product line (sneak peek)

While The Cat spent the afternoon making pavlova, I worked on a forest scene with a hollow tree trunk and photographed some of my needle felted creations on it.  Here is a preview of some of what I have created so far:

Little grey owl sitting inside the hollow tree.

Peach-coloured bunny hopping about the forest scene.

Blue-eyed satyr peeping out of tree.

Red-haired nymph wrapped in vines taking a dip in the pond.

Red-haired faun with green ribbons in her hair.

Dark-haired faun standing by moss-covered rocks.

Elusive white stag saying hello.

And somewhere near the South Pole...

Mr Yeti is collecting ice slabs to patch his igloo.

You can now visit my Etsy store at faunfare.etsy.com!

i am a daughter of the glade

I am charmed by the idea of wild-hearted fauns roaming the forest at dusk and satyrs serenading blackbirds with their pipes. With my last of my Corriedale wool, I crafted this little faun friend yesterday.

Although I’m quite happy with the design, I’m also in the process of ordering more beautiful Corriedale fibres in a larger variety of natural, earthy tones to experiment with other designs as well. I think it would be magical to make some small playboxes featuring scenes of dark thickets and forest clearings overgrown with mushrooms and toadstools. Possibly even to sell or trade.

While I’m felting, I have been listening to the amazing début studio album by Tricky Pixie, Mythcreants. Their songs Daughter of the Glade, Carousel, The Mushroom Song and Tam Lin are probably solely responsible for the vivid scenes of deep forests and mythical woodland creatures that unravel in my mind as I work. Do visit their website. All the songs on their album can be streamed at great quality or alternatively, you can purchase the digital download of their album for whatever price you choose.

Can you tell I am a little more than enamoured with this new craft? I find felting so therapeutic, and yet I’m constantly struck by inspiration to push myself with new techniques and challenges. My order of Merino from Virginia Farm Woolworks arrived on Thursday and I have been busy wet felting bases for future needle felted scenes I intend to work over the top. Although it will probably never been seen in the final product unless you were to cut the sculpture open, I’m taking great delight in layering strands of blue and deep brown together to represent the water and soil beneath forest glades.

It’s hard though, for an impatient soul like myself, to have to slowly and gradually work on a piece before it comes to life. First, I take numerous layers of soft and silky Merino and massage them in hot, soap water until it becomes a mat, then stabbing unruly strands of Corriedale wool roving with a needle until my desired form takes shape. It takes hours to work on even the smallest figures, and that’s not including the amount of time it takes for wet felted projects to dry, let alone if I were to be dyeing my own wool (a challenge planned for next week). But I would rather be doing nothing else!