New felt piece

Here is my latest felt piece, using the natural coloured wool from my sister's sheep and a little navy blue silk thread. It is slightly bigger than I usually make, about A4 size. I am going to make a similar piece in merino wool to compare the results.
I spent Saturday afternoon making this piece. I had the TV on for company, and it took the whole of the film 'Death on the Nile' to complete! The Texel cross Black Welsh wool requires a lot of carding as all the pieces of twigs, grasses and other oddments have to be removed as you go along and the actual felting takes about 45 minutes too. The wool does make a really solid, tactile felt though, so all the hard work is worth it.

A new departure...

The above piece is an experiment using circles of already felted wool applied to the top surface of a separate piece then the whole thing is felted together. The natural colours come from the wool from my sister's sheep - (Texel cross Black Welsh) - and they do give some lovely shades. The wool takes a lot longer to card as I have to remove any bits of grasses and twigs as I go along. It also takes about 45 mins to felt, whereas Merino only takes 20 mins or so. It does feels wonderful when it is felted. I like the way that the felt decides how it will look in the end; the circles have moved slightly during the felting process, but this just proves it is hand crafted. I am very pleased with the end result and I think I shall make lots more of these - they would also work well using the Merino too.
The inspiration for this piece came from large circular straw and hay bales I saw last summer, but, of course, circles are everywhere.

A journey into the world of felt....

I am creating this blog in the hope that, over time, I will be able to connect with other individuals or groups with a similar interest and passion for felt and felt making. My aim is to use this blog as a form of diary in order to record the items that I produce, the processes involved & to receive comments from other felters. However, I shall also include other things that I am interested in, such as gardening, cooking, reading etc.
I started making felt last December (08) and have steadily grown in confidence with regards to creating interpretations of elements of my local landscape in felt. Initially I used dyed Merino tops as they felt quickly and easily and are ideal for beginners. However, my sister keeps a few sheep and recently presented me with several bags of raw washed fleece. I have been experimenting with these different, neutral coloured fleeces, using them individually and also combining them, with some very pleasing results.
I shall post photos of my work, or my inspiration, or anything else that I would like to share with the world, in the hope that people reading this will find something to enjoy.