CRAFT pal Moxie has a series of needlefelted monsters exclusively at Schmancy in Seattle. They squeak when you squeeze them, and I want them all. More pictures on Moxie's Flickr.

This is a lovely detail from a felted rug, handmade by Tanis Alexis. Tanis is a fiber artist, mom, contributor to Feltique, and a spectacular artist. She creates classic pieces of felt, but with a multimedia twist! Each rug is wet felted from 100% wool, and then the city scene is added with a limited edition cut stencil. Tanis will make this piece custom, in about 3-6 weeks.

At Maker Faire 2009 I had the pleasure of meeting Velma of COLORBOMB Creations. Velma is a colorful explosion of enthusiasm and fiber arts. She has a great etsy shop with amazing offerings, and yesterday on her blog VelmasWorld, she announced a new product, called SmorgasBombs. They will be launched at SOAR, the Spin-Off Autumn Retreat happening in Oregon next week. Not fair, cause I want to buy one right now!!!

Packaged in plastic bags re-claimed from the Sock Summit dumpster, each SmorgasBOMB contains 4 ounces/115 grams of animal fiber. This batch may contain any/all of the following breeds: Babydoll Southdown, Cheviot, Coopworth, Cormo, Corriedale, Cotswold, CVM, Dorset, Lincoln, Merino, Mohair, Rambouillet, Romney, Targhee, Wensleydale.

This needle felted dragon is awfully life-like for being a mythical beast! The work is quite impressive! From the artist, tallydragon, on deviantart.com:

He is made out of natural wools from the Iron Horse Farm, a local fiber farm, and the Flying Ewe, a fiber arts website. He has a wire understructure through most of his body that makes his wings, legs, and tail moderately poseable--the tail is extra long so that it can curl around the finger its sitting on. He's got glass eyes held in by glue and wires, and his horns are made out of wire covered in apoxie sculpt, topped with acrylic paint and matte varnish.

[Thanks, Eric Russell!]

Today I've been at the Petaluma Whiskerino, an extraordinary contest of beards and mustaches. I made a few felt mustaches, and had to get my photo taken with the winner in the Full Beard category, Jack Passion. Jack is the author of the Facial Hair Handbook, and as his bear clearly shows, a true expert in the field. He is the first place national champion too! Besides growing beards and writing books, Jack has a website with everything facial hair, and some great silkscreened beard t-shirts.

I think it's fairly clear that the craft world is in the midst of a trend. A trend almost as big as bird silhouettes, almost as big as the skull and crossbones, almost as big as the octopus. It's the mustache, and it seems to be, ahem, growing on everyone. From 'Nifer's amazing pieces of nose decor, to the laser cut 'stache necklaces on etsy, nose neighbors and soup strainers are here to stay. And the Petaluma Whiskerino is celebrating with an old school exhibition. I will be at the event on Saturday, starting at 3pm at the Petaluma Farmers Market. I plan to be sporting my own colorful facial hair, and will have my felting supplies so that anyone who likes can join in the fun.

The Annual Bill Soberanes Memorial Whiskerino Contest has been around for longer than anyone I talked to could reckon. I got the details from Fred Abercrombie, who has been competing for the last 5 years. Last year Fred, his wife Melissa, and some of their neighbors created a campaign and took up the task of promotions. Their efforts included some clever material, including handlebar mustache stickers for the mirror, and a postcard that can transform anyone from clean shaven to hirsute in an instant. They've even made chocolate mustache lollipops! As a bonus, this year Fred created a time traveling video, of his face sprouting what I consider to be true art.

Time Lapse: My Hairy Commute from :: Fred Abercrombie on Vimeo.

Let's take a trip to way back in the day, October 2006. I had just begun experimenting with tutorials. I was making a Halloween costume for myself, and thought that I would just snap some quick pictures of the process and throw them up on Flickr. It was my first "self-published" project. The costume was a "Shadow Fairy" sort of thing. Meaning, dark green dreadlocks, a sparkly black dress, and some wings that I made out of coat hangers and black tights. I think most people thought I was a Rastafarian Tooth Fairy, but hey, I loved my outfit, and I took pride in knowing I made it all myself. For today's project, I am going to share my ultra simple tutorial in all it's blurry, old-school glory.

