Anyone here make hand-puppets?

Subject: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Piers Plowman
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 12:05 PM

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I have acquired two recorder students, five and seven years of age. They are the children of a close friend, so it's not like typical music lessons with fixed times for starting and stopping, and I can spend more time on the lessons and the children than I would be able to do if I were giving lessons to strangers for money.

I've been thinking of other things I could do with them, which would involve playing and singing songs. I love puppet-theater and animation and have been thinking about making puppets, possibly with the children.

Is anyone here interested in and/or experienced with making and/or manipulating puppets? I'm quite handy at drawing, painting and sculpting, but I don't have much experience at sewing (or early childhood education!) and I don't yet clearly see how to proceed. Any suggestions, discussion or the benefit of one's experience would be much appreciated.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 12:34 PM

I made some years ago, using instructions from a library book. Perhaps if you did the hard part (the face) you could find someone with a sewing machine to stitch up the garments, which are extremely simple.

You can make a puppet theatre easily by popping a spring-loaded curtain rod into a doorway and hanging a curtain from it. The puppets appear above the curtain.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Genie
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 01:10 PM

I made some when I was in grade school (back in the Jurassic period) and we made the heads by covering a light bulb in water-soaked strips of newspaper, then covering those with papier-maché and sculpting that. When that dried thoroughly, we'd tap the head against a hard surface, breaking the lightbulb, then shake out the broken glass and remove the metal core.   Today people use baloons instead of lightbulbs, because we are wimps and schools fear lawsuits.

We made the clothes for the puppets pretty simply and glued the neck of the garment to the base of the head.   I think that would probably still work, and there are better glues for that now than we had back in the Jurassic period.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: JohnB
Date: 18 Apr 09 - 12:33 AM

We made some LARGE puppets years ago for a play which we wrote and performed for Halloween. We basically used the above method from Genie and we used LARGE balloons and full sized clothing.
The heads were on sticks with the clothes attached (somehow)and you use your own arms and hands to put life into the characters.
Worked well if I do say so myself.
JohnB.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 18 Apr 09 - 02:51 AM

Google search on "making hand puppets"

have fun!

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Piers Plowman
Date: 18 Apr 09 - 06:40 AM

Thanks to everyone for the answers.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Genie - PM
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 01:10 PM

"I made some when I was in grade school (back in the Jurassic period) and we made the heads by covering a light bulb in water-soaked strips of newspaper, then covering those with papier-maché and sculpting that. When that dried thoroughly, we'd tap the head against a hard surface, breaking the lightbulb, then shake out the broken glass and remove the metal core.   Today people use baloons instead of lightbulbs, because we are wimps and schools fear lawsuits."

We did that, too. I remember the gray, lightbulb-shaped thing I made. I think it was supposed to be a maraca. I think there's a reason why lightbulb maracas are rarely found in Afro-Cuban percussion sections. And at home, I made an elefant using a balloon. It was also gray. I believe my mother kept it for quite some time.

"We made the clothes for the puppets pretty simply and glued the neck of the garment to the base of the head.   I think that would probably still work, and there are better glues for that now than we had back in the Jurassic period."

Really? I would have thought dinosaur bone glue would be quite sticky.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: peregrina
Date: 18 Apr 09 - 06:48 AM

odd socks + felt + googley eyes + maybe a bit of cardboard and good glue; sewing only if you are more ambitious.

Not as fancy as the papier mache kind, but can be a good simple project

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Piers Plowman
Date: 18 Apr 09 - 07:04 AM

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: peregrina - PM
Date: 18 Apr 09 - 06:48 AM

"odd socks + felt + googley eyes + maybe a bit of cardboard and good glue; sewing only if you are more ambitious.

Not as fancy as the papier mache kind, but can be a good simple project"

Thank you. Sock puppets can be quite nice, but at present I'm thinking more about modelling heads. I am actually quite ambitious and have been seriously interested in animation and puppetry for a long time. However, I know I'll have to be less ambitious if I want the children to make the heads for the puppets. I may do both things: make fancier puppets myself and make simpler ones with the children.

