Wet wool

My house smells of wet wool today. I finally got my needlepoint pieces out of their dark and lonesome place; I can’t believe it’s more than 11 years since I made them. The good news is that I still really love them. They are all made the same way: I got lots of wool needlepoint yarn from a remnant bin, drew an outline on a piece of paper, then onto the background, and did the rest by ear (or eye in this case) as the piece progressed.

They were all square when I put them away, but have been somewhat distorted during the long wait. The board I used for blocking them is long gone, so I have tried to press and stretch and press and stretch (hence the wet wool smell). It did not work very well, so I have to figure out another way to make them square again.


This piece was so much fun to make!
If I'm not mistaken, this was my first needlepoint piece, and I got the flower from one of Kaffe Fassett's books.
This was a design made by daughter when she was around 10. I tried to match the colours to her drawing.
This is the last piece I finished, with lots of leftover yarn. I still have a WIP in our cabin.

I had an idea that I could use the Mickey Mouse piece for a handbag. Apparently I had forgotten how big they all are; 16”*16” (I made pillows for my whole family and then some). I don’t really want to lose any of the embroidery, so I’ll have to add fabric to the bottom. Maybe they are more suitable for totes, but I really want my Mickey Mouse bag.

Do any of you have any suggestions??

I also found some knitting I did a while back when I just wanted to knit something and these yarns were just laying around the house doing nothing. They are just plain tubes that I intended to cut and sew into bags when felted. Today I threw them into the washing machine, and they turned out great. They are now drying in my dining room and add quite a bit to the wet wool smell. It’s my first intentional felting experience, and I’m looking forward to work with them. I love the texture!