Needlefelted Tapestry - Autumn Song

Jennifer had the pleasure of attending a felted fairytale tapestry workshop at Davis Waldorf School, taught by the wonderful Suzanne Down of Juniper Tree Puppets.  Jennifer decided to choose a scene that represents elements of a new pentatonic song that Rick wrote for his first graders.  Song words, below (and an audio clip coming, soon!).

 Inspiration from Suzanne included looking at felted scenes and also postcards of felted scenes.

After many layers and some extra work at home, the scene is finally finished!

Red, Orange, Yellow, Brown

Music and Lyrics by Rick Tan

Red, orange, yellow, brown

Leaves are tumbling down, down

Trees branches cold and bare

Signs of Autumn here and there, there

Summer's gone and Winter's near

Autumn season's here

Hard at work, the gnomes and fairies

Gathering acorns, seeds and berries

Apples and pumpkins it's harvest time

Scarves and mittens dear friends of mine

Red, orange, yellow, brown

Leaves are tumbling down, down

Trees branches cold and bare

Signs of Autumn here and there, there

Summer's gone and Winter's near

Autumn season's here!

Handwork Felting eCourse! - Starts May 9, 2011

Handwork ECourse from Little Acorn Learning
Felting - 5 Weeks - Only $80!  Starts May 9, 2011
Instructor: Jennifer Tan, MA from Syrendell

Felting is one of the most primitive textile arts. Its origin is unknown, but swatches of felt were discovered in Europe and Asia dating as far back as the Bronze Age. Nomadic tribes had relied on felt's durabilty and versatility to make practical items such as blankets and tents. Created by the massaging of wool fibers in a liquid medium, felt can be shaped into many useful and decorative items. Legend has it that a Christian monk, who was trying to evade Roman soldiers, had found wool hanging from branches and put it into his sandals. After some time, his sweat and water from stream beds as he ran, created felted socks! In the 19th century, during the Industrial Revolution, felted bowler hats were very popular. A process that used mercuric nitrate to make the hats was employed, but the poisonous fumes that the workers were constantly exposed to caused neurological symptoms, which may have led to the expression "mad as a hatter."


Jennifer Tan, master fiber artist, in her five week felting course, guarantees you will neither have to become a fugitive of the Roman Empire nor a lunatic ala Mad Hatter to enjoy the art of felting! She will introduce the techniques of wet felting and needle felting where you will create beautiful projects with a wide array of applications. In her course, Jennifer will accompany her teaching with Waldorf-inspired verses and songs.


You will develop a love of this truly magnificent craft long after Jennifer's course is done. She does not guarantee that your family will not go insane from the many felted items you will undoubtedly begin to create!


Week 1: What is felting? (wet, needle, felting sweaters, felting crochet/knit/woven items) Types of fibers and supplies. Carding fibers.
Week 2: Wetfelting - scarf
Week 3: Wetfelting - sculptural (balls, eggs)
Week 4: Needlefelting - landscapes
Week 5: Needlefelting - sculptural (fairies, animals)



This ECourse is 'Work-As-You-Go' Each Week with New Tutorials and Inspiration Posted Weekly for a Duration of Five Weeks. You Check in When You Have Time. No Pressure, No Requirements - Just Suggestions.  To register and see the list of recommended reading, click here.

Happy Autumn!

Happy Autumn!

We are taking our time celebrating Autumn this year. Something little each day.

Star Lanterns from our old watercolor paintings.

Sandbox for Letters/Numbers, Finding Treasures, Meditation (see www.thewaldorfway.blogspot.com for more info. on making the sandbox)

Needlefelting Dwarves Mining and Wet-felting Cave (instructions and more pics to come!)


Reading Autumn Poems and Singing Autumn Songs

Making Cornhusk Dolls

Cutting, Needlefelting, and Sewing Autumn King & Queen Crowns

Baking Vegan Harvest Herb Bread and Carrot Cake

Exploring the Magical Five Seeds in Apples

Felting Acorn People Finger Puppets

What are you doing to celebrate Autumn?

Felting a Wool Ball

Felting a wool ball is easy, enjoyable, and an amazing tactile experience! This week, Wilson felted a ball along with Mommy. Here is how to do it:

1. Choose 3 colors of wool fiber.

2. Card the fibers with hand carders. Keep a wispy piece set aside.

3. Roll the fibers in a ball with hands.

4. Get fibers wet and soapy, then agitate on a washboard or other bumpy surface, turning the fiber ball constantly.

5. Rinse and allow to air dry (might take a day or more).

6. Take the wispy piece of fibers that you had set aside, cover the ball, and needlefelt it onto the surface to make a smooth, continuous feel and look.

7. Roll the ball in your hands until smooth!

You can also put weights or beans or marbles in the center of the balls for weight. Another great option is to needlefelt designs onto the ball with other colors. Wool works best. Wool and needlefelting equipment may be purchased online at http://www.mielkesfarm.com/

Today, we threw Wilson's felted ball around during circle time while saying the colors of the rainbow in English and Spanish. What fun!

Felting at Syrendell

We love to felt! All of us do some sort of wet or needlefelting. We use the clover 5-needle tool and we also use single needlefelting needles.

Our wax crayons have been in a basket for months, but they tend to get dinged up. Joey wet felted a nice lining for the basket out of some beautiful merino wool strips.

Lately, we've been needlefelting outfits for finger puppets. Joey has created an adorable series of finger puppets called the "Seasonal Children", featuring Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. She needlefelted some beautiful Math Gnomes with Mommy for little brother Wilson for Christmas. The gnomes sleep at night in a box with felted lining!

During Christmas, we worked on needle felting balls and turning them into ornaments!

For Valentine's day, Joey felted some small hearts out of some pink wool and sparkle angelina fibers that she carded. She added a pin to the back of each heart and then felted a piece over the pin backing to hold. These will be precious gifts for her cousins and friends from her dance classes!

We created an Acorn Family for our Seasonal Spot (aka, "nature table") by wet felting and then needlefelting clothes for the wooden finger puppets. Each family member received an acorn cup hat!

Our sweet Gnomy has boots, beard and hat, felted by Ricky and Mommy. He is often seen in our Seasonal Spot, or near a seasonal wreath.

Everyone enjoys needlefelting fruits and veggies for our little grocery store. After playing "store", we often take the bounty to the wood stove that Daddy built for Wilson for Christmas and prepare meals.

Wilson loves playing with his rainbow wood home blocks. The Acorn Family fits nicely in the house! Wilson helped Mommy felt a bowl and some tiny fruit for the table this week.

Since we love to spin and don't like to waste, all fiber scraps go into baskets. When it's time to felt, the baskets are a treasure trove of colors and textures, just waiting to become something amazing!