Rustic Fiber Academy

Rustic Fiber Academy Learn how to needle felt with Rustic Fiber Academy. An online community, dedicated to teaching needle felting to anyone who wants to learn.

Courses for all skill levels and so much more. Rustic Fiber Academy is a learning platform for needle felting artists of all levels. With over 100 in-depth tutorials, we teach the fundamentals of wool sculpting—covering techniques like armature building, realistic detailing, and working with natural fibers. Whether you're just starting or refining your skills, our courses are designed to guide you step-by-step and help you grow with confidence as a fiber artist.

Working on a red-tailed hawk and magpie this size takes a little setup.We rigged up a way for me to hang them from the c...
09/04/2026

Working on a red-tailed hawk and magpie this size takes a little setup.

We rigged up a way for me to hang them from the ceiling while I work, and it makes things SO much easier. I can move around them, work underneath, adjust their positioning, and step back to see how everything is coming together.

Definitely beats trying to wrestle two birds around on my desk.

I feel like I’ve shared a LOT of wool on here over the years, but maybe not nearly as much of the random stuff that make...
09/03/2026

I feel like I’ve shared a LOT of wool on here over the years, but maybe not nearly as much of the random stuff that makes me, me. 😂

Like the fact that I can happily spend all day outside, would choose the woods over a city every single time, and yet the second I’m under a blanket and comfortable, I’m basically done for. Don’t ask me to get up. Whatever it is can wait.

Also, soggy bread is terrible. I don’t feel like that one needs any further explanation.

So there you go. A few completely random things you may or may not have known about me.

Now I want to know yours. Give me one oddly specific, completely random fact about you. The weirder the better.

09/02/2026

I think I’ve figured out how I get myself through these really big projects. I basically trick myself into not thinking about how big they actually are. 😂

I’ll work on the frame, then go make something else. Come back and work on a face, leave it for a while. Add some feathers, work on something else, then come back and add a little more.

I think if I sat down at the beginning and really thought about how many hours some of these pieces were going to take, it would be a little overwhelming.

This red-tailed hawk and magpie still have a ways to go, but I’m at the point now where I can see it coming together, and I have no doubt I’ll finish it.

Once these bigger pieces are finally done, there are usually a lot of mixed emotions. I’m proud that everything I pictured actually came together, a little relieved to be finished, and somehow all those hours I spent getting there don’t seem like quite as big of a deal anymore.

08/31/2026

School is officially back in session around here. And not just for my son. 😂

I’ve realized over the years that I pretty much follow a teacher’s schedule with my work. The Academy is still going all summer, and I’m definitely still working, but summer looks different. I work around having my son home, squeeze things in where I can, and everything is just a little more laid back.

Then that first day of school rolls around and something switches.

I get my full studio days back. I can dig into bigger projects, start planning what I want to teach next, film without working around the summer schedule, and really get back into the rhythm of the Academy.

So while Rustic Fiber Academy never actually closed for summer, today feels a little like the start of a new school year here too.

Class is back in session. And I’m ready for it.

When I first started needle felting, I really thought I needed to pick a lane.I saw people who made dogs, people who mad...
08/28/2026

When I first started needle felting, I really thought I needed to pick a lane.

I saw people who made dogs, people who made foxes, dolls, birds, wet felted pieces... everyone seemed to have their thing.

And I thought I needed a thing too.

Except I didn't want one. 😂 I wanted to make everything.

I wanted to make an animal I'd never made before just to see if I could do it. Then a bird. Then a fish. Mushrooms, flowers, feathers, landscapes... whatever caught my interest.

And I actually struggled with that for a while. I thought I was supposed to narrow it down. Pick what kind of felter I was going to be and stick with it.

I'm really glad I never did.

And there is absolutely nothing wrong with finding your thing. I really admire artists who know what they want to focus on and become incredibly skilled at it. Their work becomes so distinctly theirs that you can recognize it before you even see their name.

I just eventually realized that wasn't how I wanted to work. I wanted the variety. I wanted the challenge of figuring out something new.

I also used to think finding that "thing" was how you found your style. And now I think style is something that comes with time.

You make a lot of things. You try stuff. You figure out what works for you and what doesn't. Certain details keep showing up. Certain ways of doing things start to feel like yours.

And eventually you look back and realize your style was developing the whole time.

You didn't have to decide what it was going to be first.

I definitely wish I had figured that out a little sooner. 😂

08/27/2026

Trying to get anything done when you have a cat.

This is also exactly why his studio time is limited.

He doesn't come out here and curl up somewhere while I work. Nope. He needs to see what I'm doing, get into what I'm doing, stand directly where I'm working and make sure I'm paying enough attention to him.

So he gets his little studio visits... and then he gets evicted. 😂

Please tell me other people's cats are like this too.

I added a few butterflies to this piece yesterday for Dolly.I was finishing up the calf in the lavender field when I hea...
08/26/2026

I added a few butterflies to this piece yesterday for Dolly.

I was finishing up the calf in the lavender field when I heard that Dolly Parton had passed, and adding butterflies just felt like the right little tribute.

Butterflies were such a big part of Dolly's life. She talked about chasing them through the mountains as a little girl, and they eventually became a symbol she carried with her throughout her life. And after seeing the recent clip of her wearing butterfly wings and saying her "little butterfly wings are getting kinda tired," they seem especially meaningful now.

So a few butterflies found their way into the lavender field.

This piece is also the second half of my Cow & Calf course, and as of today, the Calf & Lavender Field course is available in the Rustic Fiber Academy. I also added the butterflies to the tutorial, so if you'd like to add a few to your own lavender field, I'll show you how. Or, of course, you can leave them out and make the piece your own.

But these butterflies are for Dolly. ❤️

08/25/2026

There are so many different ways to make feet, and this is just one of them.

My husband and son both tie flies, and I’ve watched them use a fly-tying vise and bobbin plenty of times. At some point it occurred to me that those might be pretty handy for all the tiny little things I’m always trying to wrap.

So I finally stole them for a project. 😂

I don’t normally use thread when I make feet, but I did for this particular set of bird legs, and the bobbin worked really well for getting around those tiny toes.

But the vise is probably the thing I’ll keep using the most. Bird feet, mouse feet, little toes and fingers...just being able to hold an armature taut while I wrap it makes things so much easier.

I may have to get my own now.

08/24/2026

Sometimes the best way to get creative again is to make something small.

This stump has been perfect for that this summer. It’s a big project, but most of the things I’m adding to it aren’t. I can make a tiny mole, a mushroom, a feather, a moth, whatever I feel like working on that day.

It’s become a place for me to just play. I don’t have to sit down and commit to hours of work or even have much of a plan. I can make one little thing and usually, somewhere in the middle of making it, I’m already thinking about what I want to make next.

Creative begets creativity.

Now that I’m back in the studio full time, I can definitely feel that momentum building again. And I’m ready to see where it goes.

If you could make anything just for yourself, what would you make?Take away the practical stuff for a minute. You have t...
08/21/2026

If you could make anything just for yourself, what would you make?

Take away the practical stuff for a minute. You have the space. You have the funds. You have all the materials you need. And let's give you all the time you need too.

You don't have to think about whether it will sell, whether it will do well on social media, whether it fits with what you normally make, or whether anyone else will even understand why you want to make it.

It can be huge. Tiny. Completely impractical. Something you've had in the back of your mind for years. Or something you just thought of right now.

What would you make simply because you want to make it?

I'll put mine in the comments. I really want to hear yours too.

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