Cat Toy or necklace ?

Just a simple little experiment that turned out as planned....(I love when that happens ). I found a great deal on some scrap leather from Axeman and decided that they would make perfect cat toys after my cat attacked them as soon as I opened the bag . I had already made them several needle felted wool balls that they loved, so it was a natural to just needle felt the balls directly to the leather thongs . Unlike 90% of the toys I've bought at the store for them...they actually played with these new toys . Amazing, maybe it's the sheep smell or just wanting whatever that thing is that mom spends all her time doing now but they sure seem to enjoy their new toys .

I also decided that these might make some fun and inexpensive necklaces, but was not sure about "durability", so I have been wearing mine all week, even sleeping in it but taking it off for showers and it looks as new as when I put it on...these things actually are really strong . They have survived cat abuse and Denise use and only take 20 minutes to felt .

Furbie with Northstar Alpaca

Just a quick post before I have to rush off for work . This is bigfoot, not a Yeti but probably in the same family . I do hope to make a few real Yeti in the near future...I love those guys . This has a Romney base for the shape and then alpaca needle felted over it . I still need to add a bit more fiber in a few spots and attach the ears but wanted to catch my few hours of morning light .

Fleecemakers Fibers on Etsy

I said I wanted to mention some of the stores I had been buying fleece from and Fleecemakers Fibers on Etsy.com, is one of my first . She has some really beautifully dyed Romney, (great variety of colors) and although some recommend Marino for felting....I think the Romney needle felts much easier, tighter and quicker then the finer and less crimpy Marino . The trade off is that it is not as soft as Marino but that is not really an issue when your felting sculptures or wall hangings, purse decorations or anything that doesn't have to lay against the skin . It is soft and not "itchy" at all and would be fine for making scarves or yarns ....it's just not "as soft" as the Marino which feels like silk . (There's also no/very little VM to pick out which I have found more of in the finer fibers .)

I would also recommend the undyed Romney for the base fiber when making 3D sculptures . It felts so quickly and it generally less expensive as a shaper/filler . If you want the softness, you can then overlay it with some of the Marino or Alpaca . So....just one "newbies" opinion, give it a try and see what you think .

Furbie stripped and alpaca felted

Well, my first attempt with the Alpaca . My very fat cat posed for this one . This took much longer then I thought it would...about 8 hours . I built up the body shape using a hand knit alpaca sweater that I had wet felted . It was a beautiful "looking" sweater but who ever knitted it had not removed the guard hairs and it was to itchy to wear but perfect for shaping onto the furbie frame . After sewing the basic shape, I laid down the alpaca trying to keep natural hair direction in mind and gently poked to try and avoid "poke holes...( I hate those) .
Most of the feber I used for this one was from "Frugal Farms Alpaca" and althought it looked beautiful and felt soft ....there was a lot more VM then I had originally realized . The seller was completely honest about this and the price reflected the inconvenience...only $1.00 an ounce....very frugal and perfect for a first project . I think picking it out added another hour to the felting however . Alpca feels alot like Marino...maybe even softer, so it does take a bit longer to get it to felt but is stayed much softer then the quicker felting Romney .

The tummy is a bit of sheep fur and the lighter paw color is some of the fiber from North Star Alpaca . Now that I think I have the basic idea of working with this....I am going to try and make this next little animal purely out of her fiber...(Yea, no VM to pick out...should go quicker ) .

Refured "woolie" #2 .
I tried a different technique for this one and saved about an hour,(only 5 hours), and several less finger pokes . After "skinning" the furbie, I covered the base in alpaca sweater material that I had previously wet felted and sewed it in place . I used some alpaca build up for the wings, tail and ears . The rest was the same...place the wool where I wanted the particular color and poke, poke, poke . Good fun had by all . I'm still debating adding feet .

I think I'm going to give the alpaca fiber from Northstar Alpaca for the new project . It's all natural colors and I'm hoping for a more teddy bear/cuddly effect with some of the curly locks for accents . I'm a little nervous about using this because it is so soft and I don't want to lose the softness by over felting but I want it to be secure enough to handle with out losing any fiber . Wish me luck .

Woolies...the refured "furbies"

Keep in mind...this was my first attempt. I didn't want to waste my best fiber, in case it didn't work out so it has a Romney base and I used some of the fiber that I really didn't know what to do with "color wise" .

The whole thing to about 6 hours of nonstop needle poking and most of that was just laying down an under base to felt onto. Would probably be much faster if I actually just sewed on an under suit of wet needle felted fibers and then felted onto this but I went 100% fiber...that's a lot of poking, lol. I needed a thick solid base to lay the fiber onto or I'm going to end up breaking needle on the plastic base . More experimenting ahead, I couple more of these and I will feel safer about using the alpaca and Marino which will be a joy to work with .

