Book Recommendations for Needle Felting

Since I've been exploring needle-felting lately, I thought it might be nice to share some suggestions for books to help others get started or to explore their own felted work further.

Let's begin with a comprehensive guide...

The Complete Photo Guide to Felting

The Complete Photo Guide to Felting by Ruth Lane is a excellent place to start.  It's also a great reference book to add to an experienced felter's collection.  This book is broken into five main sections; All About Wool and Other Fibers, Preparing to Felt, Traditional Wet Felting, Nuno or Laminate Felting, Needle Felting.  It's also fully illustrated with both step-by-step instructions and a gallery of work by skilled felt artists.  You can get a peek inside the book by checking it out on Amazon.

Now, if you'd like to try 3D felting the next two books are worth a peek.

Woolbuddies

Woolbuddies by Jackie Huang is great if you are getting started with 3D characters.  This book contains 20 projects with step-by-step photos.  It has three categories of whimsical characters; Simple Woolbuddies, Moderate Woolbuddies and Challenging Woolbuddies.  You'll learn how to make everything from an owl to an elephant to an octopus!

Little Needle-Felt Animals

If you've checked out Woolbuddies and want to expand on your cast of cute characters, then Little Needle-Felt Animals by Gretel Parker is the book to go to.   Inside, you'll find 30 fully-illustrated projects ranging from a moon-gazing hare to a series of fish to a frog princess complete with lily-pad. The shapes of the animals in this book are a bit more complex than in Woolbuddies and will help you build upon your skills.

Art in Felt & Stitch

Now if 3D felting isn't your thing or you'd like to try 2D felting then Art in Felt & Stitch by Moy Mackay is the book you're looking for. 2D felting is a lot like painting with wool.  In this book, Moy Mackay provides both inspiration and technical information with this beautifully photographed book.  Some of the many topics covered include materials & equipment, color, texture, composition and techniques.  This is one of my favorite felting books for 2D felting and I highly recommend it if you are looking to explore this style further.

AJE Contributor, Jenny Davies-Reazor is also a fan of this book and had this to say about it:

"This book I purchased a year or so ago - I believe Lesley introduced me to this Scottish artist? Stunning. Mind blowing. Gorgeous work - tapestry style... and by that I mean "paintings" in fiber. This book is a treat for the eyes, and very inspirational. While my fiber paintings are no where near Moy's in any fashion - this is how I like to use felt - as painting. And then of course I want to bead it too!"

Felt to Stitch

Jenny had another book recommendation to make with Felt to Stitch by Sheila Smith.  Per Jenny:

"This was the first felting book I ever purchased and It has held me in good stead. I wanted to learn to wet felt - both "canvas/paintings" and shaped pieces. The diagrams and directions are clear and informative. In fact - that section of the book is waterlogged from having open while felting! The book goes into Shibori and nuno and other more complex forms I haven't experimented with... yet. But see? One book and every time I dive in there is so much more to learn."

In addition to the many books on the market, you can find some fantastic felting videos online. Here's a few places I recommend:

Sarafina Fiber Art (A great company to buy your felting supplies from. Click here for the shop.)

Living Felt Felting Supplies (Also has an online shop for supplies and kits).

Felted Sky Studio (Has an Etsy shop with kits available.)

If you use or have used any of these books or sites I'd love to hear your feedback on them in the comments section below.  

Happy Felting! 

Finger Lakes Fiber Festival

On September 17th, I took a trip to the Hemlock Fairgrounds for the Finger Lakes Fiber Festival.  I'd never been to a fiber festival so I wasn't entirely sure what I'd find there...but I was hoping to come home with some gorgeous wool roving for my needle-felting projects.

Scenes From The Festival

I was pleasantly surprised to find two barns and a tent full of vendors, some cute animals, demos and lots of gorgeous scenery.

There was a beautiful display in one of the barns of the entrants to the 2016 Skein & Fiber Arts Competition.

Skein & Fiber Arts Competition

And there was a lot of yarn, wool roving, tools, clothing, handcrafted toiletries and more for sale...

Beautiful Things For Sale

Roving, Locks and Wheels

In the Fiber Tent, I got to meet Ann of Nyala Farm.  Ann makes wonderful needle-felted pieces.  I LOVED the Medusa sculpture! 

Nyala Farm

Fleece competition and where fleece comes from...

