my happy world

I've had this chippy old enamelware cup for some time now. It originally housed a small plant, then later became a scoop for the laundry detergent. Lately it had been languishing in a cabinet, unused.

Last weekend I plucked it out and began needling.

I had seen the talented Mimi Kirchner's tiny world pin cushions a long time ago, which are housed in vintage teacups and thought they were so sweet.

I'm more suited to a chippy enamelware cup than a pretty teacup though.

So I made my own world in a cup, and it's definitely my kind of place.

There's a garden in the back yard.

And sheep. Of course there are sheep.

I suppose it could act as a pin cushion, but I think instead it will sit on my desk and make me happy.

Cheers!

Happy Weekend, all.

landscapes with sheeps

Oof. It's been a very busy week. Weeks. It's been a very busy couple of weeks. My day job has been full, full, full, and my work time has been very slim.

Very slim.

I haven't scheduled any new classes or worked on my many in-progress pieces but I did take a little bit of time to make up these brooches. A while back I had scheduled a class for a spinner's retreat in the area and that is coming up this Friday. They wanted to make a sheep brooch of some kind and after much mulling, I decided to go with a landscape (which is well-known and comfortable for me) with wee sheeps in it. Because the class will be done in 2 hours I kept the design very simple and doable for beginners. 

I hope they enjoy making them. I did.

How about you? Are you making time for creativity? What are you working on? I'd love to hear.

flat sheeps

My youngest and I did a little wet-felting together this past weekend. It's fun for her and she gets clean hands so it's really a win for both of us. Plus, how cute are these guys?

The roundish sheep is perfect for a coaster. See?

I've been wanting to teach a wet-felting class and I think it may be a riff on these flat little guys.

What do you think?

a good day to meet some sheep

A very cold Monday off of work turned out to be a great day to meet some sheep.

I'm always on the lookout for local wool so it was to my delight that a local fiber person, who just happened to be a sheep owner, walked into my place of work this fall and struck up a conversation. My friend Mary and I traveled down to see her and her darling sheep and came home with big bags of wool and even bigger smiles.

This little sweetie pie really liked me my camera strap.

nibble nibble nibble

All the sweet faces! Even though that guy was head-butting some other guys, he was still very cute. So is his photo-bombing friend.

Snacks! Sheep like snacks!

What a great day. Hope yours was as well.

needle-felted sheep kit in the shop!

 

A few weeks ago I made my first sheep and mentioned that I was putting together a needle-felting kit.  I'm happy to say that I've done it and was able to share it for the first time yesterday at Celtic Fest at St. Mathias Farm. (what a wonderful time, by the way.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi)

 

There are two color options, one in all white with teeny Targhee locks for a coat, and a black sheep with a white coat.

 

I wanted to make this kit with materials that made me feel good.  It took some time to put together.  I chose wool from small producers, often local, in breeds that needle-felt easily (not all breeds are created equally in this regard).  Where color was needed, I used environmentally-conscious dyes free from heavy-metals and hand-dyed it myself.  The packaging and even the felting mat is made of eco-friendly materials.  The mat is made of natural material, including soy grown by US farmers.

 

 

The kit has 11 pages of illustrated instructions, written and photographed by me.  It comes with the wire for the armature, 2 sets of glass bead eyes, the wool, and 3 sizes of needles.

 

A few people have tried the kit and I love how each little sheep has its own personality.

If you'd like to try a kit of your own, or know someone who would, please stop over and have a look in my shop.

Thank you!

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend.

my first sheep

 

I've made my first sheep.  

I've been trying to remember if I've made any other felted animals and I can't recall any besides an earthworm I made ages ago and a bird I started and never finished.  Could it be that I've been so engrossed with mushrooms that I have completely shunned the rest of the animal kingdom?

 

At any rate, I don't know why I waited so long.  He was fun to make and I loved photographing him too. (I am pretty easy to entertain)

I'm going to be attending Celtic Fest at St. Mathias Farm in Brainerd later this month (If you're in the area please stop in for a Finnegans and say hi), selling some of my work and needle-felting in public.   I've been wanting to put together a needle-felting kit to take with me, and with the sheep-shearing, dyeing, and spinning demonstrations going on at the event, I thought a sheep was a natural choice.

 

 

 

 I'll share more about the kit later, and hope to have some to put in my shop too, but for now I'll leave you with this shot of the sheep gazing wistfully into the sunset.