Working with Wool ~

I love 

W O O L

I love the way it looks, feels 

...and yes

the way it even smells ~

'1863 sheep' ©Notforgotten Farm

I love my sheep, and the gentle manner they have.

...not to mention that they gift me with plenty of ~

W O O L

 our gentle ram, Bobby ~ (baaaa-bee…get it?)

I have worked with wool

in it's many forms

for many years ~

I hook with it

I appliqué with it

I felt it….

some of my wools and their snippets in glass jars

I dye it

rip & strip it

and collect every last scrap of it ~

I don't usually work with worsted wool ~

(wool that has been dyed & spun into yarn)

unless I'm doing needlepoint or crewel embroidery….

so pretty

We carry the complete line of Waverly Woolen yarn in the shop ~

a mesmerizing rainbow of colors that I never even knew existed.

the yarns are 3-ply and come in 55 inch lengths…

my binder of wool yarn sampler with their corresponding color charting numbers

Always looking for something new to try or do,

my thoughts turned to what I was doing at the moment, 

which was needle punching…

 so While Joan & I were in the shop yesterday,

I did this:

I separated the 3 ply yarn into one strand and threaded my medium Cameo needle with it….

 I was a bit worried that it would be too bulky for my needle, 

but I went ahead and threaded it.

Below is a closeup of what the yarn looks like vs. 6 strands of DMC cotton floss:

looks a lot bigger than the floss
BUT it really isn't!   it's just fluffier :)

 So I plunged my needle down into my weavers cloth ~

I already had been working on my Hookinpunch© frame 

...and had some designs already drawn up on my cloth.

I started punching a little red house with the wool yarn!!

this is the back ~ see how the fluffier wool yarn bulks up quickly and fills in nicely?
I think I might be loving this….

 Here is a rabbit I punched with 6 strands of DMC cotton floss:

the rabbit was punched on the #1 setting on my medium needle,

 his tail was punched on the #6 setting for dimension….

he looks a little 'skimpy'

meaning, the DMC isn't quite 'filling' up the motif ~

But then again, this is what I am used to…

bunny boy

 and below is the little red house punched using one ply of the wool yarn, 

set on the #2 setting on my medium punch needle ~

a lot 'bulkier' and less 'sheen' than the DMC floss….

and I think it resembles a miniature hooked wool rug better than the floss!

(although I will continue use floss in my work, but now I will use that wool yarn too!)

little red house

we calculated this:

Wool Yarn: 1 ply @ 110 inches = 1 square inch covered area

DMC Floss: 6 strands @ 175 inches = 1 square inch covered area

We sell the Wool yarn for .50 cents = (3 ply) x 55" length.

and since the Wool yarn 'fulls' nicely on the front of the project side, 

...it really is a good amount of coverage for the money (for wool that is ~)

back of 1x1 sq. inch punched on #2 setting using 6 strands of DMC floss

front of same above

back of 1x1 sq. inch punched on #2 setting using 1 ply Wool yarn

front of same above

...can you tell I'm a little excited?

yeah, I know ~

it's those 'little things', right?

LOL

my Hookinpunch© Frame all set up for me ~

and did I mention that my hubby is a genius?

(thank you Peter for designing this awesome frame for me (us!)

If you are one of our customers that pre-ordered one of our

Hookinpunch© Adjustable Frames, they are beginning to ship 

(in the order that they were purchased)

YAY!!!!

{{The recent storms have slowed us up a bit here, 

so please know we are working hard everyday to get yours to you asap :)}}

** ~ thanks in advance for your patience my Friends ~ **

now ~ back to work!

So tell me ~

have any of you tried needle punching with wool yarn?

(since it's new for me, I'd love to hear your experience with this, if any)

I'm not talking about wool floss (such as Gentle Art), 

nor am I referring to Valdani or any other perle cotton or worsted cotton..

I would love to know your thoughts about this and if you would be interested in 

using beautiful, 100% Wool yarn in your punching projects?

should i design some new punch needle patterns that call for/use this Wool yarn instead of cotton floss?

...would you like me to offer kits for my punch needle designs using this Wool yarn?

OR

how about another club?

this one would be exclusive to punch needle only…hmmmm?

have you any wool (yarn?)

Lots of things to think about here ~

please do let me hear from you…

I value your opinions and thoughts, 

and as a needlewoman/designer I know I just can't get enough input!!!

Happy Sunday my Friends ~ thanks for visiting &...

* Blessed be * 

Lori