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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Once Upon A Time

When I was first learning to wash fleeces, I was told that rather than pulling all the wool out of the washer to refill the machine with hot water that I could just push the wool over to the far side as it was filling. Yes, that's true. I did it quite a few times. However, the One Time I got side tracked and the machine started agitating... Well, you know what happened.



"You did WHAT to my wool?!?"

It was, of course, a favorite sheep with a favorite fleece (Jester :-o) and even though it only agitated for probably less than a minute, it came out as a big rope of Jacob sheep dreadlocks.

Ruined.

Or was it?



I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. It was Jester after all. And it still was beautiful. It just needed a different job. I often wondered if I had let it agitate a little longer if it would have come out as a solid circle and look like a wool washing machine shaped wreath. I liked the idea, but stewed on it forgot about it for a few years.



I pulled it down out of the loft over the weekend and decided to try wrapping the rope of dreadlocks around a wire wreath form. Perfect!

I anchored it with some yarn - just simply tied a piece around the whole form about every 4-6 inches and snipped the tails. The wool completely hides the yarn.

I then took a felting needle and touched up any spots that looked like they needed it.



I wanted something for the bow that was either wool related or at very least natural looking, rather than plastic/nylon/polyester. This is an old felted (on purpose) sweater...that might look a bit familiar to some of you.



The Jacob sheep horse harness brass was an eBay find I think. That too was several years ago and it has been sitting around waiting for a job as well. Sometimes it pays to hang onto stuff ;-).

I'm not sure if I just got lucky with this or if it's repeatable...on purpose. The wreath is pretty neat though I think and might be a great way to utilize a fleece that wasn't an exceptional spinning fleece. If you try one yourself, let us know if it works!

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Random.org picked #1 in the Christmas card giveaway. Congratulations Susan :-). Drop me an email with your address and I'll get them sent right out...as opposed to the calendars that are still not ready to mail - a stapling issue of some sort. Hang tight!

34 comments:

Dianne@sheepdreams said...

Great save! I did the same thing to my very first fleece, but it turned into a rug! I just might try this.

Alice said...

What an adorable wreath! Such ingenuity! I hope you have shown this to Jester in reparation for letting the washing machine agitate his fleece. I think it was meant to be creatively used all along. Love the red bow AND the jacob door knocker. How cool is this total ensemble!!!

Gayle said...

You are one clever lady. Love the wreath....it's a perfect look for a sheep farm.

tonya said...

wow - your idea turned out great! the different colors in the fleece was perfect too! love it. (and the extras are such nice touches) If you start mass producing these, and run out of the red felted wool, i wonder what a frayed burlap ribbon would look like sashed around it?

Michelle said...

Genius! I'll bet your subconscious had this planned all along - either that, or a mischievous little elf did!

Susan said...

That is downright amazing. Wish I had such a nicely coloured fleece - I doubt if a black or moorit wreath would have the same effect.
And -- yay for me! Sent you an email.

Camp said...

MORE THAN Martha Worthy! I bet she'd be jealous of such a treasure. Great job..now we all want "a mistake" wreath..get busy sista!

small farm girl said...

That is just BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I have GOT to have on of those!!!!!!!!

Tombstone Livestock said...

Fantastic save, you probably could not have done that good if you did it on purpose. Love the way the black and white are spread out thru the wreath. Bow and Jacob medal really make it complete.

janna e said...

WOW!!! What a stunning wreath! Love the red bow with the Jacob spotty wool rope!

Sheepmom said...

That is just awesome! Very classy looking and festive. Bow and horse brass are perfect. Things don't have to be green, red, or gold to look Christmas-y. If you see a wreath like this from THE Martha you'll know there's been some intellectual property infringement issues!

Great save on a pretty fleece!

Sarah said...

could you please accidently ruin another fleece so that I can have a wreath? I LOVE it! It's gorgeous!

Christine said...

Brilliant! I want one! I wonder if you could do this with bunches of britch wool? Hmm...

Linda said...

That's what I'd call a great mistake!

Marcy said...

LOVELOVELOVE the wreath!! The texture and colors are irresistable. You did good!

Sassafras and Winterberry said...

As a serious wool addict...I adore this wreath!! I'm so glad it found it's true calling!

Lori Skoog said...

Ooooo Sara! The wreath is exceptional! By Jove, I think you've got something and it's going to start a trend around the world.

melanie said...

Stunning!

Dreaming said...

Wow! Holy cow....er... sheep!

Brynwood Needleworks said...

My goddness! Your wreath is gorgeous. What a wonderful repurposing! Thanks for sharing your work, and Merry Christmas!

farmlady said...

That is brilliant!!.. and beautiful.

Sue said...

What a great wreath! It's always nice when our mistakes can turn out so nice.

I'm gonna tell Mom! said...

I. LOVE. that. Wreath.

kim

Jennie C said...

That is the coolest wreath Sara and what a great idea :)

Nancy K. said...

You are amazing!

Your wreath is GORGEOUS!

Anonymous said...

Great save - very cool!

Ed said...

I hate it when I get agitated for more than a minute too, cool wreath, great save..:-))

Lindy and Paul said...

This is SO cool, and even better being a two-toned (Jacob) fleece!

Terry and Linda said...

Wonderful! Perfect for your farm!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.scom

Just Ramblin' said...

Beautiful wreath! Very clever and creative. : )

cyndy said...

Great Wreath!

Once again, you have shown that there really isn't any "bad wool", just depends on the project you have in mind ;-)

(judging from all of the comments here, I'd say your project is a keeper!)

Anonymous said...

Absolutely gorgeous!

Mud Ranch said...

It's beautiful! I love it... Great idea! :) I just may have to try this.

Anonymous said...

wow! what a wonderful wreath! looks fabulous in the jacob black and white-

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