How To Felting

I am terribly frustrated because I can't get any good pictures of the final product--the light's bad everywhere, even in the upstairs space because the skylights are covered with snow. I could wait until it melts, but let's face it, friends, it might be months. Love me a Maine winter. On top of the light situation, for some reason the pictures I am getting make the left hand tower look really wonky, and it just isn't. It's as straight as it is in the "before" shots. You'll just have to trust me.

All that said, here's the rest of the process:
This is the basic foundation with all the yellow bits sewn on.
Then I sew on the upper layers of felt and begin the embroidery. I use embroidery for details too small for felt cutouts or sometimes just for a particular texture. Here, I've started with a chain stitch and then covered it, satin style, to create the church's trim.
Once I've finished all but the pickiest stitched detail, I usually do the foliage--the piece really comes to life, I find, when I add trees, bushes, or flowers (or as Annabelle puts it, they're boring up till this point--kid really doesn't pull any punches).
This loose, running stitch in white helps create the feeling of brick, and I've had a lot of fun with the stained glass in pretty sky blue.The next thing I do is the add the text if there is any.
Then it's time to affix the fabric to the hoop, and for this I just use plain old Tacky glue, running a bead around the hoop, folding the fabric down tight, and smoothing it with my fingers.When it's dry, I pink the edges of the fabric to prevent its unraveling.
And that's it. When my camera battery is charged, I'm going to try to take a couple of better photos, but you get the idea.

It was great fun to do something different, but no matter the subject, I'm always so thrilled to participate in memorializing a part of someone's life. It's an incredible feeling, this--knowing that people are appreciating your creative work, even loving it, by incorporating it into their own daily lives.

You know what? I'm happy.