Mary S made a Kitty using my Tutorial

Mary S is a fellow member of The Thread Artist Guild and for her very first try at Needle Felting, she used my tutorial (a few posts down) on using a wire armature & she created this adorable little kitty. His name is Snowflake. He is three inches to the top of his head and about four and a half inches in length. Bravo Mary!!!!!

Frugal / non electric / handmade fulling machine

For those on a budget & don't want to ruin their washing machine with all the fuzz & who enjoy spending time on line, here is a description of the new fulling machine I made today, with the help of my hubby.

You only need 2 things.
a 5 gallon plastic bucket with a snap on lid
a new plunger (Preferable to one that had been used in the toilet I think)

Make a hole in the center of the lid, just large enough for the plunger handle.

That's it..that's all...now it's ready to use.

I did 2 pair of little ballerina style slippers & 1 pair of adult size Mary Jane's in mine today...took about 2 gallons of hot water, a little soap & setting it in front of my computer chair, then, just like churning butter...up & down..up & down with the plunger handle...I was able to visit all my favorite sites & post messages...lol one handed..but that's ok...and got the slippers all felted just like I wanted them...just pop the lid off occasionally to keep an eye on how they were progressing...so remember to keep a towel handy so you can dry your typing hand...lol

Let me know if you try this...I really love it & hope it helps others too.

New listings in my Etsy Shop

Been a while, but I am finally getting some new things made to put in my Etsy Shop
I am really loving spinning & knitting & wet felting/fulling these little slippers...I have more ready for felting & more to get pictures of, so more will be added soon. These are pictures of the ones I added today.
In the one picture, you can see the difference between felted & unfelted.

Crafter of the Month

I am very proud to announce that I have been chosen February "Crafter of the Month" on CraftBuddy.com . You can see my bio & some pictures of my work & there is a great forum there as well. Click on the link below to check it out.
Crafter of the Month for Feb

Special Thanks to Fred & all the wonderful folks on the forum who selected me for this wonderful honor.

Special hello to all my Craft Buddies!

Needle Felted Life Size Beavers

Wow...doing life size Critters takes a lot of wool, a lot of poking & a long time to complete. This pair took 2 solid weeks!!!

There is an article about making this pair in the Feb issue of Mini Teddy Hugs

Needle Felted Mystery Critter with Wire Armature Tutorial

This project can become just about any 4 legged Critter you desire, by adding the desired color outer layer of wool & features.


I started with 22 gauge florists wire and twisted a basic shape.

Next I took some wool yarn that I had spun, and wrapped the armature. I made a small tight ball of the yarn to fit inside the loop of wire for the head.

Next I started adding small amounts of core wool, wrapping it around the body, and started carefully needle felting it on using a 36S needle, working very carefully & slowly so I didn't hit the wire. What seemed to work the best is to poke parallel to the wire, if you get what I mean.





I added small balls of core wool to the bottom of each foot, because I didn't like how close the wire was to them.

Now just keep slowly poking & shaping & adding core wool to end up with the shape you want...this could end up being a wide variety of different kritters, using this basic wire armature. Most importantly, work slowly & carefully, so that you get it well felted & do not break any needles.

Needle Felted Chili Pepper Mini Tutorial

1. My felting needles
2. Piece of Core Wool
3. Core Wool after Carding with #6
4. Chili taking shape (Felted with size 36T)
5. Firmly felted chili (felted with size 38S & 40T double needle)
6. My carding combs
7. Red Roving
8. Carded Red Roving
9. Red wool being added to Chili
10. 3 finished Chilis
11. Rovings used for the Chili's