Christmas is coming...

We came, we saw, we shopped! My sis and me went to the craft fair at the SECC yesterday, lots of stalls to look at and stroke and touch and poke and deliberate and try to choose things, but we managed and came home with a few bags between us! Some stamps from Clarity stamps (for Christmas cards!), some patchwork (for Christmas too, but my sis is not saying which Christmas...), some wool, and all sorts of odds and ends. A lovely day out.

And the penguins are on parade! I made another one for an online pal, so he's all excited about going off in the post soon...

More fun with felt...

This started out life as the pea green boat for the owl and the pussycat, but I kind of got carried away, and they preferred sitting out on the windowsill rather than being in a boat, so it became a fancy bowl thing. I used some wet felting to get rid of the fuzzy sticking out bits at the back, then reshaped and needled again - all just experimenting really, but fun. I tried to do another one and it came out very differently - this became a birthday gift for my sister. And this just wanted to be a penguin....

Kingfiisher flies ...

Well no, but he has now alighted onto a spot to call home. In the end I attached a pipe cleaner and used that to wind round the 'perch' that he's on. Kind of clumsy in close up for feet but looks good from a distance.

Kingfisher tales

The next part of the needlefelting class - and this is getting harder! Very therapeutic though. So here is the legless kingfisher. I'm struggling with twisting wire into legs - have scrapped about 4 goes so far, and am currently experimenting with pipe cleaners! So I've moved on, and tried copying a little glass pig that I have, and of course the owl and the pussycat really needed a beautiful pea green boat (though I'm having thoughts of reclaiming it and making it into a bowl!)

The owl and the pussycat went to sea....

Another day indoors trying to shake off the lurgy, and the second part of Linda Misa's online needle felting class is done! The owl now has a pussycat pal, despite breaking two needles and not getting the wool to felt round the pipe cleaner properly, I'm quite pleased with them. Now for the pea green boat...

Owls

I've been signed up to this class for two weeks now but so busy with work that it wasn't til I had a real stay in doors 'cos I feel too ill (coldey/fluey/yeuch) to go out day that I got a chance to play. I've always loved owls. I made a pottery one in art in school, bought one in Finland and one in York, so today I made a needle felted one to add to the collection. The instructions said to wet felt the body first, but my sister broke her needles trying that so I decided just to needle felt it all! I had a bit of trouble getting the shape right, and think it's still a bit of a skinny owl really, but maybe it's a young one.