I may have fallen down a new rabbit hole.
Needlefelting.
I experimented with this a little bit during my 2021 calendar project. And then I got a little more excited about it when I made Valentines last month.
After the Valentine hearts, I tried some bold triangles, pictured above. As is often the case with fiber art, both sides have their own allure. Although I think in this case I prefer the solid shapes, the fluffy side is pretty interesting, too.
For this piece, I used Palette fingering weight yarn from KnitPicks. It felts beautifully.
Next, I tried a mandala (the first of many, I expect). First, I sketched out a design on paper, and then transferred it to plain white felt.
I wanted a stained glass effect, so I outlined everything with dark grey yarn.
I was so absorbed in the making of this piece that I neglected to take any in-progress photos!
For the mandala, I chose mostly tonal and variegated shades of Koigu Premium Painters Palette Merino, but unfortunately I didn’t have any greens, so I used two colors of KnitPicks Palette for that part.
Again, the reverse side is pretty cool:
Now, I think needlefelting has become a full-on passion. After two years of struggling to come up with ideas, inspiration, and even sometimes, the inclination, to make new work, I am inundated with ideas and things that I want to try. I envision many experiments in the days and weeks to come.
I’m looking at my yarn stash with entirely new eyes, wondering how various yarns and fibers will react under the barbed felting needle. I am so happy to say that, at the moment at least, the possibilities are endless!
