WoolPets

Hike of the Week

This week, the featured hike includes a camping trip. We decided to go easy on ourselves and car-camp and on a Sunday night, we got our pick of the best sites. The Dungeness Forks Campground is a great place for a base camp as there are many hiking trails within a few miles. We chose the Gray Wolf Trail, in the Buckhorn Wilderness area of Olympic National Forest. It's an easy trail through an old growth cedar forest and at this time of year, there are plenty of wildflowers to admire. 

 

Besides hiking, I also found time for some crafting.

 

Camping and crafting - could life get any better?

 

 

Polar Bears, work in progress.

 

Elephant getting a shape-up.

 

Albert, the campsite guard dog.

 

Oscar, lounging by the fire in his camping chair.

 

Friendly Robin who came by to visit.

Felty Bug

On Wednesday, June 24th, I'll be teaching a needle felted bug class Venue at in Ballard. Bugs are great for beginners since the design is simple and the techniques are easy to master. I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone, especially a fellow Venue artists and fiber fanatic, SpiderFelt. Leah Adams has a fantastic blog with great tutorials.

This little Lady is going to be used as a sample for the class -

Happy Solstice!

Vintage Pincushion

After listening to the latest CraftSanity interview of Jen Segrest I started noticing the wonderful artwork found in pincushions.
I found this one at a thrift store-

Looks like a bunch of little Eskimo children doing a blanket toss.

The blanket toss originated from the Inupiat; the Inuit people of Alaska's Northwest Arctic region. The hunter was tossed up high in the blanket so that he could see over the horizon to look for game.

I love finding out the stories and history behind folk toys and everyday found objects. Do you have any interesting stories to share?

Happy Birthday Oscar and Albert

 

Oscar and Albert, our Springer Spaniel pups, celebrated their 9 year old birthday today with poached eggs and bacon treats.

Here are some photos from their puppy days.

 

 

 

Honestly, weren't they the cutest puppies ever?

Passing time

 

Passing time while waiting for the ferry. Trying to practice some beaded embroidery.

Hike of the week!

Well after the birthday hike a few weeks ago, Kevin and I decided to continue the trend and hike another trail last Sunday. Since the Hood Canal Bridge is open again we have easier access to the Olympic National Forest and Park. We decided to hike an easy trail up the Dungeness River to Camp Handy. I love river hikes and this trail is especially gentle and spattered with colorful wildflowers and tall trees.

While I can't guarantee we'll make it out every week - we will try to keep the "hike of the week" alive until the winter rains return.

 

To see more photos from this hike visit the Woolpets Flickr Photostream.

Dragonfly Tutorial

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to contribute a tutorial to Little Acorn Learning -  monthly nature based guides for childcare workers, families and teachers. 

Dragonflies seemed appropriate since summer is just around the corner. I especially enjoyed making the wings using a little bit of Angelina fiber blended with wool.

This tutorial is a PDF document (1.7 MB). When you click on the link or stamp below you may be asked to "Open" or "Save" the file to your computer. Some internet browsers may display the file for you or you may need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the document.

Without further ado: dragonfly tutorial.

Your finished dragonfly can be made into a pin, hair clip, plant poke, hung as a decoration. Share your photos of needle felted dragonflies at the Woolpets Flickr group.

Enjoy!

Crafty Book Finds - How We Felt by Carol Huber Cypher

I just read through Carol Huber Cypher's book, "How We Felt". There are 19 different projects in the book including vessels, clothing and jewelry. What I enjoyed most about this book is the variety of styles and techniques that Carol shares between the reader and the various felt artists. For this, I am very grateful to the artists and Carol.

Heather Kerner of SpiralWorks shares her technique for creating a coil rimmed vessel in the book. Since I am partial to 3-D artwork, I'd really like to try this project.

 

Phyllis Dintenfass shares her techniques for making needle felted beads. I was really excited to learn that she needle felts with gold thread to create the look of  cloisonne-type beads.

One of the wonderful things about feltmaking is that there are so many different ways of working with wool and other fibers. The possibilities for creativity and design are infinite.

I tell students in my classes that I can offer them my techniques and the methods I have used to teach myself needle felting, but there are many techniques artists have developed. Hopefully, this encourages students to take risks with their work and try new things, knowing that there is no right or wrong way to felt.

Birthday Hike

40 years ago, I was born in Joliet, Illinois. To celebrate, Kevin and I (and the pooches) hiked to Lena Lake near Olympic National Park.

Lena Lake Trail is a gentle climb to a beautiful spot. It seemed to be a popular trail for dogs and families with younger children. 

On the way home, Kevin surprised me with a birthday gift; my very own gift and liquor store! I'll be selling Woolpets, booze and fishing lures made with felting needles!

So stop on by your way to Lena Lake and tell them 'Laurie' sent you.

Dragonfly

I'm going to be teaching a needle felted bugs class this summer and in preparation, I've been experimenting with different fibers to make dragonflies.

I picked up some dyed silk, Angelina and some red wool and blended all three together to make shimmery, sparkly wings. I'm pretty happy with the results!

I'll be offering a needle felted dragonfly tutorial soon, either here or on another website's newsletter. I'll keep you posted for when it's up and ready.

Today, my neighbor and I are taking a stained glass class at Island Spectrum Design.  I love learning new crafts and trying out differnt methods of sculpture and design. Working with different mediums and techniques refreshes my felt-work and gives me a new way to look at feltmaking.