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Luxembears
Hi again. Ihave already posted this pair in the showcase but I wanted to kickstart some more discussion on needle felting onto mohair.
Pictured is Sherwood and his new son, Kota. Kota is a new design fashioned after Shwerwood, but not a sized down pattern...totally new.
I have needle felted his muzzle and paw details onto his mohair. He also has airbrushed details, claws, and armature. Boy, this design is so time consuming but I am pleased with my results.
I have another baby bear cub on the way made from Intercal's mohair and he is turnig out very nicely.
Erin, you should have youru hubby jump in and join the board with us. He does marvolous work!
LuxembearsThanks Lisa! :hug:
Needle felting onto mohair allows such freedom for sculpting. It is very addictive.
My noses on these bears are leather scuplted then hand painted, then airbrushed as the very last step.
Everyone likes to do things differently, but for me. I set the eyes first.
I don't blame you one bit for not wanting to do claws. They are a buggar and very time comsuming...but they really fit with this design.
I like to use wool batt or batting. Wool roving is where the fibers lay in all one direction and come in a "rope-like" form. Wool batt has the fibers in every direction and comes in a big "wad" ,if you will. FOr me , wool batt feltes down beautifully and firm.
Neysa, sells wool and color coded needles. You can find her link at the top of the needle felting forum.
Most importantly...have tones of fun!
Posts: 8,574Aww Judi they look like family, too sweet....I love it....but where's mama? i'll bet she is simply beautiful.....gotta have a beautiful mama for the kiddikin to be so cute.....
I love the way you keep pushing the envelope of experience, Judi, its a joy to watch!
Erin, You Hubster would be so welcome here....they way you two are going he may have a totally new vocation ahead of him.....
dilu
LuxembearsThanks guys!
Dilu, I am making his mommy right now...funny how he has a mommy who isn't even born yet 
...that's the beauty of this business :dance: SHe is the same design as Sherwood but with different mohair.
Posts: 8,574Now Judikins, I think that would be a great christmas card.....the family together.....can hardly wait to see mom!
dilu
Matilda Huggington-beareYou mean to say Erin that avatar bear isnt your work??????
Your hubby does it??????
Well I telll you I was quite envious of the talent and quality of the work.
I feel better now that I dont have to hate you. I'll just hate your hubby instead. 
hahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahhahahahahahahhahah
Matilda 
Posts: 8,574matilda, you avatar is too too cute....love the duck! a little off beat...but thats the beauty.
I love that Erin and Hubs are turning into a design team! 2 heads are better etc......can't wait to see what they come up with next.....
Flying Fur StudiosJudi, those bears are to die for! Nice airbrushing as well. Mine is still alittle rough, haven't tried on a bear yet. Just got my air source.
I've really seen felting on bears take off. I myself have tried it, just havent posted a picture yet. But as I browse though ebay, I see more and more of it.
Erin and her hubster do some great work eh? Amazing. I love the whole idea of a team.
I hope to see more felting here soon.....
Posts: 8,574Maybe he is a platapus, you could be right, I couldn't tell, but he is a rich color, full of whimsy and I really love his feet pads...lucious.....so cute, such a great idea... 
\
dilu
Matilda Huggington-beareDilu wrote:matilda, you avatar is too too cute....love the duck! a little off beat...but thats the beauty.
He's a platypus isn't he Matilda? Is his face needle felted? He's really cool.
Bear Hugs,
Lisa
YES!!!! He's a platypus and yes sporting a needle sculptered mush. You lot crack me up!!! hahahahahahaha
Matilda 
Matilda Huggington-beareDilu, he is a double dipped dye job. He was dipped in blue, set, dried, then dipped in yellow ,set, dried.
Doing it this way gives the colour movement depending on the light. It moves from different shades of blues to greens.
Judi, since I started using the' core wool' and batting I dont doze off as readily any more. I found with the core wool, to leave it as is. I was fluffing it up the way I was preping the roving. Thats why it wouldnt felt for me. Core wool comes as though it is already semi felted. It makes the job so much faster. I fluff up roving and or batt and put a layer over the core wool when I'm ready to do the final sculpting.
Its lovely to see you doing the 'part faces' as apposed to the 'full faces' like your workshop bear. I love these part faces they are definitely my favourites. I love your feet on these bears also
Matilda
Posts: 16Judi,
I think your bears, and you workmanship is just stunning. I also needle felt, but have only done small amounts over mohair. I'm afraid somehow of breaking down the mohair backing.
I would love to see a extreme close up of your bears faces. About how thick - at the thickest point - is the felted wool? And how do you achieve such a smooth finish.
On my needle felted animals, I give them a once over with a lightly soapy cloth. It seems to smooth down some wiry hairs.
Thanks,
Letha
Matilda Huggington-beareNot a bad idea Letha, beats the soapy finger that I use. will have to try it ya cleva ducky
KP BEARI am in awe of the talent of Judi and Erin's hubby."Sigh" You both do such great work. I have just started to felt my faces onto the bears and the avatar is one that I like the best. But as you can see I have along way to go yet. But I love it so will keep on and in the end if I can get half as good as you two I will be very happy.
Lena 
Mini Fine ThingsHI New here and to bears! I don't even own one YET..........I have fallen in love with the mohair bears with the felted faces and claws! I want one.........only thing is I hate sewing....I have become addicted because I started needlefelting and really am enjoying it. NOw the bears! Oh my, as if I don't have enough hobbies already.
Shelly N
Judi....first... your bears are stunning as usual
At the Schaumburg show I took Art Roger's class in which he used some needlefelting on his necklace bear (mostly the nose) so I FINALLY did a LITTLE on one of my own bears.... the whites of the eyes on my purple batik bunny Flopsy.... now I've got TONS more wool ordered and needles and can't wait to do some more! Boy, I never thought I'd ever needlefelt... and now I'm excited about it LOL!
Laura I never thought I would needlefelt either until I saw some needles at a yarn shop recently. I decided to buy them and ordered some wool. Next thing I'm taking Judi's AWESOME felt face class and just finished my first ever felted project. I can see this as another addiction- sheesh, does it ever end LOL
Oh Tammy you did a WONDERFUL job!!!!!!!
Thanks Laura Lynn. It was a lot of fun once I got past the creepy/ugly beginning stages of the face. This bear just makes me smile whenever I look at him so I've named him Giggles.
Luxembears
Hi Ladies. Gosh, I have missed a lot here. I have been quite busy wit my bears.
Letha, I love your avatar bear. I collect that style of bears.
I will post a close up of my bear's face with the felting. My felting is very solid and firm. I don't worry about the felting breaking down the mohair backing as wool, stuffing and backing all mesh together. I have been very pleased with the end results.
To get a smooth finish just requires extensive poking and felting. If there are any stray fibers I just clip them off. This makes for a great smooth finish.
