Best Felted Friends

Yay for more looms and projects! Thanks for the great image descriptions.

Thanks for the tag. We’ll be posting some spooky friends tomorrow. :-)

If you’re thinking of getting your own cat or dog, we hope you’ll check out For Pet’s Sake Rescue, and tell them that Grackle sent you! 🤗

#BestFeltedFriends #ForPetsSakeRescue #BlackCat #BlackCatsAreTheBest

Black cats struggle to get adopted due to a bad rep that can be tied back to their association with witches, misinformation about their temperament, that they don’t always photograph well, etc. But there’s nothing to it; they are just as capable of love, indifference, and chaos as any other cat.

He’s at his happiest when every human is in the same room playing whatever game he decides, whether that’s with the fabric scrap which is all that remains of his first toy, cat dancers with those strips of cardboard, or one of the felted fish Lupin’s made that are clearly Grackle’s property.

So, we had tossed around a few names like Blackbird, Crow, Raven, you can see the theme we were going for, but when he meowed his first, hello, we knew he was definitely a Grackle. 🎶

He wandered around at his own pace, greeted any humans who came over during the video call, and he made a ton of biscuits the entire time. 💙

On a cloudy fall day sits a black cat with bright yellow green eyes. He is wearing a hot pink harness and matching leash, which coils away from him in the grass. A few inches in front of him stands a smaller needle felted black cat made to resemble him with a similar wide eyed expression. Some mulch and the trunk of a tree is visible behind each of them as they hang out in the yard.

On this #NationalBlackCatDay , we wanted to pay tribute to our own gregarious feline. 🐈‍⬛ Nina was introduced to him by the lovely folks from For Pet’s Sake Rescue in Long Beach Mississippi in the late summer of 2023.

On a cloudy fall day sits a black cat with bright yellow green eyes. He is wearing a hot pink harness and matching leash, which coils away from him in the grass. A few inches in front of him stands a smaller needle felted black cat made to resemble him with a similar wide eyed expression. Some mulch and the trunk of a tree is visible behind each of them as they hang out in the yard.

So, we had tossed around a few names like Blackbird, Crow, Raven, you can see the theme we were going for, but when he meowed his first, hello, we knew he was definitely a Grackle. 🎶

Black cats struggle to get adopted due to a bad rep that can be tied back to their association with witches, misinformation about their temperament, that they don’t always photograph well, etc. But there’s nothing to it; they are just as capable of love, indifference, and chaos as any other cat.

It’s a whole world within itself, and we’re proud to be part of it, ensuring that all the disabled, neurodiverse, POC, queer, and trans folks know they are wanted, welcome, and there’s plenty of wool and other fibers to go around. 🥳

#BestFeltedFriends #NeedleFelting #FiberArts #Wool #WoolLove

One of the best parts about #FiberArts is spending time with the farmers and their creatures. From the 5 year olds showing their first #Sheep 🐑 to the early 30s #Artisan selling goat’s milk soap, 🐐 to the women in their 80s who are still spinning and dying #Yarn 🧶 Everybody is always so nice.

Nina, a short curly brown haired human, wearing a gingham patterned dress, denim jacket, and carrying an abundance of tote bags filled to the brim with wool roving and yarn, is leaning over to pet a black Shetland sheep, which is standing on its back legs braced against a metal fence to say hello. Light suffuses the space, the wooden walls and metal fences of other animal pens visible in the background.

On a scale of one to ten, we rate this shetland sheep… 100. Easy. Obviously. No other possible choice. This little buddy hopped up to say hi to Nina while we were at the Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair this past May, and we still talk about them a lot. Wouldn’t you?

#BestFeltedFriends

We hope that everybody can take a leaf out of the mole’s manual, 📕 and find ways to live your best life one bite, one project, or one sweep of their cane at a time! 🥳
#BestFeltedFriends #Blind #BlindArtist #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs #NeedleFelting #FiberArts #FiberArtist #CraftSky

Lupin has been working on a number of blind creatures like the mole, and a few lesser known critters that don’t rely on their eyeballs on the regular. Each, as with any other felting project is unique, full of trial and error, occasionally beautiful, and sometimes results in some pricked fingers. 🪡

#WhiteCaneDay, which happens every year on October 15, was established in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson as a time to honor the achievements and independence of the #Blind and #LowVision community, while also highlighting the white cane as, not just a tool, but a symbol.

A needle felted mole is sitting atop a pile of mulch with a bit of a tree trunk in the background. The main fur of its body is a dark, chestnut brown, whereas the fur on its front and back paws are a lighter shade, more like coffee With a little too much cream. The mole’s eyes are small, and mostly covered in fur to emphasize the fact that it does not use its vision, to dig tunnels, eat worms, and be cute.

Howdy,

We are not just posting this mole in the mulch because they’re adorable. It’s also because this tactile explorer fits in with today’s theme. 🦯

Thanks so much. It’s always nice to encounter more crafty humans.

Howdy, we’d love to be included. Lupin is a blind gay trans guy who’s been needle felting for almost 3 years, and is making a lot of whimsical jars lately. Nina is a sighted cis lesbian who’s been needle felting for 15 years, and recently resumed crocheting. We love seeing what everybody has shared.

It’s always nice to have a buddy. And thank you for the image descriptions. :-)

What a wonderful article. Thank you for sharing. Used to live in Dorset,, and it was nice to see so many familiar names.

Thanks. It’s something that I love talking about. Having had some vision growing up I do rely on that for imagining a design, but once I’m felting, I wouldn’t be able to see the needle in my fingers to check something even if I wanted to, and I feel like I poke myself as much as anyone else. Haha.

Sometimes doing the tiny stuff is so much harder because you wanna get the proportions right.

These are adorable! They’ve got such good little expressions. And thanks for the image description. :-)

This is fantastic! Love the mix of textures and colors.

This thread is super wholesome. Thanks to everybody who shared. Love all the set ups and projects.

So good! And it’s funny how slight differences in the color affect the final product. Have definitely made a few pumpkins that ended up looking like misshapen tangerines or clementines by accident.

Yeah, been there. The combination of sharps and substances usually ends up with hurt fingers.

Since our first market, Nina has made a ton of loaf cats like this fine fellow, and she’s open to #Commissions Just message us here, or by sending us an email at bestfeltedfriends@gmail.com to discuss the details!

#BestFeltedFriends

Among other things, October is #ADHD Awareness Month, and we hope that everyone, #Neurodivergent or otherwise, gets to spend time with folks who love random adventures, a lazy day watching or rewatching favorite shows, and soaking up all the sunshine on these #Autumn days. 🍁