Camelid Assisted Therapy Update

[Liz McDannold]

Hi Paulette,
Never had a doubt my Woodster would be the Star! It will be interesting to see how he teaches your students to look past their first impressions and/or presumptions and see who's really inside there! Might be a great parallel for their own lives! My theory about the blue eye is that it is a special gift that enables Woody to see into the hearts of people. (Kind of like Mad Eye Moody in Harry Potter, only less scary!) And I always say, hearing loss is really a gift in disguise!

Re: felting, I'm going to look for some good books that you might be able to find at your local Library, felting for kids, fun projects, etc. There are so many easy, fun starter projects, like balls/beads, dreadlocks, snakes, coasters, placemats, etc. that can be started and finished in a short time, and the books will do a much better job of explaining than I can! But about washing the fleece first (please chime in here, Rose, Catie, all you fiber mavens out there) my thought is that it kind of depends on the project, also the teaching point of the project. In any case, you don't NEED to scour/wash the fleece like you do with sheep wool, camelid fleece has no 'grease' to remove. I have literally felted alpaca right out of the fleece bag at shearing: made a little sample coaster out of Corvette's fleece during one of the shearing clinics. Didn't wash, just kind of finger-carded the fibers which caused most of the unsavory bits to fall out. It came out a lovely and brilliant white, the felting process is hot soapy water and agitation, so the dirt just comes out anyway. You might try this with a bit of last year's fleece, just for fun. It's cool to see how quickly the fleece changes without a lot of fussing! It was a tad lumpy, as finger-carding doesn't line up the fibers like real carding, but it's still a great learning experience. I know that some folks make felted rugs with fleeces right off the shearing room floor, they come out lumpy and organic, but very interesting!
If I were making something to be worn next to the skin, I would definitely wash and card the fiber first, to remove any VM that would be scratchy in the finished product. In any case, it's fun to be able to do little sample swatches using different methods at different stages of the fleece processing, I'm often pleasantly surprised at results that were never expected! Sometimes something really cool ends up in your colander or tool box!
More later! gotta go make some felt! :-)
Liz

[Marty McGee Bennett]

VM=vegetable matter by the way. I love Liz's observation about Woody's eye! He is a start and so are they all. I am so excited. Cruise ebay for spinning stuff or keep an eye on your local penny saver or guild. People are always getting started with fiber and then leaving it and have a bunch of really good stuff to sell.

[Paulette Kaskinen]

I'm definitely on the lookout for used stuff - not too excited about paying 70-some dollars for a pair of hand carders! Speaking of which, do I need the extra fine kind or would the 72-pin medium ones work okay? I'd like to also have the option of carding Pablo's fleece at some point.

[Marty McGee Bennett]

don't let me be the last word but fine is better for llama and alpaca fleece.

[Liz McDannold]

Hi Paulette,
Yard/estate sales can be a a goldmine for used fiber tools as well (like you have spare time to cruise the sales!)And for felting, much of the stuff you need can come from the kitchen, or the kitchen/household aisle of the goodwill. No need to go out and buy a bunch of stuff, it's truly a guerilla craft!
Liz

[Marty McGee Bennett]

I am posting this for Paulette who is a bit technologically challenged. Paulette will share a bit more with us about the artist.

[Paulette Kaskinen]

Thanks, Marty - it's true, I can barely figure out how to use my cell phone...

The drawings lose a bit in translation but I thought folks would enjoy this almost Picasso-esque treatment of my boys, done by a kiddo of mine who is quite brilliant in some areas despite a horrific beginning in life. He was sitting in my pasture watching Bob and Woody graze, and Pablo was cushed facing him, hence the lack of legs. This boy, who has always preferred to stay indoors and play imaginative games by himself, is now asking to come out with me and help scoop poop, and his comfort level with the animals is pretty awesome - I think he will be able to learn some fairly advanced handling skills in time, and it's really exciting to see him so engaged!

Best from New Mexico,

Paulette

[rose@almapark.com]

Paulette - wanted to tell you about a book I am reading which is quite amazing. It is written by an autistic woman who uses her special view of the world to decode animal behavior. "Animals in Translation" by Temple Grandin.

Thought it may be specially geared to your work out there !!

-Rose

[Paulette Kaskinen]

Thanks, Rose -

This book was mentioned to me awhile ago but I'd forgotten the name - it sounds like right up my alley, and a good excuse to go to the bookstore!

[rose@almapark.com]

Very cool Paulette - enjoy!