Slow Felt

I have been working on this piece for over a month now off and on, and it's funny how it changes every time I come back to it. I felted and fulled wool roving to make the 12 x 14 piece, and I'm adding crewel wool stitches to "quilt" a pattern like Mongolian rugmakers do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeu4pbtQuEE.

This past weekend was sunny and cool, so I took some time to sit out on the back deck and stitch. I initially used embroidery floss to form the golden circles, but the weight was just wrong. The wool puckered into little peaks, which is a nice effect that I'll file away for later use.

But when I used the crewel wool, I knew I had found just the right thread. The felted fabric lays just right and has a nicely solid texture. I spent most of my sewing time pulling out stitches, so this piece is definitely turning out to be "slow cloth."

It's interesting how the colors are just the ones I'm seeing now in the woods--golden grasses and leaves, the crimson of barns and gates and leaves, and blue sky amidst the remaining green.

How have you captured the fall colors?