In last night’s blog post I stated the following:
My plan for tomorrow morning (after a strong cup of coffee and some breakfast), is to finish securing the pieces and adjusting the placement of the handles. This will leave the afternoon to finish the process of felting.
My morning (happily) went as planned.
Once my son was off to school, and breakfast was done, I got out the assortment of yarns I had been using to more firmly secure the decorative elements of Michele Wilcox’s Rose Garden Tote, my trusty Clover bent-tipped yarn needle, and with a strong cup of Major Dickason’s Blend at the ready to fuel my efforts, I got to work.
Despite the sort of interruptions one experiences when one stays at home, by noon, I had secured all of the leaves, flowers, and curliques in need of additional securing, as well as crocheted a slip stitch around the top of the bag to pull in the sides a bit and make the top edge of the bag a bit firmer:
With everything in place, it was time to begin work on the final felting.
I got out my power washer, my Shout color-catcher sheets, a bottle of Dawn ultra dish detergent, and a gallon of white vinegar.
I put in way too much of the dish detergent and ended up using a good amount of the vinegar to eliminate as many of the bubbles as I could. While some bubbles help with felting, the pressure washer full of them that I had created was not helpful as the tote was more or less ensconced in a protective cocoon of them.
But my goal was to rehab this bag, so I persisted, taking occasional breaks to play with my dog and drink coffee. Eventually, I had put in enough vinegar to eat through the bubbles, and then, right around 3:00, the felting began to coalesce, and while there was still a bit of work to be done, it was apparent that the piece was nearly finished.
Once I was satisfied that there was no more felting to be done, I removed the tote from the pressure washer and wrung out as much of the water as I could by rolling it between towels; when all was said and done, here is how it looked:
So, in answer to yesterday’s question, “Can this bag be saved?” I think the answer is a resounding, yes.
Well done! It looks great and she’ll be happy to see the results, I’m sure.
Huzzah!
And a miracle worker too! After seeing your power washer, I had to get one also. It is sitting in its box waiting patiently for me to finish all my Christmas orders and then the gifts I still have left to make for family. In the meantime, I am collecting felting patterns of all sorts. There will be no post-holiday doldrums in this home!
perhaps one day when yo’ve time you will explain why you use this power washer for felting and not your regular washer…. doesn’t blazing hot water and the agitation shrink stuff well enough?
its was a beautiful act of kindness to have put in so much work on the bag for your friend. I love that!!!!
Looks great! You are so motivated, I wish I could work at your speed. Love your blog!
It looks great!
Wonderful! I had every confidence in you. How generous of you to help a fellow crocheter.
Fantastic job! I look forward to hearing more about the pressure washer, too. 🙂 I don’t want to have to buy another gadget, but would like to dabble in this technique some day. (slippers next on the horizon…)
I knew you could!!! looks great. I have never had the heart to “felt” but after all my Christmas Projects are done and given, I just might try something. Again Thank You for your inspiration….
A fantastic job to say the least…you are a wonderful crochet/felting doctor…I am going to have to get a power washer and take lessons from you, Leslie..
To all who read this post…Leslie is a wonderful friend to me…I am the one who sent her the bag!!