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.....

New Blog! - Read this first, ok?

My earliest attempts at blogging my felt stuff was not quite the way I wanted it, and had other posts that were really not worth reading, so I created this one.

I'm copying my posts from the other blog over to this one, so as to have a pictorial record of my felting attempts.

That, and some have neat titles that I don't want to deprive you of!



Poke Poke Owie Poke Owie Poke Dammit!
It has been suggested that I might be a bit AADD (Adult Attention Deficit Disorder), and, thinking back, I'm pretty sure that's accurate.How else would you explain my need to try something new on a regular basis, get good at it, and then dump it (leaving all it took to do whatever it was) in a plastic bin or bag in the closet?I've been making my braided leather leads now for over 2 years, have gotten damn good at it, and now, I decide to try something else.Needle FeltingThis involves taking a formless mass of unspun wool, poking it to death with a nasty-sharp barbed needle, and slowly forming that mass of wool into something that looks like something.


My first attempt at something was a mugrug - with a template courtesy of http://www.owning-alpaca.com/. Needless to say, the cat outline supplied was immediately replaced with a somewhat primitive, but still sorta recognizable, image of a poodle in show trim. Yes, that is felted wool - purple and pink and a bit of brown. Yes, that is a penny in the picture - just to add an indication of size.
Since my trusty mugrug turned out ok, and useful to boot, I have made a small generic dog (border collie-ish), a westie, and a caricature of a whippet (husband said it looked more like an anteater).
Those pics may be posted tomorrow, right now, I've got to make another mugrug for my mom!