Needle Felting Betty Heppner's Creations

 Soft Forest

My name is Betty Heppner, I am 62 years old and a grandmother.  I have been married for 37 years to husband Ron. I live in a small rural area near the town of Edgewood where I was born.

My mother taught me to crochet and to knit, I remember her washing her own wool and spinning it to make homespun socks and mittens which she sold to local loggers. I get most of my creative spirit from her.  About four years ago my daughter-in-law got me interested in learning to needle felt. 

Where to purchase

Needle felting is a very specialized form of sculpture that uses a barbed needle and wool. The wool is stabbed many times with the needle to felt or bind it together.  She bought me my first set of needles and some nice roving or wool to use, and a great beginner’s book called Little Felted Animals, I was totally hooked! 

 It is one of the most fascinating things I have ever learned to do and I discovered that I have a real knack for sculpting animals!  Over the years I have seen deer, bears and even a raccoon in my yard, as well as squirrels and skunks. I love to browse through magazines and books for pictures to work from. There is always a new animal out there to create!

OOAK Mama Polar Bear

One of the more fun things about working with raw wool is the dyeing, my daughter-in-law once again was my guide, we were visiting them in Victoria when she was dyeing her wool with Kool-Aid, I watched and learned from her, then went home and purchased a whole unwashed fleece that weighed 9 pounds. I washed my first batch and dyed it with orange, green, blue and red and hung it out on a drying rack on the porch.   

 

OOAK Little Gold Lion

Since then I have experimented with dying wool with beet juice, red spinach juice and even powdered sage and turmeric.  I have had a few disasters along the way, gotten some pretty hideous colours but always have used them in some way never throw anything out I say!

I have also learned how to wet felt from a book, I like to use some wet felted pieces on my sculptures like wings and horns.

Over the past few years I have had some interesting commissions, one was for a red FarmAll tractor, and this was something very different from animals and dragons and gnomes! Once again I discovered I had a knack for designing machinery in wool. 

My next commission was for a small school bus, the lady was a bus driver and was in visiting, she saw me in the process of creating a yellow John Deere bulldozer that my husband thought I should do - he owns a 1958 John Deere dozer! She asked me if I could do her bus that she drives, so once again I said yes and she sent me pictures to work from.

    I have a small shop on Etsy called SoftForest. You can visit it here 

Click here to visit Betty's Etsy Store

I first saw Betty’s creations on Pinterest and immediately fell in love with her Magical creatures.  Thank you Betty for sharing your journey as a crafter with us.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2014 twosnydergirls

Thyroid Disease Awareness Month

 Muriel's Story

 

In January of 2007 I was diagnosed as having thyroid cancer and had my thyroid removed in March of 2007.  I also had radioactive iodine therapy for good measure as well.  I remember the nurse advising me about the side effects from the radioactive iodine which can cause drooling to occur if the iodine remains in the Saliva Glands.  I immediately asked her to wait just a minute as I hurried outside to where my husband was waiting.  I informed him that I might just drool after this treatment.   My husband is a great guy, he smiled and said - it's okay, I would love you anyway - hence I continued with the procedure.  Looking back, I realized I would have done so anyway because I had two children anxiously waiting for me at home.

In my case, it took four years to get this Cancer diagnosis which allowed time for the cancer to grow and spread. I remember attending physiotherapy sessions and being told to stand up straighter against the wall because my severe neck and head pain was thought to be caused from poor posture.   

When my thyroid was removed, I commenced the journey of finding the correct dose of medication that would eliminate my constant fatigued state.  I was also prescribed steroids which resulted in an immediate 35 pound weight gain.  

In January of 2007, I was still very ill.  A scan revealed that some of the cancer still remained and had spread towards my larynx.  I remember the Specialist in London advising me that my Larynx might have to be removed.  I was in shock and asked him if I would still be able to sing?  He replied, "Not like you used to" and he realized that I didn't quite understand the ramifications of one losing their larynx. 

I left the hospital and remained determined that my cup of life was still going to be half full.  I pulled off the road and called the music store in Owen Sound.  I explained my problem and the fact that I might be speech impaired and how important it was for me to make a recording so that my children could still hear me sing. 

I made the recording, commenced more treatment and I am happy to report that I only have to go to London for further follow-up once a year.

I am a Thyroid Cancer Survivor.  I will add that I now travel more, it reinforced the fact that life can change in one half- a moment, I wear my passion and I am grateful to my co-workers, husband and girls for seeing me through this journey.  

Life is grand.

 2015 Update Muriel is once again finds her fighting thyroid cancer and she remain positive and focused on living her life with optimism and joy. 

Muriel posted her story in the comments sections of January 14, 2014 blog post on Thyroid Disease.  She graciously agree to allow me to share it more widely.

Thyroid Foundation of Canada

and

American Thyroid Association

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls