Kay Petal is a sculptural needle felt artist originally from Wasilla, Alaska. She was working out of her home studio, overlooking a scenic Alaskan lake, but her Felt Alive Studio is now on the road! She and her husband have left Alaska in their RV on an indefinite teaching tour.

With just a single barbed felting needle borrowed from industry; lofty, lustrous wool tangles into solid felt creations bound only by one's imagination. Wool is an amazing sculpture medium with endless possibilities. Kay's focus is on dolls. Her dolls are 100% needle felted wool batting made without using any patterns or a single sewing stitch; just thousand of pokes with her felting needle. Kay uses various colors of dyed wool almost like paint as she adds the details. They are quite flexible and have a very unusual lifelike quality to them that Kay contributes to the living qualities of the wool.

Kay discovered needle felting in 2007 on the heels of recovery from treatment of a rare cancer. After accepting her new title of cancer survivor she became keenly aware of the need to stop giving in to the mundane things in life and find that thing - that thing she is truly passionate about. Kay also discovered a determination to learn to step outside of the safety of her shy little box and take more risks in life. When she stumbled across needle felting on the Internet, something struck a chord. Kay found herself researching this unusual sculptural medium online with nearly the fervor she used to find the best treatment for her rare cancer. Like with Kay's disease, there wasn't a vast amount of useful information; Kay quickly narrowed things down and focused on those that she considered to be the best in their fields.

Kay purchased a book by a pioneer of needle felting, Birgitte Krag Hansen, and bought what limited supplies she could find locally. She dove in and knew right away that she had miraculously found that elusive "thing." And as fate would have it, not three months after Kay purchased her book, Birgitte Krag Hansen traveled from Denmark to Alaska to teach. Kay managed to take in two fabulous workshops. Birgitte opened Kay's eyes to the real possibilities of bringing wool to life and she hasn't looked back since.

During her cancer ordeal, Kay realized how much she relies on her sense of humor and with needle felting she's finding the same to be true. Kay's sense of humor drives her creativity and each new piece strangely becomes like family. Kay tends to keep all of her work and enjoys the creative freedom in that. As her Felt Alive family grows, Kay may have to face her separation anxiety and learn to say goodbye. But for now, she feels her instincts are telling her to hang on to her dolls. You can see Kay's Felt Alive dolls during the month of May.

In spite of the pouring rain these last days of April, I find myself longing to be working and living outside. Outdoor living spaces are many and varied. Yours might be an extension to the house like a deck or front porch. If not, you can easily make an outdoor space in a back yard.

Choose a space where you would like to eat, read or watch the day end. A space near the house works well if you eat outside frequently. If you want to get away and relax choose a sunny or shady corner in the yard. It's important to define the space. You can make a flagstone or brick area the size you want and add pots of flowers to further define your outside room. Choose furniture that appeals to you. A picnic table might be perfect or you might prefer wicker furniture. A wide variety of styles are available. It's always worth a look at antique stores and consignment stores for furniture and quirky touches like birdhouses and lanterns. The more the space reflects you, the more comfortable it will be for you and your family.

With airlines adding fees to fees, The Week magazine asked its readers to predict the next surcharge they'll levy for something previously free.

1. In the unlikely event of loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will drop down. To start the flow of oxygen, simply insert your credit card.

2. $100 On-Time Departure Fee; $25 Delay Complaint Fee.

3. View seating (formerly window seats), $10; Access seating (formerly aisle seats), $10

4. $20 to use roll-away stairs to enter or exit the aircraft in lieu of no-charge rope-ladder alternative.

5. $9 fee for bumping your head on the overhead bin as you take your seat; $3 additional penalty for looking up at the bin after you bump into it.