Time for flowers

They're calling for up to 10" of snow tomorrow, so I think we'll be doing a bit of shoveling again! That's okay. I can dream of spring and warmth and flowers while I am making my very own flower-embellished yarn!

Last year I made the Pagewood Farm Needle Felted Silk Scarf, and it was so fun to do. Yes, it took HOURS, but it was my own issue that I felt I HAD to get it done in one (long) night. (What was I thinking?!) However, the end result was spectacular, and it's been a favorite item with customers down in the shop.

Recently my Pagewood Farm rep visited, and I ordered some other fun items for the shop. Of course their sock yarns sold out almost instantly - we only have a few skeins left of the Yukon and a little more of the Denali. (Don't worry, they are all on order!)

We also ordered some fun "Design Your Own Yarn" kits that include yarn, roving and mohair locks to make little needle felted flowers to attach to the yarn. You'll need a felting tool/needle and a felting mat, but this is fun stuff!

I took one of the kits home 2 nights ago, and have been making flowers like it's going out of style. You make the flowers first, and then attach them to the yarn. And then, I'll probably make a quick scarf or something... who knows. Here are a few shots of the process. (Taken with phone, not real camera, so I apologize on the quality/color!)

The necessary supplies: Pagewood Farm Needle Felted Designer Yarn Kit, a felting mat and felting tool. Embroidery scissors optional. Attach the center of the green leaf fiber onto your felting mat, just to keep it in place. Grab a small amount of the mohair locks, pull it apart a bit, and then scrunch it into place. Gently needle felt it to the leaf. Next step (not shown) - take some sparkly fiber and wind it into a tiny ball. Attach it to the center of your flower. I found it was easiest to hold this down with the points of my scissors until I positioned the tool in place. Then, viola, finished flower. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Easy & quick. My type of project. Once you have finished making the flowers, it's time to make your yarn! It comes in a hank, so after I wound it into a ball, I started attaching the flowers. Every yard or yard and a half you are supposed to needle felt a flower to the yarn. I have not finished this part yet, but it's so easy, I will be finished by tonight. The finished yarn is stunning!
We could have purchased this yarn with the flowers already attached, but there was a huge price difference ($22!), and we felt that our customers would enjoy making the flowers themselves.

We also ordered kits for just making the flowers (with no yarn included). This is because these flowers are so sweet, they would look great on a lot of other items that we knit and crochet. Stay tuned for a fun class on needle felted flowers this spring!