Janome Xpression

Happy Birthday to me ! My DH got me the Janome Xpression needle felting (needle punch) machine for my birthday. Isn't he great? I haven't had much time to play with it yet, I did some fiddling around. It goes pretty fast, and has some serious needles...size 36 or 38. If I get an accessory from my Janome dealer, I can get different gauge needles from Try Our Designs. This site also has some good techniques for using a needle felting machine for various projects.
I would like to start a project with my new toy, but first...
I am in the midst of making wolf masks for the school play. I thought about wet felting some masks, but I found a remnant of "better fur" at Mills End Textiles that was just the right color, so I am sewing them. They look pretty cool. So I must finish them before I start anything else. My son is one of the wolves in the play, so I have a vested interest in the masks.

Textile Camp: Run with Scissors

Here are a few of my smaller bowls. They are examples of what I will teach at Textile Camp this summer at Crossings in Zumbrota. They are made of merino wool (mostly), embellished with yarn and beads, needle felting, and some cutting. They are made using the wet felting method. Textile camp is for kids grade 3-12 the week of July 21-25. Two other teachers will be there, teaching crochet and sewing. I will also spend one day teaching Embellished Jeans. We will use Bleach pens to discharge the dye and make designs.

Needle felted rose

I am working on this one for my sister.