Critters

I wanted to explore needle felting more, wet felting is not portable!  I bought a copy of Wool Pets by Laurie Sharp and made this owl, with rather long wings. I've given him feet since this picture was taken.  Using the techniques I'd learned in the book I created the boxer as a gift for a friend.

Balls and Soaps

I took practice golf balls (the ones that look like little Whiffle balls), used a Dremel tool to make one hole slightly larger, and inserted several tiny jingle bells.  I then wrapped them in fiber, dipped them into warm soapy water, rolled them around a bit in my hands then placed them into an old nylon stocking.  Tying a cord around the stocking between the balls keeps the balls separate.  After a short cycle in the washer, the balls were felted.  I attached cord to make a hanging loop.  The soaps were interesting, I used hostess soaps that were several years old, wrapped them in fiber and, after a quick dip on warm water, started to rub the fiber to encourage felting.  I felt like it was a race to get the fiber to shrink before the soap dissolved requiring the wool to shrink more!

Nuno Felting

In November I took a Nuno felting class with Jean Gauger at New England Felting Supply and by the end of the month had made several scarves.  Being able to make a scarf in a matter of hours is very appealing!

The adventure begins...

My felting adventure started with a trip to the New England Fiber Festival where I saw a wide variety of felted projects.  I purchased a needle felting kit and a "starter kit" (from New England Felting Supply).  That weekend I created my needle felted elves and felted balls and I was hooked.