Thanks everybody for the comments. Kay, I think one could quilt it, in fact, now that you mention it, one of these days I'm going to use a leftover piece to give it a try and see how it looks. No batting, no backing! And the back looks just the same as the front. Also thought about binding it but decided to just stay with the border I made and then do a blanket stitch by hand with a thick thread for appearance (haven't done that yet....it's a thought for the winter when we're through with this summer heat). Kit, steaming them did not further shrink them, in fact it helped them and made them more flexible and soft. Also, sometimes I was a little off in my cuts, and the beautiful thing was that after patching the pieces together, they were a little lumpy, and the steaming just set them in perfectly. The wool was very forgiving! From this point on, though, I would wash the blanket only in cold water on a gentle cycle and reshape and steam it after it air dries. I've done this with my knitted felt hats, and they shape up great. Ah ha! Now that I know how to post photos, I'll post a couple more to show some leftover samples. I still have a lot of felted leftovers -- some turned out a little too thick, and can be made into purses. Thanks for the posting help & comments! Mel

Fouramblues - you will be so happy once you finish one! I love thinking about people I know and trying to come up with a little something they'd like. Martin_ca - it really WAS - but again, I made the body out of wool felt and stuffed him, and then using the felting needles, poked the roving into him. There is another type of wool felting when you make a wire armature for the 'body frame', and then do what is shown in the video. HERE. I haven't tried that yet, but you can bet I will be! I used to be able to take 2 weeks of vacation in October and sew for a craft show, but my position now has me working 10 - 12 hour days this time of year from Oct - January. I still have plenty of supplies and can't wait til I can really get into it again. My dogs have customized more than one craft, but that one really hurt, as I loved that squirrel. I can't blame them though; I sit at the same table in here to re-stuff and repair the dog toys they tear apart to get the squeakers out that I do my craft sewing from. I never thought to put it up out of their reach when I stopped sewing that night, and went to bed, one of them plucked it right off the table and had his way with it, then the other two joined in, I'm sure. :-( My guess is that the initiator was Riley, who did this in my daylight basement a few years ago, when he found ONE down pillow form.

3katz, try it! But this is what I would try, or at least consider trying.I know it might look daunting, but it’s basically a circle, with an indent for the body and neck, and then ears. The eyes are closed so you don’t have to do anything with them. I think it easier than it looks. I may try it myself. eta: You certainly don’t have to do those colors or patterns. If you have a Siamese, just make it look like yours.

We have considered that, and should probably reconsider it before moving forward. I was firmly in the "all hardwood" camp when we had our house built (16 years ago) because that's what I was used to. My husband had always had carpet and felt strongly about wanting it in our bedrooms. We compromised, and have hardwood throughout our main floor and carpet upstairs (except for laundry and bathrooms). The transition is on the second half of our staircase, just after the landing. I absolutely HATE the carpet on the stairs (the cats sharpen their claws on it and I detest vacuuming it on the stairs). When we remove the original carpet, we have been planning to replace the carpet on the stairs and in the upstairs hallway with hardwood flooring, but to keep the bedrooms carpeted. I think I could convince my husband to hardwood our bedroom at this point, and I also think my son would be fine with hardwood and a nice area rug in his room. He sits on the floor a lot, but a rug with a plush pad works as well as carpeting for him. My daughter, on the other hand, really loves having the wall-to-wall carpet in her bedroom, and she also spends a lot of time on her floor doing homework and crafting. She doesn't even want us to replace her carpet though, so if I'm going to have to do battle anyway, maybe I should just go all the way. She thinks the wool isn't going to be as soft as the frieze, and doesn't care that the current carpet is old. Another thing that has/had me leaning toward wall-to-wall carpet is sheer laziness... The thought of having to tear out all the baseboards, especially in my daughter's room which has beadboard installed throughout the entire room above the baseboards, is a little daunting. I don't want to have to install quarter round, but we will probably have to figure something out to account for hardwood flooring not being as thick as padding and carpet. Maybe I'm making it out to be a bigger deal in my mind. In any case, thanks for the food for thought. I'm definitely going to consider it and talk it over with my husband. Ironically, I think I like the carpet in the bedrooms more than he does at this point. I like that the cats can lay in whichever carpeted sunbeam they want, and I think wool carpets are so pretty. I just don't want to install them and then regret it if they age horribly. Lots to think about...