Kenleigh's Fiber Studio

Good-bye for now...

2010-03-11T10:55:00.000-08:00

As much as I like the idea of having a blog for the studio, it just isn't reality at the moment. So, I will be sharing studio news on my farm blog.

We hope to see you there!

Quiet in the studio

2010-02-26T21:52:00.000-08:00

I have been very busy in the barn with lambs, we currently have 46 with just a few more expected. The studio has been very quiet and a few projects have been put on the back burner. Luckily, I am back to felting and it feels good!

The current projects are awards for the Portugese Podengo Pequeno National Specialty. What is a Podengo? Good question!

The Portuguese Podengo is an ancient multi-sensory hound (sight and scent) breed of dog from Portugal. There are three sizes - small (Pequeno), medium (Médio), and large (Grande). Each size with two hair coats (smooth and wire) and its own unique temperament. All three sizes love to hunt in their native country.

I didn't know what one was until 6 months ago and I have learned a lot about them since! A few of my bags were given as awards at their Specialty show at the beginning of the year.

I finished the Best of Breed award today. They requested a smooth and wire haired Podengo coursing a rabbit in the Portugal countryside :) It took a lot of thinking and visioning on how I would accomplish this. I finally came up with a plan and I am pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

and the winners are...

2010-02-12T17:24:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Alison!

Here is her entry...

All of the entries were awesome! Thank you for participating in my little felting challenge.

I have updated the original post to include all of the entrant's information - check out their blogs!

The winner from the comments is - Marci.

Felting Challenge entries - entrants information now included.

2010-02-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for entering the Felting Challenge!!! What a crafty, inspired, creative, talented group of people. We have 11 entries for judging. The creators will remain anonymous at this time.

Please leave a comment voting for the number that corresponds with your favorite entry.

***** Special giveaway *****

In addition to the winner receiving a prize, I will also be randomly choosing a lucky person from all of you that leave a comment. So, come on all of you lurkers - VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!

Judging will close on Friday the 12th at noon.

Once the judging has closed, I will be announcing who all the entries belong to and share their wonderful blogs.

1. Alison - http://www.artisanry.blogspot.com/

2. Cait - www.shinystuff.us/blog/

3. Claire - http://www.chooksiniowa.blogspot.com/

4. Cristen - http://www.caprikodcroft.blogspot.com/

5. Kathy - http://www.cedarpond.blogspot.com/

6. Kelly - http://www.dreamweaveralpacas.blogspot.com/

7. Loralynn - http://www.loralynnsart.blogspot.com/

8. Mary - http://www.shadowmountainjacobs.com/

9. Michelle - http://www.boulderneigh.blogspot.com/

10. Robin - http://www.broider-baroness.blogspot.com/

11. Sharon - http://www.dandelionmom.wordpress.com/

and this entry is from Patty - http://www.mylifeunderthebus.typepad.com/

She was too late for the challenge, but I wanted to share her very cute sheep!

Let me know what one is your favorite!

Slight delay...

2010-02-07T10:49:00.000-08:00

A few people have had camera/computer problems, so there will be a little delay in posting the entries. They will be posted by tomorrow morning and judging will close on Friday the 12th.

In the meantime, enjoy some pictures of our new lambs...

'Flora' is one of our first lilac colored lambs. They are so angelic!

See you tomorrow!

Felting Challenge deadline...

2010-02-03T21:18:00.000-08:00

is fast approaching!!!

The deadline to have your picture to me is February 5th at noon.

I have seen a few entries and can't wait to see the rest :)

Our new fiber producers!

2010-02-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

Lambing has started here on the farm and we are having so much fun with the new babies!

I love the first lambs of the season because I have time to thoroughly enjoy them. In a few weeks we will have around 50 lambs and the chores will become very time consuming - but for now we can just cuddle and snuggle with them!

Lots of precious moments!

For more photos of our lambs you can visit the farm blog.

