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Post by Teri Berry on Oct 19, 2015 21:30:13 GMT
Wow, Teri. Can I spend a month and just absorb all you can teach me?? I do want to felt a cat cave, but I'll be lucky if it more than just a round two-toned bubble. How big was your resist for the inside of the cave? What type of fiber did you use? For your pine code, are the sticky-out bits felted separately then felted on later in the process? Are those pre-felts on your scarves? Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!! Wow, so many questions I'm not sure where to start! technically, the cat caves aren't very difficult, they're just very heavy when wet so need a fair bit of strength to flip and full. For your first I would start with a large circle or oval and lay out 5 - 8 layers of wool. Coarser wools such a Corriedale and Finnish are easier to get a firm felt that will keep its shape but I have used merino too, you just have to full it really hard. The more layers of wool you use the less it will shrink and the thicker / firmer the walls will be. This cat cave was made from Corriedale. The resist was 90 x 74 cm for the pine cone "petals", I used pieces of prefelt laid onto a standard circular bowl layout with some carefully placed resists to stop them attaching all over and to each other. well spotted Elizabeth, I made some large sheets of multicoloured prefelt and cut out shapes to lay over the back chiffon if you decide to try a cat cave do let us know how you get on.
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Post by zed on Oct 20, 2015 11:54:28 GMT
They all look gorgeous, Teri
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Post by elizabeth on Oct 20, 2015 14:04:49 GMT
Thanks so much, Teri. I'm itching to give it a go. I have a bit of coarser fibers and some alpaca, but probably not enough for the whole thing. If I tried this and mixed it with merinos, should I actually mix the fibers in the layers, or use the fibers in separate layers? In other words, a layer of corriedale, a layer of merino..., or all mixed up? I'm not concerned with the look, much, just the experience. Hopefully my moggies will like it no matter what it looks like.
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Post by Teri Berry on Oct 20, 2015 19:33:32 GMT
Hi Elizabeth, unless it is coarse and itchy I would save your alpaca for something you will wear next to your skin, your cats are unlikely to notice the difference! You can use either method for laying out a mix of fibres, I would be inclined to put several layers of merino on the inside with the Corriedale on the outside so it's nice and soft on the inside. I have noticed that coarser fibres tend to invade the finer wools, Gotland is particulaly spectacular and you can get some interesting results by using resists to stop the coarse wool invasion in a pattern. One other thought, when you come to cut the hole, cut a hole that is only about a quarter of the size you want and then stretch it to make it larger, this helps to thicken and stiffen the opening. You can always cut and stretch it again if it's not quite big enough. You do realise you are going to have to make one for each moggie to stop them fighting over whose turn it is don't you?
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Post by elizabeth on Oct 20, 2015 22:26:18 GMT
Groan. Yes, Teri. They already fight over my lap.
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Post by Shepherdess on Oct 21, 2015 0:32:14 GMT
You did have a busy weekend Terry. House work? what's that? your fish is fabulous. I love the pinecone basket and the scarves are lovely. The merino cat cave I did would hold its shape until the cats sat on it, then it was flat. The next one will be fin wool I think.
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Post by Teri Berry on Oct 21, 2015 8:14:22 GMT
Thanks Ann. My first circular cave went the same way left me thinking I should have just made him a flat piece of felt, it would have been a lot easier!
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Post by koffipot on Oct 21, 2015 9:32:07 GMT
I made one for my grandchildren's cat which he used purely as a "skateboard" on the wooden floors, crashing into the walls!
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Oct 21, 2015 19:09:37 GMT
Oh, what fun you all have been having with your wonderful projects!
I have been doing fiber stuff but not the fun stuff. I made two sets of curtains for my son, who has just mini blinds on his windows. I traveled to Houston for his birthday, then took measurements of all the windows. He will get them a few at a time. I feel good that I am using up my quilting cotton stash. BONUS!
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Post by Teri Berry on Oct 21, 2015 21:18:01 GMT
I made one for my grandchildren's cat which he used purely as a "skateboard" on the wooden floors, crashing into the walls! That's hilarious Koffipot, it would be worth making a cat cave just to watch that
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Post by elizabeth on Oct 21, 2015 22:02:09 GMT
I made one for my grandchildren's cat which he used purely as a "skateboard" on the wooden floors, crashing into the walls! That's exactly what my cat's did with the small rug I knitted and fulled. Too funny!
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Post by MTRuth on Oct 21, 2015 22:18:55 GMT
Where are the youtube videos of these "skate boarders"?
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Post by koffipot on Oct 22, 2015 17:00:47 GMT
Where are the youtube videos of these "skate boarders"? Unfortunately the g'children's cat went AWOL.
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Post by Pandagirl on Oct 22, 2015 17:35:37 GMT
Awww, just skated on out... :-(
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Post by MTRuth on Oct 22, 2015 17:47:55 GMT
That's too bad Judith.
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