Turkey anyone?

Ok - so I have an incredibly weird sense of humor. On one of my felting lists (Needle Felting Fun) at yahoogroups, there is a monthly theme - and for some odd reason, November's theme is Turkey's. There are several beautifully done, very realistic turkey photos that have been posted, and, knowing I simply do not have the talent to do something like the ones already done, I put my own spin on it.
This is titled "Too Late" - and is about 1.5 inches wide.

Dafydd the Pembroke Corgi

This is Dafydd (Welsh dog, Welsh name - right?). He is a Pembroke Corgi (no tail!) and is 2 1/2 inches from toes to nose, and 1 1/2 inches from toes to the end of his butt.

Camille the Maltese

I finally found some silk roving (long unspun fibres) for long haired dogs. This is the first attempt at long hair, and I'm not 100% happy yet.

Bertram the Chihuahua

This would be Bertram. Bertie is about 3 inches from his toes to the top of his head (4 inches if you include the ears!)

I like to name my felties alphabetically, so I've got a reasonable idea of when they were made, leading to some interesting names!

Princess Poodle

Poodles are close to my heart, and having 4 of them running around the house, I've a lot of models to choose from.

Because I show dogs (http://www.bethhilborn.ca/), most of what I will do is going to look more like showdogs and caricatures of showdogs, than like the average dog. Hence, the very stylized show trim. She is all of 4" from her toes to the top of her fuzzy topknot.

How's it done?

This is what I start with - a mass of wool fibers. I use very sharp, barbed needles that push/pull fibers down into the mass, and eventually....

After poking and turning and poking myself and swearing, I get the general body shape formed.

I repeat the process for the head, and, using my needle, I sculpt the ball into something that looks sort of like a bear, make ears (lining them with white, so they look like ears) and attach the ears to the head.

I sew two black beads in for eyes, add a bit of color for the muzzle, make a nose and mouth out of 5 black wool fibers and attach it to the body.

Arms and legs are next, adding more fleece for over-sized paws, with a bit of pink for the pads.

I added some belly color, attached the arms and legs (again, all done with needles) and this is the result.

More Dogs (and a gremlin)
To give you an indication of scale, the pedestal that these are sitting on is 4 inches across!

My first dog - I think he looks more like a border collie:

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Whippet - who, according to the husband, looks more like an anteater.

I decided that as real whippets are not symetrical in markings, then mine wouldn't be either!

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I have a friend who breeds, owns and handles beautiful Westies -

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And my latest - the coffee gremlin.

At some point, he will get arms and maybe a little tiny coffee cup to hold!

And, for those who noticed my earlier comment that I got good at braiding so I decided to try this, I'm still braiding! Too many orders to quit now.....