Holiday update

I hope you are all enjoying the summer despite the very changeable weather! The committee of Feltmakers North are hard at work over the summer planning an exciting programme of events for the incoming year! We have 2 workshops this year Dorothy's teddy bear workshop in august and you still have time to apply for this workshop the deadline is 6th August! Then in November we are having Gaby Mc Grath for a one day Hungarian workshop, showing us traditional Hungarian techniques using Hungarian wool, I can thoroughly recommend this workshop and tutor, and I think places will be highly sought after.
We hope to plan an exhibition of Feltmakers North's members work for the winter of 2012 and the title for this exhibition will be announced soon, so that you can all get your work ready. This is a great opportunity to promote felt making but also have a goal to work towards personally, we hope all members will produce an item or items for the exhibition. It will also give you the opportunity to sell some of your work!! Now there is a thought!!

  

Don't forget The Rare Breeds Show at Gosford Park on Saturday 3rd  September, Feltmakers Ireland are running a competition previously mentioned on the blog, so even if you have not entered it will be a good opportunity to go and see some vessells made with native wool! The visitors are the judges so you can vote for the one you like the best!!

17th September in Hillsborough Village centre, we will be having our first autumn felt in. Liz Nicholls is going to show the technique of using a resist to make a window in your felt! This is a very exciting method than can be adapted to use in many items of felt.

                                                                                
In September we would like Feltmakers North partiscipants to bring items they have felted over the last few months so we can see what everyone is up to! This is very inspirational and a great way to learn straight from the horses mouth, so I hope you all remember to bring some thing along. The committee would also appreciate some feed back from people as to what they like or dislike about FN and any ideas as to how we can improve, or any techniques you would like to learn we are open to suggestions and where possible we will try and accommodate all suggestions! These suggestions can be emailed to feltmakersnorth@gmail.com we are looking forward to hearing from you.
The next blog will be packed with information and will posted in August so dont miss it! Bye for now.


                                                             

Summer Nuno Wraps with Cristina Garcia

  Cristina making notes with her felt pen in her felt book!!

                          
Cristina Garcia is a extremely talented feltmaker from Kilkenny, who I meet a few years ago at Feltmakers Ireland, when I saw her work I thought one day I would like to take a workshop with her. She only takes a few workshops every year so we were very privileged to have her at Feltmakers North The day began with Cristina showing us her designs and samples of textures created in nuno felting, there were so many ideas, and Cristina was so generous with her knowledge, the excitement was mounting! The silk fabric and wool was selected, but before we could start any felting we had to make a sketch of our design and discuss the techniques involved with Cristina. once the plan had been discussed and we were all clear on our approach to our design we began to felt. The first day flew in and by 5 pm there were a few tired but extremely happy faces leaving the Island Centre.
If the first day went quickly the second day went in the blink of an eye! Everyone had finished there summer wraps and some people started a second one and others decided to make a silk scarf with wool beads on it.

                                                                                  
Cristina is a delightful tutor, calm and very encouraging but generous with her knowledge and tips. Everyone on the workshop went away with a beautful summer nuno wrap and so many ideas for other felting adventures.  More photos of the wraps will follow as some were not dry enough to photograph.                                                                               

A few of the girls with Cristina wearing their summer wraps.

For those of you who missed this workshop, we will be running another nuno felting workshop in the future so keep an eye on the blog and remember members get priority. Do not forget the next exciting workshop run by Feltmakers North is August 20th with Dorothy Dinsmore and it is a needle felting workshop to make your very own teddy bear, if anyone needs an application form for this workshop they can email either Liz or myself Fiona and we will forward you one, you do not need to be a member, but members will be given priority and all names are drawn from a hat! There are more details in the workshop section of the blog.

Our felting session start again in September on 17th and the first one will be held in Hillsborough Village Centre, if you have not renewed your membership there will be an opportunity to do it then. Also some of the Summer Nuno wraps will be on show for you to see, we would also like people to bring work they have made over the summer to show! I hope everyone has a lovely summer!

                                                                             

Fantastic Fleeces

The committee and I were delighted to recieve an invitation from Freda Magill to visit her farm, and see the process that the wool goes through before we are able to use it in our felting. We headed down to Rathfriland with our wellies on, for our farm visit, we were all like school children, very excited by this invitation! Although I had grown up on a small farm which had sheep, I never realised the lengthy and painstaking process the wool goes through before it is ready for us to felt with. What makes this even more amazing is that Freda does an immense amount of the work herself! We were first shown into the shearing shed which had an adjustable height shearing table to prevent the shearer bending! We noticed the differences in the fleeces ,the wendsleydale fleeces from the younger sheep were a lot more curly, and all the fleeces had a tremendous amount of lanolin evident, this would be reduced when they were washed. The washing process could only be started on a day with suitable weather conditions so as to enable the fleece to dry, as once washed it takes several hours to dry.

Lambs that Freda has to hand rear they were born earlier this year!

