Woolnimals

I've just updated my Etsy shop!   I included a squirrel and two new designs - a frog and a little brown dog. They're so cute! I also wanted to show off a few little works in progress. I'm working on creating a snowy owl by customer request. She and her fiancee are having a Harry Potter themed wedding and loved my cake toppers, but asked if I could do snowy owls. I'd never tried, but I have some beautiful wools that are layers of white and black which I've never used - and it turns out that it works perfectly for snowy owls. Here's a preview shot: I'm also working on another set of penguins - a father and chick. This will be my third set: And lastly, a brand new design! I've never made a bengal tiger before, so I dug down into my wool and found a beautiful orange merino called "Cinnabar." It works perfectly for the tiger fur. I'm super excited about this design and can't wait to show off the finished product: ...

I hope to have him finished by tomorrow! I layered brown, light tan, and white wool all together for the soft fur effect. I think he's pretty cute.

It seems like the dark days are a heavy blanket draping over us - and all I've wanted to do is snuggle and sleep. Fortunately, I've been pushing through my seasonal sleepiness and working on my felt creatures. Lately though, I've been wanting to do more sculptural (ie: lifelike) pieces - leaning away from whimsy and more towards elegance. ...speaking of elegance... I've been inspired lately by the artwork on the blogs I love. I adore the autumn/winter woodland aesthetic and want to branch out some of my designs. I will still be making cute and cuddly fuzzbombs, but will be introducing some new things soon as well. Also, I have some big news for my Etsy shop ! For anyone who's ever wanted to learn how to felt your own adorable creatures, keep an eye out around the new year for DIY kits in some of my more popular designs. I'm super excited to send out some test kits to fellow needle felters and newbies to the craft for their feedback. Their wisdom will help to ma...

Oh Possum! Here's my next little project. Possums are really, really hard to capture. They can look a little like a mouse if you're not careful. I think with this guy I'm going to do something unprecedented - I'm going to add HANDS and FEET! I know, it's crazy. He just needs some cute little paws. The tail does not have any wire in it. Anyone who needle felts can appreciate the time it took to make that tail. Hoo boy! My co-worker says there aren't possums in Vermont, which is absolute rubbish. Last week as I was driving home, a Possum ran out in front of my car. "Run" is a bit of a stretch. He rambled out and crossed the road with a single-minded pointedness that tickled me. They're so cute. Coming Soon!

Finishing this skunk has been an uphill battle. Did you know skunk tails are white with a black stripe? I didn't, and had to re-do his tail. I'm hoping to finish him up this weekend...

I've been kicking around the idea of a Pet Raincloud for a while. I'm a melancholic soul at times and love a good rainy day. I also love 3D wall hangings, so I combined these joys into a new art piece. Behold - the raincloud: The frame, for reference, is 5 x 7. This is my test run, so the writing on the bottom may or may not be there when I make these to sell. Also, my handwriting is pretty atrocious, so I have to work on that. It says " even today there is cause for joy ." It's a sentiment I must say to myself ten times a day. It's a good thing. I love it's plushy bumpy poofiness. It's pet-able. Here's a room shot. This is my "work in progress" shelf in my art studio. You can see a jar of dyed vintage doilies on the left. The little mouse in front of that is a piece I hope to finish this weekend, and that little chubby squirrel (yes, it's a squirrel) is from one of my favorite Etsians, Erin Ellis. Visit her shop, it's really cut...

This has been a "work in progress" for a couple of months now. There has to come a point where I realize that it's not a work in progress so much as a work in process. I love this deer. And then sometimes, it's all wrong. I think I've finally put my finger on what's going on here. Unlike my Plumpies, his cuteness comes not from the representation of an animal through it's defining characteristics (aka: tusks or mane or round eyes or distinct coloration)...but through how realistic and small he is. This poses a problem because, also unlike the Plumpies, I am paying a great deal of attention to making this deer look as lifelike as possible. Which is really, really hard. So sometimes I love it and sometimes I think "UGH, I'm over my head!" He's really cute though. I love seeing him sleeping on my Works in Progress shelf. Sometimes he looks so real (especially from behind) that I pretend how amazing it would be to have a real, living, tiny ...

I've been working on incorporating dyed vintage doilies into my wool pieces. I've had to learn how to sew in order to do this, and I'm finally well on my way to a project I've had in mind for months. This is a much larger piece than I'm used to working with, and has taken many hours just to get to this point. I took these pictures with my phone, so the colors are off. The elephant is actually a nice, soft grey with a true Crayola purple doily on its back. It's about six inches by five inches so far, and the legs have yet to be added. A note on my personal felting style: I usually start with a course wool for the body and layer a softer roving over that. It makes for a tedious process, but the end result is a textural delight.

Despite the fact that I shouldn't type - I wanted to update that I received a large lot of dyed vintage doilies from Australia last night! I'm THRILLED to begin incorporating them into my wool projects. I have so many delicious ideas that I can hardly concentrate on my day job...but hopefully it'll rain this weekend and afford me some time to needlefelt (providing I can manage not to hurt myself any more this week). Photo courtesy of SweetVintage78's shop , the lovely Etsian who sold me these delights.

I just finished updating the inventory in my shop . This is the last of the "pre-made" (ie: items I made for the craft fair) creatures I have on hand. Some are going other places and aren't being listed on Etsy. I'm in the process of making foxes, owls, Matryoshka dolls, lions, and polar bears - but life is still a bit hectic and I'm not sure when they'll all get finished. I'm also working on a Wiener dog that is possibly my most favorite creation yet. Here is a picture of a Narwhal that I've been working on for over a month. Since he's made with fine mo' roving, he's harder to needle felt. The softer the fibers, the more difficult it is to get them to felt. His tusk took a long time, but it's actually sort of spirally like a real Narwhal tusk. He's pretty dang cute.

This is a new concept for me - I've never done traditional dolls, but I love Matryoshka (Russian nesting dolls) and thought I'd try to make a set out of wool. Of course, these dolls won't actually nest. Beside the doll is an example of how bad a sketch artist I am. It's atrocious! The leaf is my favorite part because it looks like I added it, but in fact, it was created by felting the green down all around it, giving it an applique affect. Neat, huh? This doll stands about 5 inches and so far has taken about three hours of work! Phew! I'm hoping to finish this one up this weekend and start work on the smaller ones. We'll see how that goes!