Whenever I get asked the same question by two or more customers, I like to write about it here on my blog. I'm guessing that there are others who might have the same curiosity. The question I've been getting lately is whether or not Firestar will needle felt.
For anyone who may be less familiar with this fiber, Firestar is a sparkling nylon that is manufactured as a roving and can be spun like wool or teased apart to work with in smaller amounts. I wrote about it in greater detail not long ago in a post about Firestar Sampler Packs that I'm beginning to sell.
After being asked about Firestar as a needle felting fiber, I did what I usually do which is to experiment on my own and see what I find out. I took a small piece of Firestar and piled the teased fiber in a criss cross pattern on a piece of felting foam. Using a medium needle I worked with the Firestar to try to felt it into a circle. I didn't take the time to work in every last fiber. Firestar is light and a little more "fly away" than a wool would be. I wasn't going for perfetion, I merely wanted to see if it would felt and how much effort it would take for it to felt. After just a few minutes, I'd say less than 10, I had this circle formed. I was very pleased by how easily it felted. I was even more impressed when I picked it up from the foam and gave it a tug. The fibers had a very strong hold on each other. I felt like in no time I had created a very solid and secure piece of fabric.
So the answer to "Can you felt Firestar?" is a resounding YES! The only thing I might add is that if you want a really clean finish, you might have to spend a little more time working in stray or "fly away" fibers although ths kind of furry look may be fun for some projects. You could also trim the occasional stray unless that's against the felter's code. If you've never tried Firestar, you may enjoy investigating this fiber for yourself!
I just ordered an enormous lot of Firestar for Wind Rose Fiber Studio. The First batch I dyed sold out in less than a week, so I'm increasing my volume. If you have color requests, I'm always happy to oblige and I'll be dyeing every color of the rainbow as soon as that box comes in the mail!
First of all, I can't believe I just gave this post such a silly name. In my defense, I was just watching Rachel Ray and if you are familiar with her show or her recipes, she names many of her dishes with cute word plays. I think it rubbed off on me today.
Really, I'm just here to show off my latest from the dye kitchen. This is Soy Silk dyed a deep Slate Gray. I really can't say why I love this shade of gray, but I do. It seems counter to my sensibilities. After all, I did move to Arizona to have fewer gray days. I have no gray in my wardrobe to speak of. Maybe it speaks to the jewelry side of me. I do prefer white gold to yellow and silver over anything brassy. Perhaps that is where my love of this shade comes.
I do think we need these darker hues to showcase complimentary tones. I mean, just imagine this with a red or a royal blue. Though with Soy Silk, there is such beautiful shine, It can really stand on it's own.
Hello to all. I know I have not been my ususal bloggity self lately. I feel so guilty, but the truth is, I've had a few events in my life that have placed demands on my time and my emotions. My mother-in-law just passed away from cancer. Well now you now the emotional part. I have actually mentioned her before on this blog. This past fall I designed beaded yarn for her birthday and shared that with my blog readers. Kathleen has always been one of my great supporters and probably one of the first people to leave a comment on this blog. There are so many things about her that I'll miss, but sharing our creativity will be one of the big things. We had so much fun showing each other the projects we were working on. I'll always remember sitting in comfy chairs in her living room working on our latest, and talking about this, that and everything in between. I may go into it more on another post, but I have also taken on a new job. It's a labor of love sort of job, but it's still extra work. I'm also determined to hold onto my fiber work because it keeps me balanced and happy, but with my time divided, things like blogging every day haven't quite happened. Many of the things that I used to do in my down time have taken a hit because I just don't have much down time right now. When my husband and I were sharing New Years Resolution thoughts, I said that I have only one this year, to be Superwoman. I need to tap into that Superwoman within to find the energy to do all the things I want and need to to and to do them well. So that's my resolution ... to be Superwoman.I guess I haven't even talked about all of the fiber I'm dyeing yet. Please come visit Wind Rose Fiber Studio this week and see all of the lovely new fibers and colors. All weekend I've been dyeing Soy Silk as you can see in the picture. I've also been working with Merino/Silk, a gorgeous fiber, and bamboo and hemp as well. I've been busy, busy, busy! I'll be listing new items all week and posting pictures here. I hope everyone is having a great New Year! Blessings to all!
I just listed this beautiful Silver Merino at Wind Rose. It represents a change of heart for me. I never thought I would dye wool silver because there are breeds of sheep that are naturally shades of gray and silver. I thought, "Why dye what already exists?"
Yesterday I found myself with the opportunity to dye a few ounces and I just sort of spontaneously picked silver. I dyed silver Firestar last week and it was so pretty. It made me wonder how the merino would take the dye.
I have to admit that the outcome has changed my mind about dyeing in silver. I really like how soft, light and almost ethereal this fiber turned out. Also, I haven't even begun to explore blending silver with other colors. It just make me say, "Hmmm....."
I finally got in a nice large shipment of Hemp! I tried spinning hemp for the first time earlier this fall and really enjoyed working with it. I listed the rest of my hemp roving for sale at Wind Rose and it flew out of the shop. I quickly ordered more, but it took some time to come in.
Now I'm back in business with pounds of Hemp to share! I've made listings for 2oz and 4oz. If there is a special amount you would like, feel free to contact me here or through the store. Have a great weekend!
I've been working hard the last few days to bring more colors back into my shop at Wind Rose. Most of the colors I dyed are already staples in the shop, but I did create one new shade.
I'm calling this one Burnt Orange Khaki. I am in love with this new color!!! This is not a solid, but more of a variegated roving with a khaki base, a deeper brown that I have to say makes me think of teddy bears and areas of rich burnt orange. If you like warm colors, you are going to delight in this roving! Imagine it with all of the colors of fall. I can see mixing this roving with a host of different hues from red, orange and yellow for a more harmonious blend to green, blue and purple for striking contrast. It would also be fun to spin on its own and watch each unique tone come to life!
OK, I know I said I'd be back yesterday, but after dyeing two lbs of wool, photographing and listing eight new shades of roving, I was ready for a break. It's a lot of work to do bulk batches! I am however, loving that my stock levels are back up to where they should be.
Here are the two new sampler packs. each pack has one half ounce each of four colors. On the Left is Sky Blue, Lichen, Pink, and Chestnut Brown. On the right you have Deeper Brown, Wild Raspberry, Teal, and Burnt Orange Khaki. Once again, all of these colors can be purchased at Wind Rose separately by the ounce.
Two of the samplers from my previously listing have already sold. I have a feeling that the samplers are going to be pretty popular. It is a fun way to try out new colors and I know many of those who felt, like the smaller amounts as well. I'll keep them coming! :D
It feels good to be back to work and getting some great dyeing accomplished. It's gratifying to see my inventory levels rise. Over the last two days I've dyed four pounds of Merino Wool. One of the new things Wind Rose Fiber Studio will offer this year is a variety of sampler packs. I think it's probably been my number one request over my first year of business at Etsy.
The pictures above are of my first two Merino 2oz Sampler Packs of 2009! Each sampler give you one half ounce each of four unique colors. On the left you have Golden Brown, Gypsy Wine, Prcelain Fair, and Pewter Blue. On the right are Happy Green, Earthen Rose, Purple, and Golden Ochre. All of these colors can also be bought separately in one ounce lots.
I've got eight more colors on the way tomorrow. See you then!
