Needlefelted Holly King

More Forest Gnomes

I love making each one!

Winter's Slumber

I've always wanted to create a doll from sticks. 

Gathered alder twigs and lichen,wool, and organic cotton yarn are used to create this soothing winter being. 

The spiral represents winter's time of rest and going inward. I love the quiet and stillness of the winter months.

Sword Fern Spirit Doll

She is lady of sword ferns, who holds secrets from the cool forest floor. She is filled with fern plant matter inside, and wears a fern on her skirt.

Sword ferns always show up for me in dreams and journeys, as guides and protectors. I am always grateful for their lush and bountiful presence here in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Rose Spirit Guardian

There is one tiny rosebush in the yard that blooms two or three luscious pink roses per year. At first it only bloomed one rose. Last year, with some care, it bloomed three beautiful blooms. I'm hoping this year I can help her bloom even more. 

I thought she might like a guardian, or helper, so I needlefelted a spirit doll for her.  She is full of dried rose petals, and will tend to the spirit of this plant. 

Needlefelted Gnomes

My daughter loves gnomes and we read the gnome book so often at our house, as well as watch episodes of David the Gnome (but not so much recently since she has become fearful of trolls!)

I needlefelted some gnomes for a local holiday flea market in December and they were really fun to make. I made classic red hat gnomes and also some grey forest wizards. They each has their own unique character and expression. It was fun to watch folks choose which ones to take home!

I will have just forest wizards available along with my nature photos at the Back Bar flea market in Seattle next week. I need to make some more ASAP!

Birth of My Spirit Dolls

I recently started studies on the Druid path, and for my altar I wanted a statue of goddess Brigid. I didn't want to buy a statue, so I decided to make one with materials I already had on hand, which happened to be an enormous stash of wool roving! I needle felted Brigid for my Imbolc altar. 

But then I realized I enjoyed the process of creating dolls so much, I could not stop.

Different spirits wanted to manifest through wool sculpture, so I began to create several more dolls. Each doll had her own voice, and would guide me on how she wanted to look, what colors to use, etc.

I made my first doll twenty years again when first moved to Seattle (I don't have a picture of her but I remember her button face!) She was made from red satin and purple velvet fabrics, and was filled with lavender. It is interesting to me that twenty years later I have been called to create these spirit dolls using my favorite medium, wool roving. And I thank the goddess Brigid stirring up Awen (the creative spirit) in me!

The Return of Queen Heron

It's been so very long since my last post! I can hardly believe it. Time has passed so quickly. I had put my crafting practice aside, with a trail of many unfinished projects and small creations here and there. Over the past few years, creatively I've focused on nature photography and deepened my relationship with the land and my surroundings through time in the forest and garden.

However now I have the creative fiber flow once again. Hooray!

As a new mom, it has been challenging to "find the flow" and time to create again.  Lately, creating requires much more patience than before, and sometimes projects can take twice as long to complete, which was a bit of a shock to me at first. But I want my daughter to be exposed to the creative process, so it is all worth the extra time. It is so fun to watch her explore yarn and wool and all the colors and textures involved!

I will be documenting current fiber projects and inspiration. Hopefully you will join me along the journey!

Bright Blessings-

Kim

Crocheted Healing Forest Mandalas

Green is healing, and so is the forest.

For me, connection with trees and nature is important.  As a nature intuitive, I work to develop relationship with trees and nature.

My forest mandalas are small crocheted meditations that remind me everyday of the wisdom and healing power of nature.

My Crocheted Cowls are Listed in the "Top 10 Cowls" on the Internet

Woweee!  My hand crocheted chunky cowl neck warmers were voted as one of the "Top 10 Cowls" on the internet by Simply Crochet Magazine.  What an honor!

There are thousands of gorgeous cowls and cowl patterns on the internet.  I feel really honored to be recognized on this fantastic list.  The Chunky Cowl Neck Warmer in Lichen (available in my Etsy shop) was pictured in the article:

Thank you so much Simply Crochet Mag!

Spinning Wool into Yarn.

I decided to take all this wool roving I have lying around and spin it into some yarn on my drop spindle.  I took a class on drop spindling at Weaving Works a while back, and I have to say, I've pretty much forgotten everything on how to do it!  It felt like it was a little more work than I remembered, I'm not sure if I am quite dropping the spin correctly.

