Fall's Needle Felted Harvest

Hi All!

I just wanted to put together a blog entry showing all of the needle felted goodies I made this year to celebrate fall! I love needle felting and I love sharing my love of it with others, especially with those who have an interest in learning how to do it. If you have any questions about needle felting please feel free to ask me and I'll do my best to help you! Also, all of the items shown below are available for sale in my Etsy shop; they are made-to-order (just for you!) so please allow up to a week for delivery. If you need them faster please message me first (through my shop) and I'll let you know if I can accommodate you. Blog readers get a 10% discount if the coupon code "feltingteam" is entered at check-out (discount sent via Paypal refund). Thanks for looking!

Needle Felted Pumpkin

6 Needle Felted Acorns

Needle Felted Balls -- Autumn Leaves Solid Colors Mix

Spooky Cat Needle Felted Mini Play Set

Needle Felted Autumn Leaves

Needle Felted Balls -- Autumn Leaves Marbled Colors Mix

Needle Felted Jack O' Lantern

Needle Felted Acorn Appliques

Needle Felted Balls -- Bark and Autumn Leaves Mix

Happy Halloween and Happy Fall to all!!!
~Rebecca

Odds&Ends is One Year Old!

My Etsy shop turns one year old this month! I can't believe that it has been a year since I discovered felting, Etsy, and its vibrant community of artists. I have enjoyed meeting all of you and I'm excited about what the next year will bring!

Elena

Hi everyone! I am new to blogs and etsy.

I guess I'll introduce myself, my name is Mary, I was born in Toronto, and have lived in Athens, Greece since I was 14. All my life I have been making things, sewing, knitting, and lots of different crafts.

I recently discovered and fell in love with felting, both wet and needle. I am self taught and love to explore all the possibilities there are with wool. I love the luxury of natural products, wool, silk, bamboo, linen, cotton, and leather. My esty shop is vanti designs ( www.vantidesigns.etsy.com) . Some of my favourite creations are :








I hope to make things people will love. Designing is something I do all day, whether on paper or in my head. My inspiration comes from the world around me, people, places, and nature.

There are many new projects that I am currently working on, among them are a few silver rings and pendants and a few handbags. My shop will include these in the near future, and I hope you will enjoy my new felts as well.

This is a wonderful way for us to share ideas, as many have contributed to teaching others on the internet I will try to do my part and help with more blogging :)

Happy felting!

Introducing my new Felt Blog

Hello fellow Felting Team members........I am a Nuno Felter who is finally discovering the fun and connections that come with blogging.  So much so, that I have started a blog of my own, and I invite you all to stop by, comment or follow, and further add to the connection of people who are totally addicted to FELT!!  

I'm delighted with the way My Etsy Shop has connected me to people all over the world and I know my blog will enhance that experience.  You can find me at www.arlenesfelt.blogspot.com

As for the Felting Team blog, I think it is really looking very good.  The latest entries are wonderfully informative and interesting.   Especially for those of us who just can't get enough information and glimpses of the beautiful and diverse felt items being created today.

I am including in this post pictures of a large wall hanging I just finished. Well, large for me that is.  It measures 32" x 33", and here you can see it on the table ready for felting, and finished and hanging on the wall.

I look forward to connecting with many of you in the future.

Keep Felting, 

Arlene

Sassa Lynne - an introduction

Here's a little introduction, and an explanation as to why I belong in the Felting Team!

My name is Myfanwy and my shop is Sassa Lynne at Etsy. I am based in the UK and stock a variety of hand-dyed items, from thread to yarns, fibres and textile art packs. Occasionally I have listed other items too, and currently there is one small piece of textile art , but not much indication of felting! So why am I here?

I was first introduced to wet felting when I studied for my City and Guilds certificate in Embroidery. This was in 1990, and seems a lifetime away now. I was introduced to dyeing at the same time and loved them both. However, my passion at the time was stitching, so that's how my dyed threads were put to use. At about the same time I began retailing other embroidery supplies under the name of Winifred Cottage, and that is still in business, with a lousy website that belies the amount of stock that we carry! I have carried on stitching, and have been teaching various techniques for some time now.

In about 2003 I saw an advert that eventually changed my direction. It was a magazine from the US, and mentioned a machine called The Embellisher. The moment I read the advert I knew I needed one! I 'needed' it to make new surfaces for my stitching. There were none in the UK, however, and I had to wait a while before I could get one. In fact, I bought the first one in the country! It is used with a variety of fibres and fabrics, and, of course, stitching can indeed be added to the surfaces that are created. Almost completely by chance I invented a fabric using fibres and very fine chiffon scarves. These are two fibres that wouldn't normally felt together and as the resulting light fabric is a suitable for decorative or practical use. Because it is 'new' it is called Nuvo Felt. Instructions are in my book 'The Embellisher: Let's Get Started'

I haven't included any pictures of my work, I will do this in a future post.

- What is your biggest challenge when it comes to running your shop?
I woud say that the biggest challenge is keeping it stocked! My aim is to get to 100 items, but somehow the photographs etc take so long I just haven't yet got there!  It's a question of juggling real life and Etsy!

