I'm learning to felt. I'd like my felting materials to be upcycled. As a starter, I found a red thrift store blazer. I was on the lookout for anything all wool in fun colors. I had hoped to find sweaters, but all the wool sweaters today were dreadful colors.
Once home, I took the blazer apart. For the first few minutes I used a seam ripper and quickly realized that would take days. Then I started cutting.
After a bit I realized that I didn't take a before picture. Oh well. Here is a partial before.
The lining had to go. Some sections had a fusible web as well. Luckily it peeled right off.
Once done, this was all I had.
My pile of discards was more impressive.
An article I read this afternoon said not to bother with blazers. Apparently, blazers require too much time & effort to take apart and you end up with rather small pieces. I learned this lesson the hard way. I guess these pieces will be good for embellishments. Next time, I'll look for skirts and sweaters.
The whole lot went in the washer along with some old towels as recommended. After going through the washer & dryer, the pieces felt a little thicker and sturdier, but not much. I guess you get the most dramatic results when felting a sweater or something with a looser knit.
I hope I'll be able to start playing around with my felting needle tomorrow.
Winter Tomatoes
When walking in the field yesterday, we found some volunteer tomatoes. I had wanted to try growing some in the loft over the winter. I dug up a few, put them in a pot, set them up in the loft in front of one of our large south facing windows. Today, they all look perky and happy! Maybe we'll have fresh tomatoes in a few months!
