bunny pins and black and white with milk protien fiber

I don't usually use patterns or molds for my felting but I bought some cute Easter cookie cutters and wanted to try and mix a quicker method with adding my own detailing . I like the bunnies above...each is given an hour of detailing to make them 3D but I stll need to add some bead eyes and pin backs . The butterflies....didn't turn out very good, to thick to look real , I tried making thinner ones and prefelting (with a needle) to add onto the white wet felt scarf (below) but again, once felted, just to thick and bulky looking .

After a week of rain and dark skies, I now have to bright a sun to take good pictures . The above fabric is one layer of very fluffy merino with one long strip of dyed merino gently teased apart and layed in the opposite direction . Both the white and black merino felted much thicker then I had intended .

The above black scarf was supposed to be a spider web scarf but it felted really tight and fast with only one layer of black and some scattered white merino and dyed milk protien fibers .I really like the milk protien but the bright sun has really washed out how bright and pretty they are here so you will have to take my wrd for it . I think they were very staticy to work with and have to be pulled apart gently so that the fibers are far enough apart to let the wool fibers hook onto them , but it did not stick to my fingers as much as the silk . It is a bit expenssive per ounce but a little goes a long way .

cute little woolie and some great new fiber from GreenwoodFiberworks

This is actually another "do over" . wasn't happy with the brown eyes and body I had originally made and added some of my new "fur looking fiber and redid the eyes . I also added some teeth because I had made the bottom jaw to large . Point being . Even if your not happy with something you have made , put it aside and go back to it later . It still may not be perfect but the great thing about felt is that you can keep adding layers until you get something better .
This little bit of weirdness is a wool dread that I added to the end of my own braid just to see if you could needle felt directly into hair . Spoiler alert......You can . I just added a few inches to the end of the braid that I was planning on cutting off, but it was still in great shape after a few days and I think there is some potential for this ideal for people who want to add a few dreads or just add color to their current dreads . Easypeasy . I even thought about going into some local tattoo shops and see if anyone was interested in learning how to do this......(In exchange for a new tattoo for me ? )

My BF says that this looks like an animal that is "scooting"...... useing the lawn as toilet paper...(ewe) My intention was just a baby animal leaning forward through his back legs . There is something about that pose I find adorable . His fur is felted from some of the new "Heathered" fiber I bought from Greenwood Fiberworks on Etsy . Below is the rest of the stash that just arrived and I absolutely love the heather (her term) which has a darker subtle tone running through out that adds so much depth to the colors . Click on the picture if you want the full effect .

Not only are her colors earthy and gorgious, the fiber is a very fluffy, soft merino that felts better then most of the factory processed fibers I was using last week . Often the factory processed merino is so smooth it takes much longer to felt then the hand-dyed I buy on Etsy . One suggestion I have read for this facotry smooth fiber is using a bit of steam to open the fiber before felting it.....(as if I would ever be organized enough to do that . )

I also treated myself to a couple of ounces of Milk silk fiber ,(In the plastic bag in back). Although it doesn't "felt", it can be used like you would use silk in adding a bit of interesting texture to wet felting....just make sure it is mixed with wool or trapped by the wool to felt it down .

Furry and Fiesty Needle Felt

I missed the best photo light of the day but wanted to share my latest "needle felties" before I had to go back to work for the week . I think I may be busy tomorrow . I have an appointment with my BF's "tax guy" and was hoping to write off business expenses for all the wool I bought this year but......I am a cronically disorganized person who hates businessy things, so don't know if I will actually make it to the appointment . I kept most of my reciepts this year but hunting them down and adding them up hurts my brain .

needle felted Easter family

These are a couple of cuffs I'm working on . I needle felted merino onto a bit of Alpaca sweater that I fulled(felted) in the washing machine . I still need to bead and add closures but it will be a nice break from my usual finger poking fun .

It's a fuzzy family get together . One of the joys of working with animal fibers is that it seems to work so well in creating fuzzy friends and I have never had enough fuzzy friends . (Have to admit, it is nice to have a few that I don't have to clean their toilet every day . )

I know his hands are HUGE and I could make him more realistic by redoing them but I kind of like them "as is" and his arms are movable which makes it fun to animate his posture . I really need to learn how to use my camara to take movie shorts so I can do a little play on UTUBE with my critters .

Why do half my animals look like they would rip your arms off if given the chance ? Honestly, they are all just as sweet as me : ) and want nothing more then to get a few laughs and hugs from a friend . This cynical looking bunny is done "Big Eyed Art" style which is something my BF and I collect . Funny how in most fo those pictures, the big eyes make animals look sweet and vulnerable and mine just looks like he has become psychotic from smoking to much crack .......(or am I just imagining that ?) Maybe it's just the bad lighting . If the sun ever comes out in Minnesota, I will try and retake the picture and see if he looks a bit less gloomy . He really is much friendlier looking in person .


