TNNA Columbus 2009
FELTING- BACK IN FASHION?
Felting is a processing technique for wool which yields a non-woven fabric of unusual sturdiness, water resistance, and wind resistance. The resulting textile is known as felt or boiled wool, depending on regional terminology. It is relatively easy to practice felting at home, yielding felted fabric of good quality for an assortment of projects. Felt can also be purchased at many sewing and craft supply stores, for people who are more interested in the end result than the process.
Humans have been felting wool for centuries. Archaeological digs in Europe have produced felt garments, tents, shoes, and other products, dyed in vivid colors and extremely well made. The fact that the fabric is able to endure for centuries shows how strong a piece of felted fabric can be. Textile historians suspect that felting has been around far longer than knitting and weaving, since it is relatively easy to do in comparison with either of these techniques.
To felt wool, the wool is washed and combed to clean it and make all the fibers run in roughly the same direction. Hanks of wool are laid into large pans in layers, with the fibers of each layer running at a 90 degree angle to the layer below. Next, hot soapy water is poured over the wool, which is gently agitated. When wool gets wet, the small scales of the individual hairs open up, and agitation causes the scales to interlock with each other, forming a solid mat of material. The heat, pressure, moisture, and friction involved in felting create a solid piece of fabric from the individual fibers.
When a textile which has already been made is subjected to a similar process, it is known as fulling. Many knitters use fulling to produce distinctive garments which are also warm, snug, and water resistant. Some knitters call the process they use “felting,” but this is technically incorrect, since felting is reserved for raw wool. What they are doing is fulling, which agitates the scales in the wool to make the fabric tighter and fluffier. Fulling also results in dramatic shrinkage of knitted garments, so it is important to use a pattern designed for fulling, to prevent tragic results.
Traditionally, fulling was accomplished by beating, rolling, or walking on the fabric. This process was rather painstaking, and most modern commercially fulled fabrics use hot soapy water and agitation, just like with felting. Timing the fulling process is rather challenging, and requires a close eye. When crafters full at home, they may use a wash basin or a washing machine, and they should check the fulling progress frequently, as fabric can shrink rapidly and disastrously if it is fulled for too long. To arrest the fulling process, the garment can be plunged into cold water. Since fulling can always be continued, many crafters err on the side of caution and cold plunge garments frequently while they are fulling.
Have you ever thrown one of your best woollen sweaters into the washing machine by mistake?
Well, the result is a considerably smaller, matted ‘thing’ that can never be worn again but, essentially, washing machine action is the method used for felting knitting.
Felted knitting forms a solid, very firm fabric that’s ideal for making bags, hats, wallets, waistcoats or even slippers. It can also be pounded and moulded over solid shapes to create three-dimensional effects.
There are different techniques to choose from. These basically vary according either to the method or process chosen as well as the products and materials in use.
For instance, a great way to add embellishments to a knitted and felted project is though needle felting, which allows you to meld a new piece of felt onto the felted project using a needle. It’s not a difficult process, but it does need to be undertaken with care. This site gives you a rundown of how to go about needle felting. The felting needle is a thin piece of hardened steel that is very sharp and also has tiny barbs. With a magnifying glass you can see these little barbs. The theory is that by pushing the needle into the two pieces of felt and pulling it back out again you will have caused the fibers to be interlocked … the fibers of the one piece with the other.
Felting is a lot of fun and allows you to make homemade items that look really professional because you can’t see the individual stitches.
SOURCES: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-felting.htm ///// http://knitting.about.com/od/felting/Knitting_and_Felting.htm
INTERNATIONAL EARTH’S DAY
Little do we know about Earth. Watching a TV programme yesterday on Discovery Channel, I got to know that we human beings actually have acknowledgement of the existence of only a minor percentage of what constitutes the Planet Earth as a whole. What is more, it also made emphasis on the fact that it is more the people who reach the peack of Mount Everest than those who manage to get to know the dephs of sea. After all, one should never forget that we are also part of Mother Nature, and somehow cannot pretend to overpass her wisdom and knowledge.
Today, April 22nd, we are worldwide celebrating what is known as ‘Earth Day’, a single day when we are all supposed to be specially committed to at least remembering the place that hosts us and provides us with everything in our daily lives. In other words, it is a day assigned to raise concern, gratitude and recognition for the Earth’s environment.
