No more sleeps!

Ah, a terrific weekend with the highlight being the latest Pick Up Your Needles on Saturday. I did an embroidery class with the textile artist Lucinda Jacob and it was great.

We covered lots of types of stitches, which was fab, but also dipped into how to use different kinds of materials and how to unleash inspiration.

Now, that's worth a mess of potage right there.

And yes, I did get some inspiration for my felted bag. More details later when I have pictures. I can't in all conscience witter on about it while leaving you completely in the dark, so to speak. I do have some standards.

PLUS I also finally delivered material to a podcast that I was invited to contribute to. Let you know when it's up and about.

PLUS this afternoon there was a whole new knitting project conceived, knitted and gifted in the space of 6 hours. That was fun. No pictures unfortunately, but I'll make another one exactly the same very soon and get pictures of that.

PLUS, and most importantly of all, I made some crucial moves towards a very exciting venture which I've been working on for a long time.

What did I say about having standards about not leaving you in suspense? They must be around here somewhere, I had them just last week.

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Tinahely once more!

Yay. Almost time for the next Pick Up Your Needles at the Tinahely Courthouse.

Saturday 14th November.

This time I've signed up for the Embroidery class with Lucinda Jacob. I've a number of felted items which I'd like to embellish, including the felted bag from the last PUYN.

Okay. OKAY!

This time I'll get photos.

Can't wait.

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Pick Up Your Needles III

As promised, some pics from the recent Pick Up Your Needles III.

Some felted flowers. I love doing these.

I'm going to try felting one onto a hair bobbin for Little Monkey.







I also made a felted bag, which I was very pleased with, but it turned out to be camera shy. In otherwords, I put it somewhere to dry thoroughly and it has disappeared!


(It'll turn up I guess...maybe when it's hungry!)

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Pick Up Your Needles III

Jeez, is it possible to improve on Perfection*?

Seriously?


*Photos coming shortly

PUYN II

Well, just on the verge of 'Pick Up Your Needles III' next weekend and in the interest of catching up backwards, (go here if you want that to make more - or indeed any - sense), here's some of the wet felting that I did at PUYN II with the wonderful tutor Nicola Brown.

Maple Leaf



It was supposed to be a flower, and I messed up on the laying-out-the-roving-pre-felting part AND the keeping-the-centre-dry part, AND I felted it inside out (i.e. the shimmery orange silk fibres were supposed to be in the centre, not on the outside) but I lucked out. Love it.



Felted beads



This is a felted roll in 3 colours sliced at an angle into beads. It sounded fairly straightforward at first, but the shape and impact of the colours when the roll is sliced in cross-section is very impressive. I think it's really great laid out in this flower shape, rather than strung as beads, so let's see what I can make of it.

And finally, a flat piece with 2 colours of green in the background and shimmering blue flowers with irridescant orange and a mix of white silk and wool.


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Afterwards, (and flushed with fibery joy) I showed these to my good friend N____ who is an experienced wet felter. She commented that it that if this was the result of my first session...well...then...that was a very good teacher indeed. Dead right there.

Pick Up Your Needles II

So, how can you match Pick Up Your Needles I?

With Pick Up Your Needles II of course! This time I was felting, with tutor Nicola Brown, who was charming, patient and passionate about her craft.

We learned a great deal from just watching her demonstrations and in the workshop we created some lovely things. My group was focused on making flat pieces, but we still came away with a felted cord, another multicoloured cord to be spliced into beads for jewellery, a key ring, and a felted flower, as well as the flat piece which was our main objective.

What with the lovely colours on offer and all the encouragement, I'm willing to bet that nobody was disappointed.

I did expect to meet friends (yay, check), to enjoy the day (oh yes indeed, check), to drink tea (slurp, check), to consume home-baked goodies (yum, check) and to make felted things (felting, check), but I didn't fully appreciate how much I would enjoy the felting itself, the day and the company.

Dudes, I cudda wudda shudda known.

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Pick Up Your Needles In Your 'Auld Knit Bag and Spin, Felt, Knit & Crochet

Well! I just have to make a very quick report on the 'Pick Up Your Needles' event at the Tinahealy Court House last Saturday. (It's late and after 2 days of driving up and down the N11 in the snow, I'm exhausted!)

It was a wonderful event. 30 women (plus 4 tutors and several helpers) raised the roof of the Courthouse (a great venue by the way) from 10am 'til 5pm, knitting, spinning, felting and crochet-ing - and chatting, and laughing, and whooping, and squealing, and cuppa-tea-ing and coffee-ing and munching on delicious baked goods and generally having a blast.

To tutors and orgnaisers Stephanie (knitting) and Irene (crochet), and fellow tutors Catherine (spinning) and Nicola (felting). Congratulations guys, it was a great success. I was thrilled and proud to be there.

And besides, I made these...delicious aren't they?

And then this. Boy was I proud.