I sure hope the rest of you had a weekend as inspiring as I had! In my last post, I mentioned the Betz White bag-making/felting workshop at Panopolie in Raleigh I was planning to attend. It was six hours of awesome! Betz was super friendly and very knowledgeable, not to mention armed with the most incredible stash of felted sweaters I've ever seen. She showed us a big pile of her own projects to demonstrate what sorts of bags were possible and then just turned us loose on her felt stash, offering quick technique lessons here and there when asked. It was so liberating to just wing it with the supplies in front of me for a change, not least because all my sewing projects lately have been of the follow-all-the-rules garment sewing variety. Biggest lesson learned? Loosen up sometimes, Kim! I made the bag shown left, among a few other projects.
I also picked up a copy of Betz' new book, Sewing Green, while I was there and I strongly encourage you all to get one for yourselves. There are some amazing project ideas, all beautifully photographed, and I've been inspired all weekend long. I've already been to a local thrift shop for some cast-off cashmere sweaters in Easter egg colors. Once I accumulate a few more, they're going to enjoy a second life as a felted cashmere throw
for my oldest daughter who's getting her own room in the near future. Have a sneak peek at some of Betz' project photos, including her felted cashmere blanket, here!
