I felt like a hummingbird...

The world of needle felting is something that I picked up during my time working at my LYS (that's Local Yarn Shop for the uninitiated). It began with a little pin,   which I blogged about here. Now I have moved on to more complex three dimensional shapes.... which you are all dying to see... so here you go!

This little hummingbird was made for my mom for her birthday.
I began with an ovoid body shape (made of the blue roving), and began to add the head shape through strategic needle work. Eventually I added the belly colour, and shaped the tail. Finally I worked on the wings separately , folding sections of roving into rough triangle shapes and working them from there into wings, then attached them to the main body, again, with the needle.

I think my experience working with clay really helped me out with this, because I am used to creating three dimensional shapes. It was just a matter of changing the medium and getting used to the technique of the felting needle. I use single needles to make my creations, in sizes 26, 28, and I think 30 or 31.

The first hummingbird was made from  Fleece Artist 100% Merino Sliver in the Mermaid colourway (for the head, back, wings, and tail), and 100% Merino Sliver in what I *think* is the Blomidon colourway  (for the belly). The beak is made from another part of the Mermaid colourway.

The second little hummingbird was made on commission for a friend. It is made of gorgeous  Fleece Artist Merino Silk Sliver in the Aurora colourway (for the head, back, wings, and tail), and 100% Merino Sliver in what I *think* is the Blomidon colourway  (for the belly). The beak is made from some left over dark purple roving I had lying around. The eyes of both birds are made from little blue glass beads, sewn in after I needle felted little holes for them to go into.

If you enjoyed this post about needle felted hummingbirds, check back later as I will be posting more of my creations soon. I am also planning to do a tutorial post, at some point, where I will go through the process step-by-step.