What’s New With You?

It is spring at our house, and along with the 900-odd pincushions ordered so far this year, I am planning my class schedule for the summer. 

For those of you new to this media, to see photos in my more recent posts, simply roll your mouse over the bold words; these are photo links.  Some  start out showing the photo really HUGE but just wait a bit – they all come down to a reasonable size in a minute.

Upcoming Classes 

Here is the brochure for my exciting new class at Gail Harker’s Creative Studies Center: August 15-18, 2008. Come and learn about fleece types, color blending, and simple techniques in flat and 3-dimensional feltmaking.  Through a series of exercises we’ll explore simple design ideas while becoming very familiar with the felting process; you will leave inspired by the amazing properties of many animal fibers, with the skills to explore them more fully on your own.  This certificate class builds more deeply on existing skills and knowledge if you’ve already been exposed to feltmaking, but is designed for beginners as well, and is not a repeat of the class I taught at the Center in February of last year.  The skills you learn will lead into the level 2 class, already being designed for 2009 or 2010.   

This four-day class is just one of the things I am doing this summer! How about Hawai’i? I have never been there, but my family and I are heading there in early August (back just in time for the class above!), where I will teach make -and -take felt at the Calico Cat booth as part of the Original Creative Festival. Check out my blogroll for the link – if you will be in Honolulu August 1,2, or 3, or on the 9th, when I will  be teaching a longer seminar at the Calico Cat, come join me!

I am a “concrete” feltmaker 

 Many of my  colleagues on the Feltmaker’s list asked about my concrete mixer for feltmaking.  Yes, I really do make felt in a concrete mixer.  Here are the fleece sausages ready to put in the machine.  My helper, Tchaico (pronounced Chycoe) is always ready to add ballgames to the feltmaking fun. He lets me throw it, but always brings it back so I won’t be bored. The sausages go inside with the necessary hot water and felting soap, hard balls and stuff to beat it all up.  Then I put the lid on the front to keep everything contained and go on with the show.  The result?  About 5 dozen lovely pincushions after cutting and drying.  Though it is by no means the only feltmaking I do, it’s the one which uses many pounds of wool each year.

~ by vst3in on March 31, 2008.