Today...in reverse order

Tah Dah! A cute bag (post below) (C-1 pelsull from New England Felting Supply)

The other side of said cute bag

Awww, poor crumpled felt after rinsing and a go 'round in the laundry spinner. Does not look too promising, but I have faith.

See resist? See shrinkage rate?

Gettin' there...still fulling.

felted enough to cut out holes for handles. Don't cut too early, folks.

Inside out cutting resist from pocket.

Cutting out main resist.

Oop, there it is...resist starting to buckle while fulling.

All laid out and wrapped around edges. Not felted yet.

After watching my students make some great bags this weekend, I could not resist (I know, boooo) making a bucket bag today. It was helpful that I spent over 3 hours on the phone yesterday on conference calls, so I was able to work while I listened on my handy-can't-do-without headset! Layout is possible on the phone, anything else is too loud. I ran water once and wondered if they thought I might be in the bathroom!

The first call was over an hour, so I tidied my space and put away things from the weekend. The evening call was 2 hours and, in that time, I did my lay out, wet out and very little felting, maybe 10 minutes and picked up where I left off today.

A couple of students asked how long it would take me to do a bag. This small bag took me 5 hours start to finish and the break down is this...

-2 hours+ for layout and wet out

-1 hour hand rubbing felting

-2 hours fulling, rinsing and shaping

This is a small bag (oh, 12 x 13) with no 3D elements, so if it had been more complex or with a handle you could easily add a couple of hours. Just a rolled strap takes 1-1.5 hours. So, there ya' go! Easy stuff and I feel like I deserve to pour myself (another) cup of coffee, and tidy up for another project! What are you waiting for?

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