WARNING: needle felting can be hazardous to your health.

In this month of February inevitably, love is all around us. It would sound a little bit weird (if not lonely) to say that I just found a new craft to love. If you have read my blog you know that I have a love-hate relationship with felting. I love the finished product but I hate the self inflicting pain that comes with handling and bashing of hot, scalding material. I decided to take my relationship with felting to the next level. So, like a terrified teenager that asks a date to the prom, I got the courage to order my first needle felting kit. It felt like Christmas morning when I opened the package. 5 colors of roving wool (new term to learn, makes me feel like a pro), roving material, 4 different needles and a generous size foam to stab. I was so ready. I had my handmade felt ready to poke. I started to place the wool in a freestyle manner and get the feel for the stabbing. Repetitive stabbing... like entering "The Zone".  Stabby McStab Stab was my mantra. Is this IT? I asked myself. It's so easy! The finished product was a mismatch of colors that resembled an abstract painting. Just like McDonald's.. I'm Loving it!  How many more things can I do with this? I ventured myself in the vast ocean of tutorials that is Youtube and learned the proper way to needle felt. Not being too far from the actual technique, I continued snooping when I saw this beautiful figure of a creature that resembled one of the "Dark Crystal" puppets.  OMG! (as a celestial choir sounded in my ear) Soft sculpting! I fell deeply in love.....  I'm sorry my dear husband but I'm having an affair with.... needles and wool.

As I developed my relationship with my new love, I'm starting to see that is like any other relationship... filled with highs and lows, periods of elation, beauty, love and well, pain. Physical pain. The beginning was just like the eHarmony commercials, observing and excited on how could I mold it as I wished to hopefully see my desired results. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain on my index finger. How could my beloved craft backfire me like this? It hurts like being cheated. I didn't have a bleeding heart but a bleeding finger. How could this be possible? Well, accidents happen. The next stabbing came in the form of an electric current through my spine. "I'm clumsy" I thought. Then, another, I was starting to sweat. Now my thumb and index finger are throbbing. Stop! This is not for the freestyle felter. I took a deep breath and payed attention at what I was doing. Too much excitement on the first date.

I learned a painful lesson. I was behaving like an overly infatuated lover, I had to take it easy. I put it aside until the next day when my finger wouldn't hurt but eagerly waiting for the next phone call.. I mean felting session. Now I know that felting can be a dangerous craft if careless, I know that we can do beautiful things together if we take it a step at a time and most importantly get some protection (say whaaaat??) for my fingers. In the meantime I'm adding variety to our relationship, I'm going to order myself more colors of roving wool.   Definitively....    Love is in the air.

If you want to see amazing soft sculpting in fabric, take a look at the work of artist Lisa Lichtenfels. It will blow your mind.

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