Three Trees in a Row

 Craft workshops appear to be like buses - none for ages then three come along at once!

This is Tanya - also known in woolly circles as TJ Frog or The Button Lady - who runs a creative business focused on Dorset Buttons from her home on Skye.  We first met a few years ago at a yarn show, and we're pictured here at last August's Wool At Portsoy event.  Though I've been at gatherings where Tanya's been teaching the heritage craft of making Dorset Buttons, I've never been quick enough to secure a place.  They're so popular!  

When I learned a few months ago that Tanya was running a virtual Dorset Button Tree Brooch workshop on Zoom this spring, I signed up right away.  

A comprehensive pack of all the materials I'd need landed in my post box ahead of the class.  It included everything, right down to a sewing needle and thread!  Most of the class participants hailed from the US, but one or two other ladies from the UK had signed up too.  We were quite a jolly band as we listened along to Tanya's patient instructions and followed her fully illustrated guidebook.

Using the wool and base provided, we worked through the processes of casting, slicking, laying and rounding.  Honestly - it's a whole new language but what I'm actually doing is covering the ring and fashioning a tree shape.

Quite pleased mine looked like Tanya's one in the picture.

I opted for a mixed kit to enable me to make a spring inspired pink blossom tree as well as an autumnal one.  It was the latter I concentrated on during the class, adding lots of French knots in browns, golds and yellows then I stitched on tiny seed beads from the kit in complimentary sparkly shades.

I think my finished brooch will look great on my hand knit cardigan.

Though I've enough materials to make several more brooches, my next workshop was only three days later and I was soon immersed in felt making.  Now, if you've read my blog before, you'll know I've made felt before on several occasions - so why would I go on a wet felting course?

The most obvious answer I suppose, is to learn something new.  I've done more needle felting than felt making so I jumped at the chance to take a wet felting class with Léla of The Green Boat when I learned she was going to be hosting a workshop near me at Cookston Crafts Studio.  I probably have all the materials at home, and potentially could've spent Saturday afternoon making felt but the bottom line is, I probably wouldn't.  Enjoying a course away from the house, and the pressure of household chores, encourages creativity I believe, as well as providing the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.

Or it would if I hadn't walked in and immediately discovered that my old friend, Jo, had enrolled on the same course!  So companionable.  Everything we were going to need was neatly laid out in front of us and we got to work creating a base square from carded white wool, some soap, water and a bit of elbow grease.

Encouraged to choose from the wide range of coloured wool tops and yarns available to create our designs, I (rather predictably) gravitated towards the turquoises and greens.

I love the eclectic array of materials required to make felt other than the yarn - there's net curtain to protect the loose fibres while they're still flyaway, bubble wrap to provide texture, and insulation foam to roll out the felt.  Liberal sprinklings of water from the adorable watering can, more bar soap and plenty of rubbing by hand, soon make the fibres stick together and shrink to create a tight weave fabric.  Towelling underneath absorbs excess damp and a waterproof cover beneath that protects the table!  

Léla encouraged us all to incorporate undyed natural silky fibres into our piece and I added some to my horizon.  The lustrous texture following the felting process was unexpectedly beautiful.  Always something new to learn.

What might have been a seascape turned into a landscape with a feature tree as I let myself be guided by our encouraging tutor and my chosen palette.

The joy of working alongside others at a well run workshop is that we all have the potential to create the same thing, yet we all make something very different, reflecting our own colour choices and creativity.  

The boot was on the other foot at my third workshop in a week as I was the tutor!  

Michelle from Kemnay Library asked if I'd run a short class there during the Aberdeenshire Wellbeing Festival.  I'd only an hour so opted to show the participants how to needle felt this wee cherry tree. 

I had to make a practice one beforehand to familiarise myself with what to do but was able to finish mine in 30 minutes, giving me confidence that the ladies could make theirs in an hour.

What a pleasant way to spend an afternoon  - seven participants, a table strewn with tactile textiles, welcome refreshments from the lovely library staff and plenty of chatter.  We were also treated to the delightful sound of the Spectrum Singers, performing in the library as part of the festival, as we gently overran our allotted hour.  No one seemed to mind.

Just look at the lovely trees the ladies created.  

It's a joy to be able to share my love of craft with others and I was especially impressed with this needle felted forest as most of the class had not done this before.

Whilst the proximity of these workshops is not the norm for me, it is possible that the choice of subject matter, all these trees, may have been in part governed by attending three classes in one week!

And I can thoroughly recommend TJ Frog and The Green Boat if you fancy a workshop too.