Here is my second attempt at a needle felted mask. Owls are fun, you can use a lot of creativity with them. I enjoyed this one very much.

Needle Felted Mask

I have always wanted to make felted masks. I have researched and google searched them for years. I  found a book written by Teresa Cato that was very helpful. Here is my first attempt at the lion mask.

 

This is about a days work to get to this point.

Here I have started to add some color.



More detail.

 



The finished product.

 

 

Here is the book I used. She is great at taking you through the steps and also has templates for the masks, ears, etc. Very well done.

Commissioned Belted Galloway Bull

This is Motown the Belted Galloway Bull I created as a commission this month.


    I find that I am never satisfied with my work. I always want it to be better. Then I think, "Does everyone feel this way?" I have so much fun working on my felted sculptures, murals, or purses to slippers. Even when it is a complete fail and there have been many, I learned something and I enjoyed myself. I do get a little frustrated because of the time I lost, but I know in the long run it will save me time down the road on another project. I have a couple "felt Paintings" in the works and I will post them as soon as I can!

This is the second pig I made for the Illustration I posted in a recent blog. He has a wire armature to help support him on the base which is made from an antique croquet mallet. He is completely made from wool, even the guitar strings!

I am felting Three Pigs Dancing by Scott Gustafson. I have finished the first one by adding the pot and spoon.
  Now I am working on the second one with the homemade fiddle/guitar/banjo , not sure which one it is.
 I will post a picture soon, they are fun to make. I really love Scott Gustafson's work and think I will do other characters of his in the future. His book "Alphabet Soup" by Scott Gustafson has some wonderful illustrations that would be a ball to felt and make come to life.

Calvin, Needle Felted Kitten Sculpture

This is a felting of my kitten that I lost from feline infectious peritonitis. This is my first time of trying to simulate fur with merino roving, it is fun to see it come together. One thing I did learn is that you can adjust how close you put the roving depending on how thick you want the "fur" to be. At first I did it way to close! It was so tight I had a hard time giving the sculpture a hair cut.

"The Thinker"

I wanted to do a series of pigs after famous statues. This Pig is "The Thinker".

Seriously thinking hard!

The Rock that he is sitting on came from the bottom of the Grand Canyon, one of my favorite trips. I only wish that it had more of an angle so my pig was leaning forward more.

Please check out www.crocreate.blogspot.com for more things made from recycled fencing!

So this is the other picture I am using as a reference. I will now try and add a picture of the felted background.

This is the background I am trying to created a muted, out of focus background. I will add pictures as I go!

So this is a photo of my next project. I have another photo that I could not find on line, I have printed out that I am actually going to use. The background is much more interesting. At this point I have wet felted the background for the mural to look out of focus and I will needle felt the Tree swallows and branches and other details now. I will take a photo of the background before I start. See you soon!

Unfortunatly I am not a good photographer and this picture does not do this mural justice. There are color variants that you need to see in person to appriciate them. This is my view of Mount Monadnock from the top of Miller State Park. I took this picture one early morning after hiking Raymond trail and what a wonderful view to enjoy and start my day with.  I wet and needle felting this mural from wool which is all grown locally.

This is a mural I made of sheep in a field. I then framed it in an old window. Lot's of color and fun.

I made this rug from a pattern I saw on line. I am really interested in making wool rugs with old floorcloth patterns. I used to make floorcloths a long time ago so this is fun to do it in another medium. My problem is I am pulled in so many directions! I want to try so many techniques in felting! So much to do, so litte time.

Beginning Felting Class

Twin Elm Farm

I realize it has been quite awhile since I have updated my blog and I am so sorry! Time is flying by. Having the space at Twin Elm Farm keeps me very busy and I love making things for my spot. I just filled it with Christmas things for the weekend, so has everyone else and it is so beautiful in there. If you are from the area and you haven't gone you really must. If you are from out of town and looking for a day trip, Peterborough NH has wonderful shopping and eateries, many to choose from!

   Here are a few of the things I have put in my shop at Twin Elm Farm!

Autumn

So, I can't help but think about fall in August. When August rolls around I start to feel melancholy about the summer but excited about fall too! I am one of those New England people that actually like winter!

I love fall colors and have been enjoying working with beautifully dyed wools in oranges, golden yellow's and reds. I also love Halloween and I couldn't resist making this crow. He is about 20" tall with wire legs. I have since made another one sitting down and I will post that as soon as I can. Happy Halloween!

Cat Cave

This is another "Katty Shack" I created, using local wool, Navajo Churro, some silk, and alpaca fibers for decoration was added. Inside is a bed made of bamboo stuffing and buckwheat seeds that can be warmed up in the microwave to create a nice warm, cozy place for your kitty or small pup!

Cat Cave's

First Cat Cave
This was my first attempt at making a cat cave, I really like the
way it felted and the color, I left the opening like you see
because it reminded me of cat ears! But there was a problem...,

Here is a closer picture, shown with the oil lamp to show
size in comparison.

Now you can see the problem! But really I knew it was
going to be small, I just wanted to try the process on something
not to large to start with, John was perplexed!







So here is my second attempt at a cat cave, the size is good and
I even made it a little artsy. I am looking forward to making
more!

This is one of two pillows I recently made
by both needle and wet felting. It was like painting
with wool!