Home Sweet Home

It's good to be home, not that I didn't enjoy craft camp. I did some very cool stuff and learnt something very new and exciting.

Monday afternoon I spent doing as much work as possible on my Italian Scarf, I am pleased to report that by the time I left yesterday I was halfway through the hood.

Tuesday morning I learned the finer points of propagating plants, maybe I'm a bit closer to being able to grow them as opposed to killing them.

This was followed up by silk painting where I made a scarf. I was planning on blue and purple, but then nearly everybody used blue and there were at least two other blue and purples. Instead I made a purple and green one, or it was meant to be. It came out a bit more green with a hint of purple. But it is so incredibly cool! And I made it, which just makes it so much more excellent.

Then in the afternoon, I went to the Fun with Felt class. I presumed it would be cutting felt out in shapes and gluing them together. About my level of craft ability.
But what it turned out to be was felting wool. I was very excited because I've been dying to try a felted bag pattern.

This was felting of a different kind than what I expected, it's based on a Japenese style of felting, begins with N. Not expecting it to be this I hadn't taken anything to make notes on.

Start with a piece of cotton voile, layer it with fleece that has been carded but not spun (it's kinda fluffy and is called "tops" and there are also coloured ones). Put your design on to it out of more "tops" or other bits of yarn - I made a Starfish design out of some very pretty coloured stuff that had silk in it. Then place a piece of tulle over it, spray with warm soapy water and using a plastic bag you smooth it all over. Sort of flatten it and causes it to start to felt. Then take the tulle off, roll it up in the bamboo blind it's on, and then roll the rolled up blind back and forth to cause the firction that makes it felt.
Mine took a bit longer to felt because I hadn't put as much fleece stuff on my voile. Once it was felted enough it was then fulled, which consisted of folding it up and droping it down hard on the table a couple of times. Followed by "shocking it", you tell it lewd jokes.

No, not really. Into hot water and then into cold, wring it out. Quick press with the iron and off to leave it to dry. I am very impressed with myself.

Wednesday morning I made handcream which turned out to be really simple and very quick. Virtually idiot-proof, another craft at my level. I made a lemon-grass scented cream. Smells really, really nice.
That was my time away at craft camp.

And today since I feel like it and I need cheering up, the perve of the day!