Fabulous Felting Artist

Dachshund by KayK9

I am doing some winter crafting while waiting for spring and the new veggies to begin canning again. I have taken some time to check out some crafting sites.  I am intrigued with felting.  Felting is forcing  wool fibers to knit together either by shrinking them or using felting needles to coerce them together to make a weave.

I bought a three colors of wool, three felting needles and picked up a wool sweater to wash and shrink.  I was so excited to teach myself how to felt.  The first two needles broke off.  I stuck my finger a good one and bled all over my lap.  The piece I was trying to felt looked like, well, the "s word".  Then I washed the sweater inside a pillow case in cold water as directed then dried it.  Not much happened.  The sweater was smaller but not the complete effect I wanted. I was disappointed and have not fashioned anything from the sweater yet.

by KayK9

I found an artist that has mastered felting and creates realistic animal sculptures from felt.  At first I could not believe they were felted.  There were pictures of pets that perfectly caught the spirit of the animal.  Dogs, cats, bunnies and more were all depicted in a whimsical but cleverly crafted manner.  I hope all of you check out her website and look at her works of art.

by KayK9

The artist says, "I strive to make each miniature needle felted Kritter as realistic and detailed as possible. Each sculpture is an original One of a Kind (OOAK) work of art. They are firmly felted and quite solid. Please remember that my sculptures are delicate works of art and NOT intended to be a toy for young children. Each order will come with a signed Certificate of Authenticity, which will include a photograph of the miniature needle felted Kritter. 

Needle felting is the process of taking raw wool roving and using a special barbed needle to sculpt it into shape. The sculpting is done by poking the wool fibers thousands of times until they interlock and felt together. This process is extremely time-consuming. I hand sculpt the noses out of polymer clay. The eyes are either glass or gemstones."

I was so moved by her work that I sent her an email.  I was pleasantly surprised when she wrote right back and gave me permission to write about her on my blog.  If any of you are looking for a truly unique gift that would please anyone from 4 to 104 I suggest you purchase a special piece from Kay Stahler.  Kay is a Master Felter and lives on Prince Edward Island in Canada. I love her work!

Go to http://www.etsy.com/shop/KaysK9s  to see Kay's fabulous work.  There are lots more pictures of her work and remember she will do commissioned work of your favorite furry friend.  The Kay9 website is http://www.kaysk9s.com/index.htm