I've been thinking about modelling with plasticine and/or modelling wax and then making latex mold and casting with a plaster-like product made for this purpose. I've done some casting in plaster, but I've never tried the latex molds (always wanted to, though). I don't have much room or a place where I could make a big mess, which is the real problem. I've got more tools and art supplies than you could shake a stick at, but the tools have mostly been packed up in boxes for the last ten years. Otherwise, I would carve the heads out of a beautiful piece of nicely aged limewood that's lying in my basement waiting to be turned into puppets. A bit frustrating, really.

I'm also considering using papier-mache, but it may not be well-suited for casting. I'm tempted to try it, anyway. I think lightbulbs, balloons or pre-formed styrofoam shapes are too restrictive. I bought some styrofoam cones which I hope will solve the problem of making a hole for sticking one's fingers into.

I've shamelessly plugged my work before, but here's a link to the drawings I've posted, in case anyone wants to see samples of my work. Of course, they're drawings rather than puppets, but some of the projects could be executed using puppets (and I'd quite like to do this): Drawings

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Tig
Date: 18 Apr 09 - 08:30 AM

If you make them 'glove shaped' by drawing round their hands with thumb and little finger stretched out they will be able to make their own and will be so proud of them.

They will probably be able to sew them - I've made puppet this way with my class of infants - but if not a line of fabric glue works well. Dress them with cut out fabric glued on and wool hair.

For other models I've used polystyrene packaging - either find some from things like TW's or washing machines or stick it together with glue and then cut it to the shape you want. You can papier mache over them if you want. To re-use the shapes don't forget to put in a lining layer!

Hope it helps
Tig xxx

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Piers Plowman
Date: 21 Apr 09 - 05:01 AM

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Tig - PM
Date: 18 Apr 09 - 08:30 AM

"If you make them 'glove shaped' by drawing round their hands with thumb and little finger stretched out they will be able to make their own and will be so proud of them."

Thank you, Tig. I shall do that next Sunday (I only see them once a week).

"They will probably be able to sew them - I've made puppet this way with my class of infants - but if not a line of fabric glue works well. Dress them with cut out fabric glued on and wool hair."

The three-year-old definitely not, of course. I'm sure the seven-year-old could be taught. I'm not sure about the nearly-six-year-old. I figured, I or one of the other adults would just do the tricky parts, but thanks for the tip about fabric glue, which I will consider. I didn't know there was such a thing.

"For other models I've used polystyrene packaging - either find some from things like TW's or washing machines or stick it together with glue and then cut it to the shape you want. You can papier mache over them if you want. To re-use the shapes don't forget to put in a lining layer!"

Thanks for the tip; yet another thing I hadn't thought of.

Yesterday I bought a plastic container of latex emulsion for making molds. I've made molds from plaster before, but I've always wanted to try latex. However, I managed to drop it on the floor, not at home, but at the sheet music store, where I'm friendly with the proprietress, and it burst open. The mess wasn't that bad and I don't think I damaged anything valuable, but it was still embarassing. I haven't been doing much arts and crafts in recent years, so I'd forgotten about things like this happening. I managed to get it all home and have somewhat of a mess on my balcony, too. Oh, well. Just off to buy another package of the stuff. I may try the silicon molding material, too.

"Hope it helps"

Very much, thank you, and to everyone else who responded.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Piers Plowman
Date: 21 Apr 09 - 05:21 AM

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Tig - PM
Date: 18 Apr 09 - 08:30 AM

"They will probably be able to sew them - I've made puppet this way with my class of infants - but if not a line of fabric glue works well. Dress them with cut out fabric glued on and wool hair."

I have the luxury of not being responsible for keeping them occupied, so anything I do with them is extra. Since there are only three of them and no set times for stopping and starting, I can (theoretically) do more ambitious things with them, which is more fun for me. I say "theoretically", because so far I haven't done any arts and crafts with them, but only music lessons.

On Sunday, the little one (three-years-old) came and announced that she wanted a recorder lesson, too. She had a not-very-good recorder from a bunch of recorders her mother, a schoolteacher, had bought for a class and never used. Actually, it was mostly her big sister (the seven-year-old) who was explaining and showing, though I helped a little! She obviously had gotten an idea of what to do from watching me and (probably more so) her sisters. I had brought my collection of penny-whistles to show the others and also had my sopranino recorder with. She could manage the smallest penny-whistles and the sopranino, but her fingers are too small for a soprano. I left my sopranino there for this week (with orders to practice!) and picked up a new one for her for next Sunday and we'll make a start on lessons. I can't tell you how good this made me feel (and the parents and grandmother)!

