What a fabulous group of ladies to spend a day with, rubbing bits of wool together! Nine bright eyed and bushy tailed felt makers turned up at the studio, ready to blow up their balls and make gorgeous hats
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Enthusiasm certainly wasn't in short supply: I left the room for a couple of minutes, and by the time I got back, there they were, proudly displaying their inflated spheres ...

After preparing our designs and laying these out on our balls - some used silk fabric and fibres, whereas others chose to create motifs with needlefelt, while one student preferred to make a plain hat in order to concentrate on the technique - we then started to apply the Piiku wool.
Wet wool obeys the laws of gravity, and there were a few concerns expressed about "droopy bottoms" and "soggy underneath bits", but all's well that ends well. And that same maxim applies to valves (the balls are inflatable/deflatable) that inadvertently disappeared under layers of wool. We found that Carey had a particularly sensitive, touch when it came to locating these, and her psychic gift was called upon on more than one occasion.

Once the felt had formed a skin, the ball was removed, and the designs were stablised. The fulling process then commenced, shrinking the hat down to size and hardening the felt.
A rinse, a spin, et voila - time for the photo opportunity!

As always, everyone appreciated Nina's wonderful skills as a host, offering not only this unique workspace, but also copious amounts of drinks and delicious nibbles (including, on this occasion, a home made banana cake).