I felt it........ and it felt good.

Ohhhh yes... I felt it, my knitting! I finally reached the culmination to my felting experiment. After being frustrated by a lack of real wool (and very expensive) in this island of mine, I gathered the wool I bought at a Michael's store on a trip to Miami. Yes, I brought in my suitcase skeins of wool. I had to. After I "felt" so stupid when I didn't purchase any wool in Delani (Alaska), this was the closest I was going to get to nice real wool. I thought I'd give fate a chance. So, I started knitting away a nice 8"x 6" piece, nothing fancy, just knits and purls. It was a paradox by itself, I was knitting anxiously but at the same time trying to keep my knitting loose. The only difference was that I was using a smaller needle (just one size) which I thought wouldn't make much of a deal. Nicely knitted, casted off and felting time is here.

Since my washing machine is not connected to hot water, I decided to, again, put my HGTV & DIY knowledge to a test. I remembered watching a show where a girl that was felting using hot soapy water, a heavy duty ziplock bag, a bamboo placemat and lots of brute force. Luckily, I had one of those placemats stored in one of my cupboard (for a nice place setting emergency) which I cut more or less to size and wrapped the piece inside like a tasty burrito. Added the soapy hot water and started the abuse... I mean, agitation. I hit, I rolled, I scrubbed and I felt it...... I felt the pain in my arms and burn in my palms. Took it out of the bag to take a peak with slow results. D@#&n it! It said on the label: GREAT FOR FELTING... not fast felting. So, I sat comfortably on my seat and like Ghandi, started a non violent demonstration. After much violent acts, I started rubbing it. It was strange.. soothingly strange.

Being a child of instant gratification I wanted to see faster results. After all the rubbing, rinsing and pleading with it I wasn't going to wait until it dried. Nooooo. I thought, if heat makes the fibers flare and get all tangled and needs agitation then, why not... Why not put it in the dryer. It's going to shrink anyways. So, with my blessing, I put it inside the pocket of one of my husband's trousers. And in silence I waited for the storm.To my surprise, the piece came out the dryer (and the trousers) soft and felted. OMG! I did it. Like Grissom (CSI) would've done, I inspected the sucker out. It almost blocked the light and was thick and super soft. Now comes the second part of the experiment.  What should I do with it?

Something will come up. I was told that I could cut it just like a fabric. So I took the sharpest scissors I had and cut a small edge of it. It still looked as a knitted piece. I continued cutting hoping it wouldn't disintegrate in my hands. I kept it simple. I was going to stitch it nicely and make a pretty small, very small purse.

I secured the edges with blanket stitch and fastened a dorset button for closure. As always, it is never enough, so I tested further more with a little bit of embroidery. Yes, I kick a couple of stitches here and there. I "felt" like they where supposed to be there.

Voila! I gave birth again and it didn't hurt a bit.

 

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If only Alpacas didn't spit.

I'm truly thinking of getting an Alpaca or a sheep as a pet. You know why? Because I'm trying to get 100% wool in a tropical island. No, I'm not crazy, I'm mad, I just like to knit... a lot. Right now I'm conducting an experiment in wet felting. I always wanted to try it but couldn't find wool unless I go to a specialty store, which there are very, VERY few here. Well, I decided to go on a mission. I had my 3 addresses on hand, a tankful of gas and blackmail money so my girls would come with me for the ride. First store was about 45 minutes away, in a place where I had not been in ages. Turns out it is a business out of a home and it was closed that day, go figure! Second shop, cozy little shop in which the owner had some aura static and poor communication skills. You should have seen her face when I asked for felting needles. I know I sometimes come through a little coocoo, but I started to check myself to see if I had something coming out of my nose. There I found ($20 for an Alpaca skein!!!!!!) a $8 (50% Acrylic, 50% Wool) which I thought would be a nice subject for the test. The third store..... gone, turned into a bar. Why didn't they keep the shop and put a bar in it. Now that's a niche.  I felt so abandoned. Other stores like Capri (locally owned department store) and Walmart are packed with craft goodies for every taste with a nice knitting and crochet section but all fibers are artificial. Nothing natural.. or close. So I guess that I'll have to do my shopping online... that just takes the fun out of the hunt. I must say that the prices are much, MUCH, lower and the variety is huge, so that makes up for it.

I couldn't wait to try and felt the darn yarn so I diligently started knitting a nice generous piece (that I could turn into anything if failed) and started the wet felting. I took my Ziplock bag, hot water and my soap, stretched my arms and started taking the place of the washing machine. I agitated, I massaged, I rubbed that piece for almost one hour. Good workout. Bad felting. I took it out to dry and tomorrow, will see how it turned out. From what I see, it didn't felt a lot, but it's nice. I'm guessing it's the 50% acrylic, but hey, " a falta de pan.. galletas"*. I had to work with what I had.  

Right there, when I saw the price of the Alpaca wool, I thought of them as pets right away. I live in a rural-almost-urban part of Trujillo Alto in Puerto Rico where an Alpaca or sheep would love to live. Just one, as a pet, or supply. I wouldn't mind at all. The crazy lady with the alpaca. My lovely llama-like pet. I could call him Cusco. But there is only one problem, they smell and they spit. AAghhh.  For me that could be a dealbreaker, and also the fact that has to be approved by the rest of the family. I guess I will be shopping online for now. There goes instant gratification.

*Puertorrican popular saying: "when there is no bread, use crackers". Use whatever you have.

Happy New Year

Starting the New Year with a bang!!! I wish you all a Happy New Year filled with health, love and prosperity. As I start the new year with such much energy I decided to delete my old blog and start anew with my real passion, crafts. Either way, I cannot decide which is my favorite so I'll make a big 'ol soup with all my favorites. Yes, that includes the iPod. I'm always on the lookout for new and elegant ways to wear my iPod (so I don't look like Batman and his tool belt), while I'm doing my thing.  So you have an idea of what you may find : Knitting, crochet, sewing, paper arts, graphic arts, felting (I can't wait to try it), purses, whatever teenagers are wearing today (and what I can make), iPod jackets and the many ways to decorate it, photography, house crafts (lamps, backboards, anything that can be made), loom weaving (if I can get my hands on one) and some schoolwork craft.... so you see that my hands can't stand still.  I hope you like it.