One fish, two fish

I made a second fish to go with the first. I started with a form cut from wool felt (above) though you can also shape and needle loose wool. Next, I added padding wool on each side (below).
I left the fin and tail area flatter than the body and separately needle felted some blue fins and tail and needled them onto the fish.
I added a layer of color to the body:
..and a lighter color for the belly (working back and forth from side to side). Time for eyes..
Adding the fishing line...
and voila, a companion to the first fish, complete with eyes, eye spots and gill slits!
Happy Birthday to my friend J!
Till next time, I'll be needlin' around!

Felted fish

Needle-Felted Fish
I have a friend who likes to go fishing, so, for her birthday, I am making some needle-felted fish (I don't think she is reading this blog!). The basic process is to first cut out a fish shape from some wool felt (you can fashion and needle a handful of wool into a fish shape as an alternative).

I then built up each side with some stuffing wool, lightly needled it into place, and added some variegated gray wool:
Next, I began to work in details with colored wool, using three, two, then one needle, as the parts got smaller:
Lastly, I added some dyed, curly locks for fun, needle felted a string into the "mouth" (you can also sew it in or work it in much earlier in the process) and tied the string to a pole. I hope to make a few of these to put in a coffee cup or glass!
Till next time, I will be needlin' around!(PS Garden season has started, so I am busy, and needle felting has a season, too, for me, fall and winter, so I will continue to add posts, but they should pick up substantially in the fall!)