Felting with the Master

Susanne Farrington of Mad Art fame in Hamilton came to visit us at the Bouckville Fiber Festival on Sunday. I had started felting a good sized piece of Bluefaced Leicester roving and Susanne dove right in. I'm so glad she came along as she was able to give me many suggestions and pointers on technique, etc. She quickly determined I put much too much soap on the piece, which had to be washed out with a bucket of dog water borrowed from Paulie Drexler of Springtide Farm. The water was ice cold which does not facilitate the felting process, unfortunately, and we were squeezing, rubbing and massaging the wool for a good three hours. I loved watching Susanne do the "throwing" part of the process, which actually stepped up the felting quite nicely. I went home with a dense, thick piece of felted wool which can be used as a rug, a sign, a table runner or seat cover. Susanne wears her own felted creations and designs fabulous, earthy bags and nifty hats over a mold. I'm grateful for her assistance at the festival. Many curious onlookers stopped and visited while we talked about felted yurts, armour, rugs, etc. through the ages. I definitely felt in touch with the ancients.