Felted Zoo

Last Sunday, a few of my friends and I met up at Timothy's for an afternoon of crafting. (Thank you to all the indulgent staff who allowed us to occupy one of their tables for 4 hours. We were definitely a source of curiosity and entertainment for the other customers.)

My friends decided to try their hand at felting so I pulled out my stash of unworked wool and needles. After teaching them the basics, we spent 4 hours stabbing at our little balls of fluff, coaxing them into shape. I was delighted to discover that this is a great get-together-and-learn-something- new activity because the basic skills are easy to pick up, its not messy, and the results look good even if you are a beginner.

That happy whale up above was the handiwork of my friend, Emily. Have a look at some in-progress pictures:

First, the body is formed.

It is taking shape.

The white blended smoothly into the blue layer so the smile doesn't look tacked on.

There were four of us and so we each worked on our own project. You can see Emily's whale on the bottom left. The tiny, adorable elephant in the middle bottom is Allison's creation. The fluffy sheep on the bottom right is my friend Maria's handiwork. The unfinished, eye-less giraffe in the back is mine.

This is probably a better picture of our work but it also reveals the remains of our lunch in the back. However, this is the first time that I did crafting in a coffee shop and I can see why it is so appealing.

So again in September, gals? :)

Petite and Pink

I made this little elephant last year. She's only about 2 inches from tail to trunk. Initially I was a little skeptical about the tiny beaded animals, since they just didn't have the detail of some larger patterns. After making her though, I was completely sold on the idea. She's so cute! They're not really visible in the pictures, but she even has little tusks. A small detail but I think it really adds to the design. 

All credit for her design goes to a Chinese craft book I found at the Hong Kong library.