Adventures in Wool

Hi! Guess what I've been up to? Preparing for Tucson? Yes, of course, but also a few side projects I've long had on the back burner. I'm what you'd call a 'craftaholic' and love nothing more than holing up in my studio, with several beverages, my crew of assistants (Max and Azalea) and a good chunk of time. I decided that I was going to do some felting while visiting my family in FL and brought all the wool I could stuff into a tote bag. The bright orange pearlscale goldfish (Popo) pictured above was made partially on the way down, with a foam mat on my lap and wool everywhere. I embroidered the details, but I think I'll pick out the eye stitches when my glass eyes arrive. My stitches need work.

This little hand puppet of a root baby was made by wet felting around a form cut from foam. The leaves were cut out from felt sheets and sewed down. The tiny lichens were embroidered with French knots. The eyes are brass studs.

This is another felt portrait of one of my favorite fish, Hiro, a Kirin Ranchu goldfish. He's finished, except for needing glass eyes. 

I've been totally bewitched by all the fabric renditions of moths on Pinterest, so I thought I'd try my hand at making a pin version. Let me just say, embroidery skills are a must. Mine are not great, so I got pretty frustrated when my 'thread painting ' stitches looked bulgy and amateurish. Of course I picked those out, leaving the better ones. I just need to watch some videos on Craftsy and practice. 

Practice - it's one of those words you hear a lot, but is it just me, or is it hard to find the time to actually do it? I get a weird sensation of guilt when I fiddle around with making things that aren't going to make money. I can barely justify practicing yoga, let alone crafts that are just enjoyable! I think it's the hardest part of being an artist/self employed- taking time for fun. I happen to really love what i do, so it's easy to work from the moment I rise to finally calling it a night (morning). Anyway, it felt really good to just create what I wanted for almost a week, without considering how much it would cost, or if someone would buy it.