My Felt Smackdown entry

2010-01-31T11:36:00.000-08:00

I know I am going to be blown out of the water by the other entrant's projects, but I had so much fun learning how to make these little dolls!

Thanks Patty for hosting the 'Felt Smack Down' inspired by Salley Mavor's book Felt Wee Folk. This book is a real treasure and there are many techniques that I would like to learn this year. My first project was very simple and I am truly amazed at the details on her small dolls - some are 1 1/2" tall with very intricate embroidery. Truly amazing!!!

Inspired by my son who wants it to snow so bad he can't stand it :)

My son was so excited to finally get to play with him and now wants a whole family!

A bag for me???

2010-01-22T22:36:00.000-08:00

I recently received my 40th custom dog bag order!!! I started making them in August and have had a steady stream of orders coming in. I love making each one and really appreciate the e-mails I have received saying 'you captured my dog perfectly'! I have met some wonderful people and felted a lot of really cool dogs!

but, I didn't have a bag of my own...

none of my dogs had been captured in felt...

I had plans to meet my friend, Kristine, up in Portland and go to the big dog show yesterday, so on Tuesday I made the decision to take some time and make a bag for myself. The big choice, what dog? In the end, Paisley won.

Who could resist that face?

My special girl :)

A bit of inspiration...

2010-01-16T11:20:00.000-08:00

If you have entered the Felting Challenge - your kits are on their way!

Here is a little inspiration...

A Border Collie and sheep mobile.

I put a yarn swirl on the back of the border collie. The little balls are felted around the yarn.

Have a great weekend!

Room for 10 more entries!!!

2010-01-12T09:50:00.000-08:00

If you are still thinking about entering the Felting Challenge - do it fast! I have decided to limit the challenge to 20 entries - that means I have room for 10 more entries.

Enjoy your Tuesday!

A winner and a felting challenge!

2010-01-10T17:09:00.000-08:00

Mary was the lucky winner of the giveaway - I will be sending your fabric glue shortly!

Now for the Felting Challenge!!! I don't believe you should ever stop learning new crafts, so I have entered a felting challenge over at - My life under the bus - The premise of the challenge is to make something based on the Felt Wee Folk book by Salley Mavor. It does include felting, but I am not familiar with making the adorable fairies and dolls. I have an idea in my head and I hope it translates well! I will post pictures once the challenge is finished.

This inspired me to do a Felting Challenge of my own. No previous felting experience needed - I will even provide the materials!!! I have been tossing around the idea of a felting kit in my head and I have decided on the little felted sheep.

They are so fun to make and easy for beginners.

Here is how it works:

1. I have opened this up to 20 entries, so you must be become a follower on this blog or ~~have commented~~ leave a comment on my Farm blog if you would like to participate. If you have always wanted to try needle felting - here is your opportunity!

2. Leave a comment saying that you would like to participate. I will contact you and find out where to send your felting kit.

Here is what you will get! A piece of felting foam, 2 felting needles, 2 colors of Jacob wool, 2 beads for eyes, yarn, and instructions. All you need is a little bit of glue.

3. Send me a picture of your completed item - everyone will be starting with the same project, but they will be judged on creativity. You can photograph your sheep with a prop or at a fun location, add an accessory, turn it into something else - a hanging ornament, a mobile, etc., let your imagination go wild!!!

4. The contest will end February 5th at noon - please have your picture to me by then.

5. I will post the pictures on both of my blogs on the 6th and they will be judged by the people :) I will close judging on Sunday, the 10th at noon and announce the winner.

6. The winner will recieve one of my Fabric and Felt totes with colorful wool inside!

Good Luck!

Fab Glue

2010-01-02T21:37:00.000-08:00

Fab stands for fabric and fabulous!

I found this little gem at the fabric store while I was shopping for fabric for Christmas gifts.

The uses include - basting seams and matching plaids, positioning ribbons, trims, and appliques, basting hems and zippers, and tack down seam allowances to keep them from moving or flipping over when sewing.

