aging-eeeeeeeek!

I am not a big fan of posting up photos of myself on here, usually I prefer to pop up things like this, my collection of cute retro blocks, or some other nerdish thing, but I feel I must push vain concerns aside. A warning needs to be made. I look pretty calm don't I?

For someone who just discovered these!!

For anyone who wonders 'what is my natural colour now anyway?' the answer may well be grey. So don't say you weren't told. I can't believe it, I am only 21 after all....ahem.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek.

Okay. Onto more interesting things. It is finally getting a bit of a nip in the air, I have been snapping away trying to capture the feeling of that shift to cooler weather, these were all taken in my yard.

To break up the pictures a bit, heres my first ever atempt at a 'how-to.'

Felt making using a woollen garment.(glamorous title huh?)

So, have you ever wondered how to go about felting an old jumper? I am glad you asked!

First make sure whatever you want to use has at least 70% animal fibre content-sheep yarn, angora, whatever-(sure, whatever, even rabbit yarn if you have it!)

Pop your item into your washing machine on the hottest longest cycle you have, add a dash of dish washing liquid or other harsh detergent, if you have a couple of tennis balls throw them in(lets face it most of us are never going to play tennis so this is a great use for them!) A couple of towels will help too but they may come out covered in fluff.

By the time the cycle is through your jumper should have shrunken somewhat, the fibres should be matting together...and now for the tricky part! Ha, there is no tricky part! You just keep repeating the washing process until it is felt-y enough for your needs. I like a really tightly felted, very shrunken felt-as thick as I can get it, but this means the item will be a lot smaller-say reduced by about 30-40%.

If an item is not completely felted (and by that I mean the fibres haven't fully locked together) it may fray when cut, but depending on your needs this may not be an issue.

Felt is lovely. Soft and warm and cozy and I swear doing this will not only shrink your wool but any heart aches too, as craftster says, 'who needs therapy?'

xKate