lessons in felting or it's good to have a stash

after patoot's arrival on friday, sabin and i were both fascinated by the whole notion of felting. several years ago, i made a felted scarf and since then, i've bought rovings here and there when i've seen them on sale. as you might have guessed, i also bought several books about felting. but i never really used them much, nor did i really have a plan for all that wool. but now, when we were inspired, it seems we had all of the supplies we needed at hand. (life lesson: it's good to have a stash.)

so we got out the stash and began. i set out to make a cat, but about the time i put little dots of pink in its ears, it began to look more like a frog. so felting lesson #1: you may not be making what you thought you were making.

felting lesson #2: it hurts really badly when you poke yourself with that needle. felting lesson #2a: you will do this rather more often than you'd like.

felting lesson #3: you may think you're making arms, but they may turn out to be feet. (refer to lesson #1.)

felting lesson #4: it is possible to poke the felting needle all the way through your finger - in one side and out the other. felting lesson #5: that hurts like crazy.

this is frode frø - a little green frog. he likes macs too. and i'm amazed how a bit of fluffy wool can become a little character. felting lesson #6: the felting books do not adequately convey the magic of the alchemy that happens between needles and wool. i wish some of those fabulous felters out there that i know would write a really good book about this amazing craft. this is a hint to you and you.