Cattails

Here is an old work, just when I was starting, felted cattails: 

Mostly, I am showing this to give an idea of how I "free-hand" lettering.  I first go on my computer and pick out a font I like and print off the words I want to felt.  Then, I loosely form the letters in wool, and lighty lock them in, so I can pull them off if I make an error.  Here is the progression (this is the Latin name for cattails):

 The pins mark a straight line:

 

I find it hard to draw with a fabric marking pen on nubby wool, so I "draw" with

loose wool instead!

Needle-Felted Lanscape

I wanted to make a needle-felted landscape to hang in a shadow box on my wall.  I did a very simple sketch of the scene above, knowing that I wanted to emphasize the detail on the trunk of the tree, and make a rocky and mossy shore for the curving river.  I used a piece of wool batting that I had made from raw fleece  at a mill.  The tree is minimal in terms of branches and leaves, hopefully communicating that it is a old tree.  After creating the basic form for the tree, I used dyed curly locks to show some color and movement (see detail).  The whole project took between 10 and 12 hours.  What fun!
(By the way, stay tuned for details on a class I am teaching at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, Virginia in November:  "Needle-Felting for the Botanical Artis"t.  No experience necessary!)
See you next time...until then, I'll be needlin' around!