In vested

The two circle vests were made the beginning of September and just photographed today, as I realized I hadn't taken any pics of them...they were fun to make, the first circular vest I made in July was so huge I had to work on the floor, which was no fun, and these two I made to fit a smaller person, and they just fit on my workbench, much easier but way way smaller.  I do like making them and would like to have a larger table to accomodate larger vests etc. but alas, where to fit it in my house....the other photo is of the wensleydale small neck collars, how I love those locks....I have been using them for years in my long boas, but decided to shorten them, as neck wraps and they are very cozy and flamboyant to wear but not toooo much. 
Went shrooming yesterday after our first day of rain in eons, and found some phaeolus schwienitzi, (*dyer's polypore) which was still young enough to give me yellows...I chopped it up and cooked it for only a short while then put the white collar in the strained bath, thinking I would tip it with iron
and get a lovely olive tone, but the yellow was so lemony and clear I decided to forget the iron altogether....these do not need a mordant as they are loaded with tannin, so make a lovely last minute dye bath...
the rains are here, and we are waiting for the mycelium to rise to the occasion...lol  and can't wait to go on a mushroom trip next somewhat sunny day.  now back to the wensleydale locks, next one is dyed with the semi sanguineas so is a lovely salmon colour.....oh nature's generosity never ceases to amaze...and that is without even freefalling from 27 miles up, just looking down seems to work just fine for me....lol

Saga of the Wensleydale Coat Vest

Here is the latest venture on the workbench...and it was a slog....long hours of felting, and then sewing, but well worth it, especially since it is for me.  I started being inspired anew by Terrie in Hong Kong, and photos of her lovely vests, so petite and doable...apparently I am
an amazon. Her vest looked so compact on the table, while mine took up a 4x8 piece of plywood to lay it out on....lol....and thinking I was making a short vest I ended up with a sleeveless coat which, in the end, was perfect....I do love surrendering to the materials and making them work for me.  This vest almost fell apart when I flipped it over to do the back, and I thought it was going to be a total loss....but perseverence furthers, and I kept at it, and it survived the saving.  I do run across this in many artistic endeavours...where I am working away happily, and oooooppppps something tragic appears to happen, and I think, oh, there it goes, no hope I have wrecked it, then breath, and think I will persevere, I hate this stage, but it seems inevitable so now it is almost part of the process for me.   I don't know if this happens to everyone, but it certainly happens to me every now and then, and when I do persevere, and "bite it" it ends up showing me valuable lessons in patience etc....so this vest too, took me through it, and it was a big hopelessness, as it was huge and weighed a ton....but it did pull through, and now I have a beautiful over vest for the winter months.  I trimmed out the armholes and the edges, and now just to make the right closure....
for the vivid details of the piece, I started with two layers of merino, then one layer of pelsul, and then the layer of the wensleydale curls...or the "golden fleece" as I call it, because I ordered it from england and it cost an enormous amount what with duty and shipping of 4 fleece. but well worth the money as I use it like crazy...love those long curls......
it will be awhile before I make another large project like this one....perhaps a yurt???? lol