Supplies

I needed more brown wool. My last supply was the remnants of my spinning Coopsworth (natural brown shade), and it is all but used up. I needed brown right away, too, because I've had another request on Etsy for a brown bunny.

It was so cold today, not so spring-like after all, but Ben and I made our way downtown to The Loop Craft Cafe to buy more. They didn't have any of the brown Coopsworth, which was okay because it didn't really felt all that well. I bought a grey/brown mix of (maybe) Shetland. I hope it needle felts! It's in roving form, rather than top. I'm learning more and more about fibres right now.

I also picked up two new fine felting needles. Then, I went to the tobacconist (!) and bought natural pipecleaners. These are for forming the inner frameworks for needlefelting figures. I normally sculpt my creatures without a framework, but am game to try something new.

Needle Felted Bunny

I'm loving needle-felting right now! After finishing King Winter, I made Ben a bunny for his birthday. But that's supposed to be a suprise, so you'll have to wait. THIS bunny is the last thing I made, and I finished it last night. I decided that more people are interested in spring themed things right now, and I have to put more things on my Etsy account. So, here is a little Easter bunny that I've put up for sale.

King Winter

I finished my needlefelted King Winter yesterday, using some of the fleece that came in from Bear Dance Crafts. Making him took up almost all of my ice blue, but it was worth it. He's the reason I bought that colour, anyway. I did find he was too, well, blue. So I added other winter colours and to make almost a watercolour effect. I'm opening up an Etsy account and he'll be my first item. I'm not sure who's going to buy him, now that winter is almost over!

Waiting to needle felt again

I've put an order through to one of my favourite Canadian Waldorf suppliers, Bear Dance Crafts. I've asked for a few posters by artist Eva-Maria Ott-Heidmann and I managed to buy their last copy of Elsa Beskow's Pelle's New Suit for Ben's birthday. But, mostly, I bought a lot of crafting supplies. In particular, I'm stocking up on their very reasonably priced wool roving.

One wonderful way to use wool roving is to give small amounts to children to play with. It is the perfect natural toy. They can fashion into small treasures of their own, or use as is for pretend food or animals on a playscape. My children have used small tufts of white, for example, on a green playsilk to make sheep. Mostly, the wool gets stuffed into a pot and 'cooked' for supper!

The wool in the basket above is nearly the last of my fairy-wool that I bought years ago. This time, though, I bought regular corriedale in specific shades, as well as a pound of white roving for the base work and toy stuffing.

Here are some items I've crafted in the past few years. First, my 'mother and baby.' This red and blue doll represents me holding Ben. When I made it, he was about this small (in relation to the mother doll). It's hard to imagine, now...

The doll in green is what I've made in anticipation of Spring. It is Candlemas today, but the sun is shining so it looks like my doll won't be visiting the nature table for quite some time.

In the meantime, my snowman will have to stay out. He was easy to make from three balls of wool felted on top of each other. The eyes and buttons are teensy tufts of dark brown wool; the nose is carefully made with a whisp of orange. I think I need to scavenge some tiny twigs for arms.


I've been scouring the internet for ideas on how to use my new roving. Here is a site I found today that is full of wonderful ideas. I would love to make a playscape for my children's wee fairy folk (I'll have to do a post on these sometime soon). Here's another website that gives a tutorial on how to make a playscape.