Fairytale Needle Felting Pincushion

Once upon a time in a land of fluff and colour lived a princess who sewed, she had lots of bits and pieces that needed organizing and one of the things that was problematic was where to keep her pins and needles without the mountain dragon collecting them to use for his weapons.

I know my head is in fairy land but hey, in this unpredictable world it is good to escape into a better one now and again.

Needle Felting does that for me, a bit of escapism from this weird world that we live in.

Again using a vintage tea trio as my base as they are so pretty I created a fairy-tale of my own which I think any sewing princess out there would love.

I'm thinking of selling these sewing pincushion with a difference for around £25 plus postage I have 3 different ones made up so far.

Vintage Tea Trio

Tea in a china cup, there's something quite British about it isn't there?

This Tea cup trio is a delight.

A pin cushion with a difference, sure to delight the avid needle crafter.
Loads of wool went into this and it was a fun needle felt project.

I find most pin cushions a little boring to say the least but this one is a bit of a taking point, just imagine this sitting on the sewing table.

I'm thinking I may make a few more to sell if I can bear to part with them.

Pin Cushion with a difference

When it comes to pin cushions and sewing we all love something a bit different right?

I started making this with no idea where it would take me but I've falling in love with it.

Isn't it just cute? you would think in theory that the smaller the item the less time it would take... but you would be very wrong.

The thing with needle felting is that the smaller the item the more likely you are to stab your fingers haha! so slow and steady wins the race.

So on a little hill lives a little fairy in her little toadstool house with a cobbled pathway leading to her front door.

now to make another.

Needle Felt Snow Hare

The snow hare is just a ball of fluff on legs, needle felting nightmare but gorgeous all the same.

I just love how massive the hares feet are, and his pelt so thick and warm.

his whiskers came courtesy of the sweeping broom as I didn't have any horse hair.

I could have made him all white and most of is pelt is but they do have some distinguishing colouring.

I have to get my thinking cap on to what to make next, I have a few ideas rattling around.

Needle Felt Maggie Doll

A needle felt doll is by far the hardest project that I have made so far and although she is far from perfect I'm pretty pleased with how she turned out.

She is free standing and pose-able so the armature needed to be quite sturdy to start the character.

the head took many hours of work and was done over a few days. Her hair was another problem as I only had straight fibers but meet skewers and an oven took car of that for me.

I feel that she needs a necklace or a scarf so that will come next. although I'm giving the finger stabbing a break for a few days.

She is quite happy to sit where I want her to, her dress is made from a felt sheet that I had in my stash, I may need to get some more in different colours.

as her body and head are made separately I can tell you after all of the hours work i was terrified that I would end up with a wobbly head, but, I needn't of worried as it went on perfect.

Hand are the devils work. Her fingers and thumb are each made separately and I stabbed my own fingers several times whilst trying to shape them.

Lets talk feet, they may not be the prettiest but again each toe is made individually and yes she has bunions from wearing her high heels when younger.

Not sure when I will get round to making her a companion as she took so long but I will.

Needle Felting Edwardian Lady

I was itching to try my hand at a free standing needle felt figure, to be honest I didn't really know what I was going to make when I started this.

She took loads of carded course core wool to to make her body but I think the end result was worth it.

I love everything about her, I made her a coat and matching hat, then added tiny roses and leave to decorate.

I gave her an up-do hairstyle fitting for the outfit.

I also thought a hand muff would finish her perfectly.
I'm really rather pleased how she turned out all 6 inches of her.

Needle Felting Fairy Amy Felthouse

Maybe I'm going a little housebound crazy but this little fairy totally reminded me of Amy Winehouse, I sang her songs all the way through giving her the hairstyle.

I love the rich colours on this one and thankfully when needle felting now I hardly ever need a band aid for my fingers (yay).

I now have quite a collection of these fairies so may need to do a give away once it's safe to go out.
How is everyone else entertaining yourselves? Have you learnt a new craft?

Needle Felt Pooch Fairy

This gorgeous fairy was made for my good friend Ruth, I try to add something to the fairies that mean something for the recipient so for Ruth it had to be a  West Highland Terrier.

it also needed to have a blonde bob hairstyle, I think I got this one just right for her.

Needle Felt Hare

Spring has sprung in my house, My lovely friend bought me a needle felt kit to keep me occupied whist I was recouping at home. I was thrilled and got to start with it as soon as I could.

I free-handed a mushroom to sit along with him to set the scene.

isn't he gorgeous, I may need to felt another in a different colour way, he reminds me of Pipkins which was one of my favourite programs as a little girl.

I was pretty pleased how the mushroom turned out too.

Yesterday was a pretty yucky day for me and I spent most of it in bed, Today is a little better thankfully.

Crazy Bee Fairy

You will all of heard of the crazy cat lady, yes? well I have a friend who is the crazy bee fairy and has wrote several wonderful children's books about bees so I thought I would Needle Felt a little fairy to watch over her and this is what I have come up with.

I have to say that the bees were trickier than I thought they'd be but after I had stabbed my fingers a couple of times, I learnt to keep them well out of the way pretty fast haha!
Do you know the difference in wings between a fairy and an angel?
A fairy has 4 wings and an angel has 2 wings.
I didn't know so I am learning along the way.

Needle Felting Fairy

I always like to try a new craft each year and I needed something that I could sit is a comfy chair with a lap tray and wasn't heavy. I have a few weeks of rest and recoup-oration after abdominal surgery so needle felting won.

I started before I went into hospital and this is my first attempt.

she is a KatySue cake fairy.

Of course I have handed this one to Sue Balfour as its in our company colours.

I've loads more to make and I'll blog them as they are finished.

I have to say as my first make with needle felting I'm pretty pleased with the result, I hope you like her too x

Flower Making

Sometimes we tend to over complicate things don’t we?

I decided I wanted to make some simple flowers for home decor, the easy way, something simple yet stylish, something that wouldn’t take me hour and hours of time.

I decided that material was the way to go and I spotted some gorgeous Suede fabric over on Terry’s Fabrics that would be perfect for what I wanted.

Simple we said right? lets start by cutting 3 circles, not perfect circles just roughly cut by hand, now cut out 3 smaller circles again by hand, they do not need to be uniform sizes in fact they turn out better if they aren’t uniform.

Next light a candle maybe a tea light or a scented one just to add fragrance to the house while you work, take one of the circles and run the edge of it over the flame, this will seal the edge and give it a darker edge, continue to do this with the rest of your circles. Be responsible and keep fingers out of the way and do not leave the candle burning unoccupied.

Next we need to stick the layers together with the larger circles on the bottom and the smallest to the top, you can do this by sewing them together, using a fabric glue or if like me you like quick results a hot glue gun.

Next find some beads to add to the centre, I hot glued mine but you could sew them in place.

Tadaaaa your done.