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Piers Plowman
Date: 21 Apr 09 - 05:27 AM

Next week, I'll bring my harmonicas and show them to the older ones. It's important to me that they see and hear as many instruments as possible. I'm also working on a set of music theory flashcards for them, but this is turning out to be more work than I thought it would be (it is ever thus). I'm doing them in colorful inks, which I hope will make the rote learning a bit more fun. I've been doing some music theory with the big one and she soaks everything up like a sponge. I want her to be able to play from chord symbols and would quite like to get her started on the guitar (guitar is my main instrument).

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: catspaw49
Date: 21 Apr 09 - 07:08 AM

I used to market a line of puppets for people who had trouble or were embarrassed to perform various sexual acts in the normal way. They could be used as "alter-egos" as is often done with standard puppets in therapy.   All of them had names to guide the users as to which worked best for which act. Let's see now........

There were the Lingus sisters (Connie and Anna), Phil Addio, Willie Wanker, and several others. Sadly the line was discontinued after a lawsuit and charges were filed by the ASPCA after some pervert ripped the asshole out of a chicken using Anna Lingus.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: GUEST,Louisa
Date: 21 Apr 09 - 08:26 AM

Have a look at www.puppeteersuk.com for lots of makers

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Genie
Date: 21 Apr 09 - 08:56 AM

Piers, that dinosaur glue was, indeed, quite sticky. But this was public school. We couldn't afford top-of-the-line stuff like that. ; D

As for the maracas (same method) and puppet heads being grey, that was only before we put that new-fangled coloring stuff on them.   It was called "paint."

"Tempera paint," in fact. I think it's made from eggs. Then we'd cover that there "paint" with another high-tech stuff called "shellac" (which is made from dead bugs).   

The maracas were quite colorful, and the broken glass - for the maracas, we'd break the lightbulb after the whole papier-maché maraca was a closed unit - made a nice, tinkly percussive sound.   The puppet heads didn't really look like lightbulbs if you used enough papier maché to mold whatever facial shape you wanted, and the heads were very colorful too.    I still have 4 of the ones I made back then, and the colors are still bright.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: GUEST,Ken Brock
Date: 21 Apr 09 - 01:08 PM

I've made some cheaply by cutting open the bottoms of some stuffed animals, removing the stuffing, and gluing a circle of cardboard with a fold in the middle of the mouth (on the inside of the puppet's mouth).    Also, save rods from broken umbrellas. They form a "Y" with a long piece hinged to a short piece, and have small holes near the ends.   There are usually 8 available from a broken umbrella. Cut off the bottom of the long piece below the hinge and sew the other two ends (using the small holes) to the puppet's hands to manipulate as a rod puppet, using a single hand inside and a single hand outside with your hinged rods made from the umbrella.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 21 Apr 09 - 01:49 PM

I once made a little humunculus of a literature professors in university.

papier mache strips over a day old partially inflated balloon (head) on empty toilet roll (neck). once this is dry, prick to pop the balloon. use more papier mache to create eye brows, upper eyelids, nose, lips, ears and chin. if you play around you'll find you can make expressions with just the eyebrows and lips.

paint with tempras, make wig from eyelash yarn save a bit to glue on brows.

body is simple - 2 sock cuffs one inside the other, tacked onto neck. put stuffing between the socks leaving inner tube for your hand. cut little holes on side for your little finger and thumb (arms)

hankerchief sized piece of fabric with hole cut in centre tacked to neck. you can baste stitch this to make arms. draw on collar and buttons.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Piers Plowman
Date: 22 Apr 09 - 04:45 AM

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Genie - PM
Date: 21 Apr 09 - 08:56 AM

"Piers, that dinosaur glue was, indeed, quite sticky. But this was public school. We couldn't afford top-of-the-line stuff like that. ; D"

You had it good. I went to school in the Devonian era. Ugh, those school dinners! Nothing but fish, day in day out.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Piers Plowman
Date: 24 Apr 09 - 07:06 AM

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Genie - PM
Date: 21 Apr 09 - 08:56 AM

'"Tempera paint," in fact. I think it's made from eggs.'

