Emma at Southwinds

Who says kids can't needle felt? Look at 4-year-old Emma felting away. She is making felt art from alpaca fibers grown right at her own farm near Springfield, Illinois. There are 23 alpaca on her farm and one llama. She also raises banty chickens for their feathers.

Celery Garden

I've developed a passion for yarns that are fat and thin and interesting, like this offering from Ozark Yarns. I call this piece "Celery Garden". It's specialty yarn on a piece of natural quilt batting from Back to Back Fiber Products (made of 60% alpaca and 40% wool). Later, I hope to make this into a totebag. The beauty of this yarn is that it can be separated into fat and thin areas to add texture and dimension. I just want to run my fingers through it. The fibers are simply needle felted on! What could be easier than that?

See these yarns at www.ozarkhandspun.com.

I purchased this yarn in LaVeta, Colorado when I went to see a taping of "The Quilt Show" with my friend, Ricky Tims. www.thequiltshow.com

Babe Spinning Wheel

Today, I got to see my first Babe Spinning Wheel. It is made of wood and PVC pipe. The wheel belongs to my friend, Terry Jones, of Southwind Alpaca Farms in Pleasant Plains, IL (near Springfield).

One day, I'll learn to spin. I'll be sure to add it to my blog when that happens!

www.babesfibergarden.com

Wet Felting Spirals

Wet felted spirals are easy to do and make quick embellishments for a variety of projects. By using prefelt sheets called Pacafil Brites from Back to Back Alpaca Products in Mesa, Arizona, they can be easily accomplished and quickly put to use. For a tutorial on wet felted spirals, check out our website at www.ritablocksom.com. The instructions are printer-friendly and the spirals can be made by anyone of any age. Roving can be used as an alternative to prefelts.

Forest Floor

I call this piece "Forest Floor" because of the brilliant colors. Reds, varieties of orange, browns, a plethora of greens. This is a stunning piece, if I do say so myself.

I started with a prefelt base and added rovings of my favorite colors onto it. This piece is wet felted and I will treasure it.