Bright Lights and Cheaters

Over the past few days I've been working on some felt vessels. I'll have more to show in the days to come. This one was created over a flat resist, using Lincoln-Teeswater cross, with some angora and merino added to the mix, along with hand dyed silk roving and silk fabric pieces (5mm) on the surface. It is so thick, so strong, it stands beautifully. I think I used 8 layers of roving to build up the strength and sturdiness and felted it really hard. In its final state, it measures 13x13.5 inches. After it was dry, out came the BRIGHT LIGHTS and CHEATERS! (Oh my, these eyes are getting old.) Doing the bead work was a challenge unto itself. It's something I usually do at night, and the lighting in our home is not great. The beading was fun, but challenging. I may still add some more things to this vessel, but for now, I'm giving my tired eyes a rest.

Everyone who has seen this piece thinks that it is a stone...exactly what I was hoping to achieve.