Fleece Competition 

And here's what I came home with.  Some pretty bits for needle-felting, multi-needle holders, a cute felted hummigbird (it's a gift), and a fiber fest pin (I collect pins).

I have no idea what I'll make with any of it, but discovery is half the fun!

Happy Felting!

Exploring Needle-Felting

I've been a bit stressed out and needed something to do other than beading.  I figured giving needle-felting another go was a great idea because of all the stabbing I'd get to do, lol! I decided to finally open the Zombie Fuzz Butt kit I purchased from Purple Moose Felting!

The Kit

This kit is fantastic as it comes with everything you need to make your own mini horde (3) of needle-felted zombies!

Inside the Kit

Lots of wool roving, tips and there's also full color instructions.  Please note, the needle holders were an extra purchase.  You'll receive one needle with your kit.  I do recommend buying the holders too as they make the process more comfortable for your hand.

Forming the Zombie Body

The first hour of this project was spent just making the base of the body.  Lots and lots of stabbing (I was starting to relax) and turning the project over and more stabbing.  I watched Criminal Minds during this stage...seemed appropriate.

It's really quite neat watching this wad of fluff turn into a firm shape just by stabbing at it with a special needle. 

Once the body is complete you attach the head.  The real fun starts once his head is firmly in place.  The instructions show you step-by-step how to give him bulging eyes!  They also provide you with step-by-steps for facial features and lots of suggestions for little tweaks to make him uniquely yours.

The Details

I found his mouth to be the most difficult part since I chose to go with teeth.  I need a lot more practice before I'm any good at small details like that.  

Ready To Eat Your Brains

I do love him though...even if he keeps trying to eat my brains.

After I finished my new zombie friend, I wanted to give 2D felting a try.

Buzz Buzz

I purchased a couple of tile kits from FiberThyme's Etsy shop.  These are reasonably priced kits that include general instructions (no step-by-step photos), wool roving and the felt with the sketch already drawn on it. 

Building My Hive

I really enjoyed this process...more than the 3D felting!  Since the sketch was already on the felt, it was kind of like color-by-number felting.  Again though, I had some trouble with the fine details but I guess that just improves with practice.

Got Honey?

I didn't add the second bee since I was happy with the tile with just one..and truth be told, I didn't want to end up adding another massive bee to the piece.

I'm officially hooked on needle-felting!  I still have more kits to play with and I spent Saturday at a fiber festival in the Finger Lakes (check back Thursday for a post)!  I'm also going to join the local weaver's guild in Rochester and have signed up to take a scarf felting class this winter.  

If you haven't tried needle-felting, you should give it a whirl!  

Happy Beading...errrr felting!

A New Joy

I have always loved teaching friends whether it was sewing, cross stitch or even making paper twist dolls.  It was fun to see the A-HA moments they have had.  I had wanted to get into teaching beading but the opportunity has never worked out.  So when the opportunity came to teach needle felting I jumped at the chance.

I told you in my last post about visiting a local shop looking for wool roving.  The owners Libby and Deb are so welcoming and they both have their specialties,  Deb is the rug hooking teacher and designer and Libby is the teacher of all things knitting and crochet.  They were both very enthusiastic about needle felting but neither had the time to learn so they approached me. The first thing I needed to do was pick a project.  I needed to pick something that I felt would get people excited and have all the elements to get them started with needle felting.

I choose the bear as the first project.  I knew it would be a challenge but it had so many of the elements needed.  Attaching limbs, shaping the head and adding eyes and noses.  The next step was to get a good idea of the amount of supplies needed.  I thought that would be tricky but I realized while I was making the samples for the class I just made equal amounts of wool for each element, one for the sample and the extra to be able to give each student the right quantity,  I was so nervous.  I had never taught strangers before.  I didn't know how it would turn out.  These ladies were awesome.  They were so much fun and and very enthusiastic.

I have really found a love of teaching.  I have taught 2 sets of classes and I even had one of my student repeat the class because she loved it so much.  Here are some highlights.

What was so much fun was seeing all the personalities that each bear became.

I cant wait to teach another class.

Brooches, Fibulae, Badges...Do you Pin?

