I traveled to Lexington, Kentucky to visit a farm where they make a piece of equipment that I have become interested in – the Felt Loom. This amazing machine makes beautiful felt – and much more. I had been talking with its inventors – Lanette Freitag and Don Bowles – but decided I needed to make a trip to Kentucky to see it in person. Of course, I wasn’t at all influenced by the fact that they have sheep!
I was able to explore its uses and learn how to operate it during my stay with them. It is a very large and powerful needle felting machine with the great option of a light table on the front so you can properly prepare what you are felting – here is the beginning of felting merino to silk to create a scarf..
I was amazed at all the things that can be created on the Felt Loom.
Rugs….
Art and wall hangings….
And jackets…
…and so much more.
And, did I mention the sheep?! Many are mixed breed but with an emphasis on English Leicester – a breed I have a particular fondness for. These are very sweet sheep.
With beautiful wool…
These sheep have a guardian donkey named “Bob”. I like Bob. Don says he moves the sheep easily, coming up behind the lambs to give them a gentle “nudge” when they straggle.
Here, Bob re-joins his flock.
Thanks to Don and Lanette for their hospitality. I very much enjoyed my visit and am looking forward to my own Felt Loom arriving in a couple months. Now, if I could just figure how how to get a couple of the English Leicesters here….!
