carol cypher felted cane workshop

Last week I attended a wet-felting workshop taught by Carol Cypher. She was teaching how to make a complex cane – with felt! I’m interested in integrating felt into my polymer work and the workshop was really a primer for me on how to begin the wet-felting process – the fact that it was a cane was an added bonus – interesting to see this idea translated into another medium.

Carol was wearing a wild necklace with enormous felted cane beads that was a real conversation starter but I was so busy rolling bundles with my hands and feet (I’m not kidding) that I forgot to take pictures. Unfortunately I can’t show you her necklace, but here’s my first attempt at making the felted cane beads – not too bad. They were felted correctly so I was happy about that. Now I just need to work on that color scheme!

Primarily a seed bead artist, Cypher fell in love with felting almost twenty years ago. A free-spirited soul with a generous heart and an obvious love for fiber, she teaches all over the country and is the author of two felting books (you can find links to the books in the side bar). Cypher is a warm, giving teacher who easily engages students and the class is designed so that you can’t help but have fun! I am eager to return to Beadzo in Tivoli for her next workshop in September. Hopefully I’ll have something to show by then. For now you can take a peek at the beginning of my felting adventure…

Roving bundles on the left – felted on the right. Can you guess what I am going to do with them?

More felted bundles all lined up.