

Felting Retreat With Arrowmont Friends- Part 1 of 2

Lorin bundles up while working in my slowly chilling studio...

                                                        ...and daylight was our friend...

                                       ...since we had NO ELECTRICITY at all yesterday morning!

                 We added layers of sweatshirts, hats and scarves as my house temperature dropped.

                                         I'm just grateful that Kiki and Lorin are such good sports! :)

                                             Despite the cold, we got quite a lot accomplished.

                                         Here, Keeks models her wonderful color-block mittens!

                                                 With the lights and HEAT finally restored...

                                                          ...my friends are all smiles!

                                        Enjoying a well-deserved libation at the end of a long day!

                                         One of the most amazing things about working with fiber...

                                                ...is getting to meet other textile artists!

                                        The three of us have been missing each other quite a bit...

                            ...so we decided to have a reunion and mini 'fiber camp' at my house this week!

                                  Who knew that a winter ice storm would cause trees to crack...

                                  ...and cut off electricity for long chilly hours during our first studio day?!?

                                                My friends are real troopers, though...

                                              ...and we muddled through in high spirits.

                                               Next time: some of our finished projects!