A little spinning and a couple of makes

I had my turn with the spinning wheel and I spun a little amount of wool only as the wheel stopped lots and that or the shuttle had to be turned around by hand needing more practice holding onto the strands of roving the teasing out before it goes through and around. There are three more weeks of the course to do yet and more practice though I think I may felt the rest of the fleece that I have left to do. I am enjoying though learning all the processes of this Sheep to Hat course. This is a little purse from the piece of felt I made last week. I have started knitting the spun fleece I may make a mobile phone case with it or a start of a bag. This is as what I knitted with the amount of wool I have spun. I sold two cable knit cushions last week! They will used for furnishing vintage style a holiday cottage in Norfolk!

Felting and using a spinning wheel

In today's lesson we were shown how to felt we saw the roving became felted then snipped and become a flower. There was a small selection of pretty brooches with various embellishments and a lovely large cream rug made with Merino wool with a darker backing colour. There was dyed roving brought in and cream Merino to buy I chose a few good colours and the Merino. We used the dyed roving to felt with a bucket of warm water and olive oil soap we brought as it is natural and so better for felting. There was time too to try the spinning wheel, a lot easier to use than the hand spinner though there is a knack in using it,I think it is faster spinning,if you want to try it. Next week it is half term and four of the ladies myself included will use the spinning wheel at home sharing it for three days each I would like to make a lot of spun wool with it in that time! Photos of the felting lesson. Some roving for felting and a flower Olive Oil Soap A selection of dyed rovings after we bought a few. Felted Brooches and embellishments Two spinning wheels This is my felted piece I will make a purse out of it where I will list it in my Crafty Create Shop A selection of rovings I bought.

Carding and Spinning

Today week two of the very interesting Sheep to Hat course and we learnt carding. We grouped into two pairs for using the roller drum carder and the hand carder. The hand carder was easy to card the fleece with moving it to and fro one carder to the other and then lifting it all off. This will be used to spin with. We swapped to the drum carder you turn the handle and little pieces of fleece get taken under the roller and round the drum so you then get a wider amount when you are finished. These can cost anything from £250 said our tutor but she was lucky she said she got hers from Ebay for £150 We went back to the table with the carded fleece and learnt to use the hand spinner turning it with the right hand the left holding the piece of fleece higher than the spinner winding round the spinner letting it fall off with each turn until it was an even thickness. We were shown a colourful book of different sheep types sheep and their fleece, long and short and one sheep who doesn't need to be sheared because it looses its fleece naturally. We can take the hand spinner home and decide what to make and finish spinning the fleece. A lady there brought in a bag of Alpaca fleece she had given to her and said we could help ourselves, which we did the fleece was soft with colours of brown through to cream. We can use any wool to add to what we are making and next week we will learn to use a spinning wheel. There is a break after that for half term.I haven't decided what to make yet! Here you can see a youtube video A Navajo Weaver

Fleece and yarns

I attended a craft class on Friday entitled Sheep to Hat. The course lasts six weeks and I will learn all the stages from fleece to hat or make what I choose. I will probably either make a hat, slippers or a bag. We washed fleece using washing powder and rinsed a few times. There were knitting books and lots of colours of dyed felt and types of wool knitted including the lovely soft Marino wool and the silken Tussah. There was a coloured chart of the types of sheep and my cream and brown fleece came from a Jacob sheep. We took our fleeces home to dry and next week we will learn how to do carding,then how to use a spinning wheel. I always wondered what it would be like to use a spinning wheel and I am soon to find out! I have started knitting with this pretty blue speckly yarn and will make a purse with it. I came across this colourful mix of yarn half of it is wool and I will make a gadget case or something nice with it.

Finished crochet bag and two knitted bags

I finished the crochet bag. Knitted Bags These pieces were stitch together from a selection of knitted pieces I've made and added calico on the back which I dyed with fabric paint also the lining. This bag was knitted from left over knobbly textured wool I had. The front tab with button hole was crocheted.

My April Makes

These are the items I made in April. I am doing a craft fair on Saturday at Mylor Cornwall The Ord Statter Pavillion from 10 to 1pm Here is bunting I made for the craft table at the fair. I am very please with it.