Hello, What an ambitious undertaking! Wool can certainly stand up to the elements as demonstrated by the yurts built by Mongol nomads. Obviously you have experience making human figures--your wooly shepherd is marvelously handsome! I think there is a life-sized human figure in Sherri Wagner-Hunter's first book MAKING CONCRETE GARDEN ORNAMENTS. I can't put my hands on my copy at the moment but I recall that it is a combination of media, concrete, terra cotta, mosaic a straw hat and perhaps other things. If I recall correctly there are no directions, just photos. Some time ago some members here made a number of those type figures and referred to them as "garden ladies". Maybe try searching the forums here and elsewhere, especially the hypertufa and mosaics forums. Sometimes one can find links in odd places for ideas and suggestions. It sounds like you are at the planning stage and looking mostly for ideas? I would certainly make up a sample felted piece and leave it outside to see how it will hold up. If it is hard, tight felting it should weather well. What is your weather like? If your location is fairly dry it will weather even better. I would think that the Pacific Northwest area would have the felt growing green stuff that would eventually weaken the fibers. I hope you will keep us all up to date on your progress with your wonderful ambitious project. Best regards, spiderwoman (I'm a handspinning shepherd, not an arachnid lover in case you're curious)

Almost time to get out the DR brush mower. I use it for most of my perennial gardens and it gives me that D*MN good feeling. I took out all of my markers for my hostas and daylilies because I realized I really didn't care what the names were any more. In fact, even when I was selling them at the Farmer's Mkt, nobody cared what the names where! Frankly - they are all named "ME" now because I grow them and care for them. In fact, with the daylilies my favorites are the ones I hybridized myself. Yep, they are named "ME". There is joy in every moment of gardening and even the tearing out and clearing of dead material is a joy because we know that in the spring it all starts again.

My table should be done soon. I'm just looking for the right flowers. Creek, Stop that right now! Honestly, I don't have a single thought that wasn't inspired (read: stolen) from somewhere else. (In fact, I give a link to the place where I saw a frog pond table before I did mine. ) Remember, the reason for this forum is to share ideas. It's very flattering if someone is able to come away with something they nice enough to use in their own creation. So, don't stress. Yes, everyone, you have to be patient to make a little colony of the dolls. But, you see, as a child, when I saw the ones my father made (for a Teacher's Tea, I think), I was memorized! Those little things came to life before my eyes and I've never forgotten it. So you see, for me, it was more than just making a few dolls for a tablescape. It took about a week of work to make all the leprechauns. I did a lot of whip stitching in front of the TV. Last year I bought all the materials, but waited too long before I got the energy to start and there wasn't enough time to do it right. So this year, armed with the material and the patterns I created last year, I went ahead with the idea. They're sort of sweet, don't you think? Jeanne, I love those ornaments. I have some too! The block that yours is sitting on has that "a la Luvs" feel to it.

Very Pretty.