Anyhow, I spun a single ply yarn from a combination of colors and types of wool.  I then crocheted the warmest hat I've ever worn.  It might be too warm!  

It must be the icelandic wool. The yarn, even at single ply, was really thick.  

Next time, I might try and spin a thinner yarn, even though I love thick, chunky, uneven "art yarns." 

But overall, I am pleased with the hat.  Now it needs to get cold enough here for me to wear it outside!

Felted Rocks

I somehow felt like an incomplete fiber artists since I had not ever felted a rock.

So last night, I was inspired to felt some rocks using some icelandic wool fiber I have in my fiber stash. I gathered the rocks from outside my house, so they were all kind of uneven and more rounded.  I can see the potential if I had used smooth even rocks from the beach or a river.

I'm really into cairns and stacks of stones, so the smooth rocks, or rocks with more of a flat surface would be helpful for that.  A cairn of felted stones would be awesome indeed.  The process of felting a rock is simple enough, now I just need to get to the beach and gather some smooth stones!

Tiny Needle Felted Barn Owl

I started felting animals when I was first learning to needle felt about 5 years ago.  But I never made an owl.

I had also never seen an owl in "real life."  I had been a birder for over 10 years and not once seen an owl.   I always heard owls in the night calling to each other while I was laying in my tent while camping.
But last month, an owl just "fell" out of a tree right in front of me at the park.  And then I realized I was surrounded by three barred owls...lucky me!  They are very cool animals to observe.  They remind me of cats with wings.

Well, I decided to try and needle felt a barn owl.

I think he is kinda cute. I gave this one to a friend, but I think I will make several more this week.

Just Posted: My All Time Favorite Classic Crocheted Cowl Neckwarmer

This is my one of my go-to, my favorite cowl styles.

I just adore creating with and wearing this 100% undyed Peruvian wool yarn.

I'm pretty convinced you will love it too.

Handmade 100% undyed wool cowl neckwarmer scarf. $98 at Queen Heron Creations on Etsy.

Big Chunky Crocheted Cowl Neckwarmers

Big News: I just reopened my Etsy shop for the winter.

I am excited to connect with customers and create my best work for you.

I live in a nice large space, and I have had time to de-stash and get organized since the move.  It always feels so good to get organized.

This season the majority of my work will be natural fibers and neutral colors.
I will continue with 100% wool, and just a few wool blends.
Alpaca cowls will be a big part of the shop as well, since alpaca fiber is so deliciously soft!

Just listed at my Etsy shop.

Release the Stash!

It's gonna be a hook-tastic winter!  When I feel that little chill in the air, warm and soft yarn calls for some sweet love and attention! I just released the yarn stash today to do some inventory and did some serious winding up.  Prepare for winter! 

Cream Crocheted Hat with Flower Pin

Here is a hat I made recently.  Spring is a time of transition, and I wanted to make a hat that was light-colored and not black or grey.  I found the flower pin at Joann's.  I ended up giving this hat away to my friend.  At this point, I think I have almost too many hats.

It's Been So Long!

Happy Spring!

I have been taking a break from crafting for a while, but today I created something springy and had to share.
After I spent some time online looking for lovely hair accessories, I decided to try and make my own very romantic floral crown for fun to see if I could actually figure out how to make one myself.  I found some flowers and wire at Michaels, and came home and made this pink flower crown in about 1/2 hour.  Very feminine and springy!
I also just ordered a pretty vintage-looking floral crown from Etsy seller KittenPaws Vintage, and I cannot wait to get it very soon!

I will also post about the crocheted shawl I am working on very soon.

Projects Not Quite Understood

I have been doing some inventory lately, and going through several bins and bags of projects and supplies. 

Some projects are unfinished.  Or finished, but not quite understood.

Like this piece I felted months ago.

At first it was just meant to be a practice sample.  But now that I see it again, I kind of like it here on the black bookshelf.

If anything, every time I pass by it, it inspires me to felt more, so that is a good thing :)

Crocheted Bowl for a Sweet Pine Cone

I found this little treasure on a walk a few weeks ago, and I kept it inside my purse for days. 

Finally, I decided to crochet it a little bowl and keep it inside.