I have returned. Back from an amazing trip to Charlotte, North Carolina. The trip began with an oversold flight which resulted in First class seats to Atlanta and a travel voucher. So yes, you could say it started out great.
The whole purpose of our trip (my mom and myself) was to learn more about the Felt Loom. This an amazing machine that does needle felting. We have one on order and it is due to arrive in May. This class allowed us to use the machine for several different applications and get a feel for how it works. It was taught by the Felt Loom creators Lanette Frietag and her charming husband, Don. We transcended onto Gaston College and spent the day "playing."
It was so much fun! At one point I found myself jumping up and down like a little kid, I was so excited.
We started with a wet felting project and used the Felt Loom to pre-felt. By doing this we could cut down the time it takes to wet felt. The results were marvelous and took a fraction of the time it normally takes. We were using alpaca batts and roving to make the examples shown below. You would not believe how soft they are!
The second project involved needle felting onto silk. This is where I got silly excited. Again, fantastic results and so many possibilities. It makes an already restless mind go wild. Below you can see the loom. Lanette and Don invited the darling woman who coordinated our afternoon to join us in making a silk scarf.
Our final project was to make a felt vest but unfortunately we just ran out of time. We had so many questions throughout the day that we spent a lot of time chatting. We did not leave disappointed and cannot wait to get our machine.
Once our website is up and running I will be sure to link you all on over to it. We are very excited about this new venture in alpaca felt. Like I said, the possibilities are endless. Glad you are along for the ride.
very rad Jen! You're a total professional.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited for you, what a grand adventure!
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