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Post by MTRuth on Feb 8, 2014 21:32:04 GMT
The owls are great Amanda!
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Feb 8, 2014 23:18:54 GMT
I like your owls, Amanda! The locks really do add dimension to your figures! How tall are they? I was wondering what to do with the extra locks I have accumulated, and now I know!
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Post by Pandagirl on Feb 8, 2014 23:42:22 GMT
Amanda the owls are darling! Great job.
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Post by zed on Feb 9, 2014 11:21:09 GMT
You get Gotland from Sara's texture crafts, don't you, Amanda? I love those locks, so shiny, such gorgeous colours, and they still smell so sweet. Her Wensleydale and Teswater are gorgeous, too.
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Post by amanda99 on Feb 9, 2014 12:30:11 GMT
Yes I get a lot of my raw fleece and locks from Sara! The owls are all needle felted including the eyes. I have made them in various sizes but on average are about 15 cms tall. I make an 'owl' shaped core with grey or white wool then needle in each lock. Sorting the locks is the most time consuming but is worth the effort for the effect. Once you have sorted your locks, luvswool, bag them up by size and colour ready for your next project!
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Feb 9, 2014 21:12:36 GMT
Great idea, Amanda. My locks are color-sorted, but I would not have thought to sort by length. Makes sense, though! One of my first needle-felting project (I'm self-taught) was a snowy owl, and I am thinking now of adding locks at some point.
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Feb 9, 2014 21:19:18 GMT
True confessions time: I have been hoarding the special wool roving I purchased while in Scotland a few years ago (yes, years!) I have 100 grams each of Ronaldsay Cream and Ronaldsay Brown, plus 100 grams of Shropshire and Hebridean wool. All were from the Orkney Islands except for the Hebridean, which I bought from a crofter on the Isle of Harris (of Harris Tweed fame). They are so special to me and I've been saving them for a special project. Having said all that, are any of you familiar with these fibers, and if so, what project would you suggest?
Although I googled, I did not find a lot about these sheep, other than historical breed information.
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Post by MTRuth on Feb 9, 2014 23:31:25 GMT
I haven't used any of these breeds but your best bet is just to start with a small sample to see how it felts.
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Post by zed on Feb 11, 2014 11:06:35 GMT
I haven't used them, I thought I might have some Hebridean wool yarn, but it's probably Herdwick. Are they coarser breeds? I've used a lot of coarse wool breeds and they make great felt, lots of character, wiry, texturey etc and give interesting results to embellishment fibres.
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Feb 11, 2014 13:47:39 GMT
Yes, these are coarser breeds. The only comparison I can make is to Romney roving which I have previously used, mostly for needle-felting. All of this wool looks similar, lots of texture, wiry, as Zed describes. Time to do some samples!
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Post by koffipot on Feb 11, 2014 18:23:08 GMT
Wonderful owls Amanda! Really cute. I have a whole Herdwick fleece, still in the grease and really want to make something big, retaining the effects of the locks. However, I've not felted in the grease before, so any tips would be gratefully received.
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Post by Shepherdess on Feb 11, 2014 22:00:51 GMT
The owls are adorable. The one that is just a face reminds me of an Inuit ookpik face pin I have. PIN
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Post by zed on Feb 13, 2014 10:22:45 GMT
That looks like gonks from the 70's Judith, I've never felted a fleece, just locks or raw wool, and just felted as usual.
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Post by MTRuth on Feb 13, 2014 17:31:20 GMT
I have only done minimal felting in the grease but like Zed, I just followed my usual procedure. I do have to say that I had to be careful because the wool was a little slippery at first and shifted easily. What I have seen online, is that many people use an under layer of merino and kind of stick the locks into the under layer. Felt the merino side and leave the locks alone. The merino catches the locks but the ends of the locks are free.
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Post by amanda99 on Feb 13, 2014 17:46:13 GMT
If the fleece is in a good size piece,place the fleece, tips down and add a few layers of similar wool to the underside. You will need plenty of water and I warn you that the first wave of felting will produce very muddy smelly water!! If you have lots of bits of fleece, what I have done is roughly needlefelt a base and then again roughly needle the locks into the wool base, just enough to keep them in place. Flip over and felt away. Avoid a lot of rubbing of the locks and they will retain their shape and bounce quite nicely.
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