Lots of Easter bunnies!

I had the honour of teaching a lovely group of ladies from the Lancashire federation of the W.I.

We had a wonderful time making Easter bunnies and ladybirds too.

And as you can see they all had their own individual characters! 

I love them all.

Well done ladies!

Neil the sloth

I last posted the makings of Neil back in May. 

He is now completed and is with his new owner, who is delighted with him.

It was the largest and most difficult thing I have made so far. But I am pleased with how he turned out.

Lisa xx

Feet

Feet! 

They will be troll feet when I have made them mucky! 

These are the first feet I have ever made!

A lot of fun to make! 

Lisa xx

Needle felted cocker spaniel.

A while ago I was asked to make a cocker spaniel to look like their own cocker called Chocolate.

Of course I jumped at the chance, another challenge. 

I had in my head a traditional cocker spaniel like this

So when I asked for some photos I was a bit surprised to see these.

I did get quite a few photos but I knew I was going to have my work cut out with this felt!

I had never done a long haired dog before and had no idea which wool to use.

Some of my lovely friends on a needle felting forum on face book helped me out and even sent me some from the USA!

I started with a wired frame and covered it with with core wool.

Then I covered with a base brown wool.

I decided to use these two pictures of him and due to the different lighting I choose and average of the colouring.

This is how he turned out. 

The new owner was delighted! Im so glad a did it, at one point I wondered if I would ever manage it

What do you think!

Lisa xx

NOOOOOOO!!!

When I started needle felting nearly two years ago now, I treated myself to some needles from Kay Petal at Living Felt all the way from the U.S of A. 

I had been told they were the best, more expensive than others but neither the less, the best. 

They didn't disappoint and they have soon become my favourite. 

I do still use others for the beginings of my work but for the details, they cant be beat.

The one use the most is the red tipped one, its always the first one I pick up and today it broke....

It owes me nothing! It must have stabbed into wool millions of times for me. And to be fair has had a little bend on her, yes her, for a while now. 

Good job when I bought them, I bought more than one red one! 

Yeah my nice new shiny and very sharp red tip feels like she's, yes she's come out of her box and ready for action. 

I hope she lasts me as long 

Happy stabbing!

Lisa xx

You need hands.

Whenever im asked to make a character, there are two things I worry about. One is whether I can get the face right... That will be another blog. And the other is the hands.

When I first started felting I cheated and always put 'hands' in pockets or mittens on. But it comes to a point you just cant get away from it. 

My first 'real' hands were done on 'Arthur' a character I made for myself based on my grandad.

When I did them I was really pleased with them but looking back I could see they needed improving.

The hard thing about felting very small hands, is the amount of stabbing your finger ends take. 

Ouch ouch ouch

I had to make quite few pairs of hands for the Alice in Wonderland characters I made..see previous blog pages... 

These ones are for another 'Alice' but with a difference...watch this space.

As you can see they are better an 'Arthurs' hands but I still have some way to go before I'm happy with hands.

Feel free to leave a comment.

Lisa xx

Sloth in the making

Been busy catching up on felting orders after finishing the Alice in Wonderland characters.
Today I made a start on Neil the sloth from the TV adverts. I have got the intial shape and now I am just testing out different wools for his coat. Mmmm its harder than I thought but I am sure I will get there with it. I have tried, Icelandic wool which didnt felt in easily at all. Then I tried Corrindale which i think I will manage with. Its all trial and error!
Does he look like a sloth yet?

Bye bye Alice and friends

In January when i was asked to make these Alice in wonderland characters, I had no idea how much pleasure making them would give me.

With each one needing different techniques, some of them that were new to me, some that weren't, each piece involved moving up and down my learning curve.

I got to the point with two of the characters, I very nearly contacted my client to admit defeat. I just couldn't get them 'right' in my eyes. 

Putting them down and walking away for a day or so did the trick though and after ripping off a faces a few times, I can say that i am very proud of all of them.

Today it was time to give them a final check then wrap them up ready to go to their new home in Austrialia. 

I can't thank you my client enough for giving me this opportunity to make these. I have enjoyed them so much, I really dont want to let them go. 

All checked, ready for wrapping.

Lisa x

Funny!

I was preparing for an Artisan market I am attending this weekend and trying to have a tidy up of my 'fluff' as my other half calls it. When i came across this...

Yes you can laugh!

This was my very first attempt at needle felting, the day I got my wool and needles.

I think I have come along way since then.