Why do we create? Introducing Lelia Valois .....

Lelia Valois is a needle felter - a skill I am intrigued by as it produces fantastic things from unpromising bits of wool!  Lelia says : 'Needle felting is a great process.  You start off with a lump of wool and use a special barbed needle to stab it all into the shapes you want.  The best part?  No sewing skills required!'

Lelia's Etsy shop is Valois Felts - (click here)                                                                   She describes the start of her crafting journey:  'When I was in lower school, my Mum and I would enter the annual egg decorating competitions every Easter.  There would be a theme (dinosaurs, fairy tales etc) and your job was to decorate a standard egg in any way you chose.  This was a serious business, and we would spend weeks working on both our entries for the parent and pupil categories.  I'm proud to say we both won First Prize every year!

'I came across needle felting the way people come across most things - searching for cute animal pictures on the internet. There were realistic images of every animal on the planet, all made out of wool.  

I first wanted to try it so I could make sculptures of my pets, but I soon discovered so much more to be made as well.  I love the wool being a natural fibre, but it combines so well with other mediums and is great for experimenting.  You don't need patterns or instructions, and it's great to just stab away and see where things lead!  

I'm inspired by the books, theatre and television that I love, as well as mythology, magic and the beautiful wildlife that surrounds us.

(I love Lelia's take on Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' - a needle felted art brooch!  

How clever is that!)

My two other main loves are writing, and hunting down pretty and unusual vintage objects.  Needle felting fits perfectly with both, and since I've started my creative side has expanded to learning so many other things.

Why do I create?  

I create because I've always loved fantasy worlds, and always try to add a bit of magic to everyday life

All the pictures are from Lelia's Etsy shop - with her permission

Come and visit us at DunnCrafting too - click here