Felting and Fiber Studio

Last April 2025, I was itching to do something different. It was months before Tour de Fleece would begin, and I was looking at an endless supply, of leftover yarns – all balled up with nothing to do. As I was wandering through Facebook posts, I started noticing some clever fabric dolls kept popping into my feed. They were made entirely of fabric scraps, but I felt the same could be done with my yarn scraps. (Facebook Group: Scrappy Girls Club if you’re interested) I had already gathered similar colors together for a failed attempt at crocheting large baskets to hold my leftovers. I couldn’t get the ever expanding, crocheted base to lay flat…and it really bugged me. The pattern called for using a US-N crochet hook, and up to 7 strands of different weight yarns. I started, and re-started, several times – then ripped everything apart!!

I kept thinking about those scrappy dolls, I’d seen. I thought, why couldn’t I make a Knitted version of the Scrappy Doll. The yarns I used, were mostly hand dyed, and created lovely marled blends. I wanted something that knit up fast, as I might decide to sell the little buggers, later. I grabbed a US-15 circular needle and cast on a bunch of stitches, then set about knitting round and round. Excellent TV knitting. When my knitting reached a certain point, I switched up my yarns to imply a division of head to torso. Then continued on, close to the end, of that particular bunch of yarn.

Now, I have been knitting for almost 60 years, and I have discovered some tricks. One of the best, when ending a tube, that’s going to be sewn anyway – is the 3 needle bindoff. Huzzah!! Worked like a charm. I decided to use the edge loops of the bind off, as a way to latch-hook, colorful fibers in place to imply hair. I was able to find a use, for some recent hand spun yarns I created, that were never likely to be used otherwise.

With the hair completed, Vermi’ needed some facial features! For her eyes, I quickly crocheted 2 circles, with some of the coordinating fibers I had near me. I used 2 safety eyes, for stuffed animals, to poke through the center of my crochet pieces. (Note: if I would ever sell one of these, or give it to someone, I would sew or glue the crochet edge down.) Next, I grabbed my jar of old buttons. I went to an antique store in Holland, Michigan a couple years ago, with good friends; and bought some inexpensive bags of interesting buttons. I saw this button that looked like it was made of spaghetti. I thought, it would make a perfect nose, and a good memory of times spent with friends.

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Last month I told you all about the John C Campbell Folk Art School itself. This month I’d like to tell you about the course I chose to take. It was called “Get Spinning with Wool and Whatnots” and it was taught by Lesley Darling. Lesley’s bio describes her as: Professional folk arts instructor, custom natural dye artist, and natural dye supplier. Lesley is passionate about “environmental resiliency for the planet: using traditional skills”. She feels “folk traditions across the globe, unite us” as human beings. She financially supports her local (Lincoln, Nebraska) indigenous communities, and their run-and-led nonprofits. She deals almost exclusively with local small businesses, especially the farms that raise sheep and process their fleece. She is small in stature, fierce with determination, and passionate about fiber.

She started our first class, a 2 hr evening session after dinner, by handing out a small bit of fiber to each of us. As she went through personal introductions, and the course outline, we all sat there fiddling with the fiber. By the time she finished, all of us had organically twisted our fiber into a felted worm of yarn. Then, she pointed out that we had already begun spinning. It was a really clever way to break the ice!

The next morning, we arrived for our first morning session. At each of our table spaces, were a few pages of notes for the day, a small tin of handmade hand balm, and several balls of different rovings to spin with.

Day 2: We spent the morning, learning to spin and draft fiber using a spindle and the brown fiber (Jacob blend) shown in the photo. I had spun fiber this way, years ago at a fiber retreat. I think I was even less successful this time. It was a great relief when the class voted to move on to spinning wheels after lunch. 🙌🏼 Hooray! I think we were all on the same page.

When we returned from lunch it looked like a spinning wheel showroom. I was really impressed with the schools selection, of different spinning wheel styles, makes, and models. You could tell the schools attention was squarely aimed at providing the best possible learning opportunities for students. They had several wheels at each price bracket; low $350-$500, midrange $500-850, and high end models from $900-$2000. A few of us had wheels we brought too. Lesley looked at our body structure, and chose wheels that she felt would fit us well. She said we would use these for half the afternoon, and switch models for the remaining half. Lesley had us gather around a wheel, and watch the process first, then move on to our wheels.