Happy felting and please go give your fuzzy friends a hug .

Quick Linkk to Hot fashion inspiration

Fashionable.....me? Well, I am cutting edge . I am still hoping that my "dumpster chic" will catch on....current wardrobe consists mostly of T-Shirts with animals on them worn with flannel PaJama pants .....(Who was this genius fashionista named "Pajama" and how did he know that Pink Flamingos, Sock Monkeys and Swamp Monster flannel fabric would make such charming pant wear?)


That said, even if my own fashion sense is based on "comfortable and inexpensive" , even I can appreciate the art that goes into some clothing . The link below shows some great examples of that and some of it actually doesn't look painful to wear.....(I assumed that was a requirement of fashion.) One of my "To Do Someday" is to get a sewing dummy.........(I AM one, but am refering to the cloth kind you drape fabric on) and learn how to make my own patterns . I really have some gorgeous old clothing that I would like to re-purpose and refuse to part with because of this ....someday dream . I don't yet qualify for Hoarders show but 90% of the clothing filling my closets is things I don't wear but hope to craft with.....someday .

My obsessions are a bit like someone sitting in Urgent care waiting patiently for their turn for attention while the blood slowly leaks from an open wound....Will they get attention before their time expires ? Only time will tell .

http://couturefashionweek.wordpress.com/

Needle felting until the dreaded stomach bug bit me

This is the base of the needle felt alien tree/mushroom that I am making to hang my alien pod necklaces from . It's about 20 inches tall and the core is some of my re-purposed felting mat . I have three layers of Romney and merino laid on this and it is taking much longer then I had anticipated . Since it is "Alien" , I am using my artistic license to make it as weird as I want , which is always fun . It's really firmly felted right now, but I'm still considering wet felting it to make the colors blend together a bit more organically . I still need to add a mushroom top which I hope to do in wet felting and a needle felt base to make it more stable .

Above and below are just a few more of my critters . Not much new except I don't usually felt on clothing (my critters feel no shame), but the brown "bear" came from some roving called Chocolate raspberry truffle , so I wanted to use a bit of the raspberry on him .

....As far as the stomach bug....(I read up on it and it is not a real flu but is a virus) and it has been 3 days developing a very close relationship with my bathroom.....less said about that the better, but there is something "going around", so be forewarned . I have been doing everything that the experts recommend....no solid food while you feel nausias then only easily digested foods......For me that is those little bullion cubes and small amounts of Romen noddles . I've started feeling a little better after 3 days but still having symptoms while others have had it and it cleared up in a day....I'm not use to be sicking, so am being a big baby about it but probably have to go to work tonight anyway...(that is where I got it. so no risk of infecting anyone who hasn't already had it .

Happy crafting and hope the bug doesn't fly your way .

Wild things from "Strange Land" for Shepherds Harvest

For more detail, just click on the pictures.....


Here are my two last sculptures for Strange Land . My long term plan is to make a felt tree with some fiber I am waiting for and hang my "alien pods" from it and surround it with the Strange Land "wild things" for a group shot . I would like to make that into postcards with my shop name on it but still don't HAVE a shop....ooops . I seem to do well in thinking about the details and vaguely seeing long term, but have a lot of trouble with all the stuff in the middle .
I started this with the idea of making a dragon and used really thick copper-wire to make the legs pose-able , but as I laid the silk and alpaca fiber over the shape it started reminding me of a mallard duck , so I went with a chimera...duck feet -shark fin-dragon face .....(sort of) . Well, what ever he is...I think the colors turned out pretty . I may still add some nuno felt wings .
This big guy, started life as a gerbil or guinea pig........then there was a nuclear meltdown in my brain and he became one of the wild things....but not before going through a brief metamorphoses as a spookie Homer Simpson until I added more fur . I really should get the camera out during the different stages because what I start out making seldom reflects what I end up with.....I often feel like the wool is controlling me more then that I am taming the wool .
Handsome, he is not, but I think he would give you a very gentle hug and the alpaca fur is very soft .
I made this little guy for my dentists' new baby . I hope she likes it enough to come to Shepherds Harvest in May and check out the alpaca and sheep that went into making it . I can hardly wait !

And so ends two more weeks of finger poking good fun in preparation for Shepherds Harvest .

Dont Play with Your Food Mr Yeti

Just kidding, he is really friends with these sweet little sheep and mostly eats power bars he steals from hikers backpacks .

This grumpy bear is actually a "do-over" . I didn't like the original bear so covered him with several more layers and puffed him up a bit to get a better shape .



