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jottings of FeltHappiness
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Hello <<First Name>>,

 


Two weeks ago, I shared with you a couple of in-process photos of practice 'hats-to-be' for The Alice Springs Beanie Festival, an upcoming hat celebration in Australia. (If you missed this newsletter, you can read a version of it over on my website.) 

Anyway, I managed to finish all four of the 'practice' hats and create listings for two of them. Hooray!  Tomorrow, I will add the other two hats to my shop.

Ideas Morph

However, in the slow and meditative process of feltmaking, instead of the hats being inspired by the Beatles' rather melancholy "The Long and Winding Road" as planned, I got REALLY into the trees and my memories of the wonderful, golden light of California (I lived in San Francisco for 13 years of my grownup life).

So I present to you, the tallest of the completed hats.

Two Oak Trees
Tall Ones

Both hats are rather on the tall side because I needed/wanted a 'large canvas' to show the trees. With their narrow, curving brims, they sort of fit like cloches. Yet, they are also sort of resemble English Police Officers' Custodian Helmets - The Bobby on the Beat!

Shaping Them

Typically, traditional milliners block their fur felt hats onto wooden blocks. However, I don't block my wool felt hats. Instead, I push and pull the damp felt with my fingers (and use household items like wooden spoons) to get the hat shape that I want - or think that I want. Consequently, it's interesting to see how the shapes develop.

On the hat above, a thick, woolen cord is sandwiched between layers of wool fiber. It doesn't shrink much as the rest of the wool. This difference helps to create a sculptural dimension between the edge of the trees and the rounded blue sky. (To see a really good example of this technique, visit my Candycane Witch Hat). For an excellent explanation of how this works, see Soosie Jobson's video).


One Big Tree

This big tree hat is rather abstracted and looks more tree-like when seen in the round. Hopefully, I will soon figure out how to do 360 videos of my newest hats!

If you would like to see both hats in my shop, they are 'parked' in my 'Other Hat Styles' section. They are not quite exaggerated enough to be considered 'Wizard Hats' right?
 
Visit Other Hat Styles
Next Up

I've cut out three new resists for some brimmed hats with a bit more wizard to them - well, at least one of them. With this batch, I hope to combine that Long and Winding Road with some trees.

We'll see how they turn out. Ideally, one of them will be good enough for the Beanie Festival in Australia.


Until next time, felt-fully yours,
 
Signature of me, Juliane


 

PS: You know how many folks have such fun trying on hats? (At least I have observed this to be so). Well, I came across a really brilliant idea from a small millinery company founded by two sisters. They host Hat Tea Parties where they provide all that is needed: antique tea serving stuff, the tea, the edibles, and of course, the HATS! 
 
Please feel free to share this newsletter with friends who like felt, hats or creativity!
Copyright © 2018 FeltHappiness, All rights reserved.


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