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.

It's Better To Give...

The saying goes that you're more blessed by giving than receiving, so I was left feeling very content this festive season.  It's really rewarding to be able to make gifts for those you care about and witness their reaction when the wrapping is removed.

Here's a round-up of the presents I made in 2019 and gifted around Christmas time.

There's two lovely Carol's in my life who are both knit-worthy (meaning I know they appreciate the time it takes to knit stuff) and both have birthdays just before Christmas.  December birthdays are frequently overlooked so I decided earlier in the year to make them both a shawl.  I knitted Carol F's shawl from a great pattern called Therapy by designer Laura Aylor in three different merino yarns.  'Summer Skies' is the light blue from Ripples Crafts, the salmon pink was dyed by The Border Tart and the variegated colourway which ties these two together is the minty/blue/pink/dark-speckled combo 'Curiouser' by Twisted Fintch.

I already blogged about Carol B's hand knit shawl here and was pleased when she sent me a photo of herself swathed cosily in it.

When Mum broke a wee bone china mug she was fond of, I collected the bits and determined to make something else with it for her.  Over the summer, Ann at Blue Sky Mosaics ran regular Tuesday sessions which I dipped into.  Ann's partner, Will, has DIY super-powers and was able to cut the mug cleanly in half so I could mount it onto slate and use the forget-me-not design pieces for decoration.  To be honest, it looked a bit plain on its own so I delved into Ann's trove of broken china and availed myself of lots of pretty floral treasure.  I love the way the china fragments are exploding out of the mug!

 

Grouted to be suitable for outdoor use, the broken mug is now a planter which can be wall mounted so Mum can enjoy it hanging in her tiny garden in sheltered housing.

Edible presents also featured heavily in my gift repertoire this season.

I've been making a Christmas cake for my Father-in-law for many years.  The one pictured with him in 2016 is Katy Stewart's recipe for Golden Christmas Cake from the battered copy of The Times Cookery Book I've owned since the 1980's but we now all favour Delia Smith's Creole Christmas Cake which is this year's holly sprigged offering.

Our garden produced a bumper crop of blackcurrants this summer and, after making the berries into all our favourites - jam, puree for fool and Fantasy Cake - I made cassis, a liqueur that tastes rather like an alcoholic Ribena!  I gave a bottle to my neighbour, Donna, who sent me this picture of the Kir Royale she and her husband were enjoying at their child-free hotel getaway on Hogmanay.

I included a needle felted robin brooch I'd made in the package I sent to Susan in Oregon as part of a Christmas decoration swap organised by Louise of the Caithness Craft Collective Podcast.  I love putting together a parcel for someone I've been matched with, hoping they'll enjoy opening it as much as I've enjoyed assembling the contents.  I chose to send a small wooden tree hanging made locally by Gabrielle Reith of Small Stories Scotland - it looks like the boy is wearing woolly mittens!  There's also a selection of Scottish sweeties as well as a lip balm produced here in Aberdeenshire.

Each year I take a tin of home baked shortbread to the aforementioned Carol F's Christmas Eve party - and each year she gives me back last year's empty tin to refill!  My contribution is a very small part of the delicious spread Carol herself produces and the occasion has come to mark a happy start to our family's festive celebrations.

Finally, for gifts I made this year, I crocheted something for my Mum's Boxing Day birthday... 

...but that requires a blog post all of its own so keep a look out!

Colourful Craft Classes (ft Beading for Beginners)

My nearest village is a very colourful place.

Summer 2019 displays thanks to Meldrum Amenities Improvement Group

One of my favourite shops in the village is pretty colourful too - as you would expect with a name like Rainbow Fabrics!

For a maker like me, having this cornucopia of yarn, fabric, thread, needles and notions on my doorstep is a craft lover's dream.  Forget your Amazon Prime, just about everything you might need for your textile project is available same day!  Not only does shop owner, Pat, curate an amazing array of supplies, she also produces a regular and varied programme of classes.  Over the last decade, I've attended quite a few.

I've learned to felt and this wee bag was created using the wet felted technique over a number of sessions in 2010.

I've learned to needle felt as well, making this Italian landscape at a class where we took our inspiration from a holiday memory.  It still reminds me of two happy weeks in Tuscany in 2011.

I've also tried felting with silk threads - these felted hearts, made at a class in 2016, became the front of the cushion I blogged about here and the backing fabric also came from the shop.

I'd never crocheted until I attended a course at Rainbow and I'm so grateful to have the skills for a craft I now love.  These pieces of textile wall art were also made by me at a variety of machine and hand-embroidery day classes I attended at the shop.

I even made this quilt which hangs above our bed (and I say 'even' as the sewing machine and I are not always best friends!)

So I've tried quite a lot of fabric, thread and yarn based classes but I'd never tried beading, though beaded projects crop up regularly in the class programme.  Assured that the snowflake dream catcher class at the start of November was suitable for a beginner like me, I decided to give it a go.  Clearly it's quite a serious business...

