Fairies so small they can hardly be seen, except for the laughing child within. Fairies so happy and kind, so gentle and wild, so go on and dance my wild fairy child.

 

The life of a Leprechaun

The life of a Leprechaun

Ireland is truly a magical place. I am so privileged to live here and call it home.

But Ireland has not just provided me with a place to live and work, but a constant place of
inspiration. Even as a child I was drawn to stories that were told at home from person to person. And everyone added a bit more mystery and twists to it. Stories past down from grandfathers to sons and daughters and so on.

In these days there was no television to tell the story, not even a radio. We the people had to
entertain themselves every day, especially at night.

That was a long time ago and I am afraid some day theses magical stories will be lost.

We get much easier entertained nowadays. Basically, with a push off a button.

Storytelling is pure art really. There are no boundaries. Everything goes.

When I create my felt characters, I get often asked if they speak to me when I create them. I find it
rather amusing that I get asked such a question. 

Obviously, something has triggered that question in the first place. Did my felt character just ask you that? Do we communicate? 

Yes I do, probably at the latest when I stitch a face into a wet ball of felt. Their whole character starts to come through at that point.

This happens with all my work. Each handmade piece of felt tells a story, for my benefits and
hopefully yours too.

Felt Fairies created 20 Leprechauns this year for the Irish children’s and young people’s festival
Cruinniu na Nog. This festival supports the creative mind of our young people of Ireland. 

With that in mind I wrote 20 short stories about each leprechaun that I made in the traditional art of textile making, wet felting. You can read all about Leprechauns here, what are they doing all day
long? Leprechaun stories are found here.

Each Leprechaun is made from pure wool, handstitched and unique in its appearance. I enjoyed every minute of this adventure and especially the stories each of theses Leprechauns told.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy their stories too

Franziska name sign