I've been on a creative roll (when I can find time!), partly getting ready for my friend's upcoming event this weekend, Art in the Barn, at Alpacas at Booker's Corner in Paris, KY and partly just the holiday rush in general. You can see some of the things I've been busy making on my other blog.
A friend suggested that I might attempt to make felted bird houses, so today I finally had a go at it. What a fun project! I was pretty pleased with how my first attempts turned out.
I'm learning more and more that using the correct type of fiber for the project makes a big difference. I wanted to use a fiber that would shrink considerably into a thick and water-repellent fabric, so I chose C-1 wool (a pretty generic and somewhat coarse fiber) from New England Felting Supply. I also used some softer wool roving from my friend Dianne for the inside of one of the houses, and will probably try some alpaca along with the C-1 wool next.
These are $22 each, and I hope to have some more made in other sizes by the weekend (They are about 6-7 inches tall by about 5 inches wide). I am experimenting with the best way to hang them, and will probably felt a hanging cord onto the next ones. If you are interested in purchase, drop me a line and we can arrange payment by PayPal or credit card.On another note, I've had people asking about our cria Forrest Gump (who couldn't stand at birth and walked with a big limp for a while). He's doing GREAT and I plan to put a video up of him later in the week.... and by the way we are thinking of naming his buddy Bubba!