how to dye wool roving basic color

This is a short tutorial on how to dye white merino wool roving to a beige color. I needed a beige color for a project that I'll be working on soon and low and behold I didn't have any. I didn't have any money to buy any so I referred to the dying trick. You will need black tea bags I used 4 but you can use less or more depending on the beige darkness or lightness you are wanting. You will also need red jelly crystals, pink would work as well but basically the red hue is to add to the more realistic share that we are after.

wool I used merino wool roving in batting form, this is about 40 grams worth and fit easily into the pot with the help of my trusty wooden spoon. This is pure white merino wool.

Next I added hot boiling water from the kettle to the saucepan and added a pinch of jelly crystals to the water and added the tea bags, waited until the mixture was boiling and bubbling on the stove and added my wool, submerging it with the wooden spoon.


I then had this in the mixture for about fifteen minutes the first ten minutes was bubbling furiously away and then for the last five I reduced the heat a little for it to simmer. I poured the mixture out into the strainer, picked out the tea bags and squeazed excess water. You don't have to rinse this wool any further.

Here is the wool partly dryed

needle felted ooak dog Happy

Meet Happy he's my latest needle felted pooch, I made him differently this time by adding an open mouth and I think its rather a cute effect. Hope you all agree! also on Kelly's blog a lady I follow I won her give away and will be expecting her fibre goodies to arrive in the post. How exciting! I love fibre, I am always adding to my stash haha.

the littlest rawr needle felted lion ooak

This little lion has a very little rawr. He stands at abut an inch and a bit tall, a great way to start an affordable needle felting collection. He has been made with great love and care and is ready to ship.

Cute needle felted gnome girl

This little gnome girl is cute I think, she has embroided eyes and mouth which is the first time I've actually done those features like that. She can move her arms as I made them with craft wire.

Caramel, chocolate and Vanilla trio of bunnies

Just listed these three bunnies on etsy, I had so much fun making them last night that they seemed to have multiplied! like rabbits maybe? haha. Anyways these are Caramel, Chocolate and Vanilla. Inspired by their wool roving colors. I believe they each have their own personalities too.

a blog give away

Everyone who knows me knows I have a fiber addiction so of course I'm entering this give away Kelly is hosting! http://sunshinefelter.blogspot.com/2011/05/month-of-1sts-giveaway.html go and check it out, should be a very fun give away, with some awesome handmade batts and fiber goodies.

Tippy the needle felted hanging mouse

I seem to be on a mouse theme at the moment! this is Tippy I created her over the weekend but only really finished her this morning as I didn't know what to do with her so I created her into an ornament. She can hang on a door knob or other area to please the eye. She wears a dress out of peach and plum colors as they are her favorite.

Mitchels hopping mice new family members

How cute are these little guys? we bought three of these from a friend of mine who works at a pet shop part time, she breeds them herself and wanted to sell us a couple so we brought a trio. Two females and one male, she thinks one female is pregnant and luckily their litter is only small about two to three per litter is usually the norm for these guys.

I couldn't get a clear shot of them as yet as they are so fast! so these are the best two I took hope its good enough to see how cute they are.
They are Australian native and you need to have a basic wildlife licscence which we already have. Originally we got it so we could keep certain types of Quail looks like our managerie is expanding even further! lol

needle felted doggie meet Frenchie

This is a needle felted French Bulldog, I have a thing for ugly cute dogs and these breeds I believe are certainly that! lol I think they have a certain charm about them, this is Frenchie. He's got craft wire in his legs for support. He's made with merino wool roving and is firmly felted. He is about an inch long and is available on my etsy shop.

needle felted cat Tuxedo cat

I'm just doing a quick post before I have to start making dinner but I wanted to show off my latest creation. I call him Tuxedo cat due to him being black and white. He was helping me read a book but got taken in by the cooking fish in the picture. I made him in the anime cute style and he stands at about two inches tall and is made from merino wool roving. His head and arms can gently move and he'd be a cute little thing for a dollhouse or mantle. He's available in my etsy store for a low $14.50 as my niche at the moment is wanting to create affordable needle felting art.

needle felted doll and fox ooak

I have been feeling woefull today due to medication changes (antidepressant) however in between feeling sick and sorry for myself I felted this little needle felted forest girl. She is rather cute I think, I'm happy with her face, I like how her hair turned out as well as I plaited it. I created the little fox the other day and wet felted him after needle felting him to give him some firmness and different texture.

needle felted teddy bear!

wow I can't believe this is my 200th post! I'm soon thinking of doing a give away to celebrate but until then this is my latest needle felted item. Meet Simon the teddy bear! he's needle felted over craft wire. He can bend and poseand his favorite game to play of course is Simon says. He stands at about 5 inches tall. He wears a blue jumper gray pants and a gray scarf around his neck.

Purple crown lorikeets Australian native birds and our flock

These are some pics of the birds we keep
Purple Crown Lorikeets they are dadda and baby we did have the mum to the group but she recently passed away which was tragic. These two are now inside and are pets so they are lavished and cherrished especially now as its almost winter and being little birds they wouldn't like the cold.

Cheeky boy looks a bit scruffy at the momemnt but we've been told by our bird vet this is normal and will hopefully molt out in due time. They are such characters for such little birds. Cheeky boy is already attatched to me.

Jimmy is a Quaker parrot, I'm rather attatched to this species in particular as Nessie my first ever pet parrot is a Quaker parrot. At the moment though she lives with my other halfs parents.

Jimmy is only attatched to me, he hates males. And will attack visciously if any male goes near him. But with me as you can see he's a darling boy and will even lay on his back happily for a tummy scratch.

Needle felted cat and rooster

Today and yesterday has been pouring with rain and very cold! we're only about half way through Autumn but we're already feeling winter seeping in. A good excuse to stay rugged up and needle felt I reckon haha so anyways this is what I've been doing, a needle felted white tiger kitty and a rooster. I quite like their styles. Not too comical but whimsy and fun still.



They will both be available on my Esty shop with the sale still continuing!

and this little sketch is of a design I'm working on for a mobile challenge I'm involved in with the needle felting team on Etsy. I don't always sketch out my ideas as most of the time I can work from images or thoughts and ideas within my imagination but this one needed working out.



The colors are still being worked on I can't decide between muted and subtle or bold and bright. However the stripes in the butterfly wings will have three different colors blended with the stripes indicating where the colors will change.

I hope it'll be a modern yet whimsy mobile hanging.

needle felted art doll

Finally I have worked out how to do an attractive needle felted doll face! I've struggled with needle felted faces. They have always come out boyish or ugly but I think this one looks regal. I've named her Princess Regal Ruby and she is available in my etsy store and is still apart of the $5 off sale I am having on my latest listed items. Anyways she's made with merino wool roving and corriedale wool roving and her arms can bend. She is what I class as a soft sculpture to be light and airy but still detailed.

plush style Pomeranian needle felted

This is my latest little doggie, isn't she cute? needle felted in merino cross wool and is part of the sale that is going on in my etsy shop. $5 off all recently listed needle felted goods, limited time only.