Handmaiden

Heart Felt

My dear husband doesn't knit. But he felts. We started off many years ago felting fabric for laptop bags, years before the current selection of handmade ones. These bags need to be lined so that tiny fibres didn't get into the USB ports but gave truly great shock absorption. This past christmas my mother-in-law was lucky enough to receive one of his creations - a Tea Cosy. He added insulating fabric on the inside and nearly 1 inch thick felt. Tea stays hot for an hour.

in Fleece Artist Merino Sliver, Mugs by Laura McLean

Cross section with interior

I'm envious. hint, hint. (Valentines day is coming up and I don't need any chocolates, honey)

My husband makes felt by layering wool sliver in a grid. This piece had a core of cheese cloth in the middle with 4 layers on each side in a plaid pattern. Then he rolls it up in a piece of non-felting fabric and sprays it with very hot soapy water.

Then the fun begins, the part that 10 year old boys get a kick out of. He beats the crap out of it - first rolling it gently and by the end thumping it heartily. Every so often he unrolls and changes the direction of the log, adding more hot soapy water.

After a loose fabric has been formed, he carefully places the piece in an old fashion washing machine and runs a load. It's important that an older style washer is used as the fancy new HE washers don't agitate the same way.

Voila! - inch thick, indestructible felt.

We recently visited felt Artist Sanna Rahola whose exquisite landscapes give a whole new meaning to Felt. She uses wool, silk and linen in her work giving it great depth and texture that I can only described as luscious. Her partner Doug Drdul carves and together they create the most extraordinary work.

I adore this one. (honey - are you catching this??? It could be valentine, birthday, anniversary and christmas presents all in one lovely piece of art! )

You can check out their work here.

Posted by handmaiden at 04:05