UPDATE:
This post has triggered negative feelings in people, and I want to apologize. I created this dreadlock wig in 2006 as hair for a type of gothic, dark, forest fairy. I realize that by not sharing the costume in it's entirety, I left it open for interpretation. And the way that it was interpreted was as an insensitive and racially charged project. I want it to be clear to everyone that I had no intention of mocking anyone, no intention of cruelty, and no intention of representing any group of people. It also very important for everyone to know that I do not condone using this project as a tool for perpetuating stereotypes.

The 2nd Annual Great West End & Railroad Square Hand Car Regatta & Exposition of Mechanical & Artistic Wonders is happing this weekend in Santa Rosa, Calif. Known to those in the know as the Handcar Regatta, the eclectic steampunk-styled event is centered around a wild race down the train tracks. Teams with hand built cars will push their limits competing for the prize and all the glory. The MAKE fire truck will be there, not in case of fire, but to entertain and educate the public. I, your dedicated blogger and author of Feltique, will be on hand, along with the editors of MAKE magazine and Craftzine, to help you create your very own custom felt mustache! Don't Goli and I look dapper in our photo from last year?

For more details and inspiration, check out the Regatta photo and video gallery, and my flickr set of mustaches from the Oakland Fire Arts Festival. Can't wait to see you Sunday!

Easy House Slippers
Do as the Norwegians do and make these super-simple slippers.
By Liecel Tverli Scully

There's a saying where I am from: "Don't just sit there with your hands in your lap — knit something!" I grew up in the far north of Norway, above the Arctic Circle in Saltdal, a small town on the edge of a fjord. Knitting was the perfect way to pass the time during the dark, cold winters. At school, knitting class was a requirement; when I was in the 5th grade, we had to make a pair of socks using five needles. It was a complicated project and I remember having a really hard time with it. But my poor friend Roger was so frustrated he threw his half-done sock into the fireplace at home, needles and all. That's right — at my elementary school the boys had to learn to knit as well!

This is a pattern that is really popular in my valley right now. It's an easy project that makes a fun, cozy slipper. If you know basic knitting, you'll knit these in no time.

Read full story

Moxie's been feltin' up some new work! This "Specimen 2" from her Apoca-Galápagos Series is going to the Plush You! show at Schmancy in Seattle in October.

Moxie recently posted some of her new work for the Plush You show in October. Her art is created with needle felting, and her technique is unparalleled. This plug is a boutonniere, part of her series on the subject. It's a great take on the traditional red rose! Her Apoca-Galapagos series of creatures having evolved or sought shelter in the discards of society is even more irreverent. I love Plush You, and this is a great contribution.

A long skinny ruffle felt scarf? What could be more in fashion right now? The concept for this scarf came from my love of felting, and my love of making the best of my mistakes. I knit a ton of scarves in the garter stitch on my circular needles. It's the fastest method I know. But the first time I tried the technique, I accidentally cast on too loose and then cast off too tightly. This created uneven tension, and gave the scarf a neat ruffle. When you purposefully try it, the ruffle is even more exaggerated.

Add the amazing Landscapes yarn to the mix. Landscapes is a very cool blend of 50% pure wool and 50% acrylic. When you knit it, and then felt it, the wool felts, but the acrylic does not. That leaves these very interesting spots of color embedded in the felt. I am a very basic knitter, with only knit and perl in my repertoire. When I use a yarn like Landscapes, even with my simple stitches, I get beautiful and interesting effects.

Oh, and if you are interested, please check out my book, Feltique, for more fun felting projects!

I am in love with a new tool. It's a simple Ashford Flick Card. I have had my eye on a pair of $60 hand carders for a while, but this flick card was less than $20, so I went for it. The card is basically a brush with thin, sharp, bent teeth. Interestingly enough, I found the tool at my local feed store, not the craft store.

I frequently travel all around with tons of wool roving. This year alone I've done almost 10 events to promote Feltique, taking all my supplies and letting people learn about felt. And while wool roving is relatively inexpensive and easy to store, some wool in my collection has been toted around with me for literally 3 years. The wool begins to naturally felt to itself, pick up lint and bits of debris, and in general become messy looking. And no one wants to make art with a cruddy looking tangled lock of fleece. That's where the flick card comes in.

