AussieFelts

Welcome to the AussieFelts journal!

I'm a South Australian stay at home Mum who has just discovered the very addictive craft of needle felting.  I've tried many crafts over the years and while i've enjoyed them all, I feel like needle felting is what I was supposed to do.  

This is my place for showing off the things I create.  I'll show you projects in the making to the finished masterpiece and bits and pieces in between.  On the odd occasion i'll post some general needle felting information and i'll showcase the work of some fellow artists.

If you've got any questions or just want to say "Hi!", hit the comment link below.  I'd love to hear from you!

Remember that unfinished pink pig that I had sitting on the foam block in my "What IS needle felting?" post?  Well here he is in all of his finished glory!  I've named him "Slush" as a tribute to my kids who watch an Australian childrens program called "Play School".  Slush the pig is one of the toys on the show.

Slush is made from Merino and Corriedale wool.  The Corriedale wool is the brown.  It's the first time i've worked with it.  It's quite hairy compared to merino wool.  I'm about to start making a teddy bear and i'll be covering it with mostly corriedale so it will be interesting to see the finished product.

Keep an eye on this LJ.  I'll be showing how I make the bear with photos.  You'll get to see a creation come to life instead of just seeing the finished product for a change!

There are more photos of Slush on my Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiefelts/

This is Matilda!  She's been naked (sculpted with core wool but no colour wool placed over it) for a while now and I finally finished her up last night.  She's made from Merino wool.  The orange flower on her head is permanently attached.   There are more photos of her on my Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiefelts/

I've just about finished up on the pig i've been working on then i'll be making a teddy bear.  I plan on photographing the bear as I make it so you can see how my work comes together.

Needle felting is the process of interlocking wool fibres by stabbing it with a barbed needle.  The barbs catch the scales on the fibre and cause them to tangle and bind together.  To create a 3D sculpture it can take hours of work and literally thousands of stabs from start to finish.  I'll post a video showing you what needle felting in action looks like but for the minute i'll give you a brief text rundown.

The picture above shows just a small amount of the wool "roving" I have.  I pull slivers of wool off the roving and because i'm usually making an animal of some sort, firmly roll the wool into a tight ball.  While holding the wool tightly in a ball, I carefully jab the wool with a felting needle.  I need to keep rotating my wool so that it doesn't felt into my foam block.  The foam block is my "work desk"...because I sort of prefer the needle going into the foam and not my thighs. ;)  It takes time but eventually the wool will start to firm up and hold it's shape.  I can add more of the roving to my shape if I need a larger size and needle it on.  If I need a smaller shape I can either keep needling the shape until the wool compacts firmer and therefore shrinks or I can trim some off with scissors.  Needle felting is such a forgiving art and is SO easy.  If you've ever thought about giving it a try...DO IT!   Of course if you have any questions..just let me know!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcfbgtyrz2U
This video is 9 minutes 35 seconds long but it's a really good one that explains the needle felting process well.  Check it out if you've got some time up your sleeve.  The lady in the video is award winning needle felting artist Kay Petal.  Have a look at her other videos on You Tube.  Her creations really are something to see!