True tempera paint contains egg the base. I'm not sure whether yolk is allowed. For manuscript illuminations, "glair" was used. Glair is made from egg white and any trace of yolk will spoil it. The egg white must be beaten stiff and the glair is what runs out. Never tried this myself.

Most "tempera" sold in stores is really gouache rather than true tempera, because egg tempera doesn't last that long (unless I'm confusing it with casein paint, which contains something from milk). Gouache is like watercolor, except that it's opaque. Cheaper grades of gouache may contain chalk to make them opaque, while better grades will be opaque from the pigments only.

'Then we'd cover that there "paint" with another high-tech stuff called "shellac" (which is made from dead bugs).'

Actually, it's made from a secretion from the bugs (beetles, if I'm not mistaken). I don't believe they are harmed in the process.   I used to use shellac frequently for woodworking and for sealing plaster. Very nice stuff.

'The maracas were quite colorful, and the broken glass - for the maracas, we'd break the lightbulb after the whole papier-maché maraca was a closed unit - made a nice, tinkly percussive sound.'

Perhaps the delicate sound of lightbulb maracas makes them best-suited for chamber music rather than Latin dance music.

Another thing we did was to glue macaroni to things and paint it with gold spray-paint. That seems to give any object that certain je ne sais quoi.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Piers Plowman
Date: 18 May 09 - 02:13 PM

I've found a technique which I like and may use it with the children:
needle felting. I've tried it and am about half-way through my first puppet. It's fun and _very_ addictive. Best results are achieved when the felting needle is stuck into the wool rather than one's hand.

I'm slightly concerned about letting the children use the needles, but the nearly-eight-year-old has done needle felting somewhere and the people I've asked all seem to think children can use sharp tools under supervision earlier than I would have thought. The other thing I'm concerned about is the dust; it's not too bad, but it produces quite a few short wool fibres. Any opinions?

I've bought a spindle and I've tried spinning some of the felting wool, but I didn't understand the process and it didn't work. I've now printed some stuff out and watched a video on YouTube and will give it another try. If I can manage to learn how, I'll try teaching the older children. Anyone here know how to spin?


Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: GUEST,Ken Brock - PM
Date: 21 Apr 09 - 01:08 PM

"Also, save rods from broken umbrellas. They form a "Y" with a long piece hinged to a short piece, and have small holes near the ends.   There are usually 8 available from a broken umbrella. [...]"

Thank you for the tip. I've always thought there ought to be some use for discarded umbrellas. Since your posting, I've been looking out for them, but haven't seen any lately.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 18 May 09 - 03:38 PM

My singing partner, Margaret Nelson, makes hand puppets. We have photos of a couple on some of our cd's (you can see them at www.coopernelsonearly.com for examples). She even does workshops and classes on how to make them.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: open mike
Date: 18 May 09 - 05:08 PM

`i do spinning, and would recommend drop spindle for a start..
can even make one with a dowel and a weighted piece...such as a
cross section of a branch...
http://www.mielkesfarm.com/spndl_inst.htm

there is a magazine called Spin off which has info.
http://spinoffmagazine.com/blogs/spinoff/default.aspx

here is a you tube vidoe on spinning
part of the process depends on how you card the wool to begin with...
http://www.chimayoweavers.com/Merchant2/spinning.htm

i am glad to see someone mentioned umbrella wires for puppet hands
my friend who is a puppeteer uses these...one of our favorite stories
to do puppettes with is the Lorax, by Dr. Seuss.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6650219631867189375

good luck and let us know how you do

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Tig
Date: 18 May 09 - 06:40 PM

I spin too, and also prefer the drop spindle. Expect to drop and break the thread every few seconds until you get the hang of it :-)

If the felting wool has been washed it will be harder to spin than raw wool because the lanolin make it twist together better. (To spin dogs wool you use powder).