The "Wookie" does look a bit more like a werefolf then I intended . He is also a re-cover of an old partially completed sculpture that I was never happy with . He still needs an ammo belt and a few more layers of hair that I am waiting for.....(goes to check mail box again ). Waiting for fiber can be so frustrating .

computer problems continue

I have gotten over my virus but my computer is still suffering . After spending several 12 hour days trying to fix it, I am afraid I will have to take it in for possible repair but am still considering buying a new one as this one has had problems for years .

I do manage to get on but have not found a work around for getting pictures to up load from my computer but will try using Picasso "blog this" . Wish me luck and any computer suggestions....what to buy, would be welcome .

Speaking of inspiration....I have always loved bugs

I have been felting and this is a felting blog, but my other passion is reading blogs and interent surfing looking for inspiration . I found a cool artist tonight that I wanted to share for others who might like to find their inspiration in less traditional places...


http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/micropolitan/index.html

This artist uses uses two of my favorite images.....microscopic details of protozoa and insects as the base of his art . I have been fascinating with the color and symetry of such natural art since I saw my first images in biology class . I hope to use them in my own felting some day...it's on a very long list of "To Try" list .

Hopefully tomorrow , I wont be to tired to take some pictures of what I have been working on myself this week . Sometimes those 10 hour overnights get reallllly long and I am just to tired to do anything when I get home .

Happy creating to all .

Need Inspiration ? or...Why can we appreciate beauty ?

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/03/carnivorous-plants/schmitz-photography?source=email_photo

Above is a quick link to some color, texture and evolutionary inspiration . As awed as I am by human creation, I personally find nothing quite as amazing as natures creations . Since childhood, I have been transfixed by the texture, color and design found in the smallest details in the woods . I can spend hours picking up bits of rock or bark with tiny "moss art" attached .

When contemplating the existence of a "spiritual creator" , My question was not just how awe inspiring such a creator must be to have such a wealth of diversity in their craft bag, but that "it" would also create something in me that could feel the power of their creations beauty . Why, when I showed an amazing rock to someone else would they dismiss it with a shrug....(as I would shrug when they showed me their new shoes ?)

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder.....who gave us the eye/soul to experience beauty and what purpose does that ability have for humans ?

Scientist will tell you that humans experience symmetry as beautiful, wither in the human face or a plant leaf.....because it shows a healthy gene . Psychologist might tell you that only a healthy brain can experience beauty as many with depression/anxiety wear glasses that make everything around them dark and muddy .

Why is it that one human can pass a pitcher plant with little more then a glance but feel excited when seeing a purse by a famous designer ? What makes the mosses beauty speak to some but not to others ?

Some of us "create" as a way of getting closer to the spirit of the original creator . The intention is to shout or whisper......"Thank you for giving us these eyes, hands, ears and mostly the soul that allows us to feel beauty where ever we find it . " Playing with color, design and texture is our primitive attempt to say....."I see you, feel you and thank you . "

Sid the sloth ? and thrift store purse liners ...(if I get them sewn )

This giant sloth is inspired by "sid" from Ice Age, and does not look much like an actually sloth...A bit scary looking, but if you remember Sid from the movie , he was harmless with a big heart .
Sid took me most of the past two days and nights because of the detailing

When I started needle felting sculptures I only used wool in roving form but have found that I actually prefer using batts if I can get them at a descent price . The only problem with this is trying to make sure that each arm, leg ect, is the same size as it's mate . With roving, you can measure it by how long each strip of roving is but with a big batt, you just have to tear of sections and try and "feel" each for size..(.unless you have a very sensitive scale and can weigh grams ?) . Anyway, the batts are worth the extra effort as they felt much smoother and don't leave the hard lines you can get with strips of roving .


90% of my sculptures are very felted very hard because I am so paranoid that they will fall apart if left loose. The exception are bits of hair that I root into the base sculpture . I love the look and feel of the "fuzzy" wool hairs and it is fine to "pet" it, but to much "love" will either loosen or matt the lose hairs .
I like the glass beads for the sloth claws but they are also fragile.....sewn in and not glued . I guess, over all, this is one of my more fragile pieces, not meant for a lot of handling but an occasional hug would be appreciated by Sid .
Here is my cat Baloo, pretending there is not a Sloth lurking near by . (Cats are really good at denial .)
Last but not least , the thrift store finds from yesterdays Presidents day sale . I have been trying to find some nice fabric to line my felted bags . I thought this was a nice variety of colors and the fabrics are very thick cotton that are some kinds of window treatments .....valances ? Pardon my ignorance..... but I have never "treated" my windows....(they are lucky if they get washed . ) Whatever their original function, I think These can be repuposed and will sew up nicely to make sturdy purse liners . This weeks goal is to wash the fabrics and try and sew in the lining . All my bags are different sizes and shapes, so I can't just use a pattern but will have to do some measuring and estimating, then sew that basic shape on the machine and hand sew the top edge to the felt bag .
Anyone who has ever seen me.....(rare as as a polar bear sighting in Mexico as I am basically agoraphobic).....would know that I do not wear "girly" things . Mostly, I live in flannel PJ's and Tshirts but even I could not pass up this silk peach outfit for $3.25 !!! I don't know (or care?) if it fits, because I will probably cut it up and use it in crafting ......(gasp). I think the scarf is silk chiffon but haven't done a burn test on the thread yet, either way, it will be used in some nuno felting .
Another storage container for either finished needle felting OR craft supplies.....the irony is that it will probably sit empty, under the craft table, because I can not decide which function it is best suited for ....(sigh).
Just a little french guy that I will use for displaying bracelets at craft shows . The arms do bend up for placing the bracelets on .
I think I like vintage image on these buttons more then the buttons themselves but they should find some use in my bags .

