Felting Frenzy

Take a look at the new books that are coming out this fall for fiber lovers, and you'll see there has been a shift in the tides. You will find an overwhelming number of books coming out about felting and spinning. Both have been on my to do list for quite some time, but with 2 little ones, it's been a bit of a challenge to get the time to do them.

A few months ago, I decided to do a project with the kids, in which we tried to make felted beads. Seams simple enough....take some roving, add a little soap and water, and work in the hands to make a ball. For the life of me, I could not make these things into balls. They are oval, and there are places where it just wouldn't felt together. I'm okay with them being a little uneven, off centered if you will, and once they were beaded, it made a pretty bracelet. Will definitely be spending more time practicing this, once the kids have started school.

On the same day, we made a different kind of bead. One that to me, seamed much easier. I had a sampling of brown rovings, and layed them out in thin layers on a bamboo window blind (on the counter of course). I wet the roving, added a little soap and then rolled the blind up, rolling up the layers of felt with it. I then applied pressure to the blind, and rolled it back and forth, checking the roving every now and again to see if it was felting. Once it started to felt, I unrolled the blind, rolled up the layers of fiber, and rolled them back and forth (like shaping a play dough snake) until it felted to my liking. I let it dry, and once dry, I cut the roll into pieces (beads). LOVE THEM!! Not one of them is exactly the same as another, some are larger in diameter than others, and when strung, they look awesome!! I've ordered more roving to make more of these types of beads. Guess what the teachers are getting as gifts this year? Unless, of course, I find something better in all those new felting books out there.