MD Sheep and Wool 2009

Jacket front - machine needle and wet felted; shibori detail on the lapel.

Jacket back in merino, silk/wool blend with hand dyed silk velvet and silk gauze trim; sleeves have same shibori detail and velvet/silk trim. Inspiration was some hand dyed silk gauze I had dyed in shades of saffron; I dyed some velvet and more gauze in variegated pinks/saffron/peach mix to add excitement - I love going to the "edge" with unusual color combinations that I find exciting.

Anyone that know me, is aware that I love the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival - it takes me about 15 minutes to get to the fairgrounds so I'm there early and leave late. I also buy way too much and this year was no exception. Although I promised myself that I'd abstain from going crazy - and did fairly well on Saturday, Sunday was much more rainy so fewer crowds meant I could get in to see and buy more. Yes, I confess I now could open my own store. While in the past I my purchases were geared more toward machine needle felting (love those hand dyed locks), this year I focused on wool and fiber for wet felting - there are batts, prefelts, bamboo fiber, silk/merino blends -- even some of Theresa and Mehmet's wool in a glorious blue.

The icing on the cake was that my friend, Kathy, won the 1st prize for her nuno apron (sorry I don't have a picture yet) and I won 2nd place and also the "Fashion Future" award (think that is what it's called) which meant I get a pound of wool from feltmaker Miriam Carter, who, (besides being a very nice person) according to her bio is a "4th generation felter" and her work is mouth watering so I can't wait to get my hands on the wool.