Maker Spotlight: Woolly Meadows Felting

Bethany from Woolly Meadows Felting is in the spotlight this month, sharing her experience and beautiful felted painting talent with us!

When did you begin your craft?
I bought my first sheep in 2010 (some adorable, feisty little Shetlands!) and around the same time I was introduced to felting. I had always loved art and was studying it at University at the time, so I began to hone my skills there, and also as part of my local fibre arts guild.

What do you like best about it?
One of the huge attractions of working with wool is its tactile nature. Working with different textures and celebrating the unique aspects of each fibre and fleece is something I really enjoy. I'm fond of working with natural wool colours, and I'll often combine locks from my own sheep with treasures from my stash.

Do you have a favourite thing to make?
Like most artists, I am inspired by the local landscape. I live in the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and that gives me an endless source of inspiration. After many hours of creating, I decided to assemble a pattern book, which can be found on Amazon. 

Why is crafting important to you?
I grew up on the family farm, and always wanted to be able to combine my love for art and animals. While the Shepherding lifestyle comes with long days, changing weather and plain old hard work, I cherish that I get to live my dream each day and craft paintings of landscapes and pets that become meaningful pieces of decor in homes all over the world.

What are your preferred products to use?
I don't think you can beat Shetland wool, and the exquisitely dyed selection of Shetland tops from World of Wool are what I use as the basis for many of my felted paintings!

Any advice for new felters?
I'm sure you'll hear it time and time again, but purchase quality! Compared to other hobbies, felting is actually pretty budget-friendly so it's worth choosing wool that was raised in a way that is kind to the sheep, and thoughtful to the environment.

Favourite thing about World of Wool?
I love shopping at World of Wool and I buy many of my felting supplies from their online store, like Shetland carded and combed tops, and felt fabric for my picture backing. It's always fun to see what new and exciting wool and tools they've added to enhance my felting experience, and of course, their staff are always so friendly and easy to work with.


Felting is ever so straight forward, and it's amazing what you can achieve with wool, fabric, a barbed needle, and a simple poking action. Wool is a very special fibre, and it’s covered in microscopic scales that lock together when agitated causing irreversible tangling to take place, called felting! If you've never tried this artform I'd definitely encourage you to give it a try!

You can find Bethany on Facebook and Instagram, or through her own website.