A Matter of Semantics

Recently, I manned a table for my husband at an event. Trying to pass the time I was beading embellishment on a felted hat. A lady stopped by because the hat caught her eye. She is a spinner, weaver, knitter and in her words, a felter. She commented on the light weight of the hat I was working on and said hers were never so soft or so light because after knitting them and putting them in the washer they grew much heavier. I commented that she wasn't actually felting, she was fulling her knitted items. She said, "Oh, that's just semantics."

But is it really? Felt, by definition, is a non-woven textile. If one twists fiber into yarn and knits it, it is a woven textile. Fulling it produces changes, but it certainly does not produce felt. I didn't argue with her, but mis-labeling a product is deceptive. Does anyone else care about the definitions that pertain to their craft?

Beaded Nuno Felted Purse

What color is this? I'd hate to have the job naming paint colors! This has some golden dijon mustard, black, and an interesting blue cast. The bling comes from an upcycled beaded skirt, the strap is an upcycled leather belt, and the closure is one of the leather attachments for a pair of men's suspenders.

Celtic Cross, Part II

The colors of the prefelt Celtic cross were dulled by the brown fibers that crept through. The embroidery delineates the design, but I missed the saturated colors from the prefelt. I decided to make another cross to put on the other side of the bag.

The handles are once again an upcycled leather belt. The trim on the top edge of the bag is silk tartan upcycled fabric.

Notice the color of the grass in the background. This August has been terribly hot and dry, even for Texas.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/81693657/celtic-cross-wool-felted-tote-bag

Celtic Cross

The inside layer of wool is white corriedale, andthe middle layer is the multi-colored BFL in Redwood Forest. I hope the colors all show through the white to make a lighter colored interior but still showing the lovely shades of blue, green and brown. The exterior is natural brown with a little blue and green carded in.

I made a length of felt out of the BFL to cut up for the design which I will felt in place. After it is felted the plan is to use the green yarn to add the detail to the Celtic cross. The template for the cross was an image from layeducation.org. By the time the felted project is complete it may not resemble the original at all!

Primary Colors

No, not the book! A red, yellow and blue scarf made from merino wool, silk sari threads, bamboo, and bombyx silk fiber. It's hard to even think about wearing a scarf now that summer has come to Texas. The best part of the heat is the scarf was dry in about 10 minutes after hanging it out on the clothesline.

Endless Scarf

This nuno felted scarf is a gigantic, continuous loop. It's made from the bottom edge of an upcycled skirt. The wool side reminds me of a subtle Pucci print.