FO's for the Dogs

Yay! I love FO's! And, I loved making these! They're felted balls for doggies. I started out with some wool roving from a fleece I received years ago. I'd spun so much with it in the past and knitted up a bed for our kitty(click and scroll down to see it). It's a low quality, veggie filled roving that's not good for many things. But, it's perfect for the inside of dog toys! So, I started by rolling tight balls in various sizes for various sized doggies...


I needle felted them a little to get the wool to start binding together. I then added merino wool in various colors to dress them up. And, I got a little creative. I finished them up by tossing them into the washing machine to felt them even tighter. Here's how they came out...


I made them for family doggies for Christmas gifts. Starting from the left, I made the polka dot ball for my mom and dad's dog, Pepper. The next one doesn't reflect the pretty coral and begonia colors but it's monogrammed for my mother-in-law's dog, Rosie. The flower ball is for Daisy and the leafy one is for Aspen (more of my mother-in-law and father-in-law's doggies). The last one is for McKenzie. She belongs to my sister-in-law but my mom-in-law is taking care of her for a while. I sure hope they don't visit my blog and see the surprise!

I gave a felted ball to our dog, Salsa, a couple of weeks ago. I had no idea how much she would love it or how durable it would be. It's her favorite toy and she plays with it a lot. She's a very destructive dog when it comes to toys but she hasn't been able to hurt this toy at all. The only changes in her felted ball since I gave it to her is that it's a bit dirty. It's so fun to watch her with it and it feels really good that she loves something I made for her. I also love that it's so simple and all natural.

I entered the world of needle felting a couple of years ago when I saw it at a craft festival. I was instantly intriqued and had to try it. I didn't know anyone that did it and had very little to go on from the festival but I quickly bought some felting needles and got started. My first project was a bunny. It didn't turn out all that great so I stored it away. My next projects (click and then scroll down to see some examples) were a lot better. Recently I ran across that first bunny when I was cleaning out my craft closet and stash. I decided to throw it into the washing machine with the doggy balls to see what would happen. His shape changed quite a bit but I think he's kinda cute...


I know...this makes two posts in one day. But, I was so excited to post these that I couldn't wait. Have a terrific weekend!