Thanks Dana! The felt balls are so much fun to make!!

[papal]

Dh and I had a blast making the felt balls this weekend. Abi sent me some gorgeous colors! At first we tried making them by hand but they were a failure. The hose and washer method worked much better for us!! We were so excited and made 2 at a time and threw them in the washer because we could not wait to see what they looked like!! Dh had a great time trying to make them look like planets. Leela has not taken to them because they keep rolling away, but I will be ordering more roving!!!
Many Many Thanks!!

[houseof3boys]

Oooh, Rashmi take some pics.

[smomom]

That's great! I can't wait to see pictures. I emailed Abi and she said that you had placed an order. She is so nice.

I am glad you enjoyed it. I actually made some more balls over the weekend too.

don't forget to post some pics for us!!!!

[calebsmama03]

I just tried making these last week with roving I bought at a local knitting shop. I got a little overzealous and decided to kool aid dye my own wool and it felted a bit during the dye process, so I need to dye more and try again.

I'm curious how tightly you all wound them? Mine ended up fairly soft (using the pantyhose/washing machine method) so I'm wondering whether I need to wind tighter??
Are you all ordering wool from NZ? What is her price?
Lynne
Mommy to Caleb 3/3/03

[papal]

Hi Lynne,
Mine did not turn out as hard as tennis balls or anything. If i press on them with my thumb, they dimple about half an inch.. no more... does that make sense? I don't know how else to describe it. I did not wind them too tight but not too loose either (gosh, i am not being helpful am i?). But i noticed that the one that dh made, that was wound loosely, was much softer than mine.
Did you try the ones with the cat-balls in the center? You get the cheapie plastic cat-balls with the bells in the center and wind the roving around that... lots of fun! :)

I got my ugly roving and dyed roving from Abi (on Dana's suggestion). Here is her website.. she is in Iowa.. and very sweet to work with.. her shipping is super fast!
http://www.prairiefiber.com/

[houseof3boys]

Post some pics Rahsmi! I'm dying to see them.

[papal]

Debbi.... we have a stupid non-digital camera, so i have to wait for the film roll to get over! :(
I just got overwhelmed researching digital cameras and gave up. I swear, the amount we have spent on developing film since Leela was born is enough for a down payment on a house!!!

[houseof3boys]

LOL. I just got done looking at consumerreports.org regarding digital cameras myself. We really need a new one and I am stressing over which one to get next! Decisions, decisions...

[papal]

Debbi!! PLEASE let me know which one you decide to get. I just don't have the time to research like I used to. My budget is $300 max, so hopefully yours is in the same price range. I am so happy that there are so many of us researchers here on these boards.... saves me some time. Like the Kettler trike.. i am just going to get what Juliet (jec2) got... there were just too many options!

[calebsmama03]

Rashmi,
Thanks that does help. Mine is probably like the one your DH made. I will have to try the catball thing - sounds fun. I think I may also just order some dyed roving since I have a TON of white and want to make more of these but am afraid to ruin more dying it myself...
Lynne
Mommy to Caleb 3/3/03