AWESOME!!!

No more ironing and pinning hems :)

I started making bags that are a combination of felt and fabric and the beautiful thing about felt is that you don't have to hem the edges! It's not that ironing and pinning is difficult, it just doesn't excite me!

You use it just like a regular glue stick - rub on area...

and fold hem over. I was amazed at how well it worked!

You can sew right through it and it washes out.

Here is the finished project.

If you want your very own stick of this fabulous glue, then leave a comment and I will put you in a drawing for one. Drawing to close noon on January 8th!

Yarn, Buttons, and a new hair cut!

2009-12-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

I have been such a bad blogger! I have been busy crafting and hope to share some of my new projects very soon. For now I am going to share my new hat that I made with some of my Christmas presents.

I am not one to get my hair cut very often - once or twice a year - and the last couple of times I have just had my husband cut some off the bottom :) He has done a very good job, but it just isn't the same.

So, while my son was gone for a few days last week, I decided to take advantage of the time alone and go get my hair cut. Unfortunately, the gal who usually cuts it had an emergency and had to leave right before I got there, so someone else was able to fit me in. The result is a very cute, but very short hair cut. I don't have a pony tail anymore!!! I love my ponytail and living on the farm it is a very practical hairstyle. It was quite a shock!

My mom gave me a really cute hat for Christmas and I got a couple skeins of alpaca yarn from a friend...

and some very fun buttons from my dad from a recent trip to Alaska...

throw them all together and I have a new hat :)

The hats have been helping me cope with the hair in my eyes!

My 6-year-old son took this picture - I see a future photographer in the making :)

I made this hat using the Knifty Knitter. If you aren't familiar with this product, it is a circle loom and so easy to use. There are numerous YouTube videos showing you how to use it and a ton of projects online.

Happy New Year to all!

Thanks, Joan!

2009-09-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

I received an award from Joan over at Mudranch awhile ago…and I have been so busy creating that I am just now blogging about it! If you also follow my farm blog, then you may be thinking that you are seeing double! I was lucky to be awarded this award by two very creative ladies within a couple days of each other - thanks!

I already posted who my favorite authors are on my other blog, so I am posting 7 of my favorite felting/fiber books on this blog...

1. Uniquely Felt by Christine White

2. Felt by Robyn Steel-Stickland

3. In Sheep's Clothing by Nola Fournier and Jane Fournier

4. Wool Pets by Laurie Sharp and Kevin Sharp

5. Felted Bags, Boots & Other Things by Cendrine Armani

6. Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts: Fuzzy Felted Friends by Saori Yamazaki

7. How to Raise Sheep by Philip Hasheider (features some of my pictures!)

Now for the 7 blogs I would like to award…

1. Mud Ranch's Mercantile

2. Meridian Jacobs

3. Felting in Fibrespace

4. Thistle Downs Wool Design

5. Ben McFuzzylugs

6. Skylar's Candy Clips

7. The Funky Felter

and now for those that would like to see what I have been busy creating!

The dogs are custom orders and the others are for the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival that is sneaking up REALLY fast :)

My love affair with Vistaprint continues...

2009-09-11T16:09:00.000-07:00

I ordered my first business cards through Vistaprint last year and have been back several times for more business cards, rack cards, postcards, tote bags, t-shirts, and small/large signs. I have been really happy with all of the products and if you sign up for their e-mail exclusive offers then you can get a lot of the items for free - just pay for shipping!!!

While I was at the dog show a few weeks ago, I was approached by a vendor asking where I got the bag that I was carrying around? I told her that I made it and showed her several others that I had with me (I was delivering a few). She was over the top excited about carrying them in her booth along with her Custom Kagaroo Show Leads. What an opportunity! She has a few of my bags as samples and will be taking orders. I needed to get some tags for the bags and a sign. Vistaprint, here I come :)

My items came today and once again I am thrilled with the results!

Here is the sign that I ordered. They have a LOT of designs and you can order multiple items with the same design to create some branding for your company. I love the combination of blue and flowers in this design!

