Felted Votives with Woolly Branch

Design and hand-crafted by Kim Buchheit; © Kim Buchheit

Oh, I am just so happy to have finished this piece! I was experimenting with assemblage of the ropey branch... first sewing, then binding the pieces together with embroidery thread. Then, after deconstructing it all, I settled on needle-felting the pieces together after binding the joints with a bit of cormo wool. In the end, I just wanted to use only wool in the piece. But I do love mixing wool with other materials, too. Maybe next time :)

Felted Wee Bird on Juniper Branch

Design and crafted by Kim Buchheit; © Kim Buchheit.

I really enjoyed developing this little sculpture today. Initially I had hoped that the long-legged birdie would stand on his own... but, alas, he simply couldn't (poor fella). As I looked around my cluttered studio I spied a nice weathered piece of juniper wood, and that was the aha moment. I think he turned out cute, and the wood base makes him more substantial and stable. Yay! He is now hanging out with the other woolly wonders in my Etsy shop.

2009 Flagstaff Wool Festival

Photos © Mike Buchheit

I spent the morning at the 18th Annual Wool Festival in Flagstaff, AZ. A fabulous event despite the unseasonably chilly weather. Shearing, carding, dyeing, spinning, and more were demonstrated by experts; llamas, alpacas, and Churro sheep mugged for the cameras; luxurious fibers of all stripes, as well as handmade knitted and felted items, were on sale at amazingly-low prices. I picked up some beautiful Cormo wool roving and a few tips on dyeing it myself using Kool-Aid — that alone was worth the $1 price of admission! If you're in the area tomorrow, you won't want to miss this. ~Kim