using the last of the Shetland Fleece

A few weeks ago, I was working on a project for a Cathy. She has been very generous in sharing her Shetland Fleece samples, and I wanted to make something for her to show my appreciation. I decided to use up the rest of the Shetland fleece...the bits that were cast off, not suitable for spinning. I decided to make some felt with them.

Cathy likes petroglyphs and pictographs. So do I. So I made a piece of felt with some petroglyphic designs that I had seen while reading about them. The pictographs are usually painted on rocks, and the petroglyphs are carved into the rocks. The symbols are found world wide. It is interesting to compare some of the symbols and shapes that are found in rock art from different places. I become amazed at how some symbols repeat themselves. I wonder about their meaning. I wonder about the person who made them, and why. I marvel at how old some of them are, and how they have survived all this time. I've never seen any in real life, but I have looked at some wonderful images online.

The project I made consisted of making a notebook to cover with the felt. There is a lot to learn about bookmaking..and there are lovely knots and different techniques to master. My first efforts, amateur at best, left me wanting to learn more. I did find some interesting videos on Youtube that were helpful.

I made several different buttons that I could choose from to work with a lashing to close the notebook, but I forgot to make a note of which one I finally selected.

dryocopus pileatus

Lately, there has been a Pileated woodpecker that has been eluding me. I cannot seem to get a good photograph of it, perhaps it is shy.

I hear her in the morning. Tap- tap tap..slowly...working on the tree nearby my window. Sometimes she will pause, and cuk, cuk, cuk. I'm pretty sure that she is a she because of her markings. If she is creating a new nest hole, it could take her up to six weeks to complete. The ground below the tree is littered with the product of her efforts. She is working the tree in several locations.

I look around to see if I notice a male nearby, but I don't. If her mate is around, he would be helping with the excavation. The nest cavity is long and rectangular.

Watching her, I am influenced. I decide to make a cap from the inner coat of the Shetland Fleece I have been working with. I made several batts with the drum carder and dyed the wool in the electric turkey roaster.... Jacquard Acid Dye - Crimson. And then, using a wet felting method, I fashioned the cap. There was still a lot of VM that needed to be removed. I used a felting needle and tweezers to pick it out. Tedious work.

Next, I used the locks of a Finnsheep that I have been teasing to ready them for spinning. As I sorted through the pile, I selected the ones with the most length to them. I used a thrum method, and knit a band,

which I finally attached to the cap using a basting stitch.

If you would like to read more about these wonderful birds, or hear the call that they make, I have added these links.

The first link has some wonderful close up photographs --including the long tongue that they use to extract insects from under the bark.

The other two can be found here and here.

post script: Thanks to the sharp observations of Manise, the bird in the above photos appears to be a male...note : "it has the red mustache stripe- therefore is a male!"

caddisfly, my inspiration

The following text can be found at: http://tolweb.org/Trichoptera

"The larvae, and the fascinating nets and cases they produce, represents the life stage most familiar to the non-entomologist, and the case-making behavior of some species may account for the English common name, caddisfly.

Although the origin of the word is obscure, it has been suggested to derive from cadaz or cadace (caddys), a word of variable spelling used in Shakespearean times to refer to a ribbon made from a certain kind of yarn sold by traveling vendors,

... who because of this were sometimes called "cadice men." Cadice men would pin samples of their wares to their clothing, a habit which may have suggested the name caddisfly or caddisworm for the aquatic larvae, who exhibit the analogous behavior of attaching bits of leaves and twigs to the outside of their cases (Hickin 1967). Hickin, N.E. 1967. Caddis Larvae. Hutchinson. London."

Project notes: After finding the caddis fly larvae in my watering pail, I was admiring the protective case that it made for itself. Having just purchased a new pair of spectacles, and needing a protective case for them, I decided to spin my own. I liked the method the caddisfly larvae used, and collected bits and pieces of of scrap roving and yarn that I have produced in the past (somewhat like a sampling of the work I have produced in the last few months). I inserted the tufts of leftovers into a ply to lock them in, then wrapped the spun yarn around a tube of hand lotion that was the approximate size that I wanted the finished case to be. I then used a wet felting method (for what seemed to be a longer time than I imagined it would be). When the fibers didn't lock as quickly or as securely as I intended, I let the case dry, and went back into it with the felting needle.