Then we proceeded out to the fields; where we saw ewes rearing triplets, young ewes with their first lambs, some pet lambs and even a newly born lamb that had arrived that morning (especially in honour of our visit!!)

Wensleydale Lamb born that morning!

After a short walk up the hill we visited the main flock of Wensleydales, Texel and Wensleydales  X Texel, who were more wary of us than the younger lambs. The view of the countryside was spectacular as were the sheep.
Once back at the farm we were able to see Freda's stock of over 30 different varieties of wool, each type having different qualities and uses in felting! Freda uses a wild carder to card the wool then she dyes in to many colours and her colour combinations are fantastic. As if carding all the wool isnt enough Freda also has a loom and weaves some into the most amazing fabrics which we were able to admire.

We had a very informative and fun filled morning, which made us all appreciate the work involved in preparing the lovely wool for felting. If you would some rare breed wool contact Freda at http://www.woolinitiative.com/ it is perfect to use in the competition at Gosford Park in September, entires can be given to Liz Nicholls.

Feltmakers North unveil their Logo!

Here is the Logo for Feltmakers North!!

From left to right Dorothy Dinsmore who made the logo into a felt poster, Fiona Harvey, Chairperson Feltmakers North, Rachel Julca the designer who won the Logo Competition.

The AGM last saturday was a great success so for those of you who missed the event, I will give you a quick recap! Anne McCullough was elected onto the committee, to fill the place vacated by Denise Baker who sadly had to stand down. Two very exciting workshops were announced for over the summer;
The first being a 2 day summer wrap workshop using silk fabric on Friday 24th and Saturday 25th June, our tutor will be Cristina Garcia from Kilkenny. This is a tremendous opportunity to indulge in the creative process of making some extremely fine and beautiful felt.  For this course we are delighted to have recieved funding from Lisburn Arts Advisory Committee, this was a terrific help and enabled us to have the luxury of spreading the workshop over 2 days for a mere £100 for members and £135 for non members!! (if you would like a application sheet just email me feltmakersnorth@gmail.com) the closing date for applications is 8th june priority will be given to members!

The second treat in store over the summer is on saturday 20th August when Dorothy Dinsmore is taking a workingshop on needle felting animals(I know this sounds cruel but its not!!) This workshop is being held in the Island Arts Centre, Lisburn Members £35 and non members £45 the closing date for applications is 6th August again email me if you would like an application form, priority will be given to members.

We were delighted with the response to the membership in our first year and we hope we will go from strength to strength. As I am sure you are aware it is the membership which keeps an organisation like ours going. The membership has gone up to £50 as this is the first full year, which runs from 1st June to 31st May 2012, the committee and I feel it is still great value. So for those of you who are unware of the advantages of membership I shall list a few here; members ger priority on the specialist workshops throughout the year which there will be at least 4, also they get them at a reduced price. Members are able to attend all the monthly felting sessionas they are included in the price, each month we study a different aspect or technique in felting and broaden our knowledge, at the same time as making new friends and having fun! To renew or take out membership please contact Barbara Finlay e mail craigfinlay@btinternet.com

Maria's Colourful Red Bag!!

The AGM concluded with Maria Geoghegan-White and Liz Nicholls give very interesting and informative talks on The Diversity and use of Colour in Felt! Maria told us all about the significance of the colours we choose to use or wear. Then Liz explained about mixing colours together and demonstrated how colours of fibre could be mixed by the use of a carding machine!
The Blog will be regularly updated over the summer so keep checking it! For those of you who do not want to miss out or just want to make life easier, I have added a little FOLLOW BY EMAIL (at the top of the page)so you can enter your email address,(and follow a few simple instructions) so everytime there is a post you will get a email letting you know the blog has been updated! It is quite safe and noone else will get the hold of your email address!

 Send me in photos of your felting and I will put them up if the photo quality is good! Dont forget to add your email address to the follow by email and get automatic updates from Feltmakers North!!

I was very sorry I had to miss Dorothy's session making beads and baubles, however everyone that went said it was a great success! Dorothy showed a great selection of her work, with beads in various shapes and sizes some made into the most beautiful pieces of jewellery. I was able to pop in during the morning and see everyone working away in a great array of colours. Dorothy had used the needle felting techinque in part to complete the beads, and some people really got into the needle felting with a venegence!!

