WoolPets

Martha Stewart Crafts on DIY

Hey everybody! If you don't already know about this one, listen up. There is a new show on the DIY network called Martha Stewart Crafts. The show is a collection of craft segments from past Martha Stewart Living episodes. The funniest thing I've noticed is the evolution of Martha's hair-do's.
I really don't sit around and watch telly all day! But when I'm working on projects, its fun to have something interesting going on in the background. Usually, that's NPR.
If any one reading this has an 'in'  with the Martha team, I would LOVE to be on the show! I even have a needle felted Chow Chow on my website that I am saving so that I can give it to Martha one day. I'm afraid that if I mail it, it won't end up in her hands. And it was a lot of work!

Christmas in the Country

This weekend I will be selling my Woolpets at Christmas in the Country.  Specifically, I'll be at Sweetlife Farm.

For those of you who would like to avoid the madness at the mall, the traffic, the mass-produced goods from China, Christmas in the Country on Bainbridge Island is the place to visit this weekend. In addition to CITC, Bainbridge Island hosts a studio tour this same weekend. There will be all sorts of fine crafts and art to see. Even if you don't have any shopping to do, Bainbridge is a lovely place to visit. There are lots of great restaurants and parks. There are activities for children as well, especially this weekend. One of the homes on the CITC tour has horse-back riding and photos with Santa. (Two of my greatest terrors as a child, but maybe your kids are different?)

I'll be selling all kinds of Woolpets, including some special seasonal guys like these snow-folk.

For those of you unable to make it to CITC, keep an eye on my Etsy shop.  I'll be listing lots of goodies after the show.

Orphaned Owls in the UK

I was working on a family of needle felted owls the other day when Kevin came across this article in The Daily Mail. It's a story about tawny owl chicks who were rescued and then cared for in a sanctuary where they bonded with a stuffed animal.

When I saw the photo, I thought that they looked just like my needle felted owl family!

The article insinuated that although owls have a reputation for being wise, these chicks apparently just absentmindedly wander out of their nests before they are ready to fly and are sometimes hurt, killed by cats or abandoned by their parents. This story ends in a good way. After some rehabilitation, the rescued owl chicks will be released back into the wild  hopefully live long, healthy owl lives!

Sheep love apples

I decided to pick the rest of the straggling apples off the apple tree the other day. Most of the apples left are pretty mushy, but I thought they would be good for applesauce. Well, the girls took one look at me and my sweater-full of apples and the rest is history. Guess we'll just have store-bought applesauce.

IHR - Indie Holidays

If you are looking for something unique shopping this holiday season, look no further than I Heart Indie Holidays. I'll be selling Woolpets at the Seattle show on Saturday, Nov. 24th from 11-6. There will be lots of cool crafts, great artists and unique gifts. Avoid the mall and come have some fun!

New Needle Felting Kits

Good news! Kevin and I just finished putting together two new needle felting kits-a Polar Bear kit and a Snowmen kit. Winter themes. Sorry about that for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere. Maybe you could get ahead on your holiday gifts?

The Polar Bear kit comes with detailed step-by-step photo instructions, white, black and pink wool, two new felting needles, black beads for eyes and a wooden skewer. The completed bear measures roughly 4.5" long and 3" tall, depending on how tightly you roll and needle the wool. The instructions are pretty basic, but this kit is definitely more difficult than say, the bumblebee or ladybug.

The Snowmen kit comes with detailed step-by-step photo instructions, white, black, red, green, yellow, orange and beige wool, two new felting needles, beads for eyes, a toothpick and a wooden skewer. The instructions show you how to make two snowmen: one with a top hat, mittens and a broom and one with a Santa hat and a bird in his hand. I hope everyone experiments with different clothing, beads and embellishments. The snowman is very easy to make. If you can roll a ball, you can make a snowman.

Please send me your photos so that I can post them on the blog.
I hope you have as much fun doing the kits I have designing them. You can purchase these kits as well as other needle felting supplies at my Etsy shop.