- What other shops out there do you love (not necesserely textile)?
One of my favourite shops is MakeYourPresentsFelt. I love the way she presents her items too.

- What item in your shop would you most like to receive as a gift if someone were shopping for you?

This colourway is one that I haven't used before. It is a good idea to try something different. This combination really was the result of a 'happy accident' and I love it!

- What are your future plans concerning felting and your shop?..
It is unlikely that I will introduce any felted items to the shop, but I will be adding more fibres.

One of my other blogs features Etsy artists.  This post here features a few members of the Etsy Felting Team.

red suede kitten - introducing myself

My Bee Sting Felt Cloud brooch

Lots of Felt Clouds waiting to be made into brooches and pendants

Tell us please how you originally got into felting

I was inspired by a project for a felt rock in Last Minute Fabric Gifts - my boyfriend and I made these and had so much fun, and then I was hooked. The Craftster felt forums also helped me learn some other techniques early on.

Your favorite technique

I would have to say sushi felt made from wet felting. I use sushi felt pieces (sliced from a roll) to make my Felt Cloud brooches and Pendants (see top two photos).

Your favorite materials

Wool tops of course! As colourful as possible. I also like felt sheet (with some wool content - I don't like acrylic felt generally). At the moment I'm also working with plastic buckles, buttons, and fabric, in my newest line, the Buckle Bug Brooches.

Buckle Bug Brooches

Favorite colours, colour mixes

You really need to see my store! It's a cornucopia of colour. I love combining colour and am very intuitive about it. People often comment on my sense of colour and my colour combinations. But here are some favourites (as used in my Felt Clouds): sherbet tones (a combination of oranges, pinks, and white), any combination of blues. Other single favourite colours are grey, green and red. I'm falling in love with orange lately too... and tangerine/peachy colours coupled with aqua or bright blues.

What is your biggest challenge when it comes to running your shop?

At this point, getting my first sale! I've only been on Etsy about 6 weeks. Publicity is hard work and to make oneself known to the online community as a virtual newbie, can be very time consuming. I'm enjoying it though - it's fun to be on the web a lot!

What other shops out there do you love (not necessarily textile)?
Here are only a few...

Crazy crocheted critters:
AngDavidson.etsy.com

Fantastic felt and crochet jewellery: kjoo.etsy.com

Colourful glass beads with lots of concentric circles: zippybeads.etsy.com

Unique and beautifully kitsch jewellery made from vintage bits and bobs and charms: rebecca3030.etsy.com

A truly wonderful shop with many fabulous felt and paper collage creations: KupKup.etsy.com

Brilliant and slightly spooky paper cut-out dolls: woolandwater.etsy.com

What item in your shop would you most like to receive as a gift if someone were shopping for you?

At the moment the Ochre Buckle Bug Brooch (see below). I'm actually thinking of removing it from the store so I can have it!

What are your future plans concerning felting and your shop?..

To learn some new felting techniques - I know a little bit of nuno, but would love to master shibori felting of knitted fabric. I would like to develop more textile jewellery ideas and launch them in my shop and sell more to my local stockists and expand the number of shops I sell to in Melbourne and Australia.

Hello!

Hello everyone! It's so nice to meet you :)

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I discovered felting quite by accident through Etsy less than a year ago; I fell in love with ingermaaike's kelp felted scarf and decided to try felting for myself. I bought some wool roving, read as much as I could in books and online, and began to felt through trial and error. I've been addicted ever since! There is so much to learn; I am currently experimenting with shibori techniques as well as with integrating more yarns and fibers into my work. 

My favorite materials include wool, silk, and tencel. I love adding vintage finds like keys, buttons, and lace that I find at the local flea market. I tend toward neutral colors, like browns, grays, and white and away from very saturated color combinations. To add contrast, I usually combine white with a bright color or I choose the classic contrast of black + white. 

My biggest challenge when it comes to my Etsy shop is publicity. Because I do not produce a lot of work, it is difficult to continuously update and therefore stay current in the felted accessories category on Etsy. I began to realize early on that if I add an item every two weeks, it gets lost among the many, many felted listings. I try to draw attention to my work by taking good photos, but this adds to the amount of time it takes to post each new piece. My current strategy is to make a batch of pieces ahead of time, photograph them, and post them one by one within the month while I am working on new projects behind the scenes. This has been working out so far, but I am always looking for new ways to draw attention to my shop. Getting on the FP is of course the biggest challenge and provides the greatest publicity.

In future projects, I want to experiment! I want to treat felting as illustration with cloth, to make collages of different textiles and textures, and to try my hand at creating very intricate, abstract wearable pieces that are way over the top in comparison to the fairly dressy-but-everyday work I am featuring now. 

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There are so many talented Etsy sellers! I can't pick just one favorite to share with you, so I have made categories and selected a few :)

I love...

Handmade soaps :: Adoration Soap & Soapy Chica

Jewelry :: Michelle Pajak-Reynolds & Adorn Jewelry 

Illustrations :: Kelly Smith, Corid, & Kelly Thompson

Clothing :: VintageOpulence, CLP & joodito

Textiles [too many to name!] tijusai, greavesdesign, & kjoo