Of felt & bead...

Wool fleece is a great fibre. Insulating and waterproof on a sheep, once washed and carded it can be dyed all the colours of the rainbow and in between, or left to take advantage of the natural hues. I've used it most recently to create brooches, some tiny, some larger, all felted in one way or another to create one of a kind objects. These ones were needle felted and hand-beaded. There's also a couple of small felt oddities that make nifty little pin cushions.

 Next up is a brooch I was commissioned to make a little while ago. The leaf shape is knitted then felted, the outside edge tidied up with thread in a supporting blanket stitch before decorating the surface with beads. The yarn used was allowed to follow it's own course before being stitched down.

On the back the clasp was securely stitched down and the year embroidered on.

This one was made to complement the colours of a local women's choir I sing with. Again the base was knitted then felted, 100% wool yarn was needle felted on to create the surface pattern before sewing on the tiny seed beads.

Next is a brooch which was commissioned to commemorate a Ruby Wedding Anniversary. It's a knitted then felted base, with swirls of coloured fleece needle felted on, and juicy ruby glass beads as focal points.

This little one was designed by my daughter - a small round brooch with a bright heart. She dug through my bag of fibre to pick what was to her the perfect colour combination. All needle felted with a small clasp on the back.

Another purple leaf brooch - I loved the way the colours came together for this design...

This last one was designed around a knitted flower, the internal colours needle felted onto the cotton base. Bright and cheerful, and really pops against a dark jacket.

It's the combination of the yarn and fleece with the tiny beads that make for something unique and heartfelt.