Since opening www.TryOurDesigns.com, I have had a chance to interact with lots of people who enjoy felting. I feel like I am getting to know many of them as well as if we had met in person. So, I thought that a blog might be a good way to keep those who are interested in Needle Felting, particularly using machines like the Babylock Embellisher informed about where the website is growing and perhaps a bit about my felting adventures as well. I first became interested in fiber in the early 1990's when my good friend, Pat Boddie, decided to raise a few alpacas in her backyard. Pat was both an artist and an animal lover, so this was a great mix for her. While building her herd on the East Coast and waiting for her husband, Lewis, to retire, she got into doll making, some elementary spinning and lots of other artful endeavors. Pat definitely had both the talent and training to be an artist. I, on the other hand, was a well trained mathematician and computer scientist with no art training. I had learn to sew when I was about 6 years of age on a treadle sewing machine. I had learn to knit, crochet, cross stitch and tat in my teens and twenties. I was quilting mostly in my 30's. And in my early 40's, got interested in fiber when I started making anthropomorphic dolls (human bodies with animal heads) so I could make realistic manes on my lions and giraffes. In 1995, I found that I had a congenital abnormality of my skull/brain, called a Chiari malformation, which had cause a portion of my cerebellum to leave my skull and put pressure on my brain stem. I had suffered from this condition for over 20 years before diagnosis. One surgery later, I was back at work and within a year, I thought I was good as new. But, it turns out that a stressful job can create a great deal of scar tissue and after fighting this condition for 4 years, I found I needed another surgery to remove the scar tissue blockages that had cause my symptoms to return. I was lucky that I could retire on disability and chose to do so in 2000. Since then, I have been exploring the side of my brain that I had ignore for so long. I have taken up crochet again, started machine embroidery and digitizing designs, and quilting. At a recent American Embroidery Conference, I won a Babylock Embellisher. I haven't done much quilting since then. I have been focusing on using the embellisher to make felted and/or textured fabrics and exploring how they can be combined with my love of machine embroidery. I have just started teaching Embellisher classes and hosting Embellisher club meetings at my local Babylock dealer (Margiotta's) and have been having a ball coming up with projects for this group. I will soon be making those projects available to you all on the website. For the next few weeks, I will be adding new roving colors and Hot-Fix Swarovski crystals. I am having a blast with the crystals and felt. I also sell felting needles which I personally cut to use in my Embellisher as well as use by hand. I will also be attending the Babylock Event in Alexandria, VA in mid-October to learn more about the Embellisher. There is more to the story of TryOurDesigns that will be posted in the coming months. So stay tuned for ideas.