Monday, October 27, 2008

SAFF REPORT - #2

The adventure of the Fiber Fair continues.....

My friend and I split a bag of silk cocoons.  She told me that the rattling inside was 'supposedly' the deceased silk worm.  WELL.......of course I had to check that out.  Yup, after cutting it open, the evidence was unmistakable.


Nanette is an experienced needle felter which led to her interest in learning other methods. Luckily she suggested we take Geri Forkner's Nuno Felting workshop.  In this wet technique, the wool is felted into woven fabric which creates amazing textures.  Our instructor described it best as 'laminated felt.'  We learned the process by creating a small dancing lady pin.  The lower fabric section of Nanette's project was left free of felting which adds another dimension to the piece.
 
One of the vendors offered on the spot workshop where for a small fee, participants built up layer after layer of wool fibers to create a scarf.  The materials were run through a Felt Loom machine numerous times to complete the needle felting process, bonding the layers together.

In this view you can see the needles.


These Alpacas had just been sheared, cute aren't they?

1 comment:

Robin said...

That felting machine was something else! Enjoyed the show but missed meeting you!