To OFFF in well-worn shoes

Yesterday, Deb and I braved typhoon-like weather to visit OFFF (Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival) in Canby, an annual 3-day event.  In addition to vendors' booths, OFFF features fiber art workshops (dyeing, felting, spinning, weaving, knitting, etc.), as well as animal husbandry classes (such as Using Herbs For Deworming Sheep And Goats and Managing The Angora Wool Rabbitry).

We weren't there for classes, though -- just on the lookout for some beautiful wool.  We both want to do some nuno-felting on the loosely-woven blue-green fabrics we painted a few days ago.  As soon as we saw this selection of wool, dyed in a gradation of golds, greens, and blues, both of us said "That's the one!"

Wool roving, dyed gold-green-blue.

Once I got home and placed it with my painted fabric, I knew it was perfect!

Wool and cloth for nuno-felting.

But the day wasn't all wet and dreary; a mishap provided some humor.  In such stormy weather, I couldn't wear sandals, so I pulled out a comfy old pair of navy clogs (circa 1995-ish).  They were made by Clarks, and I used to have a brown pair that I wore til they fell apart.   As we entered the show, I noticed that the right shoe suddenly felt really loose.  I looked down and saw that the stitching (connecting the top to the sole) was undone from the toe along the entire right side.  That meant navigating the vendor's booths with a slow shuffle, hoping the shoe would hold up til I got home.

Only it didn't.  We left the show as the rain and wind started up again, ferociously.  We had to step over downed tree limbs and watch for others that were falling.  Deb slowed down for me as I shuffled through the cold, stinging rain, and at one point I actually walked out of the shoe!  Once we were back in my car, we had a good laugh over that poor shoe, which, by then, was also coming undone along its left side.

I photographed those old Clarks when I got home, then the next place they went was the trash. 

Goodbye, Clarks.

I'm way overdue for a new pair, don't you think?  Do you have any recommendations for comfy, casual, everyday shoes?

Nuno-Felting at OFFF

Nuno-felted scarf

For the past few years (the last weekend of Sept.), I've attended OFFF (Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival) with my friend Dean, who's a weaver.   In the past, I've purchased huge bags of dyed wool rovings, which gives me a great selection for machine needlefelting with my Embellisher.

I still did some shopping at this year's OFFF, but the big highlight was the nuno-felting class I took with Carin Engen, a wonderful fiber artist from northern Cal.  Nuno-felting is still a relatively new technique, where wool fibers are felted onto a silk base (or chiffon, gauze, scrim, or other light, open weave fabric), resulting in a beautiful puckered texture (see below).

  

Back of scarf folded over the front.

Unlike traditional felting, the entire base fabric is not covered.  Instead, the roving is carefully placed on the silk base to create a design, both from the colorful wool itself and the puckers that will result.

  

The beautiful puckers and gathers on one edge of the scarf.

A big sigh . . . now that I've learned this new felting technique, how will I find the time to fit it in with all the other fiber and mixed-media arts I love to do?