My first felted item

For the Motherhood Later swap, I decided to go a completely different route and try a new technique: felting. Felting is intentionally shrinking a knitted item so that the knit stitches disappear and a strong fabric emerges. Decorative pieces, slippers and purses of all sizes are the most commonly felted items.

I chose a pattern for a basket that one of my friends in the Over 40 Knitters group on Ravelry had made several times. Karen was my guide through the entire process, answering numerous questions and even taking photos of her work in process to show me. What a great help! It was rather odd knitting something that looked so shapeless, knowing that the finished shape would emerge during the felting. It was also my first attempt at knitting in the round, and I found that the mindless knitting is a great companion to watching television or participating in a conversation. But I was a bit nervous about the actual felting, because the instructions are vague and varied: wash in warm/hot water in a washer with an agitator, and check often.

Ta-da! Here is the finished basket:


I am so pleased with the result! Along with the basket I sent a skein of alpaca/silk lace weight yarn, some dark chocolate, a portable Post-It holder, a little pottery angel and some assorted freebies that I picked up along the way. The box went into the mail on Friday and Amy received it yesterday...and she likes it!

I am so thrilled with felting that I am working on a handbag for me and already have the yarn to start another basket.

Back from the wilderness

I am happy to report that we survived the Boy Scout camp out! In some ways, it was worse than I thought it would be but in most ways, it was not as bad as I thought. Unfortunately, it rained steadily all day Friday and well into the night, so we had to set up camp in the rain but were able to keep the inside of the tent fairly dry. The clouds and overall dampness finally ended mid-Saturday morning and then it got quite chilly - well, chilly by Georgia-in-October standards.

We had a good time, particularly since Aidan’s Tiger Cub den all camped together and the five families did things together. We were smelly and dirty but since everyone was that way, no one really stood out! Aidan received his first beads and the Bobcat badge at the campfire on Saturday night, and was absolutely thrilled. He tried rock climbing, played a version of soccer that resembled no version I have ever seen, learned to tie knots and use a compass, and generally did Boy Scout stuff in the woods. My attitude improved as the hours went by and I was even able to sneak in a little knitting.

But it certainly was good to load up the car and drive back to our house yesterday morning. The campground was only a 45 minute drive south of here so it was quick and easy to get back. And the first order of business (or odor) when we arrived was to take showers and put on clean clothes. The washer ran all day as I washed everything that we took, whether it was worn or not; everything smelled like damp camp.

I am tired of boys. Boys yelling, boys shrieking, boys running, boys pushing, boys farting and burping, boys breathing. Aidan did great on his first camping trip and I did pretty darn good, too. But I called dibs on the first shower!