Wool roving dying

as promised here is the photo of my wool dying efforts! not such a great photo but eh I'm getting better. I did one evening worth and then one afternoons worth to get this much. I'm in hospital tomorrow for an operation so I knew I'd be needing something to look forward to for when I get home after the day surgary.

Anyways out of four food colors I sure did get a lot of shades, a lot of it is just trial and error, mixing how you want and seeing how it goes!

wool roving dying tips

well I have been a busy bee! I did a whole heap of wool dying last night and this afternoon. I've taken photos but my manly creature has to edit them for me as I'm hopeless at that stuff.

So until then some tips for you all who wish to try dying or who want to improve their dying skills

most of it is pretty simple its just preparation and time

boil kettle full of water fill up a dish with water and acid I have used both lemon juice and vinegar I've worked out for me lemon juice works best for some reason at making sure the color doesn't run.

I soak the wool after tearing the amount I want colored first in with lemon juice I find whilst you're boiling other wool its best to have the wool in for about 20 minutes and then the acid really works.

I then boil the kettle again, pour into sauce pan I'm using, add the color into the water and stir so its even in the pot. I then add wool and gently press it until it submerges.

Wait until pot is boiling, gently pressing a couple of times to make sure wool keeps under water so the color is even.

When I tip the wool in I tip it in with the water it was being prepared in as it keeps the acid process going with the heat and you get really vibrant colors. I say simmer it for about half an hour.

Drain, rinse wool with cold water and lay out on kitchen sink to dry

I'm also using at the moment a merino white wool with 29 microns I hope to buy some softer wool in future

so have on hand

gloves
color for dying I used general food dye in primary colors
strainer
saucepans I say two at least cause you can use one for dark colors and one for light colors so the two don't mix if remants of colors remain
metal spoon or fork
plastic containers
I used an icecream container and a small yoghurt container to mix dye and acid/water

Winter Queen

gosh the people on the internet is so kind and generous! I'm on www.feltingforum.com and I made a post about how my depression has been affecting my work as of late. Not just needle felting but sewing as well. Normally I'm happy to show off even the most basic of standards of things but this whole month I've been feeling shy and awkward about showing anything off. I'll create something and then I'll be like no its not good enough.

I'm probably classed about an intermediate in needle felting as I've been doing it since around Christmas now. I've got the handle of most things such as shape and form but details is the thing that gets me. Anyways I digress. The felting forum everyone rallied for me saying not to worry and be kind to yourself. I've taken that on board! and not only that a friend of mine offered to send over some wool of hers as she keeps goats.

Kay Petal also let me view her pups online class! and I'm keeping that special for when I've had my operation on Friday the 25th so I've got something to look forward to when I can barely walk. Nothing serious just something that needs to be taken out of my foot.

Anyways today I woke up to find I'd won something from Kay's blog giveaway! I'd made a post about it awhile ago I'm so excited to have entered now as I was mainly doing it to share the link around. I won a set of her super duper felting needles which I'll also keep for special projects.

Now to show off my latest work, work you say? you've done something you mean? yush yush I have! here she is really inspired for the Winter solstice.

Winter Queen

fun new website and random stuff

well I haven't done any real updates as of late as I've promised however I've been lurking behind the scenes. I just haven't been able to get inspired so I've been reading others blogs and sites such as this one.

http://learnneedlefelting.com

very intuitive and fun and the owner/admin is awesome... anyways hopefully I can get into the swing of things soon to show you what I've been up to. I have needle felted recently just have not been able to get motivated to take decent photos *sighs*

simple critters

These three are some of my fave and that I'm really happy with how they have turned out, Saska the old English sheep dog is another one of my favorite breeds, and the sheep and duck are just adorable in my own opinion haha.

I hope to be doing some more life like critters soon as I've got a couple of books I'll be working from. Can't wait!

Samoyed and terrier

Little dog, he's a terrier like creature and is needle felted and can be made into a fridge magnet.

Samoyeds are one of my favorite dogs and I think this little one came out really well and life like. One of my first life like needle felted critters.

gah I've been so quiet on the blogging front, I've recently just started sewing classes at a local neighborhood house (for abroad readers that means like a community drop in center)

anyways its taken up more of my time, last week was the basics such as how to thread the machine and get to know terms and things. Next week will be making a pillow case so I can't wait!

I hopefully want to be good enough to mix both mediums together so felting and sewing to make home decorations like cushions and odds and ends like that.

But now some of my latest works

Wet felting

Well I've given wet felting a try and I like it, I prefer needle felting though
but I'll keep on with this as its all good to focus my creative focus on.

This is my first wet felted ball that I turned into a frog. I called him Green with envy I just love his expression.

This next photo is my first flat wet felted try and I'll most likely be turning it into a small coin purse and add some needle felting decorations onto it. I am sorry how this photo turned out its a tad over exposed.