© Liza Ritchie

These are two examples of the kind of characters which Liza makes from needle-felted wool. A washed fleece is repeatedly poked and pulled by a bladed needle. This has the effect of firming and toughening the wool which can then be shaped into a ball or a cylinder. Each figure requires about 13 separate pieces like that which are joined together (by more needle-felting) before hair, clothing and cosmetics are applied. Liza uses Icelandic wool for the figures, merino wool for the faces and curly wensleydale wool for the hair. The figures are about 12 inches tall and, although they look lifelike and familiar, they are not based on real people.

Liza is a member of Handspun, a group of spinners who meet every week in Lanark. Further information about the group can be found here.