WoolPets

Doll Making

I've taken a break from needle felting for a few days to pursue some of my other crafty hobbies. I love doll making, and since I was a Waldorf pre-school teacher, I learned the 'Waldorf' method of doll making.  Waldorf doll making is essentially like any other form of doll making, only natural fibers are used to create the doll and most often, the heads have a rounded, soft shape and the details are left to the imagination.
There is certainly no right or wrong way to make a doll. The most important thing is that it was hand-made. No matter the doll, children seem to know that time and care was taken in the process. And the craft of doll making is usually fun for the maker, too. Unless you get frustrated, which can happen if you try to start doll making with something too difficult.

I drew up this pattern to use with some material in my stash. I wanted the doll body to be made up mostly with the material, so he/she is not a dress-up doll. However, you could make a little vest or jacket if you wanted.

 

I traced around the body of an old doll to get this pattern. Place the pattern on the wrong side of a piece of folded material. The fold is at the top of the arms. Sew all around the body, leaving the wrists open. Cut a hole in the neck and turn the fabric inside out. Make some hands and a head with soft, cotton knit. Stuff the body with wool, sew the hands and head on, and you're done!

I gave these two dolls to my neighbors for Christmas. I think they look like Rose Red and Snow White.

 

There are lots of great doll making books available. My favorites include "The Doll Book" by Karin Neushutz. This book may be out of print but it is well worth looking for. There is a well-written guide to toys for young children at the beginning of the book, as well as some information on early childhood development from a Waldorf perspective.

Another book I like is "The Nature Corner" by M.V. Leeuwen.  This book has lots of doll patterns and pattern to make other animals out of felt fabric.

It's also great to check out Flickr which has tons of great photos for inspiration. There are even groups dedicated to doll making. I like to visit the Handmade Original Doll  group.

Happy Doll Making!

The Amber Goddess

It was a little difficult being snowed in last week. Thankfully, we are beginning to thaw out. I thought I'd share a drink recipe that helped me through the tough times. I call it "The Amber Goddess".

First, you make 2 cups of Good Earth Original tea. I used only one tea bag for two cups of water because the tea is so strong.
Next, you combine one part brandy with one part whiskey. I prefer Bushmills Irish whiskey myself, but feel free to use whatever you like. Jameson is good, too.  The brandy can be XO (Extra Old) or VSOP (Very Special Old Pale). Add a spoonful of honey to the hot tea and booze mixture. Bottoms up! 

The Amber Goddess is guaranteed to take the edge off of any tempers ready to flare. She will put you in a happy-go-lucky state of mind.

Enjoy! And remember to please drink responsibly. You shouldn't try to drive in the snow anyway, especially if you live in Western Washington.

Woolpets Shipping Woes...

We have has a few customers ask about the whereabouts of their packages in the past few days. It seems that the USPS has been slowed down considerably by weather and the surge of holiday shipments. And we know there are a few Woolpets kits and goodies sitting out there in the cold waiting to be delivered. When we asked our local Post Woman if she had heard of major delays in USPS deliveries and she laughed and said, "Do you watch the news?" and preceded to list off major cities with major issues.

Hang in there - your packages will eventually arrive safe and sound. You may just have to help push to speed things up.

-Mr. Woolpets

UPDATE: One customer got back to us this evening that her package arrived safe and sound in TX. It was shipped on 12/15 - so there is hope for those of you wanting to put something from us under your Christmas tree.

The Snow Romance is Over

Well the snow has been fun - but the power is out and the coffee maker died in a power surge last night. The computer wasn't behaving properly either before the lights went out for good. So for all of you who were told we'd ship packages out today - it's not looking good. We are posting this with the cell phone but if we get some juice from the power company we'll get back to work - as long as the computer wants to play along.

But for now we are in camping mode.

- mr. Woolpets

Even More Snow!!

Snow keeps falling....we're playing!

White sheep don't look so white compared to the fresh snow.

Kevin took some beautiful photos of the birds.
 
 
Chickadee at the feeder. The feeder is a recycled kit box. Step by step photo instructions are available on the website: http://www.woolpets.com/info_birdfeeder.html

The Anna's Hummingbirds are here year-round. It's a lot of work keeping up with the feeder, especially in the cold!

I don't mind being stuck at home. There is always plenty of things to occupy my time. I've been playing around with my new sewing machine, a Pfaff hobby 1122. I'm not so slick on the sewing machine. I kind of feel like I'm trying to learn how to drive the thing! However, the little dolls I've been trying to sew are quite small and have many curves. I'll post some photos in the upcoming days.

Snow Day

I awoke today to a thick blanket of snow covering everything all around. It is so beautiful. The cedar trees have snow on their branches and thick flakes are blowing around the air as I sit here writing.

The chickens haven't been very active in this cold weather, but I managed to get a picture of Tina on top of the chicken run.

She decided to roost on the fence for awhile.

Bert the Bunny looks like he's comfortable in the snow.

The sheep look like they've been having a snowball fight.

At least I don't need to worry about them getting cold what with all that wool (and fat)!

Coco looks like she's been laying in the snow, perhaps making snow angels?

According to the local weather forecasters, the Pacific Northwest is in for a long haul of cold, snowy weather. Good needle felting weather!

Holiday Shopping with Woolpets/The Book is Back!

 We just got out shipment of "Wool Pets" the book today. We only have a limited number of copies, so if you are interested in purchasing one, go to the Etsy shop quick and buy one! I've also listed a number of original one of a kind needle felted sculptures in the shop.

Here's one of the sculptures currently for sale, a vibrant blue needle felted Dala horse. In order to be as accurate as possible, I studied photos of wooden Dala horses from books and came up with this design.

I began with blue wool and made the body first. Next I carefully added the details one color at a time. It took awhile to make, but I am very pleased with the results!

Happy Solstice!