Do Your Research

I saw this in my 1440 Daily Digest this morning...

Need To Know Shooting at Florida State At least two people were killed and six others wounded at Florida State University's Tallahassee campus yesterday after a student—identified as the son of a sheriff’s deputy—opened fire near the student union. The two people killed in the attack were not students. Police are still investigating the shooter's motive.    Officials identified the suspect as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, a member of the sheriff's office's youth advisory council, whose mother is a Leon County sheriff’s deputy (see background). He was apprehended after being shot by law enforcement and is hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries as of this writing. The suspect was carrying a shotgun and a handgun, the latter of which was purchased by his mother for personal use. University officials have canceled all classes and campus activities through the weekend.    The shooting is the second to occur at FSU since 2014, when a 31-year-old man shot and wounded three people—two students and a library employee—at a university library. He was later shot and killed by police.

Here's what I found after TWO Google searches: each shooter's race

Here's what this snippet boils down to in my mind:

     A BLACK man, in 2014, shot and WOUNDED three people. 

          He was shot and KILLED by police.

     A WHITE man, in 2025, shot and KILLED two people. 

          He was shot by law enforcement and has NON-LIFE-THREATENING injuries.

Just two Google searches. If more people would just look one step further than what's reported, they'd see more truth. They'd start putting pieces of the puzzle together. Take the time to look up what you hear or see. Get more to the picture.

Felting

So... It's going to be another long four years, and I need some levity (especially if TikTok will actually go away). I also would like something else I can do as I listen to audio books.

I read this gem by Michiko Aoyama, and I was introduced to something called "felting."

 What You Are Looking for Is in the Library

Thanks to a friend, I had $15 to spend on Amazon, so I spent just six more dollars and bought three kits.

This is my first one:

And here are some process photos:

I did the body first, then the feet, then the nose, and then the arms. He looked like a corn cob!

Here he reminded me of a character from the "Troll" movies...

Two weekends later...

I still want to do his hat a bit more - I don't want to connect it to itself at the end, although I think that would be the easiest. I want to make it stiffer by stabbing it more with that odd needle, but I also wanted it "finished" enough to show friends what I've done. (It's just not quite finished...)

He's very fuzzy - I've learned that's because I'm not as patient as I could be. I could keep working on that fuzz. For my first project, I think the fuzziness will give it away that it's my first. Fine by me!! The nose is the most solid - I really spent a lot of time on that one. And the size of the nose helped me figure out the size of the beard and hat.

I also tried something the directions didn't mention. I used a very thin wire (folded on itself a few times) in the rim of the hat. I'd been watching some felting videos, and the wire is supposed to give it more stability. I didn't know how I was going to attach the hat, and using the wire helped me shape it to his head before attaching.

What amazes me is how the wool becomes felt, and how you can stick felt to felt without adhesives. Putting the feet on was one thing, as I used more yellow wool on top of the feet to secure them in. Putting the hands on the arms was quite another. I feel like I can make those hands (or gloves?) a bit smaller by working even more on that part - or by adding more yellow wool? He's kind of skinny, so I could add more yellow wool around him, but I don't have any more. I think I made him taller than he was supposed to be (according to the photo), but - including his hat - he is 7 1/4 inches tall. The package says 7.5", so that makes me smile.

I'm also happy it helped me get off my phone, and I'm looking forward to trying a different one!