While watching a movie last night, I sat on the couch and pawed thru my pile of roving, matching up colors and combing them out. I didn't really have a technique, I just stuck the locks onto the teeth of the comb, and brushed them. I picked the wool off, then brushed it again, repeating until all the tangles had been pulled out. The result is as if I went shopping and bought all new supplies. Having fresh fluffy piles of color is really inspiring. I can't believe I waited so long to get one of these tools!

Today's CRAFT Pattern Podcast features this crochet headband with needlefelted butterfly by Sylive Damey of Chez Plum. This is a super quick project you can make in about 2 hours from start to finish (including the needlefelting)! You will need leftovers of Malabrigo Merino Worsted, and a 5 mm hook.

Check out the rest of Sylive's fantastic knitting and crochet patterns and follow her crafting adventures on her blog.

Download the Pattern PDF | Subscribe in iTunes

One of the exciting things about being involved with Craft and Make is getting to go to all the fun events. Meeting artists, crafters and makers in their own community is the very best part. Currently the team here is involved in some "Mini-Maker Faires." It was at the first Mini Maker Faire that I met Isla Corbett. She will be at the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend, selling her handmade products.

Isla (eye-la), is a very talented fiber arts designer, who works in my favorite media: 100% wool felt. Isla couldn't be a more lovely person. She is creative, seems grounded, and her personal style is very much a mirror of her art. Everything about her was very crisp and modern, but also warm. To be more clear: she was sweet, sincere and engaging.

Her art and crafts are just beautiful. The work she does falls into three categories: accessories, purses and cases, and pillows. Her hair accessories are all hand needle felted, and they are classic barrettes with felted flowers. The colors and forms are fuzzy, yet they don't look unfinished. Her technique allows for the clear shape of the flower to dominate, but the texture of the wool isn't overworked.

Her bags carry over the natural motif of plants and flowers. They are very streamlined, curvilinear, and the wool they are constructed from has a smooth texture. Isla incorporates needle felted details that make each design pop. Her pillows are also made with 100% wool felt, but she distinguishes them from the bags and barrettes with leaves and blossom details that are minimalist in style.

Isla's crafty business is just beginning to take off. I like that she has all the bases covered- her accessories are in local fiber shops, her work is featured on a very pretty website, she has a solid Etsy, and will be at the Renegade. And additionally, her prices are just right- the hair pieces go for less than $10 and you can get a great purse for about $40. It's a very well rounded business plan and I just know she will find success. All of it rests on a foundation of the quality of her work, and the authentic kindness you feel when you meet her. Please visit her, and all the other talented and motivated crafters if you are in San Francisco this weekend!

Happy Caturday crafters, here's some super cute felt work by Victor Dubrovsky. (Thanks, Marc!)

Looking for a fun craft to make on one of those rainy summer days? Check out the KnitFelt Animal kits by Crafty Alien. Just pick out your favorite little critter and get felting. If you make one of these kits, don't forget to post it in the CRAFT Flickr pool.

More:

Build: Crafty Alien Knitted Felted Raccoon

Kit Lane created this fantastic needle-felted Jabba the Hut (The Early Years) for the Stitch Wars exhibit at Bear and Bird Boutique in Lauderhill, Florida. The show is a collection of handmade goods celebrating Star Wars.

Jabba is 100% wool with the exception of two beads, two glass eyes and quite tightly needle felted. He's not at all delicate and will only get better the more he's handled.

Jabba was the character that attracted me most from the Star Wars series. Even though he's quite a bad guy I imagined what he must have been like as a wee snot of a slug. You dont get to be a such a great naughty creature without some sort of trauma, his being a lover of his squeezly "bunnybear". The unmerciless taunting by his slime mates over his compulsion for plushies I suspect caused him to turn his back on a normal upbringing, turning instead to a life of crime.

You can see more pictures of the needle-felted Jabba the Hut in Kit's Flickr Stream.

Here's an amazing felt creation by Marisa Ranalli, this ribcage bag, via Street Anatomy.

Andrew and Melissa Frueh made this animation with handmade environmental elements and a needle-felted elephant. It's called Wellington Dreams. So sweet! Via Handmade in PA.

I am in love with this sweet and simple checkers set made by Blair of Wise Craft. She's used scrap fabrics to create the game board, and beautifully colored felted rocks as game pieces. Fantastic!