I forgot to mention Lesley had an assistant, Jason Ebinger, who is the schools full time gardener, and more importantly for the fiber program…the person who helped create the Corey Brown Memorial Dye Garden. I’m going to let that sink in for a moment: they have a dedicated dye garden! Here’s a video of fellow gardener, Farmer Teddy showing a kool technique, for tying up plants, and telling you about this year’s plantings.

https://youtu.be/kHE3cw0pZdo

Jason lives near the school, and raises his own sheep. He learned how to spin at a previous session, and was there to help oil wheels, attach leaders, and get us started spinning too. They both had us spinning in no time. I think their laidback, calm demeanors, gave us all the confidence needed for success. At the halfway point we were given the option of changing wheels. I was using my own wheel successfully, and I didn’t want to confuse myself with another wheel. In retrospect, I wish I had tried another wheel…as I contemplate buying a different wheel now! I realize I had the best selection of wheels, right there, in front of me. Oh well – live and learn. 🙄

Day 3: started with us joyfully spinning the entire morning away. Lesley magically slipped in before breakfast and added more fibers to our pile of goodies. Jason was MIA because one of his sheep had begun the birthing process, and was in distress. Martha Owens, the Folk School’s Resident Artist (Department Chair) in Spinning, Knitting & Crochet, Feltmaking, Dyeing, and Surface Design, was already lending a hand to help Jason over this hurdle. Everyone helping each other – it’s a way of life at the school. We were all relieved to mama sheep and her little lamb were doing fine. That afternoon, we soaked some ethically processed fleece, in preparation for some natural dyeing. Once the fleece fibers soaked for an hour or so, they were rinsed and transferred to a heated pot of alum and water to mordant overnight. We learned once wool has been mordanted, it can either be naturally dyed right away, or dried to dye at a later time…that can be a year or so later. Once fiber is mordanted it will accept the natural dyes, whenever you have the plant materials on hand. That was a great piece of information, to me as an acid dyer used to completing the process all in one go. But, it made sense, as plant dye parts harvest at different times. Having fiber mordanted ahead of time, is way more efficient. And mordant can be re-used by adding 1/2 the original amount of alum to refresh the pot, thereby reducing water usage. Good conservation information!

Our class was held in “The Wet Studio”.

Day 4: We did a little of this, and all kinds that! Lesley had prepared 2 dye pots of natural dyes sometime the evening before. She soaked chipped pieces of Osage Orange wood, and then simmered the pieces to make a dye concentration. She used natural Madder Root, dye powder to make a reddish color. She had a dye class the weekend before we came in on Sunday and they bought almost all the dyes she brought for both classes. She apologized for the lack of options, but it ended up working out fine as far as we were concerned. Today, Lesley handed out silk scarves to everyone in the class. We quickly soaked them, and used the mordant water from the previous day. I have to admit I was concentrating on my spinning, and my table mate was eager to take on the soaking bit. I had one single mission: to leave JCCFS able to spin and ply yarn. So far we had spun a bobbin full of different fibers that was lumpy and bumpy, “art yarn” we called it. Lesley confirmed, what I had been told by my spinning friends: “Enjoy the lumpy, bumpy yarn you make at the beginning…You will spend a long time, relearning how to spin that bumpy yarn later, when you want to make it.” She told us we were already getting the rhythm and our spinning was getting smoother. She was right, but we were a day and a half away from the end of the course, and I was anxious. I tried spinning a few times before this class, where I thought I had it…and didn’t. That’s why I opted for the 5 day intensive approach to spinning this time. Repetition in quick succession was how I planned to slew the dragon!

I was bound and determined, to go home with actual plyed yarn. I decided to start a new bobbin with a cream colored fiber called Polypay. It’s an older meat sheep breed, that someone discovered has a short fiber with a nice bouncy crimp. It was one of the fibers Lesley gave us that first morning. I spun the entire thing, and it looked pretty good. Now, it was the moment of truth, to double check what I wanted to achieve from this course. Spinning the beautiful batts I love making, on my drum carder. If I could leave, spinning more than scratchy wool, I would call that success. Thank goodness I had 3 bobbins with me. I started spinning that fiber like a champ. I was a spinner. After I finished my goal, we spent the rest of the day was spent dyeing fiber, and those mordanted scarves in the remaining exhausted dye. The weather was perfect for hanging fiber and scarves outside on the clothesline. It was hot and humid in the daytime but as the photo below shows there was a good breeze. This evening we stayed after class to clean up, wash all the dye pots and other items, and get it all put away.

