Big changes at Outback Fibers

Well...I always knew I was never the kind to be able to keep a daily diary, so many months have gone by since my last post. That said... much has occurred during those months.

Outback Fibers (as in Mark and Jill and their "stuff") relocated to the tiny town of Coaldale, CO

in the Bighorn Sheep Canyon, leaving behind the 100+ degree heat of Texas in July of 2011.  A 60'x40' metal building is nearing completion and will become the new home for all our wonderful fibers. In addition, we have room to host some exclusive retreats and felting workshops in the near future.

Close to the town of Salida, which features many artists and galleries, we are alongside the Arkansas River, home to some of the best fly-fishing and river rafting, and ATV tours in the country.  So pull out that dusty old atlas (or for those who just love their computer... use googlemaps or click here for a map) and plan your next road trip to include the spectacular mountain scenery, a little hiking, a little fishing, and a visit to Outback Fibers studio.

Up and Coming Felt Artist

Anyone can take up the challenge of felting.  Recently, one of our customers told us about her daughter,  Haley Doherty needing to raise money for a school cultural trip.  Haley's mom, Lori, knew Linda Wright who is a felt artist and a customer of Outback Fibers.  Linda gave Haley a crash course in making felt flowers, fiber was purchased from Outback Fibers, and the rest is recent history.  Word of mouth and some leaflets spread the word about Haley's project, and ...  it looks like we have a new felt artist.  The decorative, colorful flowers are popping up everywhere in Haley's home town, decorating clothing, hair, hats, etc.  So far, she has raised over $3,000 since December. 

Way to go Haley!!

If you are interested in purchasing a beautiful felted flower send an email to loganbrry@aol.com .

Silk Hankies

Silk Hankies (mawata) are the latest rage... but not just for feltmakers this time.
Check out this link for some mittens made by simply knitting the hankies straight from the pile!









I used to knit more than I do, but these days my knitting is usually limited to the arrival of my grandchildren...
Here's my latest effort created for young Lachlan, born on January 10th.

Now if you're not into knitting and want to stick with your felting, just check out the video on using hankies in your felting project.

Hankies are a great way to add surface texture to your wet felting project.  As the wool base shrinks beneath the silk, it draws up the silk into pebbly puckers that can be emphasized by a minute or two in a hot dryer at the very end of the felting process while the felt is still slightly damp.

Hands Blanket

A close friend in our church community is hospitalized with oesophageal cancer.  As an expression of our care and love for him, the families of our group each traced their hand-prints, which were then enlarged by approx 40%.  The paper pattern was then cut from ProFusion prefelt for each of the hands.  The hands were then placed in their relevant family groupings on a base of double-thickness ProFusion, which was then wet felted.  You can see the tiny hand print of little Grant, our newest grandson, in the top left-hand corner grouping.  He was only 6 days old at the time we traced his hand. 

  

The blanket/throw is now in Al's room at the VA hospital where he has been since September.  He recently penned a poignant letter to the fellowship group to express his thoughts.  We continue to keep him and his wife, Rita in our thoughts and prayers.