I'm finishing my guest blogging today with the final introduction to some of the contributors to Feltique. Keep in mind that these are not all of the wonderful artists who added their projects to this book, which is a complete guide to felting in all its forms. I hope that you liked getting a glimpse into the book, and I hope that you are inspired to embrace the versatile and natural medium that is wool felt. Cheers!

Vicky Lewis' fulled True Love Purse is a favorite project of mine in Feltique. The project combines a knitted and fulled handbag with needle felted kanji characters that translate into the words "true love." Her personal felting work includes an Etsy store with amigurumi, many of which have a woodland twist! She is also a member of quite the crafty family, and shared this about herself: "I don't know if you are aware but my family consist of two members of the Etsy administration: Anda (Amanda) Lewis Corrie and her husband Peter. Their daughter Sidonie is my only grandchild. I have another beautiful daughter, Laura, and I've been married to my husband Randall for 34 years. I live in a little town in the mountains of Virginia and I'm an avid gardener. Sometimes I think gardening and crafting go hand and hand." Please visit her two Etsy shops, click the birds and bees, and appalachia.

Ansley Bleu Davies is a prolific and successful artist and crafter. Her work for Feltique includes three really diverse projects: a clever Stacked Bead Necklace made from commercial felt, a creatively useful Knitting Needle Case, and a set of Felt Thirsty Coasters, which were a collaboration project between her and Moxie. Her work in general is just as interesting. Her most famous piece is likely her knitted Princess Leia Wig. She will be showing a version of it this summer in a Star Wars-themed fiber arts show called Stitch Wars. Ansley's current art includes very surreal, fun, and pretty doll dioramas. I love them almost more than her felt projects! Ansley's Etsy shop is a great place to find very interesting and well made knitted wearable art and ephemera. Check it out!

Tanya High Brooks' Felted Fortune Cookie is one of the more iconic projects in Feltique. The simplicity of the project makes it perfect for beginners, but the usefulness and beauty makes it something even the most experienced felters would love to create. Tanya also contributed the Floppy Flying Disc, a knitted disc that (almost) makes it OK for your kids to play frisbee in the house! Her knitted felt goes way beyond these toys and housewares. She has created several knitted character lines, including the Knitja Family of knitted ninjas. One thing I love about the contributors to the book is that their talents often go beyond felt making. Tanya mentioned learning about a whole new type of fiber arts, weaving: "Got bitten by the weaving bug while at Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this year and bought a 20" Schacht Flip Loom. After a few practice projects, I've just warped the loom for a "real" wrap. Keeping my fingers crossed." Tanya also hopes to add body butter, fiber, and more to her Etsy shop this summer.

Writing my first book was a dream come true. One of the best parts was getting to meet and work with contributors from around the globe. I want you to meet two of the international contributors to Feltique, and two very inspirational wet felt makers.

Ray Reynolds lives Southampton, England, and she has one of the most unusual perspectives on fiber arts. She says it best in her own words: "I use felt and stitch as a way of painting. Colours of felt can be layered in very subtle ways, which reminds me of watercolour painting. It is also a joy to stitch into as it seems to soak the stitches into it, enhancing the colours of the wool and the thread. I also enjoy using different fibres such as silk threads and bamboo within my felt along with hand-spun yarn. My work is about colour, light, texture, and space. When I am out walking on the South Coast of England (either along the River Hamble, Keyhaven, or along the Dorset Coast), I have this urge to wrap up all the colours, textures, sounds, and atmosphere of a place and keep them with me." I discovered her work on Flickr, and asked her to participate in Feltique mainly because of her clear tutorials and devotion to teaching. Her contribution is a nuno scarf, and it is mind blowing. Please visit her blog, www.textilecabin.co.uk, where you can watch her felt slipper video tutorial and more.

Tanis Alexis Laird lives in British Columbia, Canada, where she creates textiles with lots of color and bold graphic designs. She contributed three projects to the book: the Spiral Bead Bracelet, that uses the classic "sushi" wet felting technique; Wild Flower Pin, a project that encourages massive amounts of creative thinking; and Artful Vessels, a bowl that is wet felted over a balloon (when the balloon is popped, a felt bowl remains). Her contributions demonstrate her range of work, and her serious creative flow. Tanis' Etsy shop is packed with paintings, multimedia designs, and plenty of beautiful wet felt. My personal favorite piece is a stunning nuno wrap scarf in turquoise and pink, with a bronze ribbon. She and her husband are expecting their first child soon, and I can only imagine that her work will begin to blossom like never before. Check out Tanis' Etsy page, and be sure to visit her Flickr sets, where you can find her first felted rug.