I ordered business cards to use as price tags. I put care and cleaning instructions on the back.

This is a re-order of the rack cards for my studio.

Just for fun and for wearing at the fiber shows I got to, I ordered a couple t-shirsts. I was a little concerned about how the quality was going to be, but they are awesome. This was the first design I picked...

and this is the second design. I really like both of them - but this one is my favorite!

A little ugly for some pretty!

2009-09-09T12:05:00.000-07:00

I have been on a mission to find a really good wet felting soap. I have used Dawn in the past, but I have switched to rubbing a bar of soap over the wool to begin with and this works really well. The problem with most bars of soap I have tried is the amount of suds it creates - mountains and mountains!!! My mom reps for a line of French soaps and I recently ordered some Olive oil soap.

Another wet felter calls these big blocks of soap the 'ugly' soap. They certainly aren't small and delicate.

They are a traditional marseille cube made with 72% olive oil. They are unscented and pure - making them perfect for anyone with sensitive skin. Wikipedia had some very interesting information regarding this soap - Traditionally, the soap is made by mixing sea water from the Mediterranean Sea, olive oil, and the alkaline chemicals soda ash (sodium carbonate) and lye (sodium hydroxide) together in a large cauldron (usually making about 8 tons). This mixture is then heated for several days, stirred constantly. The mixture is then allowed to sit, and once ready, it is poured into the mould, and allowed to set slightly. While still soft, it is cut into bars and stamped, and left to completely harden. The whole process can take up to a month from the start before the soap is ready to use.

Even more interesting is that this soap has been made around Marseille, France, for about 600 years, the first recorded soapmaker in the area in about 1370. By 1688, Louis XIV introduced regulations limiting the use of the name savon de Marseille to soaps made in and around the Marseille area, and only from olive oil. Today this law still stands (although the regulations now allow other vegetable oils to be used).

The felting results are fantastic!!! It suds nicely, but not too much. I used it to make the backgrounds for the following two wall hangings.

This is Gretchen...

and this is Edda.

A very lucky lady had a friend and husband order these wall hangings for her birthday. These are her two favorite dogs and they wanted them on a mossy green background. I am thrilled with the results and I hope she is too!

Felting fun day!

2009-08-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

My mom/mother-in-law and sisters/sister-in-laws and I have been trying to get together for a felting fun day, but ALL of our schedules have been so busy this summer that it has been difficult to find a day that works for all of us. So, I called kind of last minute last week and told them that whoever could make it was invited over on Saturday to felt some purses. My soon to be sister-in-law, Patricia, and my sister, Cristen, were the only two that could make it - but we had fun!

Here is Patricia working on hers. They were making fun of me because I would explain how to do something by first saying "ok, you aren't supposed to do this, but this is how I do it". I don't know what I do differently, but unfortunately my techniques were causing Patricia to break needles. She only broke two and that is pretty common for beginners, but I still felt bad.

Here is her finished bag. She wanted a tree or branches with a crow on it and I think she did a great job! She also put a pocket on the inside that I'm sure will come in very handy!

Here is my sister working on her purse. She didn't put a pocket in hers and just zipped right along, so we were making her felt extra long to make sure it would REALLY stay. She put a flap on the outside with a magnetic closure.

She is due in November and I was beginning to wonder if she was really pregnant because she still wasn't showing 2 weeks ago. She has a little bump now :)

The colors she chose compliment each other nicely.

Hopefully everybody else can come over next time.

My two worlds have collided!

2009-08-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have two different worlds at times - my fiber and my photography. Both of these endeavors give me the freedom to stay home with our son and I feel very fortunate to have this flexibility. This summer has been very busy for my photography - I took over 7,000 photos in August at various dog events!

I took a few of my felted bags to the events and the response has been wonderful - resulting in a lot of custom orders!

Irish Wolfhound - still available

I had a couple orders for Rhodesian Ridgebacks.

