Big eared Dufus needle felt and a few opinions of feltable fiber

This took me 3 nights to finish, not because of the complexity but because I am on another fiber hunt for some core fiber that doesn't cost $4. oo an ounce like most of my hand dyed merino purchases . I have gotten some very nice stuff for less but I love many of the fiber dyers and carders on Etsy and can't resist .

This guy is some less expensive but still wonderful natural fiber from Yarn to Spin on Etsy

I have been thinking of writing a bit about fiber for any new felters but still consider myself a "newbie" and still playing around with different fibers myself . This was my fisrt time working with Coopworth (sp?) and I really loved it . The stuff I bought was really airy and pretty soft but felted nicely . I also really enjoyed the color and texture of the BFL which is longer stapled and made nice outer "hair" . I mixed this with a bit of black alpaca and like the over all effect .

When I first began needle felting, I started with Romney which I had read was the needle felters choice . It's not my choice . It may felt faster and harder but for me it was often to fast and hard to get the detail I wanted . The Coopwoth and BFL shetland that I have worked with are all about the same in felting and closer to merino then Romney . I think mixing them with some alpaca softens them and gives a much more "fuzzy animal" feel to the sculpture . When I want something smooth, like the snout or nose I prefer the merino and it also makes a good core if you can find some for an affordable price...sometimes for less then a dollar if you buy in bulk or from larger companies on-line .

For the ears, I layer light pink merino on one side with a hairy fiber on the other , in this case, BFL . I like how the hairs poke through the pink areas to make them more realistic but needle felting something this thin and making it solid can be challenging . Some of my ears end up being an inch thick .