Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Another Bowl Finished

The most recent bowl is finished and this is by far the most unusual texture I've ended up with in a felted object. It is definitely my favorite at the moment. I still have six skeins of this yarn and I'll be making some kind of felted bag with it; I might have to drop by the LYS and see if they have any more. The yarn I used was Tahki Yarns-Shannon; color 16. I know at one point that the LYS had this in a turquoise color too. Hopefully they still have some on the shelves.

Bowl measurements (after felting)
Height: 4 inches
Circumference: 29.5 inches
Width: 9 inches
Opening: 7 inches

These two little thumbnails show the detail of the texture before and after the attack of the fabric shaver. It really had a big effect on the finished project. I would definitely felt with this yarn again, it wasn't cheap, comparable in price to Noro Kureyon. It did felt a lot quicker for me than the Noro does and that is a big bonus.


And speaking of fabric shavers - my trusty little fabric shaver conked out on me during my previous felting project. So I had to get a new one. I'm not sure what everyone else uses for felting projects. I'm sure some don't defuzz at all. I just don't like the fuzzy texture. I've never tried a sweater stone, so I can't comment on how effect that method is. I did try a razor and found that it took way to long and I was always afraid that the blade would cut through something. So I've stuck with the fabric shaver.

This is a picture of the three fabric shavers that are currently residing in my knitting gear. The little red one is the one that gave out - the motor is dead. I had to change the batteries (2 AA) in it for each project and the lint had to be emptied often. It lasted about a year and really worked pretty well for that time. I bought it at Bed, Bath, and Bankruptcy and it was about $10 dollars. (It did come with a lint roller.) The little blue and white one was purchased at Wally World and was in the $5 dollar range. It was a complete waste of money. It hardly takes any fuzz off at all. The large one is the new one. It takes twice as many batteries as the other two (4 AA), but it also came with an adapter and can be plugged into the wall. The surface area of the shaver head is about twice as large too. This one was just over $20 dollars (including shipping). I bought it online from a sewing supply company. Hopefully it will last. I've got several felting projects in the cue, so it will be getting a thorough work out.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great bowl! The yarn really did well. Wish I could feel the texture. I'm glad you like the finished product. The tourq in that yarn should be fab!!

turtlegirl76 said...

Crap, that little blue and white one is the one I own. I've been planning on using it on my felted projects when they seem to need it. Now I know how that's gonna go. *sigh*

That bowl is very cool looking!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the info on the sweater shavers. I almost just bought the kind that was worthless. I've used disposable razors, but it would be too easy to shave too closely. I'm going to get one like yours. Posting bowl comments at the Knitty Coffeeshop.

Knittypants said...

Your bowl turned out great. So different and interesting than most of the felting I've seen.

Rain said...

It's gorgeous. I wish I could touch it as the texture looks amazing.

Zonda said...

Wow, that is so nice! All those colors and textures! I hope it is for you to enjoy!

Great job!

Bezzie said...

Ooo!!! That's cool! It almost looks like a piece of glazed clay pottery!

Carol Bristol Designs said...

Please feel free to email me if you ever have any questions/concern regarding my patterns, the address is printed on each pattern. The gauge for the yarn I used was 2.5 sts/inch. And the measurement was around the entire bowl. The omissions/typos have been corrected to the pattern and are also on my site.
Thanks for knitting my patterns!

Anonymous said...

I love this bowl,,, which pattern do you like best ? thanks , Judy

sgeddes said...

Judy -

You didn't leave an e-mail so I'll answer here...
This bowl is actually my favorite. It is the Sedona Bowl pattern from Carol Bristol at http://bristolknits.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Wow! Your new bowl is BEAUTIFUL! Thanks for the pattern source too :) ps. I've made a first bowl and am very proud of it, now I'm thinking about giving it a shave!
Becky, Denver

Anonymous said...

The best thing to use is a fabric shaver. These little things come in real handy.