A gal ordered this bag for one of her friends. It is an Australian Kelpie watching over his little sheep.

This is an Ibizan named Dina. She is such a pretty girl...

and here she is in felt!

Here is an Italian Greyhound that I am currently working on and still on my list to do are a long-haired standard dachshund, tan and white whippet, scottish deerhound, borzoi, black and white silken windhound, another ibizan, pharoah hound, and a blue merle aussie with a couple sheep.

I have created a Custom Tote Bag page on my website and you can see other bags and ordering information there.

Creative juices are flowing :)

2009-08-06T21:25:00.000-07:00

I have had several new ideas come to me this week and they have been so much fun!!!

I want to send a special 'thank you' to my mom and grandma for giving me the gift of creativity. They have always been so inspiring and I have many memories of the items they made for us growing up. I will never forget the Cabbage Patch Kid sized horses that my grandma made for all of us kids for Christmas. I think it is still one of the best presents and I have vivid memories of the surprise.

I always have ideas running through my head, but this last weekend when I was home by myself I was able to listen to some of the ideas ;) I was playing around with a necklace idea - unfortunately it was a total flop - but it got me thinking and I took the piece of glass that I was working with and wet felted around it, much like you would felt a bar of soap. It had possibilities... then later when I was at my parent's house, my brother had a wire wrapped necklace on that got me thinking. He helped me and below is the result. I have ordered some wood discs in circles and squares and am looking forward to working with them.

The next item isn't fiber related, but part of my other life - photography. I am taking pictures at a lure coursing trial this weekend and I am really excited to be able to offer collage prints.

I'm not sure where this idea came from, but I took two different items that I have made and combined them. I took the felted sheep balls and the flat felted sheep from the bags and made these little guys.

They have a front and a back and are stuffed with a little bit of wool. My plan is to make them into sachets with lavendar and eucalyptus scents. They can also be hung or turned into magnets - so many choices ;)

This little birdie pillow spurred another thought...

little birdies, just like the little sheep. Unfortunately, this one didn't turn out very cute.

Here is attempt #2. Now, when I look back at the first one, it looks like a nasty crow :)

I hope some of these ideas have created some ideas of your own!

We have a winner!

2009-08-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

I think everyone's weekends sound wonderful and I hope you get to indulge soon! As for my weekend - I chose to do the fun stuff and the important stuff and left the laundry for later. I got the electric fence fixed in the ram pasture because the last thing I wanted to be doing was chasing rams around ;) I then read, felted, watched a couple movies, ate dinner whenever I wanted to, went over to my parents and had some wonderful homemade peach ice cream, went for a couple walks, and felted some more!

I'm glad I didn't announce a winner this morning, thanks to the late entries - it's good to see you here!

The winner, as chosen by random.org, is Emily at Dreameyce - congrats!!! Send me an e-mail with where to send it and what option you want.

What would you do and a giveaway!

2009-07-31T20:05:00.000-07:00

The question isn't WHAT to do, but what to do FIRST??? I have a weekend all to myself and I am always overwhelmed with what I should start with.

I have stuff that I should do - laundry, dishes, vacuum, etc.

I have stuff that I want to do - finish felting projects, read my book, go for a walk.

I am really bad at finishing projects. I have 5 pillows in varying stages :)

I have stuff that I don't want to do, but need to - fix the electric fence in the ram pasture, mow the lawn, clean the garage.

and stuff that I seldom do, but would be fun - lay on the couch and watch a movie, eat a carton of ice cream (that was my mom's idea) ;)

I suppose I will end up doing a little bit of everything, except for eating the carton of ice cream!

All you have to do to enter the giveaway is tell me what you would do with a weekend all to yourself?

The prize -

A tote bag filled with a goody of your choice :)

Option 1 - handspun yarn

Option 2 - fiber for spinning

Option 3 - felting kit

Option 4 - none of the above ;) for the non-wool people - I will come up with something special

Just leave a comment with what you would do and what option you want! I will announce the winner on Tuesday, August 4th. Have a great weekend!

