» Craft Club

Michigan Fiber Festival is a Big Success!

Annette Johnston — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:47:00 +0000

I attended the Michigan Fiber Festival last week with several friends, and had a wonderful time! We took classes in wet felting, and made items that turned out great. We each made a basket too. I practiced my carding techniques; I brought a washed fleece (from Liam the Icelandic sheep), and worked on carding it. I plan to do more felting with it this fall and winter. We camped at the festival grounds, at the Allegan County Fairgrounds. I should have worn more insect repellant though; I now have mosquito bites on top of my mosquito bites!! Oh well.

I entered a felted picture in their fiber arts competition, and got honorable mention. For my first attempt, I was pleased.

Now it’s time for the Michigan State Fair. I’ll let you know next week how my entries do. I’m entering my usual; 3 fleeces, dill, Indian corn, eggplant, and peck basket of veggies.

Please write and let me know if you go to the Michigan State Fair, and if you saw my entries. The vegetables are near the Miracle of Life exhibit. The fleeces are in the sheep barn, which has been combined with the cattle barn near the Coliseum. Mine will be the ones with the blue ribbons! (I hope). Listed as Annette in Ira Michigan.

Crafty Ladies’ Felting Project

Annette Johnston — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:46:31 +0000

The Craft Club got together again recently to do some wet felting. I wanted to try out little Liam’s fleece to see how well it would felt. Liam is my young Icelandic sheep, who was sheared for the first time this spring. I picked and then washed his fleece in my washing machine (being careful not to agitate it in any way) with Dawn detergent. It took a couple days to dry. I do love the light gray color, almost like a tweed. I hand carded a small portion for us to use in our felting. We all made small felted pouches, with varying degrees of success. I took a class on wet felting at the Michigan Fiber Festival last summer. I am pleased with my cellphone case, but may decorate it with needlefelting. Liam’s fleece felts beautifully, very fast felting. I will work on carding more of it, and plan to make a tiny camera case and then a purse. I’ll have to make slippers this fall.

Let me know if you do any felting, and what successes you’ve had.

Soon I will be able to upload pictures of the critters to this blog!

Crafty Ladies Made Beautiful Outdoor Decorations

Annette Johnston — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 20:37:48 +0000

At our latest Craft Club meeting, we made really nice winter-season decorations that we can leave on display after Christmas is past. These are outdoor decorations that are beautiful, yet very easy to make. If you would like to make an easy, low-cost craft, here are the directions. I used a white plastic hanging pot still filled with dirt that was leftover from my fall yard cleanup. You might want to do this craft in your garage, because it can get messy. First, dampen the soil with a little water. Then, prune some of your overgrown evergreens/holly bushes/pine branches/etc. Cut them to an appropriate length, based on the size of the container you are using. Arrange them attractively in the container, pushing them down into the soil. To make the planter prettier, add some red berries (artificial or real), pinecones, etc. for color and texture. Proudly display your new creation outside. Remember to water it occasionally.

Merry Christmas from Frolic Farm!

Fun at Michigan Fiber Festival

Annette Johnston — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 22:44:12 +0000

This past weekend I attended the Michigan Fiber Festival with some friends, and we had a wonderful time.Â We saw lots of fiber animals, includingÂ fiber-types of sheep, goats, rabbits, and Alpacas.Â We took several different craft classes, and watched various demonstrations.Â I always enjoy the dog herding exhibition.Â I wonder why I can’t get my border collie, Skipper, to do that well with my sheep!Â I learned some new crafts that I can hardly wait to show the rest ofÂ the Craft Club at next month’s meeting.Â

We were camping in a small tent for 4 days.Â The weather cooperated until Sat. night.Â Then the deluge started, and it rained all night.Â I also heard thunder and lightning at one point.Â I wasn’t sleeping too well anyway, but I could feel the water coming up through the sides of the tent, getting all of our stuff wet.Â Not a pleasant feeling.Â The next morning it continued to rain,Â but I had my trusty poncho, so I was ok.Â My friend, MJ, couldn’t find her rain gear, but came up with a very creative idea.Â She used the red-checked plastic tablecloth as her poncho.Â She looked just like Little Red Riding Hood.Â It was hilarious, with all the looks she was getting from passers-by.

Now it’s Tuesday, and I have finally gotten all of my camping gear dried off, just in time to enter the Michigan State Fair with my sheep fleeces, gourds, mini Indian corn, and dill.Â I’ll keep you posted on my winnings.