Like Socks, My Wooly Balls Keep Disappearing in the Dryer!

Now that I'm starting to feel better, 

I am noticing things that escaped me while I was sick.

I looked in the dryer today,

and,

there were only 4 wooly balls!

I had made 9!

Where they went,

I don't know, but it was time to make more!

I knew that, and since I'm still tired and need to take a chunk of time off each day, 

I sat down to watch TV and make more wooly balls!

I dug out the wool yarn, and while I watched TV,

I made

I now have 9 wooly balls again,

I wonder how long it will take for the dryer to eat them?

I'm glad I have the time!

So it Begins and Woolly Balls

I am writing this yesterday,

so,

as you read this,

Jenny's stem cell transplant has begun.

Here's what I know will happen:

Jenny will have a port installed today,

and

she will be given a high dose of chemotherapy.

What else will happen,

I don't know

but Wednesday will be a day of rest for her.

On Thursday,

her own stem cells will be reinjected into her body.

After that,

we wait.

More later.

Now, on to the real topic of this blog:

 

WOOLLY BALLS

Now, get your minds out of the gutter.

Here's what I mean when I say

WOOLLY BALLS!

(I'm giggling like when I was in high school.)

I'm sure you've seen them.

They are balls of wool that you felt and throw in the drier to speed up drying and the softening of your clothes.

I found several free tutorials online describing how to make them.

All of them are great, and best of all, they are free!

Here's how they look before you felt them the first time.

 

At this point, they are just wound balls of wool yarn.

After you wind them, you put them in old panty hose, tie a knot between each one,

then toss them in the washer with a HOT wash and a COLD rinse.

That's the first step in the felting process.

Then, still in the panty hose,

you toss the 

woolly balls

in the drier until they are dried.

You carefully cut the woolly balls out of the panty hose, and toss them back in the drier.

Sellers claim that these 

woolly balls

cut drying time anywhere from 20 -50%.

I don't know because I haven't tried them yet,

but once I do, I'll let you know.

That's what the woolly balls look like when they are finished and felted.

THE END!

Wily Wren Fibers at the Art Show and on Etsy

I met Liza Domeier at the St. Peter Art Center's Holiday Fare last Saturday. Liza is a fiber artist and sustainable farmer here in Southern Minnesota.

Liza brought some of her yarns, felted items, and her spinning wheel to the Holiday Fare. I was lucky enough to be in the booth next to Liza, and I was able to watch her spin and see her wonderful products!

As you can see, Liza brought her spinning wheel and gave some demos at the show. Her husband sheers the sheep, and Liza turns the wool into beautiful yarns and felted products.

Liza has a web site called Wily Wren Fibers.

On her website, you are able to see her wonderful hats and other items that she has available for sale.
























Things I learned about Liza. Liza has a Master of Arts degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato, with an emphasis in fibers and ceramics. Liza and her husband have a 30 acre bio diverse farm that includes a lot of sheep. Guess where the wool comes from that Liza uses? Not only that, Liza is the clay coordinator for the St. Peter Art Center. She teaches classes in clay and fiber. Liza also works at a local nursery where she is the vegetable grower. In the summers, she also has a sizable vegetable garden. To relax, Liza fishes for catfish in the river, and she plays the banjo. Oh, I almost forgot, Liza also has an Etsy store. I don't know how she does it all!

Now, you get to see what I bought from Liza at the show!
I bought a pair of her felted wool fingerless gloves. Aren't they amazing?




















Thanks, Liza! It was great to meet you!