Needle Felted Little Red Riding Hood

Good morning, everyone.  I'm sorry I've been gone for a bit.  I got caught up in work, real life and some projects I currently have in progress.
I've been needle felting for a short time, but I wanted to put my work out there and see what people thought of it.  I know my photography leaves something to be desired.  I'm working on it.  :)
I appreciate any and all (constructive) feedback. 
This is Little Red Riding Hood, her grandmother, and the wolf.

The wolf and Grandmother are not finished.  Grandmother still needs flowers on her sleeves, and the wolf does too.  He also needs some work on his mob cap, a piece I am finding exceptionally difficult.
Here is Little Red, up close.

I really enjoyed working on her.  The hood was especially fun to do.  It is not attached to her head, it only covers her head.

I liked making Grandmother's hair.  I'm still trying to decide if she should be holding something "grandmotherly", like knitting.

The wolf's face took some time.  His nose was a whole new type of shape for me.  I am pleased it turned out so well.  I think he still needs some fangs, and maybe a shawl.  He's hiding his paws in his sleeves.

Any thoughts?  Also, someone pointed out to me that there was a woodcutter in this story also.  Should I make a woodcutter to complete the set?

Peace be with you.

Saying Goodbye to Grandpa

My grandfather's memorial service will be this weekend.  He died a month or so ago, but he was away from home when he died, and our family is far-flung, so this weekend was chosen to memorialize him and the music he spent his life making.
I didn't know my grandpa very well.  Twice-yearly visits as a child, and less often as I got older didn't make for a close bond.  In the last several years work kept me away, and then his mind began to deteriorate.  Last time I saw him was two years ago, and he didn't know me.
I am not someone who has ever thought much about death.  I have been lucky enough that even now at 32, I don't know many people who have died.  Because of this, and the feeling that I didn't know Grandpa well as a person, I don't quite know how to feel at this time.
And so, because I don't know what to say, I'm going to post a verse from one of my favorite books, The Prophet by Khalil Gibran.  I'll be back Tuesday.

Peace be with you.

Death XXVII by Khalil Gibran

Then Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death."
And he said:
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

Dreamy Rainy Weekend

This weekend was about as perfect as perfect gets.  I love a rainy, cool weather weekend.  I know there are some people out there who think I'm just crazy - yes, I've seen you with your drinks by the pool when it's 95 degrees -  but I was born in northern MN, and once the thermostat tops 75 or so, I'm hiding inside where it's cooler.  And if it's hot at night, forget it, I can't sleep.  On the other hand, once the night temps drop down into the low 60's, just give me a pile of blankets and I'm off to dreamland.
Saturday was excellent, since beyond being cool, it was also thunderstormy.  I moved my chair over near the window to watch the light show, and worked on my current felting project, a set of "Little Red Riding Hood" dolls.  They're coming along very nicely, and I'm excited about them.  I'll post pictures as soon as I figure out how to do that (and as soon as I find my camera, but that's another worry for another day).  Rainy days always give me a surge of creativity that sunny days don't.
While I worked, M sat beside my chair playing with her new favorite toy, a wooden kitchen spoon.  I really enjoy the fact that out of all the plastic, push-button toys she owns (which are on their way out of the house a few at a time), her favorite playthings are the spoon, a doll I made her out of washcloths, and a wool ball.  Her hands and mouth and little fertile mind enjoy the textures and open-endedness of these natural things with their plebian roots.  I am constantly amazed at her joy in waving a spoon in the air, or hugging her doll.  She can do these things for hours, and it makes me wonder how much of that joy I could find in such simple things if only I slowed down my day, and put aside my own plastic toys for awhile.
Maybe it's time I did a bit of housecleaning.

Peace be with you.

My first blog post

Hi all! 
Autumn has always seemed to me a time of new beginnings.  I'm sure this is a carryover from school days when the fading of the heat of summer led naturally to thoughts of new notebooks, glue sticks, and the smell of newly sharpened pencils.  I still remember the little twinge of apprehension at the thought of the first day of school, and the sound of leaves rustling under my new shoes on my walks home.  For me, new year's day is in September.
The last year has been one of many changes.  We had a daughter, our first child.  Pregnancy was a surprise, but a wonderful one, and every day since has been more interesting than the last.  Our M is a sweet and sunny girl, and her ecstatic wonder at every new discovery in life inspires me to be mindful of the simple joys I often tend to overlook.
At the start of this new year, I would like to make this kind of innocent wonder a part of my daily outlook.  I want to take in to myself this consciousness of the miracles of everyday life, and be thankful for them.
In this spirit of rebirth and awakening, I am starting this blog.

Peace be with you.