Some Assembly Required

As I have mentioned in previous posts, my Mother is 88 years old, lives independently and is a magnificent quilter and needle-worker. 

As she has aged, she has found it hard to come up with projects to do, so that is where I have tried to step in.  We have finished one quilt together and are in process of a second.  She has gone thru a drawing phase, a Jigsaw Puzzle phase, a “paint-by-number” phase and I am hoping to trigger another phase with her Mother’s Day present.

After categorically stating on this blog and to my friends that I really didn’t like needle felting, I decided to give it another try, and of course, I love it!!!!   My biggest problem was that I didn’t have an idea of what to do and I am not very good at  just putting wool roving down and turning them into something.

Much of the impetus for this project came from just having completed my River Challenge and being fairly happy with how the wool roving looked as the background. 

So, for this project I started with a piece of wool felt and started adding bits of wool roving to create a meadow scene.

I particularly like how the variegated  roving looks.

I then took my hand punch and started working the threads in using a foam block for the base.

At one point, I decided to add a bit of purple roving to the sky thinking that it would add interest…..

But, after I had felted it, those accents turned into far off mountains….I LOVE IT!!

I was afraid that the bits of roving that punch thru to the back of the felt might bother Mom so I fused a fine interfacing to the back.  After trimming, I zigzagged a single line around the piece to help hold any loose roving on the edge (this will be trimmed off at the end)….

I am sending this to my Mom, along with these threads…..

….and the instructions that this meadow needs trees, flowers, rocks or whatever she can think of to add.  

I am hoping that this will encourage her to look thru her embroidery books and plan a beautiful meadow!!!

So much for the Mother’s Day gift that has ”some assembly required”