My name is Kay Petal and I Felt Alive.  I'm a lifelong Alaskan but most recently I can be found on the west coast as we (hubby and doggies!) bum/live/and work in a 36 foot rv. 

I grew up in a small Alaskan town in a large, artistic family.  I was the crafty sister with stacks of craft magazines in my room at a young age.  My husband, Ethan, and I have been married 25 years; our kids have always been the furry, tail-wagging variety.  I've survived rare cancer and I can say with all certainty that creating zany needle felted characters is my passion and I am happy to say I Felt Alive!!

I've been needle felting since 2007.  I discovered it by chance on the internet while searching for crafty things to do with old wool sweaters.  After my great discovery, I never really got back to my sweaters - needle felting sort of took over my life.

Some of my earliest pieces were recognized with honors in the Alaska State Fair with my rendition of Albert Einstein winning Best in Show in the Fleece and Fiber Dept.  That was unbelievable since I had only started felting earlier that year.  You see, I never knew I was artistic until I discovered needle felting. 

Just after my dolls' big debut at the Alaska State Fair, I discovered my needle felting idol, Birgitte Krag Hansen, was traveling from Denmark to Alaska to teach!  I found out only a couple of weeks before her arrival and was relieved to find a workshop with an opening.  I soon found myself deeply immersed in the most amazing weekend of needle felting I could have imagined.  I learned so many of the techniques I use today but most of all I learned how to keep the wool alive.  I always say that Birgitte must have touched me with a magic wand that weekend because my needle felting rather took on a life of it's own since them.

Birgitte asked me make a promise to always do good needle felting and always teach good needle felting.  I think of that often as I explore this craft and share it with the world.  It is important to me that my students grasp the fundamentals of needle felting and discover the magic that I learned that weekend.   Needle Felted wool dolls are the most unusual dolls I have ever seen - I have a lifetime worth of projects in my head.  I truly believe I found my "thing" in needle felting and I've also discovered I have a gift for teaching.  I love teaching others because this is just too cool to keep to myself.     

Needle felting found me at a crucial time in my life.  Just after I turned 40 I lost my Dad to cancer while facing down the beast myself.  I was diagnosed with a rare salivary gland cancer while my dad was losing his battle with prostate cancer.  It was after Dad died and during my recovery from my VERY successful treatment that I found myself searching for something more to do with my life.  I had no idea I would find it in such a humble thing as making dolls out of wool from sheep. 

During my cancer ordeal I realized how much I rely on my sense of humor and with needle felting I’m finding the same to be true.  My sense of humor drives my creativity and each new piece strangely becomes like family.  I tend to keep all of my work and enjoy the creative freedom in that.  I am finding my specialty is in caricature art dolls.  I just can't get enough of bringing a real person to life in wool.  I enjoy taking my dolls out into the world for photo shoots.  I share my photos and videos online in communities like Flickr and YouTube.   

 

Here is a fun music video of my little Felt Alive world. 

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Sharing my passion for needle felting has helped me find a secure and confident voice and is opening some very special doors for me.  As an active member of an online felting community, The Felting & Needle Felting Forum, I was offered an opportunity by the founder to purchase it and take over as administrator.  I am proud to have such a place of honor in this amazing online community of felting enthusiasts.  www.feltingforum.com 

Another gift that needle felting has given me is that I have discovered I have a natural talent for teaching.  I started teaching with an online class I put together and have enjoyed making so many new felting friends with students all over the world.  I have taught needle felting workshops locally, including volunteering my time in local schools.  I very much enjoy watching my students’ projects come to life.  My latest burst of ambition brought about my new Needle Felting Workshops on DVD - now that is the way to teach needle felting! 

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It seems the world is intrigued with my needle felted Li'l Celebrities and they are making appearances at websites featuring what's hip and cool in our modern culture.  Geek and Gadget Blog  TrendHunter Magazine!  And on the Mega Crafter site - Craftster!

 

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Felt Alive in Print