We were delighted to discover that one of the standard colours offered by Custom Woollen Mills, of rural Carstairs, Alberta, is an excellent match for Bea’s winter coat.  The wool was ordered, the hat is made, and now the only remaining question is “How shall we trim it ?”  One of the options is to add a just-right small peacock feather to the brim; there is a lovely mauvey-pink satin ribbon that really highlights the rich texture and heathered colour of the wool.  Hmmmmm…..

Decisions are (mostly) made.  Bea’s hat now has a rosy pink and mixed green “flower” –I am using the term rather loosely !–on the brim, and the pink ribbon is in storage, for just in case.  We agreed that the peacock feather just didn’t do what we wanted it to do. 

The Artisan Feltmaker has another happy custom-order customer ! 

You can now see and purchase a portion of my hat selection in Olds, Alberta, at Different Strokes, too.

Next brief display and sale is Thursday, November 3, from 3 to 7 pm at the Arboretum Christmas Market in the Trochu, Alberta Community Hall.  A concession stand will be open, too, to revive the overwhelmed shoppers ! 

See you soon !  Judi

ArtWalk is up and thriving for 2017 !   The Artisan Feltmaker (aka Judi) is happily settled in the airy and spacious Carstairs (Alberta) Artisan Market for the summer.  The hand-made, hand-felted hats range from a cuddly Cauliflower Beret to exotic butterflies and flowers on a purple Squishy bit of whimsy; don’t miss the Floppsies with their wide brims that dip and rise to meet their unique flower trims.

Being created of Canadian wool, the hats are sturdier than you expect, packable, and weather resistant.  They love to travel !

Custom orders are available by first choosing your style from my photo album (each is numbered as well as named), then contacting me at

403 442 2733    so that we can put our energies into designing your treasure.

Please meet THE ARTISAN FELTMAKER !!   I have a new title to wear !

The name came from my milliner daughter, of Lotus Millinery at The Beaumont Studios, in Vancouver, B.C.  She wanted a supplier of hand-made felt for her hats, and who better to turn to than Mum ?  It does help that I had some simple felting/fulling experience several years ago when I was making felted slippers.

The presence of Custom Woolen Mills less than an hour’s drive from my home is an enormous boost to the ensuing projects.  So far I have not had the patience to have my order posted to me, but happily take to the roads out onto the Alberta Prairie to stuff the car with bags of wool in fabulous colours (one of my favourites is Genuine Black Sheep) for both felting and knitting.  Deciding where to begin is the hard part, as each choice seems irresistable.

Several basic styles have emerged from literally playing with the piles of wool.  Gumdrops were the first (that humpy shape is so familiar !), followed by slightly calmer Cloches.  Those morphed into floppy brimmed ones, resulting in the generic name of Floppsies.  Some are floppier than others, continuing that stubborn insistence on individuality.  By now I had learned a thing or two about different felting rates, the unexpected outcomes simply from the effects of the different dyes used, and the fun of adding extra bits for texture and contrast. Squishies are the latest style addition–literally being squished and squashed into intriguing shapes, and frequently decorated with a free hand and a sense of humour.  If I am going to work, it might as well be fun !

I wonder if I should send her a “blank” or two instead of continuing on and creating the hat, too ?  Mind you, she is a wizard at seeing possibilities in even a limp and bedraggled treasure, and with her steamer fired up can create miracles.

Judi   aka  The Artisan Feltmaker

Although “MyFedora” is not for sale (It’s MINE !!!) I would happily make one for you in your choice of colours and  size.  This can take up to a week, weather permitting  (snow storm season is due any minute and the woolen mill that I use is out on the wilds of the Alberta Prairies.)   I do have several colours of wool on hand, as well.  This is my own design, obtained by working from a very basic cloche style and building on the features that I wanted.  Each is unique, as the different colours of wool actually do behave differently in the working and shaping that is required.  It is like Christmas Morning, every time !

At least the cats have learned to (mostly) just watch while I work with the wool, which they go positively ga-ga over if they start pawing and digging in it;  the peacock feathers are a different matter entirely.  I had parked “MyFedora” on the top of a high book shelf near the front door, thinking that they wouldn’t even know it was there.  Strange rumblings and thuds brought me on the run, to find the best-behaved cat happily perched on that high shelf, ready to help herself to my feather.  Back to the top of the fridge for my hat.  I don’t need more fridge space–I need more top.

After MANY abject failures at painting sheep, I was inspired by an example in Fiona Peart’s new book about water media.  I am greatly pleased with the results of challenging myself in several ways.  For starters, I don’t like working with pastels !  Then I used the canvas board to get lots and lots of tooth for the pastels to use.  Throw in that I don’t enjoy drawing, ( and what else can one do with a pastel stick ? ), and you may have the answer to the lack of inhibition I came up with.  At least it is recognisable as a sheep–even if it is a bit blue in the face.

What next ???