 When I first started wool felting, it was just for fun. I’d begun with needle felting, pictorial, as if I was painting with wool. I thought that was where my interest was strongest, but I quickly moved on to wet felting. Now this is not the kind of felting where you basically shrink down a knitted object… a technique with which you may already be familiar. Instead, it’s using the combed and dyed wool from the sheep, laying out layers of the fiber and adding soap, water, and agitation to produce a fabric. And of course I wasn’t satisfied with just making a flat piece of fabric. I wanted to make something three-dimensional! Now mind you, this was only supposed to be a small indulgence of crafting in another medium to break up all the time I spent working on my copper jewelry. Something to rejuvenate my creativity and provide a small vacation from metalwork.
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 These days I seem to be doing everything except what I want to be doing... creating! If you’re on my email list or follow me on IG, you’ll already know I added several Crow pendants to the shop recently. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes boring technical stuff to do regarding preparing the emails, editing photos, IG posts etc., and it requires a lot of precious time. And then there’s the garden...
 Just on the heels of the Supermoon, we welcome Summer Solstice … also known as Midsummer in Europe and Litha in traditional Pagan holidays. It is believed to be a time when the veil between our world and the spirit world is very thin, making it easier for spirits and faeries to cross over the threshold. In various folkloric tales, the Oak King, who rules from Winter Solstice to Summer Solstice, now passes the baton to the Holly King, who will reign from this day until December 21st.
 Although your first impression of crows may be an association with death, bad omens, Halloween, or the terrifying movie The Birds, crows are actually highly intelligent creatures possessing some enviable traits, the blessings of Mother Nature’s everyday magic, and a tantalizing mythical allure.
As loyal members of their flock, they are vigilant guardians, ever watchful and protective. Maybe you’ve happened upon them roosting in the treetops and been assaulted by the loud cacophony of calls, warning their feathered friends of an intruder and possible danger. Or perhaps you’ve witnessed a mob flying and darting at a trespassing hawk, cawing and chasing until the interloper is forced to flee their territory. Crows also possess the finely tuned skill of facial recognition, so if you make a good impression … or especially if you make a bad one … crows will remember you.  If you’re a child of the sixties or seventies, you may have a vague recollection of decorating and dancing around a May Pole on May 1st at school or during a community-wide celebration. And did you ever pick a bouquet of Dandelions, Butter Cups and Johnny Jump-ups to secretly deliver to a neighbor, ring the doorbell and dash away? I have a wispy little memory of a May Pole at school and a clearer memory of my sister and I bringing hand-picked posies to our neighbors on May Day. But recently I became curious about Beltane, also a May1st celebration, and googled around on the internet to see what it was all about.
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AuthorThank you for stopping by the blog! My name is Carol and I'm a metalsmith and fiber artist who makes amulets and talismans. You can find my work at Willowsongstudio.com Archives
January 2024
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