Of Wool and Silk Bondage

Oh blog, oh blog, I have sorely neglected you. Okay, so now onto what's new...I'm am in the last 2 weeks of getting ready for the annual Greenwich Art Fair! In addition to creating lots of new pieces for the fair, I'm also planning my set up and hitting the resale shops in search of perfect stuff for my display.

I absolutely hate the sidewalls on my canopy, so I bought 10plus yards of wide white muslin to make some simple curtains to hang inside - going for a boutique look I'm hoping.

I have not given up on quilting, but I did get sidetracked again: I have been learning all about nuno felting and have created some beautiful scarves and wraps. Other small pieces include felted cuffs that I've cut from the "Mom, what happened to my sweater when I washed it?" wool and a few funky purses. The images are of merino roving that I've dyed, a scarf that I laid the roving on top, then placed a pre-knitted piece on top before felting it, and of a felted necklace (or belt). I felt that "Of Wool and Silk Bondage" was a perfect name for my collection - a little edgy, maybe...that could be me, the name, or the art!

What I've learned: acid dyeing is the way to go for silks and wool, quite easy and yes, I am cooking something after all - some wool roving still has a lot of lanolin in it, so the owner of the yarn shop said to add a little alum to the water when dyeing those fibers - that was Becky at Unique Yarns here in Rockford who also gave me two huge pots for dyeing - the process of nuno felting involves NO stitching and can be very relaxing when you have plenty of time and are listening to appropriate music - the smell of vinegar doesn't bother me as I thought it would - there's something wrong with my camera, having issues getting clear, sharp images - I had always hoped that I could once again create some wearables (remember the ruanas?) -