Word has it that this date was created by Gaylord Nelson, a United States’ senator, and it is particular for taking place during the Southern Hemisphere’s autumn and the Northern Hemisphere’s spring.
Taking advantage of the possibility this day gives me to write and express my thoughts, I would like to take issue with something that occurred yesterday in the country where I live, actually where Abuelita Yarns is mainly situated.
Whenever Uruguayan people wake up, rarely do they hesitate to wash their faces, hands, teeth, take a shower, do the dishes, water the plants, wash the car, do the laundry, flush the toilet, among many others. The reason for people not doubting to do so is that having a total (and very affordable) disposal of potable water for whatever need, it seems at first sight that it is something which can be perfectly been taken for granted as it has historically been there whenever it is needed.
Nonetheless, I woke up yesterday carelessly determined to take my regular morning shower, when I suddenly faced the fact water had been cut in around forty neighborhoods of Montevideo, Capital City. “Not a very good start”, I said to myself, though inside I felt convinced it would soon be fixed, as it always happens. As a matter of fact, it has been a day and a half since the shortcut, and there are plenty of places still out of water.
As a consequence, homes, schools, high schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, restaurants, shops, printing stores, sports clubs, rehabilitation centers, among many others, found themselves closed due to this lack of water. “So what?” could someone say. We are now facing a problem which will remain in the country’s history, not only for the fact that we run out of water, but also for the many serious disease treatments and operations which had to be postponed, the inability of children and homeless feeding, an important educational absence, businesses being closed…
However, one should see this matter through the background in which it occurs. Water runs in abundace everywhere here in Uruguay, yet, we are still facing dries and floods in the north of the country. But what happens with those places where people cannot even afford to accessing water? What about the many natural disasters we have seen during the last years involving water? Why do people happen to still die due to thirstiness or hyginic problems arround the world, whilst only one toilet flush takes up about fifteen lts of water?
On the light of the above mentioned, I am afraid to assume that we do not really appreciate this natural resource we have as it is taken for granted. Much is said about environmental care but little is done. All in all, the still latent question regarding this issue (and every other that affects nature and enviromnment) is: shouldn’t we personally be taking action to reverse this- no matter how little our contribution is- instead of only seeing the actions themselves pass by?
María Inés Alegre
Is recession negative in all its aspects? Think it twice!
There is an unquestionable truth: nobody knows where this worldwide recession will take us. In other words -and beyond any potential financial subsidy- in the same way this ongoing global crisis took plenty of people unexpectedly, it might disappear following this same path… after all, the greatest part of overcoming or not this situation depends on ourselves and our willingness to go ahead in life. I personally like to believe in Susan Taylor’s words: “Seeds of faith are always within us; sometimes it takes a crisis to nourish and encourage their growth.”
As for Abuelita Yarns itself, we tend to think positive regarding this economic and social problems going on, though always keeping in mind that they still exist and something has to be done. Nonetheless, our working philosophy aproaches an active and open-minded attitude towards reality. Let’s take the example of David Blumenthal, president of a famous Yarn Company, which opened the first retail store in its 130-year-old history as a wholesaler and firmly held in a New York Times issue that “In a recession, people are cocooning. So for $5 or $10 in yarn, you can have a great weekend and come away with a scarf that would cost $60 in a store”. What is more, as far as knitting is concerned, he also stated that “Knitting has always been recession-proof”. Is there any reason why we shouldn’t attach to this idea?
In fact, knitting, as well as any other handicraft, allows anyone willing to devote some of their time to a relaxed and unstressful activity, were recreation is primarily involved as well as self ablities improvement and challenging. Following this reasoning, one can even find out an awesome way of saving money and at the same time getting an original present for one of your freinds or relatives. Even view from a differnet angle, knitting directly links to creativity, immagination, originality… and why not a new job? Actually, the idea of combining a hobby with a means of making money sounds perfect.
Finally, there is a quote which, to my mind, applies exactly to what I am trying to point out: “Dante once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality”. To put it simply, given the fact that ups and downs will inevitably be present in every human being life, putting the best of oneself to make things come up the better way posible is what eventually makes us feel fullfilled, and I wholeheartedly believe it is worth giving it a try.