Maker Spotlight: Fat Poppy Cat

This month's maker is Rachel from Fat Poppy Cat (we love the name!) who makes the most beautiful wet felted creations.  Here she is in her own words:

Hello, My name is Rachel Balding and I am the owner/maker at Fatpoppycat.
I have a big love of wet felting and have been making it regularly since 2017, although I learned how to do it at least ten years before this. 
I was lucky enough to go on a one course with my mum when her friend held lessons at her studio in her garden. We learned how to make a basic flat sheet of felt using olive oil soap, hot water and a lot of vigorous rubbing. We then went on to make some 3D flowers too and I just loved how you could play with colours and turn loose fibre into a piece of usable fabric. 
Once I got home I wasn’t sure what I could make with this new skill and dabbled occasionally making flat sheets which I vowed to make into something eventually (I never actually did).
One day while I was out visiting a stately home with my parents inspiration hit me as to what I could do with the felt and was very excited to get home and try it. I could make a flat sheet and embellish it before turning it into a tube shape with a base adding a plastic drinks bottle with water and filling with fresh flowers.It worked perfectly and ever since I have been happily rubbing wool fibres vigorously to make felt vases.
I think the thing I like most about wet felting is there is always a bit of unpredictability, I can use the same colours on two separate pieces but they will always come out different meaning each piece is unique.
I don’t really have a favourite thing to make as each piece I make starts exactly the same way but I do really love playing with the colours. I love how colours change depending what other colours are next to them, how some complement and how some shout. 
I think my favourite bit of equipment is my rolling mat, it has definitely saved a huge amount of time making each piece of felt. This tends to mean I can get all the ideas in my head out and into felt quicker before I forget them again!
I have always loved making things, it started with knitting and moved onto fabric fairly quickly. I found it was a great way of keeping a very restless person engrossed in something. I really struggle to keep still for any length of time and having something to plan and then make gives my mind something to think about instead of worrying about things that don’t need to be worried about.
My best advice to someone thinking about giving it a go is to not worry about it going wrong. We all worry we will mess it up or it won’t be as good as what is in our heads but thats all part of the process of learning. You can often put off starting saying there is something more important you need to do, my biggest problem now is I have to make sure there isn't anything that really needs doing before I start as I could just keep going and everything else gets forgotten about. 
I have been a big fan of World of Wool ever since I first discovered them, this is mainly down to the amazing range of colours available. As a self confessed colour addict I want some in every colour available and the fact I can buy in bulk means I can no longer get in one of my (very large) cupboards. Also the prices are great too, especially if you’d just like a dabble.

You cam find Rachel and her work on Facebook, Instagram and through her website.