Happy felting and thrift store shopping to all .

Happy Valintines Day IHOP..come hungry....leave hungry and disgusted

http://www.my3cents.com/search.cgi?criteria=IHOP&min=50


Above is a fun link for a place to "vent" when you are frustrated by poor service or products .

I found it while googeling IHOP + food poisoning .

My "googeling" such a combination was provoked by last nights trip to IHOP for our valentines day dinner . I had told my BF that I would take him out to eat, but becaue we hadn't made reservations, we would need to pick something that didn't have a huge wait time . I had never eaten at IHOP before but the commercials looked good, so I was willing to try a "new place"...something I am usually a bit afraid to do .

When we arrived, it was obvious that they were under staffed....one waitress, one busser and one "assistant" who looked like a deer caught in the head-lights . It didn't take long for them to seat us, but the coffee carafe only had 2 cups in it, gone long before the food arrived . We ordered an onion ring appetizer that was thrown on the table with out plates or ketchup, but the assistant eventually brought us some after we "tripped" her and asked for them . We should have been warned by the couple in the booth behind us, who sent back a plate of "something" that was not cooked correctly, but we had already ordered our steak...his with breakfast food and mine as a dinner .

The waitress, obviously over worked, and who admitted that the other waitress had called in sick for the night, took our order in a rush . She seemed confused from the get-go, saying that they were out of hash-browns....(at a breakfast food place?) but I could substitute my hash-browns for the cubed potatoes.....Mine said it came with cubed potatoes not hash-browns, (which I knew from 5 min looking at the menu)...but I asked if I could get mashed potatoes instead and she said "no problem" that is what the dinner plates come with????? Well, evidently it was a problem, because I got cubed potatoes and instead of the broccoli listed on the menu, I was given corn .

My BFs breakfast had runny egg whites but he ate them anyway...."no fear" in that guy . He took 2 bites of his steak before I got done examining the cadaver that had been put on my plate . It honestly looked more like something that I had seen on CSI crime autopsy slab then anything that has ever been on a plate....(Was Jeffry Dommer in the kitchen cooking ?)...was I expected to eat this or figure out the cause of death ? I had asked for Medium rare but had never had one served to me that had so many raw areas . There was a bit of it that looked like it "might" be cooked, but it was hard to tell if the "brown" was actually from cooking or just the look old meat gets when it is starting to go bad .

One sniff of this oddly colored steak was a dead give away that the meat had gone "bad"...anyone who has walked in the woods and stumbled upon a half rotted carcass will never forget that smell ....the smell of rotting flesh is pretty strongly encoded in our DNA , and screams....... "don't eat this " ! There was a particularly nauseating area that was completely raw and black . I was wondering how a cook could let this corpse make it out of the kitchen .

When the waitress "assistant" wandered back over with more coffee, I told her I couldn't eat this and she said...."I don't blame you " ????? The honesty as refreshing....perhaps she was an aspie ? The manager came over and I explained that it was more then obvious to me that this meat was food poisoning law suit waiting to happen. He assured me that it came form a reputable dealer and had been properly thawed in cold water ? (I'm clueless, is that how they thaw frozen meat ?) I thought it had to thaw in the fridge ?

Anyway, he said that I could send both plates back and they would only charge me for the coffee and onion rings . No problem . The waitress apologized and it certainly wasn't her fault but that plate had to go through at least to hands before it made it to me and it is hard to believe no one noticed the smell or the"odd" color of the bleeding carcass ....I sure would hate to see what rare looked like but I'm pretty sure it would involve the cow coming to the table and asking me what slice I would like....(concept stolen from the great book......."The Restaurant at the end of the Universe").

So, this was a Valentines day I will probably remember . My BF didn't get food poisoning as his steak was cooked very well done and only two small bites passed his lips, so who knows, if it was contaminated or not . What I do know, is that I wont be going back to IHOP and after reading other reviews, doesn't appear like many others will either .

Tune in tomorrow for Thriftstore "scores" and Felted Sloth .

Fuzzy bear ? and nuno felt chiffon

Lost my words for now , explanation to follow