A NICE/BEAUTIFUL BALL

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

This is on the web site of my favorite diaper cover maker (WAHM). I'm going to order one because I love her work and they look beautiful. I worry in my household with three retrievers and their facination over anything round. But wanted to share it might be a super sweet stocking stuffer for a little one...
http://www.kiwipie.wahmweb.com/store/

Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[houseof3boys]

It looks really cool. I hope you get one with a bell inside! :P

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

I'm going to request a bell...I assume you can!...my dogs are sure to ruin it, but they are so pretty!!!
Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[22tango]

My MIL makes those too...She gave me one when Karenna was little. You can even put a bell or rattle inside. If you want, I could try to find out how they're made so you could make your own for Tristan!

Edited to add: Here's an online site with directions and pictures!! http://gfwsheep.com/feltballs/feltballs1.html

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

Alice you rock!!! I never even imagined I could make them, I'd love to, they are so pretty. At first I didn't notice there was a part two to the process on those directions and worried that the felt looked like he could grab it off and choke on it. so anyone who visits that site notice to check the "part two" also...

I'm going to make some and I'll keep you posted!!!
So pretty!!!
Thanks again for sharing!!!

Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[22tango]

I'm so glad I could help!! :) I'm happy I found it too...I may just make a few! They look like FUN and sound EASY too!!!

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

Can you check with your mil and see where she purchases the felted wool for these...I'm inspired!!!

Thanks so much!!! I don't know where to begin in that search, and wondered if it would have to be done on line.
Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[Bethann31]

I'm not Alice, but I looked up wool roving on Google and found several sites. There are quite a few people who sell wool roving on ebay as well. I'm inspired too, and I think I'm going to pick up a small assortment of colors and see what I can do.

Beth
mom to 3 (13, 11 and 8) and then 1 more (06/04/03)

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

thanks I'll go check it out!!!
i was hoping a local place would have it, i suspect unless i make enough they'll cost more to make, but they look so pretty!!!
I wish you lived close we could do them together :)
Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[22tango]

I'm sorry...my MIL lives in Canada!! :( You could try your local yarn or fiber arts shop...if they don't carry it, they may know who does. I looked around online -- would you believe there's lots of roving wool for sale on EBAY!! LOL!

Boy, it would be nice to live near by so we COULD get crafty together!

Edited to add: Is there an ECHO in here?? Sorry Beth!!! I only read the first part of your response and then after posting and rereading the thread I realized I repeated your words! Oh well...

[hwin708]

I'm not completely certain, because I don't sew or anything crafty like that, but I do often go to an embroidery shop near my house because they do my tailoring, and they have wool that looks like this, near the yarn section. (I always have a lot of time to kill browsing while I wait). I would think most places like this would have wool - places like embroidery and knitting shops. The one near me is a very small uptown shop, so it's not even like they have a wide selection. I bet you could find it locally.

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

...for those that might want to make some :)
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?query=roving++wool&ht=1&sosortproperty=1&from=R10&BasicSearch=
Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[Bethann31]

No problem. Great minds think alike and all that.....
I do wish we all lived close, though, it looks like a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Beth
mom to 3 (13, 11 and 8) and then 1 more (06/04/03)

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

I really like this gal and she is very very familiar with making these balls and shared some info. She is putting together an order for me of colors I specified!!!

HERE IS HER EMAIL ADDRESS: [email protected]

Here is an informative email she sent me aftr i asked about a certain wool she had on auction...

Hi, you can choose any wool I have listed EXCEPT this one! This is what is
called superwashed. It has a coating on it to prevent it from felting. Some
auctions just say SW. You don't want superwashed wool. Felt balls are quite
easy and fun to do, can be done at the kitchen with warm soapy water. You
can through them in the washing machine or dryer too, when they are
partially completed. And you can needle felt too, but that is another story.

I would suggest you use corriedale wool, it makes a firmer, stronger ball,
that will wear better, it will take longer to felt than the merino. The
merino will make a softer ball that feels lovely to touch, but won't have
the strength to stand up to the riggers of a young child. fine for a bay,
yes beautiful for a baby, but for a toddler that you will soon have, I would
use corriedale.

In my store I have mixed colored packs, these may be good for you, and you
will have a lot of color choices. Good place to start for a beginner, you
could experiment with some of each type, and you can decide what you like
best. You can use white wool in the middle also, and keep your colored wool
for the outside where it will show.
I'm listing new wool all the time including today, if I haven't listed
something you wish to buy, let me know and I'll see what I can do, as I hold
a lot of wool in stock, and I used to just love making balls, I've sold
hundreds over the years!
Thanx for your mail
Jill

Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[Momof3Labs]

She has some pretty stuff!! Do you have any idea how many balls you can get out of the wool from one auction?

