Knit.Spin.Weave

Dryer Ball Class

Great News.

You have two chances to learn how to make wool dryer balls: Thursday's Mommy Friendly Class on April 14th 2011 at 10am-12 noon or Saturday's Class offered on May 14th from 10 am to 12 noon!

Dryer balls are amazing. There super hand-made wool balls made from roving that can cut in half the time your clothes spend in the dryer. Still not sure what I'm talking about?  I'll let our expert, Pamela Pilon explain.  She has all the nitty gritty as well as photos.

Another stash buster

This is the Una purse. I named it for my good friend, Una who owns Le Hibou, a wonderful cafe in Wakefield. She's very funky. She used to have dreads which the felted wool reminds me of.  I used two strands of 220 Cascade as the base wool because it felts very well. Then I spent ages tying scarps of yarns, lace and old fabric to the base wool. There is nothing exact or measured about it. I knitted it in the round in a V-shape.When I was finished I put it through the washing mashine on hot and felted it.  Then I stuffed it to get the shape right. Lastly I sewed on the handles. I felted it because I wanted it to be long lasting

This another bag I knitted in the same fashion. I call it, Olive after my Gran. I didn't felt this so I worry about things falling out of it. I could line it but alas I love to knit but hate to sew.

Are you making anything with your stash? If so let me know. Or send me a photo and we'll post it on the blog.  info@wabi-sabi.ca  Show us your work. We're eager to hear from you. 

Free Pattern For Weavers

Make this open weave felted scarf for someone special. It's perfect for both young and old. It's a classic.

Of course, something as nice as this might be difficult to give away. I guess you'll have to make two, or three or four.

These scarves were made by Marie'-France of "Out of the Box." 

Here are her instructions:

Lang studio Filzwolle/wool for felting - more or less two balls
Reed: 7.5 d/piLenght - the length that you wantWidth- the width that you want
Wrap 8, space 4, wrap 8 to the width that you wantWeave 8 rows, space 1 inch using either cardboard or plastic
after the scarf is done, felt by hand in very hot water, removed the spacersmake sure it is not over felt....takes about 15 minutes...

Twiss and Webber are in Halifax

Our two talented in-house designers, Laura Twiss and Tonia Webber are selling their wonderful wares at Love, Me Boutique in Halifax. Word on the street is that their work is all the rage. Talented musician and song writer, Jill Barber was recently seen buying one of their felt bags. According to Jill's twitter account she's playing in Sherbrooke, Quebec tonight. Maybe folks there will have a chance to see her new bag. I'm a huge fan of all three of these talented women. If you haven't heard Jill check out her website and have a listen. And if you haven't seen the work of Twiss & Webber, check it out.

The Prefelt Is Here

 

Yes, it’s true, it’s finally arrived. And, fibre fans say it’s fabulous. For those of you who’ve never worked with it check out our very own felt mistress extraordinaire's article in the current issue of Living Craft Magazine. As well as Fiona's work at her website, Wool Felt Design.

 

 

Fluff Alert

Hey crafters,

We're looking for beautiful fibre-licious works of art, buttons, jewlery, toys, clothing, housewares, anything at all,to sell at our holiday sale in December. It's strictly consignment. We're in the process of ironing out the details. However, in the past a percentage of our sales have gone to support a local charity so we may do that again. If you're interested drop by the shop before the end of November for the details.

 

 

Felt As A Creative Landscape

Kids love our playmats. They play for hours creating their own imaginary worlds. Spend a morning making one for the special child in your life.

Workshop : Dec 11   Time: 10-2 pm   Cost: $75.00

Let Carol show you how to use cotton, silk and wool to make a blanket that's both beautiful and warm. This is an intermediate felting class so some experience is needed.

Workshop: Oct 28  & Nov 4  Time: 6-9 pm Cost: $85.00

 

 

Ever wondered what Nuno Felting is all about? Well, these two lovely scarves are great examples of what you can make with this technique just by adding water, soap, roving, and silk. Keep a lookout for our next workshop.

 

 

Yes, it really was made with felt!

 Learn how to felt Paint with Maggie Glossop www.maggieglossop.com

Make landscape or other pictures – still life or abstract from wool rather than paint and paper/canvas. Here's your chance to let your inner artist out. 

Date(s): Nov 21   Time: 12-3 pm   Cost: $70.00

Fall Classes

I know it seems strange to be thinking of the Fall while the weather’s still so lovely but September is only a couple of weeks away. I can hardly believe it, but it’s true so with that in mind, we’ve posted our classes. And there’s plenty of choice.

At the end of September, Carol is teaching an intermediate Nuno felting classes that teaches students how to make a blanket using cotton, silk and wool. Many of you will have seen Carol’s lovely blanket in the shop.
But that’s not all for felting enthusiasts, well-known fiber artist extraordinaire, Maggie Glossop will be giving a workshop in felt painting in November. So join in and create your own still life or abstract. For those of your unfamiliar with Maggie’s work check it out at http://www.maggieglossop.com/3.html
Also returning to Wabi Sabi this Fall is Fiona Duthie. This popular teacher’s articles are featured in Living Crafts magazine. For those interested in finding out more about Fiona, you can visited her site at http://www.fionaduthie.com/default.htm There are some great photos of her work and lots of information about her crafting philosophy and upcoming workshops. Of course, these aren’t all the felting workshops there are many more including: Crafty Mama workshops with Karen Straznicky and Nuno scarf felting with Carol.

For the would-be-knitter we will continue to run our Knitting 101 series. Remember it’s never too late to learn. I recently taught a lovely lady in her seventies. Also I want to take this opportunity to remind both new and experienced knitters that you’re always welcome to come and knit at the shop. We adore the company. Plus, we’re happy to help you with any problems you might encounter with a pattern or a particular knitting technique. For those new knitters ready to start a more challenging pattern, we’ll be continuing our Second Step knitting series. New knitters might particularly enjoy our Top-down Sweater class. Working with a teacher is a great way to find out how to read a pattern properly as well as learn new techniques.

New this Fall, we’re offering a Second Step class for spinners called Beyond Beginner. It’s designed for those ready to spin a more intentional yarn as well as learn about different fiber preparations. For those of you still wanting to learn I recommend our teacher, Maggie Glossop. She’s very patient. Plus I found her introductory talk on the history of spinning fascinating.

We will continue with our weekly children’s series, Fiber-kid Fridays. These popular after-school workshops are drop-in and are designed to introduce kids to the world of fiber. Each week we feature a new project. Kids learn skills such as: sewing, needle-felting and wet felting. This year, we’re starting a gift giving series to help kids get ready for the holidays. Imagine the sense of accomplishment a child feels when they give something they’ve made to a loved one. It’s wonderful.

And with that thought in mind, one of our customer’s Annie, made her a son a wonderful gift of a playmat for his cars and trucks. She used one of our newest products C1 bats to get the colors and look she wanted. Check out the results on her blog, “Imagination in Parenting” at http://imaginationinparenting.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/a-new-playmat-for-alexandre/ These playmates make terrific gifts for kids of all ages. Last year, I made my five-year-old nephew one that he uses to play with his knights and animals. He loves it. Carol will be running a playmat class on December 11th 10-2pm . If you’re interested make sure to sign-up soon as this is a very popular class.