My wool went to Ireland…

…while I had to stay in Oklahoma.

Sad day.

On the bright side, I have an entirely new set of things to felt!  I like new.

I was asked several months ago to make the first in a series of Irish pub musicians, based off of real people.  These fuzzy performers actually get to go hang out in Ireland.  I’ve never been to Ireland.  Or a pub.  But, I am a musician.   1 out of 3 ought to at least make me *partially* qualified for this project, right?

This project brought with it lots of new things to try – new instruments, people actually from this century, seated people, and people with legs (which I guess isn’t technically new, since I just figured out how to do that for my Pilgrims and Indians this past Fall).

My first assignment – a seated guitar player.

This was the most friendly musician to start on, as I’ve previously made a raccoon guitar player and a vampire raccoon guitar player.

What I hadn’t made before was a seated figure.  But this little guy had to be able to sit on a bench that would be provided by the client – in Ireland!  Did I mention that part?  Anyway, I experimented with making someone seated (with legs), and I think he came out pretty well for a seated blob.

Then came the fun part – adding color.  This is the step that turns figures from semi-shaped blobs of undyed wool into sculptures.  They gain an identity and a personality.

This little guy gained pants (always important), then a bald spot (who needs hair when you get a hat?), and finally the aforementioned hat.  And I guess he gained a guitar somewhere in there too.  Forgot about that part.  Oops.

Side Note: The two benches made out of a Triscuit box and Girl Scout cookies box with duct tape are not what this mini musician is doomed to sit on for eternity.  My husband made those for me to the dimensions of the benches in Ireland, so I’d have them for reference. 

Follow up side note:  After pointing that out, I might need to go find my stash of Thin Mints.  Hmm… 

But then there was a (non-cookie related) dilemma:  he needed a scarf.  I had 3 different colors of wool that would’ve made excellent scarves…

…and he had the nerve to look great in all of them.

We finally decided on the green one.  Once that was attached, he was done and ready to be cloned.

I know cloning is controversial, but who wouldn’t want two of these little guys?

And so, my collection of Irish pub musicians was born.

This month it has now grown by two more members (another set of clones).   I was going to include them in this post, but I think I’ve rambled enough for one day.  I’ll post pictures of my Irish whistle player later.