Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Felted Critters!!

My daughter, Becca, who you have met in previous posts, has been looking for a hobby. She wants a project that is all her own. She is not too interested in what I am doing, but I have been trying to give her options and ideas that might spark her interest. She absolutely loves animals and can spend hours by herself playing very elaborate imaginative games with her "critters', up in her room, either by herself or with her friend Megan. I love the fact that she has such a vivid and marvelous imagination and that she is not afraid to share it. Her skills are starting to spill over into the writing that she does for her school assignments and she is getting lots of positive feedback from her teachers!
To give her another suggestion for a possible hobby, for Christmas, I gave her a book called Wool Pets. It is a wonderful book about creating little animals with wool using felting needles. She was very intrigued and did not immediately reject the idea- A BIG step!!! Yesterday I got out all of the supplies and the roving and she picked a project from the book. Of course, ithe project she chose was a cat and it was one of the more difficult examples in the book.. On ward!!! I didn't try to talk her out of it- I did not want to poison the project!!!!
I showed her how to safely use the needles to work and shape the wool ,and let her go. We had one minor glitch when she poked herslf with the barbed needle! Once she saw that she was bleeding, she got pretty upset. She managed to calm down and with a bit of prodding she kept on going!! PHEW!!! I thought that we were done!!

The little cat is a bit wonkey for the first try but he has tons of character and she is very proud of him!! She went off on her own and added some colored wool in patches and added some shaping to make the little guy her own!!

She has plans today to create a rabbit!! I'll keep you all posted!!

10 comments:

Anna M. Branner said...

Way to go Megan! Have you taken her to see the Whittingham Christmas window on Caroline Street downtown? All the mice are needlefelted. Talk about imagination. I am sure she would love it.

Anna M. Branner said...

Oops! Why did I call Becca Megan???? So sorry girl. I'll get it right from now on. You are SO creative.

Talking Horses Arts said...

I have a cat that looks just like that!
What a great first try! My first one did not come even close...great job!
Wishing you and yours the best for the Year to come!
Happy blessed New Year!
Andrea.

Julie Prichard said...

What a fantastic cat she made!! I love him!

(Did you know that your blog is not allowing people with Typepad blogs to comment? I had to use a very old account to leave this one.)

Holly Loves Art said...

Hi Elizabeth,

Thank you for dropping by my blog via Darling Dotee. I'm happy you found me! These little felted animals will be a perfect hobby for your daughter. I've wanted to try felting but have not gotten around to it. I have a rather large collection of miniature felted Bichons that I have found through various sellers of handmade goods over the years. It's quite an art to be able to sculpt out of felt! Your daughter's kitty is precious and looks like the sweetest little cat to me!

Happy New Year!

Holly

Bel said...

Yay for Becca, what a clever girl. I love her sweet little cat, so full of character. I have never tried needle felting I think I must give it a go sometime. Happy new year to you and your family Elizabeth. Belinda

Dot said...

Hi there Elizabeth

This is fantastic news! I am so pleased that Becca has found something creative that she enjoys doing. And I think her cat is FANTASTIC! Think she might have some of her mama's talent.

So glad you had a wonderful Christmas too. Sounds like you have your priorities sorted out :)

Thanks for your support and encouragement this year. I am so happy we have stayed in contact.

Sending you much love for 2009!

Dot xx

Ro Bruhn said...

What a talented daughter you have Elizabeth, this looks great, it has so much character. I can see her starting her own Etsy store before long. I hope you and your family have a much happiness and arty success in 2009. Thank you for all your lovely comments during the year, I hope one day we get to meet.

Evidence of an Artistic Life said...

How adorable-she is talented like her mom!! Can't wait to see more of her creations!!!

Beth M said...

The cat is so cute!!!

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