I love crafting projects that bring joy and silliness into people's lives. Felt is the perfect media to make projects that capture happiness. The soft, dense fabric is where many of us got our childhood starts in crafting, and the two contributors of Feltique that I'd like to introduce you to today both maintain a perspective that brings joy to art.

Hillary Gillick contributed one of the most unusual and creative toys in the book: the Cupcake Chomper. She calls them Darwin's Chomper on her whimsical Etsy site, or by their proper Latin name, Os Crustum Minora (Little Cake Mouth). The little creatures have tiny cupcakes on their tongues and sport giant teeth and feet. The Chompers are so fun. Their photo shoot incorporated baking supplies, and at the end of the shoot, the room and half the gear was covered in sugar, flour, and sprinkles. For being inanimate felt toys, they encourage trouble quite well. The Chompers themselves are immaculately rendered and are just one species in Hillary's strange menagerie.

She also creates art depicting the Squiddy Bear, Schnoozle Doot Doot, and more. Her work is definitely offbeat, but it could not be more perfectly executed. Her needle felting skills are on point. The sculptures are extremely dense and smooth without a single fiber out of place. Hillary lives in Seattle with her real-life lizard pets Kali and Salvador Mali. Please visit her (very well priced!) Etsy shop and her Flickr photostream.

The AnthroPoMorphCo characters created by Joan De Lurio showcase an amazing sense of humor combined with a successful indy business. Her Mental Vegetables grace buttons, earrings, stationary, and more. Joan's contribution to Feltique is the Appalachian Clutch, an adorable woodland owl coin purse that sits inside the hollow end of a tree trunk clutch. The project is a beautiful combination of her characters and her knitting.

Here's a bit about what she's been up to: "We're gearing up our veggie garden for planting very soon, but the water that surrounds it has already produced a bumper crop of toads and frogs and fishes (for friending, not eating!). I spend an undo amount of time introducing myself to all of them. Most of the rest of the day you'll find me making stuff for the shop, running to the post office, feeding the cat, telling the cat he was just fed, feeding us, telling the cat he does not need anymore food, and then sitting on the couch between beau and said cat, knitting." Check her out online at anthropomorphco.com.

There are two things I love the most about needle felting. The first thing is the instant gratification. Projects begin to take shape instantly. The results are immediate. I can make art with wool in moments, and I love that. The second thing I love about needle felting is watching people who have never needle felted before give it a try. The comments are almost always the same: "Wait, what? All you do is stab the fluff, and it turns into something?!" And the answer is yes, all you do is stab the fluff. I'm not saying that there isn't some finesse involved. This art, just like any other, gives you room to develop skills and improve your technique. But even if you have never picked up a felting needle in your life, you can still sit down with the supplies and make something in your first attempt. The learning curve is very short. It's much harder to break down the walls to your creativity than it is to actually learn to needle felt.

If you want to give it a try, but are not quite sure what it takes, I made a quick video:

The wool used for felting is roving. It's sheep's fleece that has been combed, carded, and generally dyed, but not yet spun into yarn. The unspun roving is fluffy, and when needle felting, a little goes a long way. The fibers of the wool are coated in keratin protein. The protein coats the animal's hair with microscopic scales. By agitating the wool with the felting needle, the wool tangles, and then the scales entangle, creating non-woven fabric that won't unravel. The needles used for felting are not ordinary. The blade of the needle has multiple sides with tiny reversed barbs on the ends. The barbs tangle the wool together, in whatever direction you push the needle.

To get started, gather your wool roving, one felting needle, and a foam work surface. Place the wool on the foam, then begin pressing the tip of the felting needle into the wool. The wool will begin to compress in the direction that you push the needle. By rotating the wool, and by rotating the direction of your needling, the project begins to take shape.

Kleas shares a fun felting project that's totally kid friendly. Her preschool students made these felted bead necklaces and bracelets for Mother's Day gifts, but they would work any time of year. It's a very simple process, and allows the kids to get their hands a little messy, which is always a bonus in my kids' book.