Soap, Water And Wool

Stephanie wrote:

We have a springtime tradition of making felted eggs. Yesterday I captured the process from start to finish and thought I'd share it with you. Felted eggs through photos.

Start with wool roving.

I dug through my stash and pulled several bags of roving with lots of different colors. Mixing and matching the colors is half the fun.

I decided to use white for the center of my egg.

I drafted the fiber by pulling it ever so slightly. Then I wrapped it around my hand to form this.

A soft, cushy pillow of fiber.

Next it was time for a bath.

We had a bowl of hot, soapy water ready and waiting.

Time for some agitation.

Roll the blob of wet wool between your hands. Toss it back and forth.

Agitate, agitate until . .

. . . you get something that looks like this. A blob of wet wool with form.

I added some color by layering more drafted wool over the blob.

I repeated the process of bath and agitation to produce this.

A felted egg.

Notice that during this second round of agitation I did a bit more shaping to transform the blob into an egg shape.

I've been doing this with the kids since they were little. Soap, water and wool can provide hours of entertainment. Even though the kids are bigger now, they still enjoy making felted eggs.

A bowl of eggs in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors.

We're in the midst of more gray, wet weather. These eggs will brighten our days.

Thanks to all who entered the contest. It's encouraging to hear of all the thriving local yarn stores. The winner of the $25 Dye Dreams gift certificate is Tracey. Congratulations to all of you for buying local!