For some strange reason, I have recently developed a fascination for all things woolen. Maybe it’s because of these absolutely wonderful wool socks I’m wearing right now, or the pair that I’ve had for years that are all stretched out and funky looking, but still stay up in my boots and are divinely warm and cozy.
Maybe it’s the wool sweater a friend gave me several years ago that you couldn’t destroy if you tried. It’s light and airy, but not a single wisp of cold air manages to get by those woolen fibers.
I’m thinking it even may have something to do with the buttery-soft cashmere sweater I got for Christmas two years ago. I have worn that poor brown sweater just about to death, under every piece of outer wear I have, day after winter day….and it still looks bran new, and I have to pry myself out of it to even wash it. 
But, what I really think started this fascination was seeing other vendors at craft fairs this year with their adorable woolen pieces of art. I did not realize wool could be used to craft so many items. From the cutest felted animals, hats and wall hangings, to durable sweaters, scarves, mittens, and more. Well, whatever the cause, I’ve caught the wool crafting bug and just yesterday I received my very first package of wool ROVING in the mail!
The roving on the left is called “domestic 56″, the darker roving on the right is labeled “New Zealand”.
And to think, two weeks ago I didn’t even know what roving was!
I decided that I’d like my first wool project to be felted soap, and I actually made a bar of felted soap last week using a raw fleece a friend had given me. I washed it myself and combed some of it out a little but I didn’t realize I needed to card the wool, so my bar was far from beautiful and didn’t felt very well.
This is the very first bar of felted soap I made.
The internet is great though. I did my research and watched several videos of people felting soap, and here is the batch I made yesterday afternoon. It is dry now and it seems to have worked. We will use a few of the bars ourselves to make sure the felting does not come undone.
Variously scented bars of felted soap.
I’ve got my kitchen counter and water pots all set up to do about 20 bars of Love Spell felted soap this morning. If you’d like to order the lovely roving you see here on my blog, go to Brush Creek Wool Works at Etsy or The New Store . They have lots of other types of roving, supplies, herbs, spices, sheepskins, etc. Great, fast service too.
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