Crossing the Borders

I crossed three borders to get from West Cork to Northumberland. There were no borders or barriers at the Border Textile Group meeting though. I was welcomed with open arms as their first International visitor!

 

It was a great afternoon and I learned how to make paper using mulberry silk and wildflowers. I bought a kit and have ordered some mulberry silk from Oliver Twist Fibres on etsy. I found some wild sea asters on the beach at Bamburgh and Joan has given me some of Aunt Florrie's lace so I can't wait to have a go myself. The process looks easier (if a little messier) than wet felting and you are left with a much finer product.

 

 I took a few photos on the day, my favourite piece was the snowdrops.

 

 

 

 

Crazy Wool

I bought some new solvable fabric and have been wanting to have a go at crazy wool for ages. August was the perfect time as I had banned myself from stitching. I had plenty of odds and ends in my stash. I used quite a few silky yarns and added some strips of sari silk too as the experimental one I did a while ago was a bit scratchy.

You need two pieces of the fabric the same size. This is coated in glue so the whole lot will stay in place while you sew. You can buy a spray glue too. It makes your sewing maching a bit sticky so be prepared for a clean up afterwards.

Lay out your yarn on a strip of the fabric. I kept mine fairly dense but you can use less for a more open fabric. Put another piece of fabric on top and stitch the whole lot together in different directions. Wash away the fabric following the instructions and carefully lay it out to dry making sure it is not folded. I found it needed to be washed and rinsed three times as the glue makes it sticky. I might even have to wash it a couple more times. I am now trying to decide what to do with the ends. Will I leave them hanging, cut them off or sew them in? 

 

I do like the finished scarf and of course it is my colours! I have plenty of purple yarns and might make a purple scarf. I would make some felt in purple tones which I can cut into leaf shapes,  and perhaps embroider and add beads. That will have to be a project for next August as it is back to the stitching now!