Felt So Good 70+ Felted and Plain Wool Designs For You and Your Home by Tone Rørseth

Such an exciting book review!  I was given the opportunity to review this book from Sellers Publishing and I was immediately excited!  I went straight to the internet to check out a preview of the book.  You can check out the preview on Amazon here.  I was antsy and stalked our mailman and the delivery guys until it finally arrived!  I am just getting in to felting (aside from accidentally felting fleeces- oops!) and I was really excited to start flagging projects to do.

Felt So Good 70+ Felted Plain Wool Designs For You and Your Home by Tone Rørseth

Another beautiful cover!  The projects immediately draw you in and there are examples of easy and more advanced items on the cover which is nice because it brings in advanced felters and doesn't scare off newer felters.  The author's forward says it all with "You only need a little enthusiasm and imagination.  No education in crafts is necessary."

The Basics
The book has a quick well written summary of the materials used in the projects and well written information on the techniques used for the projects.  Coming from a fiber background I can suggest both roving and top.  For felting both work well and I will include some fiber information at the end of this review for good felting fibers.  The book is very well printed and all of the photography is lovely.  I didn't expect any less from an author who is also a photo stylist though.  (She is pretty awesome!  I will get to that later too.)  The back of the book is loaded with patterns.  They are positioned well on the page so that you do not do much damage to the spine of your book when you copy them.  You can purchase the book directly from the publisher here.  It is also available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  

Projects

All of the projects are well written and easy to follow.  Every one of the project instructions is very simple and concise.  Seriously the hardest thing in any of the projects is sewing which can easily be done by hand if you do not own a machine or do not know how to operate one.  For a lot of the projects if you have crafting supplies or old wool clothing on hand you may not need to purchase anything at all!  I love impromptu crafting especially because the nearest craft store is two towns away!  As I read each project I took note of the projects that I can do without buying any supplies and flagged those and I flagged a few that I wanted to pick up some new supplies for and a few projects I have in mind for craft time with my kids.  As a mother of two young children it is double points for projects that I can get my kids involved in.  Especially things that my under 2 year old can help with! I have already started a few Braided Headbands for my daughter and my niece.  I also have roving all sectioned out and ready to make the Necklace with Felted Wool Balls, My husband also has surgery this week so I specially dyed some roving for him to create the Bird Pincushion while he is home.

The Author

Tone Rørseth has a background in jewelry making and design.  She is a graduate from the Beckmans School of Design in Stockholm, Sweden.  She got in to felting when her little one started school and she joined a felting group with the other moms.  It inspired her to create this wonderful book after she realized how easy and rewarding it is to felt.  I spent some time trying to find some more of her work but just about everything is in a foreign language.  The book after all is Scandinavian felt designs. Nevertheless it is very apparent that she is very competent at what she does.  She is also a photo stylist for various interior design magazines.  (She is on the inside for trending fashions!)

Final Breakdown
I am very excited to be doing crafts from this book.  I ordered some felt and picked up some from the craft store.  It was a little short for my headbands so I improvised on the first ones and Tone even says to make the projects your own.  I used some cream felt, a 1/4 inch orange ribbon and a 1/2 inch brown ribbon and I am going to add the orange flower to it for a real fall inspired headband.  I raided my craft closet and picked out numerous ribbons to use in headbands.  I cannot wait until my longer felt comes in!  I am also on the hunt at local thrift shops for sweaters to complete a few projects.  My kids and I are going to make Wool Ball Necklaces this week.  We were unfortunately delayed last week by the lack of skewers in our household.  Oops!  All of the patterns seem very easy to create and would be great projects for a lot of ages so you can get your kids involved too or give the book as a gift to older kids or teenagers too!  I think a lot of the projects would definitely catch a teen's eye and keep them busy!  I really enjoyed how easy the book is.  Simple but all of the projects are very lovely.  They would make great handmade gifts or for your holiday craft festivals or stock items for your online shop.  I would definitely recommend this book to others.  Especially those who really enjoy wool or fiber in general but don't know where to start.  There is a lot you can do with very little investment.


Fiber Supplies
I have learned the hard way what will not felt so please let me share the knowledge that a very large group of fiber junkies has shared with me: down breeds just don't felt.  Not how you want them to.  It is easy to find people willing to share fiber.  Different types of wool are great for different  purposes and some are multipurpose.  Merino is a great felting fiber.  Look for plain Merino not a blend and be sure to make sure it is not super wash.  Super wash is specifically intended to not felt.  Suffolk and Southdown also do not felt well- if at all and neither does silky mohair.  (Oops!)  I can say though that Targhee, Cheviot, Rambouillet, and BFL all felt well.  Merino is what has been recommended to me time and time again.

As far as tools you don't have to look to far!  Michaels carries a ton of different felting tools and they are reasonably priced.  You can also get felt and small bits of roving there too,  I will write a post specifically about fiber products in the next few days with more information.

A&D Boutique is Making A Comeback!

I know that over the last year a lot of stuff has been on the back burner.  Life happens and with that our life evolves, things change, some things get crazy and some things level out.  In our "life storm" as I call it I have been working my booty off to build up my business so that I can re-open with a big bang.  Here is a wonderful quote that I have been living by recently:  "Life is like a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats." - Voltaire.

