It FELT so good

I was going to go out and work on my felt project today, but it's raining! Despite popular belief, it hardly ever rains in Oregon in the summer (unless you're in the rain forest in Olympic National Park), so I have a chance to blog about my felt project.

I've always wanted a bog cape. Ha! That was supposed to say big cape, but that's very descriptive, The kind of cape Catherine might have worn across the moors pining for Heathcliff. A renaissance type cape, maybe with a hood. Anyhow, first you need fabric. The British Isles type made me think of those intricately woven tartans, but that's beyond my felting skills, and not exactly my style anyhow, so I'm going for a less structured "plaid" design.

These photos are a combo of the two pieces I've made so far. I did it two ways, but this combination is how I plan to try the next one.

Step 1:
Gather previously dyed and carded batts.



Step 2:
Weave strips of dyed and naturally colored fleece together on top of a $8 bamboo window blind from which you have removed the hardware (it's like a giant sushi mat). It is not a good idea to do this on a windy day, but I managed.



Step 3:
When you get it all arranged, cover it with a layer of silk gauze (this gives support and strength while allowing the felt to be nice and thin), then arrange another layer of wool on top of that. I forgot to photograph that step, but I used wider diagonal stripes of only natural fleece ( I have a LOT more of that). This is called the laminated felt technique. It seems to me to be an especially good idea if you are unsure of the felting qualities of your fleeces because they were gifted to you and represent several different breeds of sheep!




Step 4:
Gently wet down the whole mess by pouring warm soapy water over your hands to disperse it gently. Before this step, look around and make sure you are outside! Don't tell the dental hygienist, but I held the camera in my teeth for this shot!


Step 5:
My teeth couldn't handle another "hands free shot" for this step. With soapy hands and adding more warm water as needed, super-gently-butterfly-pressure-only circulate your hands over the fibers so that they begin to suface felt and develop a slight skin type feel.

Step 6: Roll up the whole shebang around a length of plastic pipe and tie it tightly. Then roll it back and forth for awhile (about 25 complete rolls then check for bunching. Repeat this step until it's really felt. I alternate which end I from which begin the roll.

I was so excite when I realized I could stand up and use my feet for this--much more ergonomically forgiving.


Step 7: If your'e having trouble with the edges you might do a little more hand massaging (you can be vigorous this time) in between rolls.



Step 8:
Unlroll. Admire endlessly. Drag your husband over to show him. Drag your neighbors over. Take photos. Blog.




Step 9:
Repeat steps 1-8!

Catching Up

Once again I am not getting nearly as much done over the summer as one (i.e. I) might hope. One of my goals for the summer was to not be upset with myself when I didn't get things done that I wanted to. So, I am learning Something as the years pass. Since one of the things I wanted to do was start a Blog, I guess I managed that, but it won't be much good if all I do is Start it, then never write anything. SO, where were we?



Ah, yes, Port Townsend. It was really cute. Do NOT eat at the Lighthouse Cafe. It was the worst service and, can you believe it, Horrible [if you know Helen, say it like her "It was Ho(a)rrible!] French toast. There are other good restaurants though such as the Fountain Cafe, as well as a brew pub with great calamari, an artisanal bakery (Pane D'Amore) and good coffee (Tyler St. Cafe). Be sure to go Uptown and see the only 19th century wooden fire bell tower known in the U.S. and the beautiful old houses. Of course I had to visit the two little yarn shops. At the Twisted Ewe I bought a Della Q silk project bag for 50% off and 50g of "jarbo garn" (did she say it's Swedish?) merino roving in bright reds and oranges for a "hunting season" sweater concept I have in mind. At Diva Yarn and Trim I bought some short lengths of blues and peaches for a kumihimo cord I want to make for a fancy lampshade. Why didn't I photograph these?

Believe it or not, the real reason we were there had nothing to do with fiber! South of PT there's a family run business called the Wood Well which sells wood for instruments. It's mostly for electric guitars (!?), but they had a few bass "billets" as they're called (there, you learned something). We loaded up the truck with enough for about 3 more basses. Thanks Matthew, Sarah, et al!


On July 30th we headed for Seattle. We made it about 2 miles before I made seth stop at a The Swiss Lavender farm. It was lovely. The little shop even had a green (i.e. living) roof.































We dawdled on down to Bainbridge Island and took the ferry to Seattle. This is one of our favorite ferries becasue my sister Jean used to live on Bainbridge, so it's familiar and nostalgic. There was some wierd navy battle ship/Coast Guard endeavor to waste gas as several big Navy ships and little CG boats went around in circles in the harbor. After some yummy fried clams at Ivar's Acres of Clams we drove to Hammond Ashley Violins in Issaquah, where they gave Seth really good reviews on his new bass and agreed to sell it on consignment!





After a fun night eating fancy Tex-Mex in Redmond (I can't remember the name of the restaurant) and watching Batman Begins on my brother-in-law Jason's new home theater style TV set-up, we headed south again.

