Townsend Artisan Guild

Clun Forest felted scarf.

This is the felted scarf made by a member of the Townsend Artisan Guild and currently in a local exhibit.  She bought all the batts I took to the last guild meeting so I expect I will see more work from her.  At least it is proof that Clun Forest wool felts well.

The other potential work in Townsend is to look at whether or not an old loom can be restored.

Old loom shot 1

Old loom shot 2

From the pictures it looks like a 4 shaft jack loom probably 36" or so wide.  The wood has some water damage and the wire heddles look a little worse for wear.  That being said I should be able to check the actual condition of the wood and what is there/missing when I visit on the 26th of this month.  After that I should know if it is worth restoration.

Otherwise I will be demonstrating weaving at the Blue Ribbon Country Fair (http://www.gsmheritagecenter.org/2014/07/blue-ribbon-country-fair/) for most of the day.

Guild meeting

This last Saturday was the December guild meeting - and was run in a slightly different way.  Each of the study groups (who meet at various other times during each month) had a table and were invited to bring along examples of our work, and provide demos/hands on guidance to anyone interested in trying something new.

Third Thursday Spinners table

I was able to take some time to visit one of the felting groups - they letting members try their hand at felting by creating a book mark out of merino wool they had brought along.  One of them was easily talked into a challenge of trying out my own Clun Forest wool to see how it compared with Merino.  With a lot of skill (making it look easy) some of my wool was quite readily converted into a [somewhat large] book mark.

The CF felt (with some coloured Merino marking)

The felting success was good news - as our first attempts didn't fill us with confidence that the wool would felt.  It turns out to all be in the technique - so we can now proceed and make some felt products to add to the output.  More in the future.

An Alternative

To explore what to do with the scoured wool that is shorter than ideal to prepare and spin - this is attempt number 2 (attempt number 1 was not highly successful!) at felting wool.  I ran some wool through the drum carder and made a VERY thin batt.  I then split it and put alternating layers at 90 degrees angles to make up a 5 inch square that I couldn't see through.  Then with some hot water and a little bit of Dawn detergent I rolled it in between two layers of bubble wrap about 200 times, a quick wash and wring and this is the result:

First felt.

With some better set-up and more care this could be relatively easily produced and ready for crafts, clothing, dying, etc.