hermit felt 
Carmen Ditzler 

I take wool from sheep that has been sheared, washed, combed and sometimes dyed and make it into a strong, warm, flexible fabric,  I add other fabric like cotton, wool and silk and other fibres like silk, bamboo, and combine it all together.  Wool roving is layed out in shingles, wet with warm soapy water and massaged and rolled.  Other fabrics and fibres can be added to change the colour, texture and design.  The wool fibres have scales that open and link and hold together- pre-felt.  The whole piece is then tossed, rolled, rubbed and shrinks to form a whole piece.    This process is endlessly fascinating to me as it defies predictabliliy.  I never know what the exact result will be and how the layers of colour and fabrics link and meld together.   Stitching, textures, resists, beads, sticks, stones....  I become an alchemist and combine the parts to become something more.   There are endless possibilities, infininte combinations and techniques and a lifetime of wonder.   Wool is an earth friendly renewable material.