Felting projects!

Make a new blog, I said... Make it a challenge, I said... I think we all know I've failed that allready...

Well, I would like to welcome my new followers! Thank you all for stopping by, I truly hope you'll stick around and enjoy what I post here. I was supposed to update my blog every day with my progress of knitting every day...but I fell out of that... I'm trying to update as often as I can remember it though.

Anyway! I am currently in a felting mood! I'm plowing my way though wool scraps I got lying around that I've saved for felting.

This started with Bård's aunt wanting one of the "nisse" gnome wine holders I made for his parents a few years ago. I had bought yarn to make one for her, but only recently started it. Yesterday (or was it the day before?), I finished it up and it now only needs felting. I used a yarn I've never tried for felting before, so it'll be fun to see the result. His body and hat is knitted while the brim of his hat and nose are crochet. I've allready stuffed his nose with stuffing and the beard is just simply tied on.

I've allready made two of these, check them out here.

But as I said, I got a bunch of wool scraps that I've saved. I got three piles of wool scraps: one for new, pure wool that I can use for felting, one for superwash treated wool that I use for ugly scrap socks, and a third pile for just random wool scraps without lable to use for whatever. The "felting" pile has grown alot and I figured I'd bust some of it out and make a few slippers...which is usually what I make with them.

I love felted slippers and I wear them every day, all year around, no matter how ugly they look. So right now, I'm working on one square pair in horrible color combinations, and I might do a different pair for Bård afterwards. I'm trying to work on several felted projects at the same time. Since I'm felting in the washing machine, I'd hate to waste both electricity and water if I can help it.

But since the wine holder needs to be felted, dry and all done by the 20th, I got a tight timeframe going on... Trying to work up the slippers as fast as I can to toss them in the washer.

Anna's mittens - done with the felting!

Sorry for leaving the few of you whom actually are genuinely following along and reads my blog hanging, but I took a nap shortly after the washer was finished and I took the stuff out...so I kinda forgot blogging about the mittens. They turned out decent enough, so you don't have to worry about me putting a gun to my head.

As some of you might have noticed, I posted a video earlier where I checked in on the felting. That was a little over half way through the program, everything looked good in the washer, everything was going smoothly and they weren't ruined yet, so I let them go until the program was over.

When the machine stopped and I pulled them out though, they didn't turn out like I wanted to, but they're way better than I'd imagined!

Yes the diamond snowflakes are too big and placed too far up on the mittens, but the felting made them look much better than they did before!
The mittens them selfs have a kinda short in the hand and they're a bit roomy around the wrists so it will probably take a long time to get them worn in and soft...as it is will all felted knitwork. They're thick and warm and I think I have enough room inside them for a pair of gloves too.

What do you think about the result? I will have to do a little photoshoot when they're all dry and finished, so better pictures, as well as pictures on deviantART will come soon enough!

Oh! And I also felted the ugly slippers I made before Christmas that turned out too big. After the second felting they're perfect! They're thicker, smaller and I bet they'll also be warmer! Might need to make another pair to document every step on the way here so I can write the pattern down properly. It is based of a different pattern with personal changes so I can't take full credit on it.