I have been singing my lungs out.  I have spent quite a bit of time learning new techniques and learning new crafts so that I can include more things in my Etsy store and offer more at the shows and fairs that I will be starting to do this Fall/ Winter.  I have also been taking classes to better my small craft business.  It all comes down to making a better product and experience for my customers.

"Life is like a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats" -Voltaire

Working Towards Re-Launch
During my work towards a re-launch of my Etsy store I have learned how to make jewelry, spin yarn, design beautiful art yarn, dye fiber using multiple techniques and I have been working on a LOT of crochet projects. Knitting is coming soon too as my Mom has requested a knitted sweater for Christmas.

These are examples of a necklace and bracelet that I learned how to make.

Focusing on All The Right Stuff

I have wondered if investing the time in to my Etsy business is worth it.  Not speaking monetarily of course because I have some of the greatest customers but in terms of using the time to focus on other things.  I realized that my business is not just work.  It is my outlet.  It is a love that I have that nourishes my soul that keeps me grounded.  Art has always been a great love for me.  Pretty much any kind of art.  I learned how to do wood burning as a young kid.  I have loved photography since I can remember and I got my first camera TWENTY YEARS AGO!  Okay that makes me feel old.  I have dabbled in so many different arts and it is very important for me to share the love with my own children.  I realized that by working on my business and showing my kids a good work ethic even though I am a stay at home Mom it teaches them that you can live a balanced life even if you are a SAHM.  Hopefully it sends a very positive message to my kids. Not to mention by doing projects with my kids and sharing my love for art it is teaching my kids to love and appreciate art as well.  My son absolutely loves to dye fiber with me.  It doesn't matter if we are dying yarn or roving or wool locks he is the first one to the counter in the kitchen.  He probably gets more excited than I do.  Now where does my husband fit in to all of this?  I have not mentioned him at all so far.  In my quest to learn how to spin yarn and learn about dyeing my husband has picked up his own love for fiber.  He has a greater appreciation for a slower life and when he gets out of the military his plan is for us to ranch and have a flock of sheep.  His choice of the breed of the sheep changes pretty regularly still as he learns more but it is still the plan.  He is devoting a lot of his time to learning all he can about ranching and animal sciences and of course about fiber.  He knows more of the specifics about more fibers than I do now.  He is also getting everything set up so that he can go back to college (hopefully this Fall) so that he can start working on his degree with an emphasis on ranch management and animal sciences.  What a bunch of crazy changes huh?

Some super pink "Red House Original" yarn.  

100% Organic California wool and was dyed with food grade dyes.  

Ready, Set, GO! 

Over the next few weeks I will be getting all of my stock photos together so that I can plan a soft launch the first week of August and a full launch the second part of August.  I am coming back full force and utilizing a business plan and setting short and long term goals.  I am very thankful for CreativeLive's amazing online workshops for making me realize that I am not just a crafter.  I am a business person and even though I am not looking for a business loan and I am not opening a brick and mortar store (at this point anyway) it does not take away from the fact that I am a business person.  I have an office and stock and inventory with a closet full of supplies and the tools and knowledge to make beautiful products.

Baby Z wearing a camo newsboy hat and diaper cover set.

What to Expect 
One thing that I am really excited about is I am selling items I have in stock.  There will be very few orders for custom items and they will all be done through direct client purchases and not through my Etsy.  It really cuts the stress down exponentially this way.  I will be doing bi-weekly shipping on orders on Tuesdays and Thursday or Friday depending on if it is a holiday weekend (I live on an active military base with an under active post office).  I will be offering the option of custom dyed yarn and fiber as I add things to my shop.  Of course if there is something anyone would like to see that is not listed a quick email will likely get the item listed as soon as possible.  This also helps if you are looking for custom dyed yarn or fiber as I won't carry every conceivable variation of colors.  I will also start featuring new fiber items I have never offered before like nuno felted scarves and felted art pieces.  Another awesome new feature will include information on the pattern used in the product descriptions.  I work mainly with RAKJpatterns and that is a big part of who I am as a crocheter and I am always sharing the brand so I think for those who see something and love it and it sparks an interest in learning crochet it gives them a push in the right direction.  That is how I started and I think it is a great way for me to pay it forward in my business.

Ocean Air Cloche hat in Berroco Merino/ Silk yarn hand dyed "berries" colorway.

Call to Other Bloggers!! 
I wanted to include a call to other bloggers in this post.  Specifically bloggers who crochet or knit or use yarn for crafting.  As I develop my selection of hand spun yarns I would love to send some samples or mini skeins out to be tested by other bloggers who will make something with the yarn and write a blog about it.  I would also be interested in fashion, handmade, crafting etc. blogs doing an article on a finished piece of work.  I would send you a piece from my collection and you would write a review on it.  If you are interested in either of these options please let me know by email at aascottphotography@gmail.com.

Call to Photographers!!
A part of my letting some things go will be letting some of the photography go as well.  This calls for a great need for newborn photographers.  At this point I know that I cannot dedicate enough time to newborn photography and I am actively looking for a wonderful photographer to partner up with to handle model photography with my newborn items in exchange for some awesome new props for their studio.  If you are interested or know someone who may be interested please have them contact me at aascottphotography@gmail.com.

Stay Tuned for More Exciting Information 

From A&D Boutique