Felt Table Runner

2009-07-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the hot weather, I have been felting a LOT ;) Doing anything outside besides the absolute necessary is out of the question. This is one of the pieces I made. A table runner made with jacob wool.

I was awfully tempted to keep it, but I think I am going to make another one that matches our kitchen better. It measures 16" x 60"

It is also reversible.

I love the color variations of jacob wool.

Hope you are staying cool wherever you may be!

My Lil Dynamo

2009-07-22T16:26:00.000-07:00

Look...I have a new wool picker!

Isn't she cute?

She is serious about her job.

She digs and pulls until each lock of fiber has been picked apart.

The final touch is fluffing.

Just kidding :) She does enjoy picking the wool but I don't think customers would enjoy having dog slobber mixed in with their wool!

I do have a new wool picker though - it is called the Lil Dynamo.

I tried a jacob lamb fleece through it and I am so happy. The top slides across and is very smooth. Here is the washed fiber going in...

and here it is afterwards.

The pile on the left is before and the pile on the right is after. Picking wool opens up the locks and makes carding easier.

I found a more appropriate toy for Paisley to play with.

Wet Felting - A Tutorial

2009-07-17T13:57:00.000-07:00

Wet felting is a lot of fun and all you need is: 1.) a piece of bubblewrap 2.) wool 3.) a piece of netting, rug underlayment, shelf liner, screen, or any type of fabric with holes in it.

First, lay your bubblewrap down on your working surface. I am using a pool cover in this picture. I called a local pool store and found a remnant piece for free!!! I was able to cut it to the size of my table.

Lay your wool out in approximately 25% bigger than you want your finished piece to be. This is a very rough estimate and if you are a perfectionist then you can felt a small piece to see what your actual shrinkage is. I like to felt on the fly :)

Layer your wool by placing a very thin layer in one direction and the next layer in the opposite direction and so on until you have 3-4 layers depending on how thick you want your finished product.

Here comes the fun part and I have my very capable assistant to demonstrate the rest of the process. Cover your wool with your netting, we are using shelf liner here. Fill a bowl with hot water and a little bit of liquid soap. Take a sponge and drip the water over the wool until it is completely wet.

Next, use a bar of soap (I find that glycerin based soap works best) and aggressively rub it across back and forth over the wool.

Once the surface is slippery you can set the soap aside and rub with your hands. Every once in awhile, pull the netting up to make sure the wool isn't felting to it :)

The wool should start sticking to itself and beginning to felt. You can pull the netting off and rub the wool directly.

He is so serious :)

Roll the wool up in your netting and roll back and forth. I find rolling REALLY boring, so I do this for a very short period of time. I roll a couple times from one direction and a couple times from the other.

Pull your piece of felt out of the netting and scrunch it up and abuse it :) Throw it on the table, rub it against the bubble wrap.

Now we need to get rid of the soap and finish the process. Put it in hot water first and continue scrunching it up under the water.

Next to the cold water. Repeat this 2 times - hot, cold, hot, cold. You will feel the surface texture change when you go from the hot to cold - I love this part.

Sometimes I will throw the finished product into the dryer and sometimes I will lay it out in the sun. Here is my son's finished piece...

and here is mine. They are both going to be used for vests. He is going to make one for his teddy bear. We used Navajo Churro wool and it felts beautifully. Not to be worn against the skin but great for rugs and masculine vests.

We did a little bit of everything :)

2009-07-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

I knew Joan and I were going to be busy when she came, but we ended up cramming a week's worth of fiber fun into 2 days. We started out needle felting...

this was her very first needle felted item! The horse is one of her beautiful Kigers, Cali.

While she worked on hers, I worked on a gift for a jacob breeder that helped me out by housing and transporting some of our lambs after they traveled from Oregon to Indiana. I hope he likes it!