Day 5: Today is the last full day of class. We were pretty much free to do whatever we wanted, with Lesley available to ask whatever questions we had. Some students wanted to use drum carders, to blend fiber to take home with them all ready to spin. A few of our classmates ordered the spinning wheel models they were using in class. There was an active buzz of those checking Facebook Marketplace for used wheels to purchase when they got home. Several of us wanted to try spinning a different fiber blend. Lesley had a bag full of this lofty Alpaca, blended with Angora bunny fiber. Lesley told me the Angora part of the fiber was from her precious bunny, Gunny. Once I heard that, I knew that’s what I wanted, to remember my time at John Campbell.

These are the yarns I spun at John C Campbell:

I hope you’ve enjoyed a behind the scenes peek at our class: Get Spinning with Wool and Whatnots”

One of my first blog articles for our Felting and Fiber Studio Color Touches My Soul was about my love of color.  I showed my crocheted hexagons, and discussed how I went about choosing colors. Your acceptance of me, and my post, meant a lot to me, and I have felt rather embarrassed since. Many of you asked how I planned to join the hexagons together? Seemed like a reasonable question…how hard could it be? More difficult than I expected is my response!

I knew exactly, how I wanted my blanket to look. I wanted them joined together, with a nice size (maybe 1 inch) border between each, and a braided look would be perfect. In my mind, I was thinking of a Fisherman’s Knit cable. I started my search on Pinterest, and discovered the most of their recommendations were for sewing or crocheting hexagons together. If there was any discussion of a border, it quickly morphed into a post about joining Granny Squares. Not the same at all! I persisted again, and again…, AND am I the only one that gets sucked into their web of madness? What starts as a few minutes, ends up being 3-4 hours, and still no information about joining my hexagons together. I also have an account with Ravelry. I searched there for “crochet join hexagon,” in fact I checked again just now, and still nothing that looks like my join. If there is a border, it is actually the final row of the hexagons…and then they crochet or slip-stitch them together. I actually paid for a couple of those worthless patterns. Then, I would end up giving up for a while. I had a black IKEA zippered bin under the bed style bin, where my hexagons waited, for me to get my (you know what) together. Every time I uncovered that bin, in a fit of organization, I would start my search again.

I am a knitter first and foremost: I crochet on the side.

I may have mentioned, in my original article, I am self taught in crochet; one of many things I’ve figured out over the years. I can read basic, well written patterns, but once they start going “into the weeds” as I call it, I am in trouble. (For a long time, it was end of the end of row turns, that got me. I couldn’t keep the edges neat, to save my life.). But, after a few videos I understood the concept – it’s like us trying to verbally explain left or right leaning, add on stitches, to a beginning knitter. A video is so much better!

Fast forward to about 4 months ago. I occasionally watch a podcast with Norwegian knitwear designers Arne & Carlos. Arne was showing how to repair a granny square blanket…and I spotted the border. 

It was closer to what I wanted, than all my other failed attempts. So again, I purchased their $7.00 pattern. Maybe I could use it, to figure out how to make it work for my hexagons. It was close…but not going to work as their pattern stood. However, I studied the general idea they used to make their “braid” between the squares. They started by crocheting a picot edging, around each square, in their border color. Then in that same border color, they crocheted 2 sides of 2 different squares, together. It was the crocheting together that added the braid look. Hmmm (my wheels were starting to spin…) I wonder if I could do something similar? So I grabbed 2 hexagons, and decided the only place a picot was possible, was in the blank spaces, between my double crochet clusters. 