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

The sheet of paper I have says 1 oz per ball...evidently you can startt the ball with cheap white product, and this gal said you could even coat a tennis ball (I'm trying to find more info about that), in that case I'd think you might need less.

Yesterday I drove all over Raleigh looking for a yarn shop that I had called ahead of time to confirm they sold "bright colored, cobalt roving yarn" they said "yes...we have tons of colors"...I got there and they had white and brown!!!!! their cost was $1.65 and ounce. This gal has not gotten back with me with a price yet BUT she is putting me together a special selection of blues, one pink, copper, purple. I asked for enough to make about 10 balls. I suspect I'm buying aobut $20 worth of wool but the shipping is from New Zealand.

I'll keep you all posted on what I hear back. She has bounced me back many emails with speciifcs so I hope she'll shed light on to the process more for me. she discouraged the bells unless in a tennis ball, she said hard to hear and the wool mutes them...

Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

So I order $50 of wool...I go an spend $30 on balls in all sizes to make these damn balls...many for gifts...

Well I can tell you I wish I just spent the $21 to buy 32 grogeous ones from the gal at kiwipie because what I made did not turn out right and I;m just livid at what I have spent!!! I'm alsmot in tears, $80 would have bought Tristan something real nice I might as well throw this junk in the trash...

can you tell I'm mad????
Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[bluej]

I was so looking forward to making some of these after the holidays. Do you mind if I ask what didn't turn out about them?

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

They are sqwishy and not "hard"...and some of them have "puckered" at sites. I have emailed the super nice gal who I bought the wool from for advice, I don't know I think I'm mad that I bought so much wool with hopes of giving some to people who have gotten little things for us and that I feel like I owe back too ( I can't keep up and the guilt of that is enough to kill me in itself) so after spending so much I am just mad as a hornet right now!!!

I also found the directions that I pulled up from many sites to not be thorough, I mean how much does it take to just write down the process like a recipe??? I found them very confusing as if catered to people who knew how to use wool.

I am going to sell my wool on Ebay I have a good $35 worth of it left if you want me to alert you when I do...

edited to say don't le me discourage you...I'm jsut tired and upset I spent so much when I loved the ones that gal was selling and wish I bought them...I'm a nut!!!-I've spent all afternoon working on these so I'm just mad so ignore me, I don't get his way often but right now I am a pisser... :)
Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[22tango]

OH...how terrible!! :(

I'd be interested to hear what advice she gives you...I haven't tried them yet, but I want to!

I was curious, so I did some more online searching (particularly for instructions which referenced how "hard" the resulting ball would be.) Here's a few sites with more info that might help you decipher what went wrong!

Here's a quote from http://www.waldorfresources.org/gallery/designs/felteggs.php: You can stop working the ball as soon as it is the size and firmness you want. If you want it to be really firm, squeeze out the excess water and just roll it around between your hands, or against a towelled surface, using lots of pressure. Keep this up for several minutes and the ball will become much harder. (I do this at night while I'm reading, rolling the ball against the arm of my upholstered chair!)

And one from http://www.peak.org/~spark/feltballs.html (under the infor for a HARD "felt geode"): Once you have a good skin formed on the outside of the ball you can leave the thing to sit if you get tired of working it or you have other things to do. You can always come back to it and wet it again if the water has drained out of it and continue working it. If you work steadily it may take a couple of hours to get it really hard--depending, of course on your strength. For a really hard ball it helps to have an adult working it toward the end--though I've found that kids about 7 or 8 can get them really hard. It can be bounced or pressed down hard on a counter. Really squeezed with the fingers. I think this is a terrific exercise for strengthening hands---and good for arthritis.

The one my MIL made for Karenna is not especially "hard" nor very "soft". It does give some...but holds it's shape. I'll email her to find out what she did to make it.

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

I will go and do that, I did not realize that spending some time on it will fix it up some :)...
The gal emailed me back with a recommendation to put it in the dryer, but I had removed them from the stocking so was not certain that I could do it without the stocking. I am waiting for a response and will post it here once I get it :)
Please keep me posted as to what mom says :)

Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[22tango]

From my MIL: "I made my felt balls using the technique called
needle felting. It requires using a rather
lethal-looking needle-quite long, with barbs on the
pointy end.The continual poking, and gradual adding of
layers makes a nice compact ball. Once the ball was
the size I wanted, I wet-felted it with hot water and
gentle soap."

Sounds like her process was much more difficult :( I hope some of those other sites helped you!!

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

So I played with them some more and am much happier with the outcome BUT when I gave them to Tristan he was so happy and thrilled with the balls that they were worth all of the effort:)...he has been crawling around with two clutched in his hands, and just LOVES them.

