"Wool Ewe Look at These" - Felting Fever

      Oh boy, oh boy. oh boy!  I'm so jazzed by all of this woolly madness! I hope those of you who suffer through my rantings are even half as excited as I am. On first blush and still  eagerly learning, I am so excited about the variety and breadth of this new found skill and all it entails. I have enjoyed so many different art forms and tried my hand at so many materials but I have to say that this is pure joy.  I need sheep or a shepherd that wants to share fleece!  I want to wallow in wool, utterly can't get enough. ( If you're ready to send me to a padded room just make it fleece lined and I'll occupy myself into eternity!

      I am thrilled at how quickly things come together. Productivity is not my strong suit yet, in four days I've made 11 new things. Wanna see???

      These are coasters,...a set that will likely find their way to "The Crafter's Room" where I volunteer as a creative and charismatic shopkeep on Thursdays.

           
      Here are two individual ones. I'm guessing you can tell they were my first attempts.

      Today again, I had oodles of fun with Koolaid and rovings. Marvelous!  In trying to stretch my options, I managed to "brew" nearly a dozen colors. By mixing the a little of this and a little of that, then playing with the timing I achieved pastels as well as deep rich shades.  I dissolved the colors in mason jars with warm water then nuked them in two minute intervals. ( The wool can actually boil in there as long as you don't handle it or agitate it. ) The sources I read said to let it rest a bit afterward and the water in the jar will actually clear because the wool slurps up every bit of color! After it rests I just lift them out of the "dye and drop them in a bowl of water to rinse. Wow,  was I satisfied with the outcomes!




      The new colors prompted me to sort a bit before adding them to the basket. There were some odd bits that challenged  me, daring me to create anything from seemingly useless little bits. but  a bunch of the merest scraps made three "woolly eggs". and a "nest" to put them in. 


     
      My browser has giving me grief, and I couldn't post for a couple of days. In that time, these furry fellow debuted on Facebook in a new photo album called  "Wool Ewe Look at These?"  It seemed only right that one of  my first sculptures should  be a sheep, I felt my way through, ( yes, pun intended..) and came up with this fuzzy critter!



       
      The day after I made her barnyard buddy. I think I should add a mane or a "brush'.  I guess I should have executed a little research first  but felting is so forgiving that I can add it after I've completed jackass anatomy 101.  I'm just having so much fun that I can't put it down.  It pains me to relate that I have commissions to fill that need my attention. You can be sure though that as soon as possible I'll be  pluggin' away and update when a new batch of goodies are ready to post for your perusal. I thoroughly advise everyone in the meantime to  invest in some supplies, Google some tutorials and give it a try!