Catching up

May and June are always very busy months and this year has been no exception. This is the time that the yard and gardens need the most work; keeping up with weeds in the flower beds and planting the vegetable garden. I am only doing this work halfheartedly this year, I think because last year was such a terrible year for growing anything. Besides getting the garden growing there are always lots of extra happenings such as proms and graduations.

 My baby boy's senior prom...his graduation is less than 2 weeks away, which is so hard for me to believe.

My daughter's graduation.

Hard to believe this silly girl is a distinguished graduate school scholar about to receive her masters!

All of these things and problems with stomach pain have left me with little time or energy for posting or felting, etc. I did do some work stitching this old piece on the drive to Ithaca for graduation. 

(last shown here in April's 'Un Natural Dyeing' post)

I was finally able to give my friend the felt piece that I made for her graduation back in mid May so I can post about it now. She loves manatees and has always wanted me to do a drawing of them. Since I have been having fun with my nuno felt imagery I decided to tackle trying to do one featuring these adorable creatures.

I  started with a layout of wool with some prefelt...

Then came a background piece of hand dyed silk, strips of silk for sea grass, and prefelt cut to the shapes of the manatees.

Next I added pieces of grey silk cut to cover the prefelt manatee shapes, and more silk, wool and various other fibers.

After it was felted I started giving definition to my grey manatee blobs by stitching an outline.

Then I further defined the manatees by drawing and shading with a fabric marker. I also needle felted on some locks.

Then I added some beads for eyes and stones and shells on the sea bed.

I chose a piece of crinkled cotton gauze and a frame with a wavy pattern for the mounting.

Here is the finished piece...