If you are not a crocheter, this may be a difficult concept to grasp. But in the simplest terms; I crocheted a picot into the empty space, and chained one above each cluster. The corner is the starting place, and it’s basically just a loop. I took a picture, and tried to insert words, to tell you what I did. If you are a crocheter it should make sense. I joined my yarn with a slip stitch, chained 3 stitches, then made a slip stitch in the same corner space. That made a loop [you will make a loop at every corner of the hexagon]. Next you chain 1 (Ch 1). I zoomed in real close, so you could see my exact stitches.

After the chain 1, slip stitch into the space, chain 2, slip stitch into the space. In crochet terms that would be shown as sl st, ch 2, sl st. That grouping of words, makes the picot, then you follow with a chain 1. 

Join with a sl st in corner, ch 3, sl st, * ch1, [sl st, ch2, sl st, in the empty space] to the next corner. Into the corner, [sl st, ch 3, sl st] and repeat.

As I said, I am not a pattern writer, but I’m thinking that should be pretty close if someone wants to try it. If anyone reads this post, that is an actual crocheter, please let me know if I am close. I am really thinking about creating my own “paid for” pattern…even if I only sell a couple, it would cover my expenses getting here. lol!

So, after you’ve crocheted this pattern around each hexagon, the assembly is quite simple. Now, if you are thinking “easy for her to say…that’s a lot of hexagons!” I get your point. But, watching TV, I was able to get about 10 done each evening. And they are very small, so I threw them in my purse; did them in the car, at doctor appointments, and visiting my mom. I got really quick at edging them.

So in the above photo, you will notice the yarn I chose to edge them is very neutral. That’s because I wanted all my colors “that give me such joy, and healing” to emerge prominently. And…I am a yarn dyer, for goodness sake…I have enough yarn to fill a small shop: I should be able to find something! I am so excited to tell you, this is my bare Donegal DK weight yarn. It is perfect, and I have no worries about running out, matching dye lots or anything else. I have enough crocheted hexagons for another blanket, so I’m all set for that one too.

I know assembly is your next question – it’s a piece of cake! If you’ll notice my clips are holding matched up sides…like quilt pieces. Think of the picots as notches, that fit together. I lined the edges back to back (picot to picot) and chain crocheted them together. That’s what makes my Fisherman Knit looking ridge. OMG, It’s a Miracle!! 

Chain Stitches close up.

Zoomed out a little bit.

It makes me want to cry, it’s so beautiful! Many of the yarns are my own hand-dyeds, but several are from friends I met at Fiber Shows. I can look at my -FRIENDSHIP BLANKET- and tell you who dyed the different yarns, and stories of our times together.

If you want to make a blanket of your own, using all your beautiful scrap yarns, or…if you want to purchase my already curated packages of 5 or 6 gorgeous DK mini 20g skeins…in colors that will make you feel so very happy, please reach out to me or check out our Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/theyarnandus.

Please note: if you are from anywhere, in the world, I can ship to you. If you purchase from me directly, without Etsy surcharges, I can offer an immediate 25% off of your purchase, and that could cover a good bit of shipping. If you want enough yarn to make an entire blanket, I would be ever so grateful, and do my best to cover your shipping. 

Thank you for being so patient. Some things take time, to get them done right. This is the best thing I’ve accomplished for Felting and Fiber Studios, and it’s the highlight of my creative life…because, like my article said, it Touches My Soul.

With much love and gratitude,  Capi

I am fairly open about my mental health issues. I have spent the last few years searching for something that makes me feel better. Just in my short time writing for FFS, I have showed you a plethora of things, I’ve tried. No one is more surprised than me, to find my zen in quilting: English Paper Piecing (EPP) to be exact.

You might be thinking – isn’t that the kind of quilting where you sew everything by hand? Yes, that’s the one. It turns out, our grandparents had this figured out, a long time ago. I say grandparents – male and female – because in my genealogy, the men were as deeply steeped as the women. I come from 5 generations of tailors and sewers, and they were equally adept with needle and thread.

As an adolescent, I enjoyed the slow stitching of needlepoint, but detested machine sewing. My machine sewing was never good enough, for my (evil?) home economics teacher, and I just wanted to get my assignments over with. That experience left me scarred. I would not touch a sewing machine, to save my life. (I recently signed up for a FFS machine embroidery class, with Ruth Lane, and barely made it past threading the machine.) It must be the slow process of hand stitching, that makes the difference for me.