We only drove to Portland, and we spent a quiet anniversary night in the Ace Hotel which used to be the Clyde Hotel. It's a lot more expensive now, but still fun with a photo booth in the lobby, painted murals in the rooms, and great crazy nouveau food and stellar cocktails in the restaurant (Clyde Commons). Although it's much spiffier (more spiffy?) now, the hotel retains all of its historic charm, including the Cuban mahogany paneling in the lobby. We went to Powell's Books (larger than a block, independently owned, new and used books) saw a fun Audrey Tatou movie at the Living Room Theaters (small theaters with big comfy couch-like seats and tables for your cocktails or coffee/tea) across the street, & took our photos in the booth.



These are the pictures on the wall of our room.

I'll give it a rest now.

I did finish the sweater for the wedding though! If you're a Raveler you can see it from the link to my prjects.

I Forgot the Fiber!

I was so excited about blogging and traveling, I forgot this very important part! The museum in Victoria is super (get your ticket early in the day and keep going back--they're open until 10--and it includes an historic house and a repro longhouse, but we didn't know about the all day thing so we didn't save enough time. Next time!) There is a very well done display about First nations peoples which contrasts the coastal people to the inland people. Unfortunately I'm not sure who the spinning/weaving was about, but it is cool.

They use big bottom whorl spindles and spin on their legs, much like the Navajo. The B.C. people (there are SO many tribes and sub tribes I can't say exactly who did what where--sorry) seem to spin Chubby Singles! they have this cool roving holder (see the left side of the display). This one was carved as a bird. I love how they had/have such reverence for everything. They use the natural colors for designs. Their looms had a top and bottom branch which the warp wraps all around and is tied together onto a horizontal string which is then removed to get the piece off the loom.



In town I saw some lovely handspun/handknit sweaters for sale. Many of the tags were signed by the makers. The names seemed to be all women. The sweaters were selling from between only $150-$225 (C.D.). I think I should buy one next time. We were in a hurry for some reason (oh, right, we were going to meet Jim Ham--a master bass maker and show him Seth's newest bass and talk about the whole bass making business). Notice the chunky yarn. I really like the animal motifs-- I think these are orcas and eagles.

Most of the sweaters were zip front cardi's (with guaranteed zippers), but there was this one cool poncho tunic thing that I really liked. They also had big fat mittens, hats and ginormous socks, but I didn't get any photos of those.




Speaking of fiber, Port Townsend has 2 little knit shops, both of which even have a (very) little spinning fiber. Bought me a nice Della Q silk drawstring top baggie for 50% off at The Twisted Ewe and some threads for kumihimo at Diva Yarn & Trim. Now off for more shopping/sightseeing! It is really a lovely little old town!

Back to the U.S, back to the U.S, back to the U.S. (of A?)

SO... we thought we would have two hours to explore Beacon Hill Park after parking our car in the ferry line at 12:30 for the 3 pm ferry, but oh no. No, because it involves the US customs/Homeland security system you need to be in line/back in your car 90 minutes (yes, that is an hour and a half) before departure so they can pre-inspect you. Yes, you basically get to go through US customs Twice. Before and after the ferry ride. Boy was I mad. We parked and basically ran up the hill to the top of the park. We looked at the view of the Olympic Mountains for literally One minute, then fast walked back to the ferry to wait in line to be inspected. Thank goodness for knitting! I finished the first sleeve of my turquoise cotton cardigan while we waited. MAYbe I can finish the whole thing in time for Rena and Lisa's wedding?! That's 4 days, much of which is riding in the car...or on ferries.


Didn't get much knitting time on the ferry between Victoria and Port Angeles though because we were too busy watching the Olympics--and I don't mean the ones in China! We didn't really get any lunch, unless you count Fritos and Doritos Cool Ranch chips, or maybe you would count the Twix bar..., but we made it to the Palace Hotel In Port Townsend without collapsing and had a nice dinner at the Silverwater restaurant. There is free wireless in this very cool old hotel so I've been messing about with the blog--the sweater will never get done at this rate!

Northward Ho!

Seth and I are taking a week to drive North to Victoria, Port Townsend and Seattle on various bass business ventures and summer fun quests. On the 25th we drove up the Olympic peninsula along the Hood Canal, which is quite warm (see feet in water!) compared to the rest of Puget Sound. we spent longer in Port Angeles than intended due to summer being very busy for ferries. Luckily there was a little art show going on with sand castle building and Fresh Hats. You'll see my new orange hat soon!
We got to Victoria around 11 pm and checked into the Strathcona Hotel--great basic old hotel right downtown for a reasonable rate ($115 including parking and lame breakfast). Have had several great meals including lunch at Rebar (one of the best vegetarian mostly restaurants ever) with mint wheatgrass pineapple juice (Mom, can you believe I would drink something so green? It was delicious!) There are great old (nouveau riche old not old money old--there is no old money on the West coast)houses and gardens around too. I'm writig this from the Old Time deli/Classic coffe with the best lattes we've had here--they taste like Italy.
OK--time to get sightseeing some more! Seth just deserted me for a used bookstore.

First Post On My Own

um, yeah, so it says I have my own Blog? Could be dangerous...