Workday

 

I'd been waiting to see my new book, Matter and Meaning, by Claudy Jongstra, Dutch felt artist.  Today was the day.

Inspired,  I felted alpaca pockets,  for a new set of rag weave Woolly Bully bags.   I like these pockets, because the soft bags are animal like, to me,  the pockets are like inner organs.

Then I made a March ad.

A little snow sifted down, but I broomed it off the path to the store, and there shouldn't be more than 1/2 inch by night fall.

Winter Solstice

It's the winter solstice, or very nearly. When I came to the top of the stairs, the light from the sun, at its lowest angle of the year, lit up objects in a way that made the room look unusual. I love to be surprised by seeing something familiar in a new light. That feeling is especially wonderful when I see it in the face of someone I already love.

So here is the next Sassy scarf. The cat paw ends are fun to make, and I like how the felted wool fans the weave out a little, making the whole enterprise a little more irregular. I admit that I am a weaver who prizes irregularity, when I can get it. It's not an easy effect, and it doesn't come from long practice, or maybe it does, but it requires taking the chance that it may look like an unintentional mistake. It may be unintentional, but when I smile at what I see, then I'm satisfied, and if self-satisfaction isn't sassy, then I don't know what is. Happy Solstice!

so what? scarf

These have been good weaving days, sometimes snowing and gray, but today bright, and very cold. My Christmas customers are sparser this season, so it seems like a good time to get some extra work done, and fill up my shelves for better times just ahead.

This series of little twill wool scarfs on a linen and cotolin warp are the weaving equivalent of eating caramel corn, and since they have a little color attitude, I finished them with brown felted wool, cat toes. Just wrapping this little number around my neck has given me a little
burst of attitude. I think I'll make a couple more on this warp. So what?

Making Acorn Dolls

A dish of burr oak acorn caps and a few felted wool balls started my acorn doll-making binge. Maybe binge is too strong a word. So far I have made 3, and it seems like there will be a few more before I can corral myself back to the serious work of getting ready for the shopping season ahead. The dolls are innocent, and will be for sale in the store, so are not entirely an avoidance of business concerns.

The Little Rabs

As you can see, I have been making some little rabs. These are wet-felted wool bodies, with wired arms and legs, also felted. The little rabbit apron dresses are reversible and feature crocheted ties at the neck and middle. The little rab pants are also lined, and reversible.

I have been using a sweet collection of Japanese narrow woven cotton, some linen, and a little silk to dress the rabbits.