2020 Arizona Fiber Arts Retreat

2020 AFAR Workshop: (back row) Colleen Murphy, Sharla Peterson, Louise Love, Maona Grabscheid, Kathy Lohr, Joanne Nunn, Patti Dowd; (front row) Mali Pistiner, Kim Buchheit, Karen Billideau (not pictured: Gayle Starr and Shannan Cambern)

Last week's 9th annual Arizona Fiber Arts Retreat (AFAR) was a fantastic success. This event, hosted by the talented and generous Kimberly Hatch, brings together fiber lovers of all stripes to share ideas, learn, discover new tools and methods, purchase fiber and other goodies, and enjoy being with kindred spirits. I was honored to be able to teach (with the help of my ever-supportive hubby) a full-day workshop with an amazing group of students. We cut out botanical shapes from pre-felts (ala Matisse) and felted them into our vessels with great results. Every finished vessel was unique and lovely — just like each workshop participant. Thank you to all who attended my workshop and for all who make AFAR the incredible fiber event that it is! See you next year (Save the date: Jan. 13-16, 2021) :)

Nuno-Felt Scarf with Prefelts

© 2011 Kim Buchheit. Nuno-felt scarf.

I made some prefelts the other day and cut out several circles to include in this lively design. I used only kool-aid dyed merino wool and silk in the piece. The kool-aid bled a bit during the hot water stages (meaning the dye was not completely "colorfast") — the bleeding came mostly from the silk scarf, I think. However, by the time I did the final warm-water vinegar rinse, the water was running clear. Regarding the prefelts: I loved working with the prefelt cutouts and am surprised how well the cut pieces retained their shape during the felting process!