Hobbycrafts, Sewing & Stitch - The Workshops pt. 3 Needlefelting

The final workshop of the day was a Needlefelting workshop. I have done some needlefelting before, but this was the first time anybody had given me any instruction on it. We were given enough wool to felt two brooches, but only enough time to felt one. So we got to choose between making a brooch with poppies or with random splodges. I went for random splodges. It was fun and very informative, and I definitely learned a lot which I can use in the future.

First go at needle felting

As I mentioned before, my mum got me a needle felting kit while I was in the UK. 

I had a little go while I was there, and this is what I made. The apple is tiny, only maybe 4cm tall. 

I made the penguin after my mum found a guide on Martha Stewart's website.

He doesn't look quite as good as Martha's, but I like him anyway.

I can't wait to get my hands back on my kit. It's a lot of fun to do, even though I managed to stab myself with  very sharp little needles too many times.

England Holiday Part 2: Birmingham

After the week in Ipswich we spent a little under a week in Birmingham. A four hour coach trip took us from Stansted Airport across to the bus station in Digbeth. The same evening a fireworks show was being held nearby, so we went to watch.

I took nearly 600 photos of the fireworks (high shutter speeds and continuous shooting...), but here's a couple of my favourites.

We spent most of the rest of our time playing with the animals.

This is Romeo, he loves to be adored and will spend all day on your lap.

Charlie lives in a world of his own, but he is very sweet and likes a cuddle when he appears.

Ozzy is sweet but very wriggly. My mum has another dog and cat, but I didn't manage to get photos of them.  They are not such posers as this lot above.

While in Birmingham my mum suggested we go up to a quilting shop called The Cotton Patch, as they have lots of lovely fabrics, and also needle felting supplies. Mum bought be an early Christmas present of some fabrics and a needle felting starter kit and some wools.

Unfortunately I had to leave the needle felting stuff behind as it didn't fit in my bag on the way back, but I had a go while I was there, I'll show you what I made in another post.

It was nice to go back to the UK after being in the Netherlands for over a year. It has set us thinking that we should move back to the UK as soon as we can. The Netherlands feels a bit bland when compared to England.

*Warning: Cute overload*

I have to show you these adorable octopuses! They are made by Etsy seller IrraNellie.

They are so sweet, I wish I could buy them both! There's also lots of other adorable stuff in the shop, such as this panda.

And this funky Yeti.

So, I suggest you go and visit the shop and buy everything to remove the temptation from me.

...I really want to have a go at needle felting now...