It wont get you sick But if it does you will have something to make while you start to feel better.
I start with scrap fabric from old clothes, instead of using lots of expensive and some times hard to find wool. Maybe you live on a sheep farm and finding wool is easy....let me know if you do.
Turn that scrap into a ball that is semi loose that will hold together.
Then take the wool and wrap it around the ball. I use felting needles of the highest grade and biggest thinness to start getting that ball into a ball shape.
I like to have multiple needles in hand as I go through working each side of the ball diligently and in circles like a dog chasing its tail then running around and chasing some other dogs tail and then a squirrel. Just keep going till you are happy with the size of the ball.
At this point I cover the ball in some black dyed wool and poke that into the ball till you are happy with how tight it is.
Here is a scale photo.
I poke more felting needles with the small gauge needle. This really tightens the fibers and gives the piece a smooth uniform look.
Now it is time to make the spike glycoprotein, funny name meaning oil portions. You know the ones that act like oil with water, good thing they stick to felt. Lay out the shape and then take a medium needle and go at it as you can see in the progression of photos. I like to use a clean fresh dish sponge to help with this part or else your fingers will look and feel like hellraiser, not pleasant.
Shape and turn and switch to a smaller gauge needle to achieve the protein shape that you are going for. In this case triangular and dart like. Like a golf tee that is triangle, and felt, and red...
I dyed all the colours of felt that you see. I can go into the colouring process in another post if people are interested let me know.
You will get a feel for how to use the sponge and when to turn it over or around.
A few more turns and
Just a few more with a small needle. I pick up the protein and work it into my fingers and use the needle to felt in stray fibers. Doing so is useful, necessary, and painful. My fingers are full of holes, but at least if some bits of wool were not dyed, it now a hue to a true human colour of this prick of a virus.
About 18 to 20 of the portions are needed more or less.
Now I rolled out the Hemagglutinin esterase, or the E protein yellow bits of felt and the S protein, the orange balls. Likely you might search and find different names. I am just a computer programmer ask a real doctor, sounds familiar? I make no allusions here.
I like a little bit more E and S protein on my virus, so ill go ahead and add that to this well formed envelope of hopeful destruction.
mmm Protein, I also like chicken protein too. Make sure to stop and take a brake. But not too long this virus wont spread it-self. It needs the help of philanthropists like myself to share it with the world, through the internet first then globally so I can get your attention this time.
It almost looks like it is alive and moving itself.... Spread the proteins out over the envelop and use a small gauge needle to lock each protein in place.
Look how real it looks. Almost more real then the one you never saw before, so actually real and tangible and fun and harmless. Harmless until you go and take gmo organisms & shoot it right into little kids veins. That will get their attention and when you stick yourself with a felting needle so many times your fingers are soar and raw you will know exactly what I mean when this was pain in the fun.
Thanks for fallowing along with me in this adventure of my first post of more to come.
