"Katia's" shawl

The shawl I made in Katia's workshop

was nearly finished when I took it home.

I knew I wanted to do some stitching with the machine

(like Katia herself does)

and also some stitching by hand.

But when trying it on when it was totally dry

made me realize I didn't like the way it lay around my neck.

I like it because it's beautiful

but I also want it to be comfortable and warm !

I had my doubts about making it wet again

and trying to shrink it some more

in the right place

.....

I decided against that 

but made some very narrow pleats instead !

That just did the trick  ;-)

The pleats (that you can see at the back of the collar)

take enough of the extra space away

so now it fits much better.

I'm very happy with the way the silk

(habotai and chiffon)

that Fiona handdyed for me some time ago merges into the wool.

The habotai took a bit more effort 

(uhhhhm ..... a sander) 

but it looks very nice !

The "button" was in fact a mother of pearl disc

with only one big hole .....

so I put a little felted ball on top.

(for the inside of the machine stitching

I used the same rayon thread 

but only in a dark turquoise colour so you hardly notice it)

Very happy !

Thanks again Katia !

I learned a lot ... (post 555)

Last Friday and Saturday I was in Amersfoort

for the long awaited workshop with

Katia Mokeyeva

I admired her felt work for a loooong time,

so I was glad to be able to attend her workshop !

Because it was a two day workshop,

I could stay with my brother and his wife who live near Amersfoort :

mmmmmm ... just to come home after a long felting day

and have diner right away.

what a luxury !

The first day was used for a lot of explaning of different techniques and layers

and all of us began the lay-out of a big shawl.

We had lunch, coffee tea and talked a lot about our plans.

On the second day the actual felting could begin,

we had another lunch, lots more coffee and tea

and gradually more and more shawls were nearly finished.

We tried them on 

(still wet, which isn't very comfortable ... !)

with a little helping hand of the "master"

And when you look at the smiles :

HAPPY with the result !

(but not yet finished : a lot of stitching and a button are still needed)

Then there was still enough time left for some of us

to give the arm warmers a try ...

(I used some gorgeous handdeyed wool of Adrian for them !)

They were still wet, but finished.

Totally dry at the end of Sunday I could start with the stitching :

uhhhhhm : a bit like Swiss cheese ...

only a different colour !

I'm sure I'll make these warmers 

(or the other pattern ) again some other time !

THANKS  KATIA !

I had a wonderful time

and learned  A  LOT !