Happy New Year needle crafters and a very Happy Birthday to Mr X Stitch today! I hope you’ve all had a good and inspiring start to the year and are ready to dive in to the worlds of more glorious Etsy makers with me. To kick us off in 2019 I have the great pleasure of introducing you to Nicola of ‘NoseyToes’ who is a dab hand at that needle felting malarkey!
The world of ‘NoseyToes’ is the brainchild of Nicola who has been needle felting for over 15 years. Her passion is to needle felt teddy bears, which is how the name ‘NoseyToes’ came about – bears with big noses and toes. For added variety she loves to create felt animals and add her own quirky touch to them. Her pieces are often whimsical and her use of bright colours really brings them to life. Nicola is based in busy Manchester..full of wonderful art and culture.
What is your earliest stitching memory?
I am from a creative family where making things was always an everyday routine. We were encouraged to make things, especially by my late grandmother who was an exceptional artist, who experimented in different mediums. You could say it runs in our family. I still use the skills taught at primary school on a square piece of aida fabric, practising different stitches. Later that piece of work was used to decorate the floor of many a cardboard dolls house for my toys.
What fires your imagination?
Much of my inspiration comes from nature, I am surrounded by my animals, which include my owl Kiera, Monty my Harris hawk, 3 rather cheeky parrots, and not forgetting my rather magnificent praying mantids. Never far from a book, where my imagination runs wild.
Nicola’s work is most definitely whimsical and every needle felted piece is full of unique character and stunning detail. If I came across that spider in real life it would definitely take me a few seconds before I realised it wasn’t something I should be running swiftly away from! One thing you all should definitely be running towards is Nicola’s fab shop, so put on your fastest running shoes and head on over there now.
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Jessica Taylor aka Loadofolbobbins is a Textile Artist and Illustrator based by the sea in Portsmouth. At her happiest with a needle and thread, with a passion for genealogy she often explores old photographs in her Textile art. With her fingers in many creative pies she loves to experiment with new techniques, creating illustrated and stitched goodies for her Etsy shop.
What Technique Is This?
Needle Felting is the process of using a notched or “barbed” needle to compress layers of wool into denser felt that can be manipulated to create 3D sculptures. It is different to wet felting, which uses water to combine wool fibres, and these days there are a range of felting tools available that can enable you to make your own soft sculptures with ease!