Not watched the video but wish you the best of luck. Ask around and you may find the least expected person knows how to spin having 'played' with a spindle and wool collected from the hedgerows as a child. A potato on a stick with a notch cut near the top will do as a spindle if needs be. The notch stops the wool slipping off the top as much

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: open mike
Date: 18 May 09 - 07:04 PM

the notch--and a half-hitch loop you put in the yarn to keep it anchored to the spindle (just a loop and a twist)

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Piers Plowman
Date: 20 May 09 - 11:55 AM

Thank you all for your responses.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Phil Cooper - PM
Date: 18 May 09 - 03:38 PM

"My singing partner, Margaret Nelson, makes hand puppets. We have photos of a couple on some of our cd's (you can see them at www.coopernelsonearly.com for examples). She even does workshops and classes on how to make them."

A found a couple after a bit of clicking around. Very nice and thank you for the link.

I managed to get it to work last night. Addictive, isn't it? I wound off the yarn last night and took it off the chair back this morning. Part of it kinked up but then unwound partially, but it seems to be alright. Is this normal? I suppose I had put too much twist in it.

My spindle has an eyelet screwed into one end of the dowel so I don't need a half-hitch to secure it. It took me awhile to figure out how to wind up the yarn onto the spindle. I've been winding onto my left hand and then through the eyelet onto my right hand, but it occurred to me that I might be able to wind it up onto my right hand immediately. I haven't tried this yet, so I'm not sure whether it will work.

The felting wool works fine, but it's rather expensive. It was cheapest at the store where I bought the spindle, but still not really cheap. I don't know whether there's anywhere in the town where I live where I could get unwashed wool. I'd try hand-carding, but I don't know whether I could get a pair of hand-carders here, either. I bought some wool which is apparently washed, but not carded, since the fibres don't run parallel. It also has a lot of foreign material in it; bits of vegetable material, I think. They use it for stuffing dolls and recommend it for felting the innards of three-dimensional felted objects. It works fine for that, but I think I'll sort it and pick out the foreign objects before I use it again. It's about half the price of the felting wool.

Of course, I'm sure I could get things through the internet. Thank you for the links, open mike. I'll take a look as soon as I get a chance.

I've bought a few simple tools for processing textiles there: a knitting fork, two knitting dollies, one with four prongs and one with ten, and a simple weaving frame without a heddle frame (I think this is the proper term) and a simple circular weaving frame. My idea was to try them all out and see whether any would be appropriate for the children. I've tried them all out, except for the circular weaving frame, and I think they would be, at least for the oldest one. The six-year-old (as of today) could probably manage the knitting fork.

The knitting dollies are nice, but I don't feel the need to own any, since I think it's easier to knit tubes on two needles or a set of dp needles.

Tonight I may try making salt batter (is this what it's called in English? "Salzteig" in German), i.e, flour, water and salt for modelling and baking in the oven. I want to make lots of little bricks for building Rapunzel's tower. The puppet I'm making is Rapunzel (and she requires a great deal of golden wool).

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: GUEST,lydia grace rogers
Date: 23 May 09 - 09:37 AM

I say you should show pictures too!!!! But every thing else is good !!!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Tig
Date: 23 May 09 - 02:32 PM

Instead of trying to card the wool properly (ie with carders) teasing each fibre by pulling it out of the staple to separate it and then collecting them into a 'fluffy cloud' works well for smaller amounts of wool - I wouldn't suggest it for a jumper :-)

If you want a try at carding small amounts the dog groomers with hooky wire (bit like velcro) would work as proper carders are just large scale versions. I've even done it with dried teasel heads but they are a pain.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: GUEST,SharonA - computer won't let me log in
Date: 24 May 09 - 10:14 AM

Seems to me that the papier-mache heads would be rather heavy for small hands to maneuver if the puppets are glove-type puppets. However, if the head were to be mounted on a rod, with a loose cloth body attached to the head, then the child could hold the rod and work the puppet that way. Also, if the loose cloth body includes a hand mounted on another rod, then the child could hold a rod in each hand and give the puppet a bit more animation that way. (The other hand, of course, would have to hang loose from the body, or be mounted on still another rod that a second puppeteer would maneuver, just as the Sesame Street Muppets are maneuvered.)