More tonight . Upside...although I poked myself about 20X, I am no longer drawing blood(much)...think my finger tips are getting tougher .

North Star Alpaca and Copperpot

There should have be a warning before just throwing these pictures on-line...fiber porn alert or something . The first to pictures are alpaca(cutest animals ever and some of the softest fiber I have ever touched . This stuff is just amazing and this Etsy seller through in two free ounces because she thought I needed to balance it out with a lighter color...she was right . She also included a lovely bag of lavender to keep out the moths, very nice surprise opening the sweat smelling box.

The second picture is also from North Star Alpaca...some lovely locks . They did have a tiny bit of VM but easy to fix that and they will look so cute on the furbies...ooops. Gave the surprise away.

The third picture is of a skinned furbie . I went through a "phase" of collecting these a few years ago and never liked the fake fur on them so....I figured out how to skin them and now I just need to figure out how to give them a nicer skin . I'm going to directions for these. One is cute and cuddly with a Romney wool felted tightly for a base and then gently felting the layers of alpaca with a final few locks randomly placed for a bit more textural interest . The second kind, I am going to go a bit wilder with the sculpting and color . I'm thinking dragons, aliens...things with long tails, horns, wings....I want these to have brighter colors and will probably use the fiber from Copperpot .

The last picture is some amazing blends from Copperpot on Etsy . I love the way she blends this Merino, it's a pleasure to the eye and the hand . Honestly, my camera doesn't do it justice .

Just to mention, I do want to feature some other fiber artists in the future . I was so busy needle felting the past few weeks that I forgot to give credit to some of the women who I have been buying fiber from and they really deserve it . I will go back through my stock and get some pictures and names of some of them in the near future .

In the mean time. It is back to work for me tomorrow and more felting while the women I care for are sleeping . Not a bad job and they haven't complained about the needle felting noise, so that's a blessing .

This is an example of one of the bottle holders, (in the above two, it's holding the bottle .) It looks a bit distorted in the last picture because I couldn't get it to stand up straight without a bottle . The ones I am going to be sewing will mostly be for smaller 20oz bottles and would also work for soda cans...I think the wool is good for keeping the beverage cold and absorbing that annoying "sweat" that happens when cold bottles meet summer air .

These are just "blanks" that I will be sewing into neck purses and water-bottle holders . I will probably do some beading on them after they are sewn and add a leather or fiber necklace to the bags and a clip for the water bottle bags so they can be clipped to purse or belt loop .

These were originally going to be sewn onto some barrettes but imagine this...I made them 1/4" to small . See,, if this was book binding, I would have to throw them away because 1/4" is a huge error but these can just be turned into pins . The top ones will be beaded and the last 4 just show what happens when you try and fit a big picture in a 2" space...it's hard ! Uhm, the last one is a puppy that started out as a bear . yeah, it's only my second month needle felting folks .

Axman shopping spree for needle felters

A new Axman opened a few blocks from me...yes, I am a very lucky girl. For anyone reading this that has never had the pleasure of Axman, it is a surplus store that sells very odd over stock from medical, scientific, electronics and military but they also carry a few craft items. You never know what you will find when you venture in but there is always a few good deals to be had and it keeps some cool things out of land fills .

The first picture shows some of the small felting pads(some have a black velvet that could also be used for jewelry display) and these little plastic brush? "things" that will be a good support when doing small needle felting balls . They are travel size . The picture also includes two of the needle felting needles I use that I wrapped in leather so they are more comfortable to hold . I'm still going to end up with carpal tunnel before my obsession is over but we all must sacrifice for our obsessions..yes?

I only bought one of the second item. It is a water proof container that I want to make a nice felted cover for...I will replace the cheap little strap with some nice fiber or leather and they will fit most cell phones, ipods and anything you don't ant to get banged up in your purse . They were only 95cents, so I may go get a few more if this one works out .

Third purchase was something that you can use to card fiber (if you can't afford the $75 paddles and I can't) . They were only a dollar, so worth the the cost but to small to do much with . They should work for the dog hair from Andra that I need to card after washing . Hoping to finish that needle felting some time this year .

Last item is several pounds of leather "waste", strips that will be perfect for hanging felted pendants on and am also going to felt up some cat toys that will be attached to the leather for "cat fishing"...my cats love that game and they have been having a blast with their new felted balls...I think they like the smell of the sheep ?

Just had to share my new stim toys...two very large and heavy metal balls . A decadant $6.00 from Axman shopping spree . Love 'em !
Great for meditating .