I have recently joined the Irish feltmakers guild (check their web www.feltmakersireland.com). Yes, my addiction to this new hobby is becoming quite serious. Since knitting and crocheting seem to have been taking so much of my free time (which is quite a rare commodity, right?), I needed an appropriate substitute ... and feltmaking - especially the wet technique - is just perfect. Compared to knitting, you do not need any special skills to pick up felting. It's all about the right equipment and enthusiasm.
Since we live in the age of the Internet, it is not even necessary to have any special knowledge of this technique, you can just learn on the go. However, if you prefer to get prepared in advance, there are numerous publications that describe all the stages of the process (see the links for yourself). I chose the first option and spent hours watching all the possible demos I could have accessed online and, believe me, there are many of them. After few attempts at felting on my own - and I think that I have been quite ambitious since the very beginning - I actually decided it might be good to attend a feltmaking course, to meet like minded people and see whether my felting efforts are not completely mistaken.To do the course, I went to Ashford, a little town near Dublin, to the Yarnroom (wonderful shop, I strongly suggest you go there, if you are in Ireland, of course).
I had so much fun and that's probably why my interest in this wonderful technique further deepened (yes, it is still possible). I have been felting in our kitchen ever since, which means there is an extra ingredient to my cakes ;) Maybe a piece of advice to anyone who is about to pick up felting - even though this hobby is not so demanding concerning space (oh yeah, I just hear my partner complaining about all the wool lying around our apartment), it is good if you have some space that you can use for felting only. It saves you so much trouble moving your things around and you also minimize the hair issue.
Since I thought it was about the time I moved onto a slightly more sophisticated level with my skills, I decided to join the guild and such a great idea it was. It was the guild's AGM last Sunday and the committee organized a truly splendid event - Oh my, I thought I was in heaven, utter bliss ... I met wonderful people with whom I could share my passion, had the opportunity to see interesting demonstrations, taste some yummy cookies and air my purse as there were stalls where you could buy felting supplies, and you can be sure that I did so.
I'm planning what I'm going to make with my gorgeous Wensleydale, hmmm ... which makes work on my dissertation even more difficult. Anyway, if any of you are considering picking up felting, have a look at the links I'm going to post ASAP - also, I thought that I might use my personal experience and post some basic instructions accompanied by photos here to help those who are new to felting.
