A family of needle felt critters

 All these guys look like they could be from the same family . They are needle felted from the same basic mix of colonial and alpaca with a bit of pink merino . Just like real family though. they are far from identical .

 Their body positions are a bit different and each face has its own personality .

 The following three pics are the same guy from different angles to give a bit more perspective on their shape . In spite of the poor lighting, you can hopefully see what a difference the reverse barb needle makes in creating a nice long fur on each of these critters . Using the strong alpaca it is easy to create several inches of fur that is strongly secured . I actually brush them after felting to remove any broken hairs . Only the critter with the light brown tummy has the alpaca tacked into place instead of reverse felted and I wouldn't dare brush that . No matter how many hours I felt it in, a strong tug can remove a layer of tacked in locks  .I do think they make a great addition as nothing feels silkier then baby alpaca curls .

 I just bought another 50 of the reverse barb needles and if you haven't been able to find them....(they are hard to get a hold of), you can email this seller......Bobbie Ripperger

bbbinquiries@att.net

Happy felting

Large needle felt animals with clay claws

 Just a quick post . Someone asked for a picture of me and I wasn't sure I could add an email attachment so I have put a rare picture of myself on here . I have never liked the way I looked and age has certainly not improved my self image , so I am hoping my critters add a bit of distraction .

I finally finished the clay claws for the North American badger and added some to the "critter" I worked on this week . Pathetic, I only made one animal all week ! I am slipping . He is a bigger then my cats and although the flash and rainy day photos do not show much of his detail, I think he has a sweet look  . He has a nice shaggy coat of alpaca with bamboo fiber back legs . I'm not thrilled with the "black" bamboo fiber which does not look like a true black to me as you can see as he sits next to the true black alpaca fiber badger  .

Wishing you all a lovely weekend .