Remember I said I'd been given an electric hand-held felting tool for my birthday? Well, here it is - the AddiQuick.
It's made in Germany, and has only very recently been imported for sale in the UK. This little fact led to a slight hiccup with getting started.
Now, there are quite a few You-Tube clips of American ladies using the Addi-Quick, and the tool itself comes with a little DVD of someone using it. There is also a leaflet. However they both concentrate on the actual act of using the tool to felt wool into a shape - nowhere does it say that this gadget is designed for the Continental electricity supply and has not been altered to suit the UK's electricity. So when I saw the two-pin plug, I assumed it needed to be plugged into the same socket that my electric toothbrush uses. (A shaver socket) The pins certainly fitted the holes, so why wouldn't you think that?
It didn't work, of course. Thus leading me to cause alarm and despondency to the giver of the gift by having to ask her where she'd got it, had she got the receipt, etc. Anyway, when I went to the website the tool was bought from (Rainbow Silks) it states very clearly in the description of the machine that it will require a continental -to - UK adaptor, like the one in the picture on the right. Hey chaps, just a thought, why not slip a little note to that effect in with the bit of kit, and then people who've been given it as a gift won't need to embarrass the donor like I had to? Anyway, a quick visit to Argos sorted that problem and we were away - or so I thought. I plugged it in, switched on - and still nothing. So, in the great tradition of helpdesks everywhere, I switched off and took it to bits - or at least unscrewed the cap that covers the needle. It's the only bit that does unscrew.
When I looked inside, I could see that the white casing that actually holds the needle was wobbling about and quite far down inside the red handle. So I pulled it up and wiggled it a bit until it sat firmly, looking like it does in this picture. I then screwed the black cap back on, switched on and Bingo! we were up and running. I guess it must be sort of squished down for packing and needs to be released for use. Another thing not mentioned in the leaflet or DVD.
The machine also comes with a packet of 6 needles - 3 size 32 and 3 size 38. There is no indication on them which is which, and no clue in the instructions as to why you might want two sizes. However, if you look closely at the picture, you
might be able to see that one lot of needles has a longer needle and shorter shaft than the other lot. I think the ones with the longer shaft have more barbs and are finer, so I'm assuming they are the 38, (if the addi needles follow the normal needle-felting tradition of the higher the number, the finer the needle with the more barbs). The more barbs the quicker it felts, and the finer the detail you can get. If you're familiar with needle-felting none of this will be a problem for you, but if you are using this tool as an introduction to the craft, then the minimal instruction leaflet could cause you some frustration.
Anyway, enough carping. How does it perform? Very nicely indeed, thank you. It turned this little hank of wool
into a very firmly felted heart in less than five minutes. You of course have to use it on a foam pad, like any needle felting. You have to look what you're doing so you don't stab yourself, as always. However I bounced the needle off my finger-nail accidentally and it did just bounce away, whereas a single needle wielded by hand tends to slide down your nail and find your finger. So it doesn't seem to be quite as dangerous as it might first appear, although of course one should not be TOO insouciant when using it! Anyway, if you're familiar with needle-felting already, then you will find this a very handy tool for felting large areas quickly, or getting things firmer than you might otherwise do by hand. I think I will still use a single hand-held needle for detail and intricate bits though.

All in all I can recommend this piece of kit, but I will contact Rainbow Silks and suggest they add their own little instruction hints and tips - just to make it perfect.
Happy stabbing!
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