Andy came home the other day and asked what I had been doing...I picked my camera up and played back a little video or seven I had made. His eyes glazed over in that special 'I really wish I hadn't asked' way. For it has to be said, that needle felting is, to all intents and purposes, hours and hours of stabbing bits of wool into the required shape. But until you have actually done it, it can seem a mystery how a soft piece of fluffy colour can metamorphasise into - well, anything you like really. So for everyone who has been curious to know how easy it is, and what it entails, here is the evolution of a hen, taken from some ancient old sketches which I found kicking about in a sketchbook. I am afraid this is a bit of a lengthy waffle in which not-much happens, especially if you are not bitten by the felting bug...
So, here we start with a mass of wool top, all fluffy and amorphous. This is a lovely hank of blue merino from the Etsy seller Fibre Space Supplies. I am basing my piece on the pen and ink sketch in the background with the spots on. Anyone who knows their sculptors will recognise the Henry Moore pun...
So, here we start with a mass of wool top, all fluffy and amorphous. This is a lovely hank of blue merino from the Etsy seller Fibre Space Supplies. I am basing my piece on the pen and ink sketch in the background with the spots on. Anyone who knows their sculptors will recognise the Henry Moore pun...
You just start rolling and stabbing...I love the scrunchy noise the wool and needle makes! (Click to play)
And it starts to look a little like a kind of henny shape.
But...the tail is too fat...so it is simply cut off...(felt is SO forgiving).
And the excess can be moulded onto the front to get more of that bountiful chest!
Next it needs rounding...(Click to play)
...and more 'enhancement' at the front...
...a little fine tuning...I like my felt quite firm and well defined, although many people like to leave their work softer and wispier. (Click to play)
Adding a inquisitive, pokey beak and flobbley red bits...
...and after roughly 8 hours (which is my average time) We have Ms Mavis Hen...where did that egg come from?
I exactly know what Rachel Rabbit meant when she said that sometimes you need to keep the 'odd treasured creation'...but at the moment every dear little felted creature represents food, bills and maybe a new pair of boots. Unromantic but pragmatic.
Ms Mavis Hen, Performing in Etsy now until further notice.
