Another late blog

 I started this blog to help me remember things that I have been doing. Apparently I am not posting often enough since I am having trouble remembering what has happened since I wrote about my landscape class and Felt United. I know that there was some extra stuff thrown at me. My son needed help with moving and while moving is always difficult it was made more so by the fact that his dog Brandy had been hit and killed by a car the day before. They were out in the yard at the time and while accidents happen and dogs should not go in the road, I think it is awful that the driver did not even stop to say "I am sorry".

  

But then again we just had an accident in our state where a woman hit and killed two men who were changing a tire and even though her airbag went off she kept driving. It is a crazy world out there so it is no wonder I want to hide here in my own crazy world...at least that world I understand.

I also spent some time the last two weeks doing fall chores like cleaning up the garden and helping Dad to wash windows. And since I have been starting to feel the grip of that black beast known as depression I have been trying to be sure to go outside in the sun and get some exercise as much as possible. It is a fight and all I want to do is go to bed and hibernate like a bear, till spring comes again.

I have also been trying to do some business type work; submitting photos to Felt United, filling out inventory sheets for the Wesleyan Potters Annual Exhibit and Sale, and making arrangements for another landscape class. I did start another head that I don't like because it reminds me of my grandfather Wilcox.

There were many good things that happened that I am trying to keep in the fore front of my mind. I have been wanting a felt coat since I started felting four years ago. I attempted one last year which came out pretty well. I made yardage and got the coat all sewn. I don't remember why but I did a bit more felting after the sewing was done. When I put it in the washing machine to spin out the water I accidentally put the machine on agitate. The result was a coat that no longer fit me. I have more confidence in my ability to felt a large piece after doing the large piece for Felt United so I again made yardage.

I really liked the yardage but thought that it would be a bit much for my conservative nature to wear. I decided to over-dye it with a pale grey to minimise the color change from top to bottom. I dyed some silk for the sleeves at the same time since there was not enough of the patterned fabric.

Here is the finished coat.

I was happy to have finished it in time to wear it to the New York Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck on Saturday. I went with my friend Joei  and we had lots of fun and I bought (what for me is a lot of) wool. We also bought a small Icelandic lamb's fleece that went home with Joei. I am hoping we can do the processing together....or maybe I will just try felting it 'in the grease'. 

 Joei came over on Friday and after dinner we made more more flowers for the guild vine that we volunteered to take charge of. 

After Joei left on Sunday my sister Beth came over to help with washing some of the curtains and the inside of the windows. After lunch Dad said it was such a nice day out that we HAD to stop working and go for a walk with him.

It was a wonderful way to end a great weekend.