Sunday 21 December 2008

Introducing Split Rock Ranch!

Custom Fiber Blend in Peacock Colorway for spinning or felting

Handspun llama yarns - fiber provided by Split Rock Ranch llamas



Jim & Brenda w/ Halter Champion Tempis Fugit


My name is Brenda and my husband and I own a small llama ranch in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado - Split Rock Ranch. I "retired" from my "real job" in the construction industry this past June 2008 to work our ranch and my fiber business full time. There is so much I want to accomplish in my fiber art that I discover there are simply not enough hours in the day to do everything I want to get done! It is such a joy to have a business where you can work without it feeling like work and the days fly by because you are getting so much enjoyment out of your daily activities. My fiber mottos: "Where fiber is our passion...and it shows" and "So much fiber...so little time".

I have been a knitter and crocheter since I was a child but didn't do much knitting and crocheting when I was working full time and raising a family. We bought our first llamas in the fall of 1996 and we bought our "ranch" in May 1997. We were only going to have two male llamas as companions and to use as packers for hiking trips but in the late summer of 1997 we bought a female llama because we fell in love with the crias (llama babies), then we bought a show quality male llama and started to show him in January 1998. That llama started winning 1st place in every show and won a few Grand and Reserve Grand Champion awards as well as placing Top Ten at Grand Nationals two years in a row and we were bitten by the llama show bug. Our herd has grown as we have added more select females and show quality to our breeding herd and have retained many of our production (crias). In 2000 my husband bought me a used single treadle Ashford Traveller spinning wheel and I started spinning my own yarns. I realized that I had to find something to use those beautiful llama fleeces for! We also learned how to wet felt using our llama fleeces and started out making a felted vest and hat for our daughter using the fiber from our Champion llama. I quickly branched out into dyeing fibers and yarns along with the spinning and then discovered needle felting and started putting together needle felting kits and felting fibers. I also invested in an Ashford drum carder so I could card up our llama fleeces and started blending all sorts of fibers together to make unique one-of-a-kind (OOAK) custom fiber blend batts for spinning and felting. When my husband was laid off from his job in December of 2002 I decided I had to do something to supplement our income and started selling online on ebay, at llama shows and events and then started selling on etsy in April of 2007. I have met some wonderful people who have become friends on this fiber journey and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I have also started to set aside more time to knit and crochet and want to learn nuno felting. I plan to spend more time on the production of finished fiber art in addition to the fiber supplies for other fiber artists. Does anyone know where we can buy more time for our days?!

To read more about our llama journey, see photos of our llamas, etc. please visit our ranch website at
www.splitrockllamas.com. Our blog page is www.splitrockranchllamas.blogspot.com. Also, please visit my etsy store at www.splitrockranch.etsy.com.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2009 as the International Year of Natural Fiber and we as felters and fibers artists are poised to take advantage of the huge movement to "go green".

I look forward to meeting the rest of the Felting Team and working together as a group to promote the fiber arts!

kokonok: Let me introduce myself


Hi,
my name is Olga, or kokonok (in the virtual world).
Kokonok (russ.) means a tiny cocoon, this cosy name was invented by my sons, reflecting my love to fibers and probably some introversy :).
I am living in romantic Heidelberg (South Germany).

I grew up in Moscow, where I studied art and then biology, the latter being my main profession. I am working as a research stuff in academy, but every minute of my free time I dedicate to crafts, playing with jewelry making, silk painting, knitting, etc.
But it was before the FELT BUG got me...not kidding. Felting is my element...
Currently, I am exploring a couple of techniques:
- shibori felting, creating 3D structure using knots, etc during felting process,
-embellishment with seed beads and pearls,
- nunofelting,
-creating lace structure by cutting patterns,...

- "organic" direction that is in fact not linked to a certain technique. I mean works inspired by nature: floral patterns, etc.

















and, last but not least, vintage...








Friday 19 December 2008

HOW TO JOIN THIS BLOG

Dear felters,

Welcome to the Felting Team Blog!

This blog works as a "team blog", means that you can post here using your own Google account.

If you want to post here, just add your e-mail to our Google-Group
http://groups.google.com/group/etsy-felting-team?pli=1
and this e-mail will be added to the blog. You'll get an intitation letter, which you have to confirm, and then you can post using your own account.

Please report problems to our Google Group.
Have a nice day,
Olga (kokonok)
Wearable felted art "Ariane et Lulu "







I'm very happy to participate in the ETSY Feltingg Team and I would like to introduce myself in this first post. My name is Ariane and I'm German but I live in France (so I speak better German and French than English). Before "falling in love" with feltmaking I studied architecture, and worked as an texile graphic designer. As I'm always 100% applied in what I love, I quit my designer job 6 month ago. (Hopefully I have a husband who loves me enough to support!!).
My main interest in the felting process is mixing wool fibers with other fibers and materials. My project for 2009 is to experimente how to combine paper and wool in the felting process. If you tried already I would be very pleased to share experience with you. An other point I will focus on is how to create 3d felting textures.
If you are interested on my work, please visite my webside http;// ariane.lulu.free.fr (only aviable in french for the moment) or my etsyshop arianelulu.esty.com.
If you starting feltmaking and need help I'm always pleased to do my best (but you have to support my english...)
See you and happy holidays !!!
Ariane


Images are showing a combination of different "natural" wools with handmade silk paper, silk chiffon, wool locks and handspun yarn. First image shows the piece before felting. Second and third are details of the vest after felting. It's the symbioses of different materials fusing to something new that passionate me. Felting means for me to be a designer and a discoverer in same time.

Tuesday 9 December 2008

We start Etsy Felting Team






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Etsy Felting Team

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Hi!


We have recently created a new global team on Etsy, Felting Team.

We are an International Group of Artists who create wearable art using the felting technique, mainly wet felting and nunofelting.

The main goal of our team is to promote etsy shops of the members, to share our knowledge of techniques, ideas and inspiration, to discuss members' work.

The other important goal is to improve our knowledge of materials, particularly about the modern ones; In order to achieve this goal, we invite wool and fiber sellers to our team.








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