a joining of two lands

portland and shetland that is!

(oh i crack myself up sometimes. no, really, i do).

this is my first project using the portland that i washed the other week and it was a joy to work with!  the fibres have a lovely springy quality to them (not sure what the technical term is, possibly crimp?), a beautiful sheen and they are so soft.

i always forget to take photos of the process but here are a few i remembered to take along the way.

first, carding the portland

the resist, covered with grey shetland and white portland

after felting, now ready to remove the resist

and after a bit of rolling, and manipulating, the finished piece ... a vase wrapper

i think the sheltand and the portland have worked quite well together. they've felted in well, the portland was a little slower to felt and had a slightly smaller shrink rate than the shetland but not enough that it was a problem.  the surface of the portland is as 'fuzzy' (again lack of technical terms is letting me down!) as the shetland but much softer, in fact i can't help touching it every time i walk past!

perfect for displaying some dried grasses