When I first started dyeing roving, I had a few “oops” results. However, since I’ve acquired a drum carder, I’ve learned I can revive the partially felted roving with careful carding and patience.
I’ve had this purple roving sitting around for a couple of years. I really enjoy making three dimensional objects so it seemed natural to make some grapes with my previously felted roving. Not only did I feel good about being able to use the roving, but it brought back happy memories of my childhood when we had grape vines in our yard.
It was a tradition to pick the grapes, then my mother would make jelly and grape juice.
The roving already had various shades of purple so after running the partially felted roving through the carder, I added some other shades of purple merino. The addition of unfelted roving give it a shiner and softer appearance and texture.
Since grape leaves are very textured, I decided to make a prefelt with a silk top for the leaves. It gave it some texture and sheen.
For the vines, I used roving rolled into a cord, then wrapped it around a small dowel to dry then cut it to the length I wanted.
Then I spent a few hours rolling little grapes. I wasn’t sure how many I needed so I piled them up and added more grapes until I was satisfied it resembled a bunch of grapes.
With a sharp needle and some purple sock weight yarn I built my bunch of grapes, then attached the leaves and vines. It now hangs on a narrow wall between the kitchen and family room where we occasionally enjoy a glass of wine and I reminisce about picking grapes and my mother’s fabulous jelly.
What projects have you worked on lately that recall fond memories?