Finally Finished Felting

Today for some reason I have been inspired to get a lot of artwork done. Perhaps it's because I am against the clock with work starting up again in 6 days. Why is it that we always leave things to the last minute? My sewing machine has been buzzing all day as I managed to thread paint and quilt my latest felted piece. This piece was of a butterfly on my lilac bush that I took a picture of earlier this summer. I was on the way into the van and just happened to have the camera in my purse, so I was able to get a couple of good shots. In this piece I also skipped the wet felting step after I finished the needle felting. This was a bad idea, as I needle felt with a single needle by hand, and this means the wool stays a bit puffy instead of being hard felted. This puffiness was FOREVER getting caught in my darning foot on the machine, which is what I use for free motion quilting. I think it practically doubled the time it normally takes me at the sewing stage. When I wet felt it pushes the fibers closer together and I get a hard flat surface, much like the felt is that you buy at the store. The lesson for today, skipping steps rarely saves time. Tonight after I serve my family a gourmet meal (not really) I plan to work on 3 kerchiefs that I have made for friends. They are already painted and cured, and now I have to do some free motion stitching with some funky variegated thread. I gave them to them for free, but told them if anyone likes them to send them in my direction. Can't beat free advertising.