Can you believe it we are having our first AGM next month!! The response from everyone has been terrific and we are delighted to have so much interest. The Agm is in Hillsborough Village centre, which is in Ballynahinch Street, Hillsborough and the centre is joined onto the Primary school, so you should have no problem finding it. We will be dividing our meetings, over the next year, between the two venues. At the Agm we are having Maira, giving a talk on colour and Liz giving a demonstration on carding wool and its advantages. Freda Magill will be having a sales table where you will be able to buy her very gorgeous wool. (Then you can do the competition in September!!as mentioned in last post!!) we hope to have a few other wee things of felting interest too. Most importantly we would like you all to bring anything you have made in felt since you have started to come to Feltmakers North, we want EVERYONE to bring at least one item. I dont want to hear anyone say my stuff isnt good enough, because it is. It is the best way to learn is from seeing other peoples work! I am wrestling with a vessel this evening, I made a mistake on it earlier and I was so cross, but I am not giving up and I will keep going, so I may well bring it with me! The AGM will give you the opportunity to become a member for 2011-12 with the advantage of getting priority on 2 very exciting workshops over the summer, we will also be releasing details of future events planned!

FELTMAKERS NORTH FIRST ONE DAY WORKSHOP.

 Here are a few of the fantastic bags made at Feltmakers North first all day workshop, the standard was terrific and I think some of the partiscipants surprised themselves! Eleanor and Hilary were great tutors and everyone learnt new ideas and techniques!

Just so you dont forget;                        FELTMAKERS NORTH AGM
                                                                    SATURDAY 21ST MAY,
                                                            HILLSBOROUGH VILLAGE CENTRE
                                                                        10.15-12.30PM
                                                                  EVERYONE WELCOME.

 We will be announcing the winner of the logo competition at the AGM and we will be unveiling it! Keep on felting I think the different seasons make us choose different colours which keeps us all progressing, looking forward to seeing you all next month!
Fiona Harvey

Vessel Competition!

Here is the chance to put your new found knowledge into practise! Feltmakers Ireland are running a competition, open to all feltmakers, to make a vessel using a minimum of 80% native wool fibre, to be exhibited and judged at The Rare Breeds show at Gosford park on the first week end in September. The visitors to the show will choose the winner by placing at bead at the vessel they like the best! This show is a good chance to see the beautiful sheep that provide us with the wool that we use for felting! The Weavers and Spinners of Northern Ireland will also be there, so it should be an interesting day! For all of you interested in entering please contact Sheila Ahern at http://www.feltmakersireland.com/ as entries need to be submitted no later than 26th August! Freda will be having a stand of her rare breeds wool at our AGM so there is no excuse that you wont have the right wool, no excuses come on everyone, enter and enjoy the challenge! If you want any more details you can contact me through the blog!
 Can you tell I love all the photographs of the sheep, this one is a particularly beautiful Jacob sheep!

Flower Power

Maria and Gail got us all in the mood for Spring during March's Felt in as they showed us how to make some beautiful felt flowers, from a rose to a daisy/lily. Again the participants showed their enthusiasm and talent making flowers in every colour combination, and everyone was delighted at the end of the session with their mornings felting!

                                         The fibers being laid out.

Fionnuala and Clare in action making flowers.

Next week we are looking forward to the workshop with Eleanor and Hilary from Dublin, this workshop has been well recieved and we have a full compliment for the day! I will put some photos on this blog after the workshop so you can see all the lovely bags, that the participants have made!

I was so pleased that people brought in some of the vessels they had made in the February felt in! It was great for everyone to see them when they were finished. Below is a photo of some of the vessels, this should be a great encouragement to people who are thinking of joining us as a lot of these people had never made a vessel before! So they are very impressive!

For our April Felt in Dorothy is going to show us how to make felt beads and baubles. This will be another morning showing the wide range of things that can be made in felt! The beads or baubles can be threaded for jewellery or added to bags, hats, scarfs, the centre of flowers and again the uses are endless.
What you need to bring;
felting needles if you have them (if not Dorothy will have some that you can buy from her)
Thick piece of foam (available from Dunelm)
bubble wrap, soap, spray bottle, towel, bowl, wool fibres.

The committee is working very hard to provide the members with a varied and interesting programme throughout the year, as there is a tremendous amount of work goes on behind the scenes. The committee of Feltmakers North is very excited and delighted with the workshops and felt ins we have organised for next year, so you dont miss out on anything make sure you attend the AGM in May! We are having a talk on colour by Maria, and Liz will be demonstrating using colour in felt making. We hope to have a  few sales tables of wool and accessories to add to your felting. The exciting news of workshops will be announced at the AGM including 2 in the summer, not too be missed, and there will be an opportunity for you to become a member or renew your membership.

Some more flowers with a ball as the centre!

We think the membership is a very worth while investment, once paid it will mean you are able to attend the nine monthly felt ins,at no charge. It also means that you get the workshops at a reduced price and that members get proirity on the workshops over non members. During the calendar year we have nine monthly felt ins and at least 4 day workshops. Our June workshop is over 2 days which really gives you time to be very creative and get totally absorbed in your piece that you are making!
Soon I hope that you will be able to download the membership form from the blog and download the proformas for the workshops! ( I just have to learn how to do it!!! ?)
Thats all the news for now! I will update the blog next week after the handbag workshop so watch out for that!
Who is going to be brave and leave me a wee comment on the blog? go on you will make my day!! At least I will know someone is reading this!!