Day #3 was again at RDI.
Katharine Jolda was the felting instructor. She creates felted items and teaches felting and is the inventor of a bicycle powered carding machine, or cyclocarder. She has a great website called Felt the Sun, and the SF Chronicle just had a nice article and interview with her here, and in it is a good explanation of the whole felting process – which is essentially turning a pile of raw fiber into a fabric through the addition of hot soapy water and friction. It is a simple and physically involved process. With a very grounded and calm teaching style she gave us the option of making either a felted bag or a hat. The following are examples that she brought in:
![DSC_0103 churro pic](http://www.nettlestreadlesandlove.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DSC_0103-1024x682.jpg)
Churro - Navajo sheep. I made my bag from Churro fiber she brought. (photo from Katharine's collection)
![DSC_0067 bag process](http://www.nettlestreadlesandlove.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DSC_0067-1024x682.jpg)
my bag has been rubbed and patted and the edges rolled over the pattern, flipped over to add more fiber and do the same to the other side.
![DSC_0079 katherine rolling](http://www.nettlestreadlesandlove.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DSC_0079-1024x682.jpg)
at a certain stage when the fibers have started fusing and felting, there is the process of fulling - vigorous rolling.
I still need to put the finishing touches on my bag, but it was a fun day that makes me want to do more. So many possibilities. You can’t get much more hands-on than this.
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