My happiness hand quilting, and all of the positive things I’ve heard about this subject, were not a good enough reason for me to post about it. I needed to offer something solid to our readers. I did a search this morning to see what (if anything) I could find. It turns out this has been looked at, and there are some findings that make sense. This is where the word FLOW comes in to my discussion. On a podcast called “Conscience Chatter,” episode 297 talks with “Lizz Leral, the Executive Director of Quilting for Community.” https://consciouschatter.com/podcast/2023/6/6-episode-297-lizz-leral-quilting-for-community

She states “There’s this idea of being in the FLOW state, or this feeling of being entirely in the moment and hyper-focused, and in a sort of zone.” (Lizz) She says that in today’s rush, in everything we do, we have a difficult time finding the zone we need to refresh. She mentions, a book called Stolen Focus, and I am paraphrasing here… once we are in our stitching zone (or felting zone) and we are interrupted, it takes an average of 23 minutes to return to our zen state. She says, “Hand Oriented activities help transport us” to that special place. This is further backed up by Oxford University, Journal of Public Health, Volume 34, Issue 1, March 2012, Pages 54-59: “The relationship between quilting and wellbeing” https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdr041

So, I have been slow stitching crazy quilt hexagon flowers.

I have been enjoying this slow/flow, stitching so much, I joined the Tales of Cloth, 2024 Ice Cream Soda Quilt Along. I started with a limited fabric collection, and quickly discovered my idea wasn’t going to work as planned. A little bit of FLOW made me discover, I can pivot in a different direction: everything will work out. Instead of perfection, I will allow my quilt to become what it needs to be. There is no rush on completion, it will take as long as it takes. It’s meant to be a learning process, and sometimes that takes a little time.

I hope this post, encourages you to…let it flow, too.

Capi

I have read posts written by my fellow FFS bloggers – one thing we have in common, “works in progress.” In the past, I found myself embarrassed, at the number of unfinished projects I had on the go at any given time. My father, (negatively) criticized my flitting nature, lack of focus, and the like, when I was younger. He had to eat his words when I was diagnosed with ADHD at 35. (They tested boys in the 60’s but never girls) Those negative impressions stay with us, nonetheless, and I have been working to overcome the stigma since. After a couple years, of working on myself, I’m realizing it’s simply who I am. I should embrace this quality! I’m at my best, when I have lots of choices – on the go…and it’s perfectly okay, if it makes me freakin’ happy!

I’m discovering, organized supplies, a comfortable place for creativity, and a person to share with, is the best key to my “crafting-ness.” (A new word for Webster/Oxford?) If my creative space is messy, and I can’t find what I need, my mind reverts back to those old thoughts. 😝 Brian and I are approaching the rest of our lives with different perspectives. We expect to move/downsize, and/or leave our area, once something happens to my Mom. Until then we are playfully, preparing for our future. What does this “playful preparation” concept mean to us, you ask? It means everything we add to our life now, is for our “happily ever after.”

For example, we eventually want to relocate, to an area near water: maybe in Michigan, or maybe in a warmer climate. We both agree that watching the water, no matter where we are, relaxes us. We enjoy the cool colors that seem to accompany a water theme. So recently, when deciding to change our family-room space, into a crafting-room space, “beach colors” came to mind. We can’t get there physically, but we can get there in our minds – it represents a realistic “move” toward a “plan.” We replaced a (still lovely) traditional, Cherrywood 3 piece wall unit – housing a 32” TV, VHS tapes, 😱 DVDs, never played games, antiquated stereo system, and a collection of Dickens Village pieces – with an update. We installed a 65” OLED wall mounted TV (what a difference) and chose IKEA for their innovative design solutions. (Inexpensive – easy assembly – movable by senior citizens – and they had beach/color/themed bins.) We already own several pieces in their black/brown, faux-wood collections: my “in-house” yarn shop is decorated with them. Kallax units, with their larger cubbies, and numerous bin offerings, have always worked well. This year they offered a woven, beach-grass bin option, which is/was so considerate of them! 👍🏻 Our configuration of 24 bins, filled quickly with all my art supplies, fabrics and sewing/quilting supplies. We hadn’t even touched the surface of my knitting/crochet, felting, fiber selections and assorted paraphernalia, needing space.