After we needle felted our designs, we needed a back for our pillows. Our local JoAnns used to carry 100% wool felt and that would have been the easiest route, but they don't have it anymore - so we wet felted! We made fairly big pieces, they started out being 2 1/2 feet by 3 1/2 feet. I kept laughing because most beginners start with something simple, like a flower or a sheep and you certainly don't learn how to wet felt by making a big piece of fabric! We found that we are very much the same - we don't like to start simple ;)

We didn't have a lot of time, so we did a LOT of multi-tasking. We dyed fiber using my new pot and the results were fun.

She dyed some of her washed jacob fiber with a beautiful teal color. The carded results are going to be so pretty!

We also washed fiber. I found this great tub out in my barn! We also found out that my fiber shop has a small water heater. Wet felting and washing fiber takes more hot water then it had! So we moved the washing tub to behind the house.

She brought me some of the wool wash that she uses as a hostess gift and I am really impressed. It has a nice soft euctalyptus scent and did a fabulous job! I washed Wrangler's fleece first and it doesn't have any ram smell left and the white is white!

The weather was beautiful on Friday and the fleeces dried pretty fast.

We finished making our pillows and she learned how to blanket stitch - my favorite!

She sat down and used my spinning wheel (I hope she posts some of her pictures) we laughed quite a bit :) Then she tried out my drum carder.

It was so much fun and very motivating! I have been washing, carding, and spinning since she left. Who wants to visit next ;)

The winner is...

2009-07-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

Dandelionmom!!! Congratulations - contact me for where you would like me to send you prize. I am going to take a wild guess and say you want the sheep one :)

Thank you to all that participated!

I know I am a day late in announcing the winner, but I have a very good reason... Joan from Mud Ranch is here for a couple days to learn all about felting and fiber. We had so much fun yesterday - we needle felted, wet felted, dyed washed wool that she brought, played with baby lambs, and had lots of chatting time. On our agenda today is finish our pillows, card her dyed fiber (we can't wait to see the results), and do some 3D felting. I'll post pictures in the next day or two. Have a great day!

Custom Bags

2009-07-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a few custom bags.

This was a special request from Michelle at Boulderneigh. She raises Shetland sheep and I traded her for some roving from her sheep. The fiber is lovely and I can't wait to spin it.

This bag wasn't a custom one, but it inspired the gal who ordered the next one.

The angoras were a little tricky, especially the red one but the lady was great in regards to giving me feedback and I hope she is really happy with it!

Last but not least is Ziggy with the bag that I made for his buddy Tisha. Isn't he a cutey? He loves to race!

Currently the bags come in the light blue and dark blue, but I am working on dyeing them. I experimented with dyeing the lighter blue and am really excited with the results.

The results confuse me a little :) The original color is on the left and I got the red by dyeing with bright red and the green was achieved by dyeing with a mustard yellow. I thought the dyes would blend with the light blue dye - red/blue make purple and yellow/blue make green. The green was what I expected but not the red. I like the red better than purple so that was a nice surprise!

And look at my Goodwill find...

We have a large outdoor burner, but I needed a big pot to dye in.

The added bonus is that it has a strainer in it! Stay tuned for the results.

I have added a few new totes to my etsy store and would be happy to make a custom tote or purse for you!

A giveaway to celebrate my new blog!

2009-07-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

You can still keep up with things on the farm at - Stories from the Farm - but this blog is going to be all about the fiber studio. To celebrate my new blog I am having a giveaway! All you have to do is leave a comment or become a follower. I will put all the names in a hat and have my son choose the winner. The deadline is a week from now - July 8th.

Now for the fun part - you will have your choice of bag 1...

or bag 2...

I will contact the winner on July 9th - Good Luck!

Welcome!

2009-06-22T22:40:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone and welcome to the online presence for Kenleigh's Fiber Studio! I will be posting information and pictures of what is happening in the studio. I will have felting supplies, felted items, and fiber from our jacob sheep for sale. I hope to have give aways and tutorials as well, so check back often!