Felting through the fall

We're having our first round of what passes for fall weather here in San Diego, and it's quite lovely:  deep blue sky between lots of puffy clouds, both white ones and gray ones - which brought our first rain of the season this weekend; spectacular sunsets; and chilly evenings that require a jacket.  I really love this season, after the exhaustion of summer heat.  It's likely to warm up again this coming week, but nothing like the 100-degree-plus days we endured in recent months.

This storm only brought a third of an inch of rain, and we need so much more to start reversing California's serious drought.  Fingers crossed for winter!  In my studio (as throughout the house and garden), I've been trying very hard to conserve water.  I now reuse and store soapy water for multiple days' projects, and I pour almost all used water that needs dumping into my garden.  And I ponder, how bad does the drought have to get, and how severe the water restrictions, before the responsible thing for me to do is to stop felting altogether?  Hope it doesn't come to that.

I've shifted my focus for now from vessels, of which I have a good supply, to cuff bracelets and what I'm calling "gossamer" scarves.  The latter are sort of cobweb felt plus, with extra layers to make them easier for buyers to handle and to clean than the ones I offered last fall.  They're still light, airy, and colorful and only weigh about 35 grams (an ounce and a quarter.)

The cuff bracelets use new and repurposed felt, repurposed fabric, hand embroidery, and beading - whatever the piece needs to make it fun and special.  The first dozen bracelets went on sale last week at studio 40, and there are plenty more to come.  I just need to get back in that studio and get busy!