Starting today, you can design your very own wool sampler at Wind Rose Fiber Studio. You may choose from the 15 colors of dyed Corriedale shown in the photograph. I've made listings for one ounce and two ounces, but if you need more or less, just contact me through the shop. I'm always happy to customize a listing for you. You may want to pick .25oz of four different colors or .5oz of two. It's all up to you!
I hope this will come in handy for all of your smaller felting projects!
I couldn't let the holiday pass without wishing everyone a very merry Christmas! Whether or not you celebrate this particular occasion, I hope the season is finding you happy and healthy.
Not living close to any extended family, our little tribe of four has had a nice, quiet day. My two boys have spent the day in their pajamas as they tend to do just once a year. My husband and I have enjoyed a day of true relaxation. The house feels peaceful and I couldn't ask for more.
I tend to reflect on the year as it comes to a close. I guess we all do some of that. I always have more that I want to accomplish, but I try to take stock in what I have done over the months and to be satisfied.
I seemed to have blogged a bit less this year, but at the same time, I've had more visitors than ever coming to Wind Rose. Thank you to everyone who has stopped by and I hope you have enjoyed the patterns and the posts you have discovered here.
Next year I hope to continue to offer more designs and to improve upon the ones that I've already written. As questions and comments come in, I see the opportunity to make them even better. I just joined the Crochet Guild of America. If you happen to be a member too, my user name is jennofwindrose as in Jenn of Wind Rose. I'm hoping it will be a place to meet and mingle with other crochet enthusiasts and learn even more of my favorite craft.
Of course I'll be dyeing plenty of wool in the months to come. I've even decided to add a design your own sampler option at Wind Rose on Etsy. The felting community often has need of very small quantities and this will make it possible to buy just what is needed in a selection of colors. I'm hoping that will be a nice addition for 2012.
To all of the customers and visitors of Wind Rose Fiber Studio, thank you for a wonderful year!
A couple weeks ago I decided I to tat a mandala. I have a drawing of a mandala that I like and I could see bringing it to life in fiber. Designs always seem simple enough once they're complete, but I have to confess, I worked on this little 4.5" by 4.5" piece of fabric for a long time. This piece represents the 4th do-over with some of the rows being reworked several times. As a result, the tension is not perfect, but I reached the point where I was determined to at least complete my project.
In the center of the mandala is a circle surrounded by four arched chains. These arches represent the four gates that you see on traditional mandalas. On my final row, I have repeated the gates with the four large rings that point north, south, east and west. They line up with the four arches in the center. As a matter of fact, I decided that I would use the number four as the core of my design, so every chain and ring on the entire mandala has either four stitches or a multiple of four.
A tatting over four inches wide is actually a pretty big piece, but it's small for me because my ultimate goal is to turn this into a large wall hanging. By the time I'm done, it will probably be closer to two feet in diameter. I also plan to incorporate more than one color. That way the center will be more of a focal point and it will also help the other features stand out.
I'm not sure when it will happen, this being the busy holiday season, but I'll be back to share pictures of the finished wall hanging.
