Lotsa Felted Wool Hairbands

I've been diligently working on hairbands decorated with wool felt designs.

The wings and triple moons are made from wet felted sheets, with the pieces cut out and needle felted together. The stitches from the beading secures the pieces in place, along with the blanket stitching around the edges in embroidery floss. The beads are glass seed beads, gemstones and Austrian crystal.

The roses are three dimensionally sculpted from merino wool roving using a felting needle and a heart shaped cookie cutter form. 

 The hair bands are just ordinary plastic hairbands from the corner drug store.

The wings are just so cute... They'd look better on a blond with big hair though.

Felt Goddess Pendant

I'm trying a new technique; cutting shapes from flat wool felt and joining and sculpting them with a felting needle. It's turning out pretty well. Feeling a little wary about the durability of the pieces with only wisps of wool holding them together, I added stitching to secure the pieces. The beading also adds more stability along with the decoration.

It is made with plant-dyed, 100% wool felt, about three layers, with a little bit of eco wool batting to fill the belly and a touch of merino wool roving for the hair. The sparkles are basic glass seed beads. The blanket stitch in cotton embroidery floss around the edge is decorative and holds the two base layers together.

I'm thinking of stringing it on three twined strands of rose quartz and flourite beads.

Needle Felted Wool Harvest Mother & Daughter

This happens to me all the time.... I get inspired to make a new design and then when I'm done it's too precious to me to sell it. Sigh. So then I have to make another one like it to actually sell. The top picture is the first one I made. The picture below is the second, the one that will be for sale. Of course, they do each come about a bit different. I'll run out of a certain color and have to use another. And since I don't look at the old one while I make the new one the details of shaping will be different. When I copy my own works I tend to copy the idea, not the exact piece. Same as when I'm inspired by other peoples' works I guess.

These figures are made with my ubiquitous supply of American grown, undyed eco wool and Germany grown, plant-dyed wool.

How is it made? Well, first, using the eco wool, I needle felt a ball for the head by taking a small strip of wool, tying a knot in it then rolling it up in the loose ends and needle felting it firm. Adding more strips of wool to make the ball to the size desired. Then I roll a flat piece of wool into a cone shape, needle felt it firm, adding more wool on the bottom to weight it. I take a strip of wool, wrap it over the head and use the "tails" to secure the head to the top of the cone. I roll another flat piece of wool into a long narrow sausage which becomes the arms, which are attached to the back of the body. A few more layers of wool needle felted in place to form the desired body shape, be she slim, busty or round.

Switching to the colored wool, I create the clothing and decorations by laying small tufts and strips of wool across the figure and needling them down. Details like the cornucopia and the apple are made much like the figure, with a balled or rolled eco wool core, covered in tufts of colored wool.

Needle Felted Wool Celestial Goddess in Purple

Pantheacon 2010 inspired me to make a big purple goddess figure. Here she is.

Her core is needle felted eco wool (wool from sheep which are raised humanely and without the use of chemicals). Her clothes are plant-dyed wool roving. The curling decorations are kettle dyed merino wool yarn.

This is the first sculpture I've done with separately felted pieces which are sewn together. The sun and crescent moons are felted to each other and then sewn to the figure's hands. I sometimes use pipecleaners to brace the arms of figures, but this one is solid wool.

Here's a close-up of her hair.

Here's a close-up of the back of her skirt.

And her rear view.

She'll be available for sale exclusively at Pantheacon 2011. (If I can bear to part with her that is.)

Knitted Octopus for Fergie

Fergie likes yarn. He likes to grab balls of it off the shelf and chew on the wrappers. Good thing he's so cute or we might not be welcome at the local yarn stores. So the other day he grabbed a ball of wool/nylon blend sock yarn off the shelf at Michael's. First surprise... to find yarn with actual wool content at Micheal's, second surprise... only $3.50 a ball. Fergie my lad, it looks like you just purchased your first ball of yarn.

But what to knit with it? Maybe some baby socks? I'd seen some strange needles at the LYS (local yarn store) and been drawn to them. Tiny little circular needles, only nine inches long, with the cutest little points. "What in the world are those for?" I thought. "I must have them!" came into my head, quickly followed by "but why?" After a bit of discussion with the knowledgeable staff of the LYS I found that the cute little needles are for socks. Too big for baby socks though. Hmmm. Maybe I could knit him a stuffed animal. Perhaps a snake?

I bought the little circular needles and started knitting. It was refreshingly fun. My hands strained a bit holding the awkwardly short needles, but it was very easy to pick up and put down without loops slipping off (which is my big problem with double pointed needles). As I knitted through the wait at the restaurant at lunch, in the kids section of Barnes & Noble, and during Wednesday night gaming; I found the going easy and quick. The tube formed. But, as I was told, the needles were sized to make adult socks. The tube is too big for a snake. Unless it's going to be an anaconda. No, I think. I change direction and plan for an octopus instead.

To make the the body round I throw in a few increases, then start evenly decreasing each round until the top opening gets small enough that I have to switch to double pointed needles. Luckily, I have some in the right size from my grandmother's needle stash. (Hmmm, that sounds rather odd out of context...) I take the tube quickly down to three stitches, then sew it closed. Now I have what looks at bit like a deflated wool balloon.

Time for the tentacles. I look up how to do I-Cords. Oh, that's easy! I cast on three stitches onto one of those dpn's and start making an I-Cord. After a few rows I increase, a few more rows then increase again  until the tentacle is 3 stitches wide at the tip, 5 stitches wide at the top and about 3 inches long. Make seven more and then sew them on. Then it looks like a very strange, very small hat. I'm not proficient at knitting in circles, so I get out the crochet hook and close up the bottom/mouth end. Stuff with eco-wool batting and done!