But for simplicity, maneuverability and just plain fun, give me a sock puppet any day. They can be made into all sorts of animals -- real and imaginary -- and kids love animals!

I remember that, when I was a kid, my older brothers made doll-puppets for me. They used a sock for the head, stuffed with other socks, with buttons sewn on for eyes and yarn glued on for hair. They created facial features by pinching the socks and sewing the pinches. Each head was sewn onto one of my mother's old gloves for the body, and the glove was "dressed" in crudely-sewn fabric "clothes". There were three puppets in all, and I still have them and cherish them half a century later.

Don't forget paper-bag puppets for a quick, easy project. Use small lunch bags, turn the folded-over part into a mouth, and glue on your choice of construction paper, google-eyes, doll's hair, etc. They can be colored with crayon or painted with tempera paints, too.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: GUEST,Piers_Plowman not at usual place
Date: 25 May 09 - 10:25 AM

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: GUEST,lydia grace rogers
Date: 23 May 09 - 09:37 AM

"I say you should show pictures too!!!! But every thing else is good !!!!!!!!!"

Thank you.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: GUEST,SharonA - computer won't let me log in
Date: 24 May 09 - 10:14 AM

"Seems to me that the papier-mache heads would be rather heavy for small hands to maneuver if the puppets are glove-type puppets. However, if the head were to be mounted on a rod, with a loose cloth body attached to the head, then the child could hold the rod and work the puppet that way."

Interesting you should say that. In the meantime, I've more-or-less decided to go this route.

Sadly, the children seem to have lost interest in music lessons, at least for the present. The nearly-eight-year-old loved the knitting fork, said she liked it better than her knitting dolly, and knitted and knitted with it for a long time on Friday. The six-year-old liked it, too, but didn't get much chance to use it. I started showing them how to knit on two needles: the six-year-old couldn't manage making the first stitch for starting the cast-on, but the eight-year-old managed a couple of stitches successfully (I cast on for her).

They like making strings of beads so I looked up how work beads into crochet and have made a couple of samples. I taught myself how to crochet a few years back, but never made anything. I've now started a garment for a puppet. I was going to make it a hand puppet, but I decided I wanted the garment to be symmetrical with set-in sleeves, and I think that will work better with rods. I think I'll put in a rod and cast a plaster base so that it can stand on a table. I may try to find a source of joints for stop-motion puppets --- animation being something I've always wanted to do.

I'll ask the eight-year-old which she'd rather learn, knitting or crocheting.

The store where I've bought the various tools for knitting, weaving, etc., has wool that's been washed and combed, but not dyed or spun.   It has nice long fibres and is quite a bit cheaper than the wool sold for felting. Felting has become very popular here (in Germany). They have at present one hand carder, but the owner will order a second one for me and also try to find some unwashed wool for me. I'll just spin it and wash it and worry about dying it in the fulness of time.

Not many sheep in the immediate vicinity anymore and I don't know where the next hedgerow is. The university has a few for research and/or teaching purposes. It gets rural very quickly here once you leave town, but I don't think they're big on raising sheep or on hedgerows around here.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Piers Plowman
Date: 16 Jun 09 - 03:43 PM

There's a not-for-profit organization for weavers in a village in Hesse, not far from where I live, but difficult to get to with public transportation. They have recently opened a shop in the town where I live and I called and asked whether they'd sell me some raw wool. The master weaver ("Webmeisterin") told me they didn't sell materials, but she'd give me some, which I thought was very nice. Since then, she hasn't been here, so I haven't gotten it yet. For a permanent solution, I'll have to find a source which will sell it to me, of course.

I finally got around to trying out the simple weaving frames I'd bought. It's very addictive! It seems to be a much faster and more direct way of producing fabric than knitting or crocheting. Setting up the warp is a bit tricky and I suppose taking the work off the loom and finishing off the work will be, too, but I'm sure the six-year-old could manage the actual weaving.

I'm glad I finally tried it. Now, I'd really like to try a fancier loom. If I only had room to work, it would be just the sort of thing I like to build.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: Art Thieme
Date: 16 Jun 09 - 06:15 PM

I was going to mention Margaret Nelson, but her singing partner,
Phil Cooper, beat me to it---SEE post above!. Them be beautiful!

Art Thieme