White Fleece with Hardly Any Blue (Felting)

White Fleece with Hardly Any Blue (Felting) Originally uploaded by randubnick

Last night's post was of a felting project from the fiber arts class I have been taking. The photo was of a blue and white design laid out in fleece. To make felt, you have to wet the fleece with warm soapy water, and knead it like bread dough. But when I added the water, the blue dye began to run almost immediately, fading to a faint green. When I rinsed it (the final step), almost all remaining color disappearing, leaving only faint traces of blue. My hopes for this piece were literally going down the drain! The dye is not supposed to run this much, so I guess I had a bad batch of blue fleece. Well, this photo looks like an image of an invisible rabbit in snow, as we used to say in high school. But I am posting it anyway as an example of a very real part of making art: disappointment. To make art, you have accept the accidental as an opportunity, not a disaster. It helps to laugh, and I did, thinking about standing for three hours with my hands in soapy water kneading fleece only to create a schmatta that looks like it a very fancy dog bed. Although I was disappointed about the color disappearing, I still like the texture. So now I have a new problem to solve. Can I make something with this piece of felt (a pillow, bag, scarf, etc.) and find a way to add color in the process (perhaps with yarn or beading)? To be continued. . . .