A Pair of Puffins

Almost 5 inches

Just 4 inches

Paper Crane

Please welcome my latest doll: Paper Crane!

I was inspired by the origami doll the Textile Tart's group made last month to create this needle felted wall doll. I will be bringing it to our meeting today to share. If I can get better photo's taken I will replace these but for now these will do. The first photo looks like one leg is longer than the other but in reality one foot is extended a bit from the wall- they are the same length. Also I find it difficult to take clear close-up shots of the face without a bit of blurring. I'll work on that.  But, I do like her. The ornamentation in her bun was once my grandmother's earring. The large button on her wrap also came from a bag of buttons I got from my grandmother. I have had the fabric I used on her kimono for a long time, just waiting for the right figure. I lined the kimono with gray satin and she also is wearing a pair of linen pantaloons that are embroidered with a gold leaf pattern. She is 22 inches tall, I used the same torso pattern as my other three wall dolls. Of course, as is also the case with all my wall dolls, she is named after the item in her hand. It is an origami crane.

My Tart's Ornament

I just finished my ornament- What do you think?
I ended up combining  essence of Sally Mavor with Waldorf style and created this little heart fairy.  She has a lot of reflective elements so she should really shine on a tree. Her legs are made from icicles that are very glittery, her dress is the metal cornucopia, her wings are tin, and the little heart is gold color metal so there is a lot of shiny stuff going on here. In contrast to that she has a plaid country bow, acorn hat, yarn hair and a needle felt featureless face. I used pipe cleaners for her arms with beads on her wrists. I think she is cute and I hope whoever picks my bag is happy with her as well.

Accessories

I've come to the realization that I will not make my goal of completing three dolls this week. I will however finish two- Roberta: The Huntress is already done and I am currently working on "Cupcake". I made her accessories last night. They are needle felted. Her hat is over-the-top as is the case with all the Vintage Spirits. I cut down a dosage cup that came with a bottle of cold medicine  and covered it with striped fabric for the cupcake cup. The frosting top is all wool with beads to represent the sprinkles.

A lovely cupcake hat!

Then I made her tray of cupcakes. The tray is the top of a plastic container that held straight pins. I was sitting at my sewing table trying to figure out how to construct a tray when there it was right in front of me.  The three little cupcakes are about 1/2 inch high, the entire tray is only 2 1/4 inches long.

Cupcake Anyone?

Spring Is In The Air!

Is there anything that heralds the arrival of spring more than seeing your first robin? I don't think so! The other day I had a flock of them on my front yard, talk about inspiration. Here are my first two needle felted American Robins. They stand approximately 3 inches tall and span 4 inches from head to tail.  The little one with the turned head was my first. When he was done, he seemed to need a friend so I made him one. Now they stand together.

Needle Felted Elephant

I kept track of my time on this one- 19 hours for the adult elephant! Yikes! Thank goodness I like the results! I did not use an armature in the legs but did run a wire through the trunk so it can be repositioned. The tusks are made of wool that I dipped in clear nail polish to harden them. The eyes are black glass beads. The adult elephant is 5 inches tall and the baby is a mere 2 inches tall not including the raised trunk. The wool is a combination of different shades of grey with a touch of white mixed in. I covered grey felt with wool for the ears so they would not become thick. It worked out well.

I'm on vacation next week so I plan on working on another Vintage Spirit bottle doll. I'm leaning towards an art deco style but I never really know how it will turn out until I get into the construction. The one thing that I do know is that it will be fun!

Needle Felted Giraffe

Another needle felted animal emerges from the wool. I think the biggest challenge of this piece was the spots! So many spots! And of course I was running low on the wool for the spots and I had nightmares of getting this close and not being able to actually finish him. But in the end I just made it. He stands about 11 inches tall. I think I will try to time how long it takes me to complete the next piece- just curious.

Needle Felted Whooping Crane

Just finished this Whooping Crane. I'm pleased with the final piece. It stands 11 1/2 inches tall. The legs are  wire covered with black wool roving and there is a wire inside the neck so his head may be repositioned. He has black bead eyes- otherwise he is entirely wool. I have been working on him for the past three weeks- just on Sundays. I've started reserving my Sundays for needle felting- I hope if I keep up that schedule I should be able to make quite a few creatures. This crane was fun to make but it did offer its share of challenges. The legs in particular- I used #18 wire- first I wasn't going to cover it but in the end I wrapped it with wool and secured the wool with thread. I particularly like the head- the beak is a mixture of different colors. I'm considering making him a partner poised a bit differently. If I do I will place them both on a more permanent stand. But for now- he is finished.

Needle Felted Polar Bears

Group Photo

I received two needle felting books for Christmas so I decided to make a few polar bears since I had a large amount of white wool on hand. I think these turned out well considering they are a first attempt. They are quite small, the seated one is the tallest and he is only 3 inches. The two standing ones are less than 4 inches long and approximately 2 3/4 inches tall. Needle felting takes hours!!! The process consists of poking a barbed needle into a mass of wool shaping as you go. I have been knitting up a storm lately and decided I needed a change of pace so tried my hand at a new skill. I must admit that I really like needle felting and will certainly be making more creatures in the future!

Multiplying Snails

I thought I’d give my snails a little more umph - so I am now putting them on rocks I gather from the shore. These rocks are beautiful in their own right but the addition of the snails makes them adorable. I have one on my desk at work- using it as a paperweight. Now everyone at work wants one. That’s ok because these little snails have been multiplying at an alarming rate all over my studio. They need new homes.

Needle-felting Snails

I am starting to include needle-felted animals in Fuzzy Knits. These little snails are multiplying all over my workspace. I live on the seacoast so often collect shells. These snails are made using periwinkle shells. The real snails that once inhabited these shells were long gone by the time I picked them up- obviously I did not take a shell that actually still housed a live animal- just the scavenged ones. I varnished the shells to bring out the natural colors then felted a new little snail with beaded eyes. Very cute. Since I started making these little guys I have included one as a gift with purchase otherwise I think I would be overrun with them by now. Yikes.