Little People

A few weeks ago I talked about the new addiction: Felting small people.

I started making a little elfin man. He's still not completely finished. There are a few details I need to do. But here he is as of today sitting in my camp chair. The foam cushions are probably destined to become felting pads.

My favorite part of him are his little socks. These were knitted using the pattern for the sock blocker key-chains and a bit of left over yarn from the red socks I made for myself. (Before I found out about the Bloods Gang and became a Gang Investigator at work!) And, no, my little man is not showing his colors...

I also really like his little drum. The drum still needs the lacing and I think I'm going to make him a little strap (so he doesn't lose the drum while traveling). I might make it from some other sock yarn left over from a project my mom made some years back.

While happy with my first effort. I kept thinking that I had done something not quite right with his face. And I wasn't thrilled with how the commercially made sheet felt actually felted as the edges did not smoothly blend.

But, still, for a very first effort, I thought he was pretty good.

Then I got to talking to my friend Taryn. She offered a couple of felting workshops at the Gathering of the Tribes event over Labour Day Weekend at Blackwater Campground. I actually made the drum at the needle felting workshop. And she showed me how to make my own sheet felt in the wet felting workshop.

Then, THEN! I decided to purchase a needle felting kit from her. It's from the Blacksheep Designs Company. It had directions and a different kind of wool batt (stuff only a desperate spinner could love) and it had slightly different felting needles than I already had.

The day before yesterday I made this head.

Last night I attached it to the body.

I need to fix the dent in the top of his head which resulted from the long stitch that runs from the top of the head down through the skull and into the shoulders. I think the hair will help. And I will probably give him a hat. I'm thinking wizard or perhaps a Santa Figure.

But check out the difference in the faces side by side. The new guy is a little smaller in size (which makes a challenge for details) but I sure see real improvement.

Okay, so let me tell you the best part of all this. While at the campground, I handed off the elf (the first figure) to a friend who carried it up the hill in her arms like he was a little baby. A couple of people stopped her and asked where he had come from and one person told her and my husband, who was walking with her, that she had seen little figures like that and offered to buy it for $100 saying she could probably re-sell it for twice that amount.

Well, suddenly hubby is very interested in this new fiber adventure and is strongly encouraging me to make more little people. Suddenly fiber is an investment and not just a fling!