Little beds and red squirrels

I have been having a lot of fun in the workshop lately making little beds, there is something very satisfying for me, making things with no real function, and these definitely fit that category! After a lot of trial and error and fiddling about I came up with this little willow twig bed, I made a little quilt for it {used as a mattress} and it has a handkerchief sheet, a wooly blanket made from a lambswool tartan scarf and a doily bedspread, I have made some other layers of bedding too not pictured, there is a crochet granny square blanket from my massive stash of unfinished crochet projects and a blanket made of . . . well a blanket!

 I was inspired by the Princess & the pea story from the Ladybird book of my childhood, my goodness I loved that series of books and would spend hours reading them and looking at the pictures, I still  have many of my original ones, a treasured collection indeed.

The next bed I made was a lot smaller and even cuter with even less functionality, it is too small to even fit my smallest of dolls! I love it though, so sweet, it even has a tiny ladder so whoever sleeps there can scale it's heights. I have supplies to make some little mattresses for the bigger bed, some wool and vintage French ticking arrived in the post last week, no time to make them yet though due to meetings about workshops and big plans for the very near future, more about that next time.

On Saturday in the workshop, I had a lovely group of ladies learning to make red squirrels, well just their heads as it was a three hour session! Look how cute they are and all so different, proper little characters aren't they! My studio mate Tracey {Benton's Menagerie} is our needlefelting teacher and the classes are always so much fun with lots of laughs, a little naughtiness and many demands for tea!

Some were made into wall hangings and one was made into a brooch.

This little chap missed the group photo as he had to rush off and finds his acorn stash before the other squirrels got loose :) 

Here is my squirrel, amazingly I finished him which I don't normally get to do in lessons due to hosting and tea making duties, although in writing that and looking at the photo, I realized I have forgotten his whiskers, poor thing!