Do you wear brooches? I've been making a few just lately but when I look around this jewellery design community of ours brimming as it is with earrings, bracelets and necklaces - brooches seem to be much fewer and farther between despite probably being one of the oldest forms of jewellery known to man. Granted their original purpose was a functional means to fasten clothing (a step up from thorns, wood, bone and flint) but they were prevalent in all cultures which, as you can see from the examples below clearly considered form as well as function from very early on.

Bronze Bow Fibula, The Braganza Brooch 250BC - 200BC, Viking Penannular brooch

Romano British Dragonesque Brooch, Gold plated Disc Brooch 4c BC , Viking Penannular brooches - Penrith Hoard

Brooches have at times acquired cultural significance such as with these mourning brooches worn as jewels of remembrance. Worn close to the wearers heart the brooch on  the left from the late 1800's depicting a ladies hand holding a berry bouquet and rose wreath would honour a loved one who had passed away. In the Victorian language of flowers berries signify sorrow and roses love.

In England in the 1850s fine hair brooches were produced with ornate weaving and subject matter and often worn by widows of the Crimean war.

Military badges were often reproduced as brooches and given to the wives and girlfriends of soldiers when they were away from home. This Sweetheart brooch is a from World War One and depicts a Hart lodged in water, the emblem of the Hertfordshire Yeomanry and off my home county.

If I could pick a brooch from any period in time it would have to be one of the glorious Art Nouveau nature inspired pieces by Renee Lalique - such wonderful detail and sumptuous colour...sadly that will only ever be a pipe dream.

So why do brooches seem to be out of favour these days or am I just imaging it..? I have a fair few of them myself  most of which I have inherited including these two sterling silver favourites...

I used to wear these and others a lot when I had a job in the real world that involved me wearing business suits and heavy coats to commute in. They were a great way of livening up the formality of these outfits which I found boring and restrictive. Now I rarely wear the sort of clothes that suit brooches and often find that soft, fluid modern fabrics are not suitable for heavier styles of brooch.

To see if this was just me I asked around the AJE group and opinion was somewhat split and whilst a few love them, many of my team mates said they never wore brooches. Jenny offered up this lovely selection from her own collection which she describes below...

1. Art Nouveau pin I adore too much to wear...inherited from a grandmother I think. 2. Native American inlay. Sun symbol/kachina- so I think Hopi. Also had this since I was a kid. 3. Recent acquisition. Sterling goddess Tara which has a pendant converter... why don't I wear this!? 4. Blast from the past. Enamel and sterling genie lamp pin. From the summers I taught teaching jewelry making at a fine arts camp - circa 1990.

Jenny also made these brooches as part of her senior year college thesis and you can clearly see the influence of the ancient styles here. One traditional penannular (open circle) and one more modern interpretation created through lost wax casting and fabrication and set with Moonstones and Garnets.

Caroline is definitely a big fan and has this collection of brooches that she inherited from her Grandmother.

The fact that we all have inherited pieces in our collections does seem to point to brooches being something of a blast from the past but that's not to say that there aren't modern examples to be had if you want them.

As I mentioned I've been making a few brooches of late and this has come about through my new passion for bead embroidery. I often start this work without really having an idea of what it's going to become and sometimes get to a point where I think adding loops or bails is going to spoil the design. I like the simplicity of these pieces when they stand alone and adding a brooch pin creates a little work of art with nothing to distract from it.

Apart from their pleasing aesthetics these beaded brooches also have the added advantage of being very light and since they have an informal style I find they are much easier to wear with my casual wardrobe. They can even be pinned to textile bags for an extra little decoration.

This little fellow was not actually planned as a brooch but when I made a larger version of this felted acorn Diana asked if I could scale it down and I did. He's now on his way to the USA to grace her winter coat.

Caroline has also been making felted brooches - these adorable little hares can be found in her new shop.

And one of out teams Bead work queens Lindsay has a whole host of beaded brooches just a few of which are shown here (click on the photo to see more)...

From a quick search on Pinterest it would seem that textile bases brooches are very popular so maybe I'm not the only one who like the practicality and informality of them. But if that's not you style then there are still contemporary designs to found in other mediums like these in Polymer clay, ceramic and enamelled metal...

Eried, Elise Winters, Jasmine Watson

So where do you stand on brooches?Do you have a favourite you wear all the time or a pile in your jewellery box that haven't seen the light of day in years. Maybe it's time we all showed our brooches a little more love!