Here are some pictures of the balls that I made, some are not totally round but they seem to be fine :)

I used 4 HUGE tennis balls bought at Walmart
about 6 regualr tennis balls
and 4 "rubber balls" found at Walmart in the birthday party aisle

http://home.nc.rr.com/ourbabytristan/images/ball31.jpg
http://home.nc.rr.com/ourbabytristan/images/ball34.jpg
http://home.nc.rr.com/ourbabytristan/images/ball35.jpg
http://home.nc.rr.com/ourbabytristan/images/ball38.jpg
http://home.nc.rr.com/ourbabytristan/images/ball39.jpg
http://home.nc.rr.com/ourbabytristan/images/ball43.jpg


Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[egoldber]

Neve, those are beautiful!

[Momof3Labs]

Those are so cool!!! I love the patterns! You have to keep on going - don't sell the extra wool on eBay!

[MamaKath]

Neve, Those are sooo neat!!! Tristan looks like he is having so much fun with them too! It makes me want to felt, as I am sure the pics on the diapering website made you want to felt. ;-) Should I try? Do you recommend it now that you have had a successful outcome? Can you write down the process you finally found to be successful?

TIA~

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

Thank you so much...
YES I would try just seeing the look on his face with them makes me say that!!!!

What I found to be the most successful thing for me to do was to tear (not cut) my felt (so when it had to "mesh" it was not straight edges, kind of like how we look at "tear vs cut" in healing). My prettiest balls I did last and I took two colors (maybe a bit of a third) and I played with them in my hands meshing them there before applying them.

I then put them in hot water with soap (instructions say to hold them carefully or use a big spoon) so I started the felting there so when I put them in a stocking to felt them more in the washer I didn't want the shoving of them in the stocking to ruin their form. That happend on some where it puckered in the stocking on one side.

I got my wool from this gal in New Zealand
[email protected]
She was very nice and put together a custom color package for me. I bought a lot of wool, infact I have used almost all of my pink (love the bright colors) BUT have tons and tons left. She was great and knew what I wanted, and sent me a picture of my colors before I paid.

actually the directions above posted by a member are the best ones I saw on the internet in that they showed pictures of the process...

Please keep us posted if you do them :)

[pritchettzoo]

Those are gorgeous! Are you going to sell your wares?

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

well if you look closely at them I doubt anyone would want them (LOL) :)...
and as ugly as they might be (as far as not being perfect circles but I am happy with them) I honest to goodness don't know I'd do it again for $100 each :)...I was so frustrated yesterday (as if you couldn't tell in my post) :)...

In one of the searches on how to make them a gal said she charges $3-4...maybe she makes the small ones, but the materails cost that so I think they actually lose money on them.

The gal at Kiwi-Pie's look gorgeous to me, but she is sold out last I checked. There is a set on EBAY right now (or was this morning) that have a patch look to them...
Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[bluej]

Those are great! Okay, now I'm motivated to do this myself again. Still, it will have to wait until after the holidays. Thanks so much for posting the pics.

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

using some of these small balls (rubber balls)...Tristan has two clutched in his hands all the time :)...
Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[cinrein]

I think they turned out great!

Cindy and Anna 2/11/03

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

I had friends over tonight and the balls were loved by all...so yes I can say now that I would recommend making them!!!
Please post if you do!!!
Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[smomom]

Neve, those balls are awesome. You did such a great job.

I really would like to try this project, since balls are Sage's favorite toy. I have a couple of dumb questions for you. Based on the instructions from the web site (the one that includes the pictures) is the "felt" the same as the "dyed wool"? After finishing the process the wispy wool becomes more like the felt that we normally think of??? Is that right?

Also, when you used the tennis balls, did you still start off with the roving strips?

Any other helpful hints you can provide are appreciated. Thanks!

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

I think my biggest problem witht he directions was not knowing the terminology of the process of the materials etc...

I almost bought soem wool on Ebay and thank god I shared with the gal what I was doing and she said "this is not what you want"...

I bought from the seller mentioned and she selected for me the "right" wool. I do beleive it is considered "roving wool", now I have no idea what "dyed wool" is. This stuff was "dyed" but don't know if "dyed wool" bought in a store is this (does that make sense???).

It was wispy when I applied it...I believe the "felting" term is the result of what happens when you agitate it with the soap and the stocking, washer (or hands)...

But I found my biggest frustration that day was actually not understanding the terms.

YOU will get a totally differnt feeling to the material after you have soaped and washed/agitated. Almost like a "matted" feeling.

I hope that helps some!!!
Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[smomom]

Thanks so much Neve! That really helps!

[Melanie]

Those are great! The biggest felt balls I've seen. We have two and they're about softball size...those are wonderful!

Another felt ball project is to piece wool felt together and then stuff with wool...it looks like a beach ball afterwards.