I chose all my beads at Rainbow ahead of the class, opting for a cool palette of wintry colours from the large selection available.  Following a pattern, the super-duos and faceted beads were threaded onto strong fused line favoured by anglers, using a slender beading needle characterised by its sometimes frustratingly tiny eye.  The central motif was attached to a fine silvery hoop and edged with more seed beads making a pretty picot design.

Classes at Pat's are always sociable events and her kettle certainly earns its keep!  My fellow beaders were a friendly group of ladies, generous with their supplies and experience, tolerant of a newbie like me, and helping me when I got stuck.  It's always a pleasure to see what each person makes.  Though we started with the same instructions, our choice of beads made the results spectacularly different.  Mary, our approachable and patient tutor, had prepared several snowflake samples before the class for us to follow - they're pictured in the centre and are surrounded by the ones we made on the day.

It's testament to Mary's clear written instructions that I was able to make a second snowflake dream catcher at home the next day, with the beads on the edge the right way round this time!

I'm going to enjoy hanging these with our Christmas decorations this year, and for years to come.

I wonder what the 2020 programme of classes will have in store and what colourful creations might adorn our home in future thanks to the kaleidoscope of crafty treasure in Rainbow?

Perth Festival of Yarn - What happened to my haul?

According to the Urban Dictionary, the top definition of the word 'haul' is shopping spree and there's nothing quite like a yarn festival for indulging in a spot of retail therapy if you're as fond of yarn as I am.

So here's my haul from last year's Perth Festival of Yarn - but what has become of this pile of wonderful wool, crafty kits and knitterly notions, one year on?

Let's start with the Adventures In Yarn mini notebook and pencil from Popcorn and Crocodiles.  These were a present for a local knitting friend who wasn't able to make it to Perth last September.  She was very happy with her gift!

Emily (left) is the lady behind Popcorn and Crocodiles - Katherine (right) provides support and endless smiles!

I'm happy too, surrounded by all this fibre.  Here's me smiling as I clutch three jewel-toned balls of lambswool I bought at the J C Rennie stand at PYF.  And here's an even happier me in the Korat sweater I knitted from Carol Feller's pattern with them in January.  I wrote a blog post about this jumper here.

I bought four skeins from Northern Ireland's Giddy Aunt Yarns of multicoloured BFL sport weight wool.  These became the Islay cardigan by Gudrun Johnston over the course of several week's knitting in May and June.  My chosen colourway of Giddy Aunt's beautiful hand dyed yarn is 'Woodstock'and I love it!  

It's not had much wear over the summer but yesterday in Aberdeenshire felt decidedly autumnal and I was glad of my new woolly cardy with its wooden heart buttons.

A further purchase was a needle felting kit from Little Gem Felts for a glasses case.  I made a start on this over the summer but it's still a work in progress (and possibly the subject of a future blog post!)  

I have yet to decide what to do with my treasured skein of yarn from Stranded Dyeworks.  This was the special colourway dyed by Amy of Stranded for Perth Festival of Yarn 2018 and I'm happy to wait for the right project, and perhaps the right accompanying yarn, to inspire me.  Meanwhile, I like pairing it up with possible companions in the craft room.

Finally, Helen of Dundee based Giddy Yarns (not to be confused with the aforementioned Giddy Aunt Yarns from over the Irish Sea) gave me a stitch marker when we were chatting at the festival.  It's helpfully keeping my place for me as I work on my current crochet shawl.

Reviewing the goodies from the haul I brought home from Perth has reminded me what a fun day out I enjoyed a year ago just now.  It's also reminded me of the enjoyment my purchases have brought me, and others, over the past 12 months, as well as the future joy I'll derive from wearing my hand-knits.

I hope you'll have a great time too if you're attending Perth Festival of Yarn 2019 on 7th and 8th September - Little Gem Felts, Giddy Yarns and Giddy Aunt Yarns will be vending again this year.  

Let's hope you return home with a great haul too!

I never felt like this before

You know you're in the company of a good friend when she comes for the weekend and brings an excessive volume of craft supplies for you to be creative together.

Lesley is a gifted painter and textile artist from the Borders, a chemistry teacher by day, who I've been fortunate enough to call a friend for over 20 years.  I blogged here about last year's visit to her studio in Peebles.  Lesley's family were visiting for an enduro mountain bike racing competition being staged in Aberdeenshire.  Husband Pete, and their teenage boys, left early in the morning leaving us free to spend the day felting, punctuated by walking both our dogs and a steady supply of refreshments outside in the sun!  Did someone say 'walk'?

Star (left) is my rescue dog and Clova is Lesley's labrador

Felting is just one of the artistic areas in which Lesley excels and her confidence boosted mine.

Inspired by Lesley's fabulous work which was featured in The Scotsman magazine a few years ago, I decided I'd make myself a felted tea cosy.

Lesley set to work creating a piece of wall art for a forthcoming exhibition.  Both of us were wet felting, a craft in which colourful merino wool is made into a sturdy decorative fabric using soapy water, agitation and elbow grease.  Lesley was inspired to make a picture of Bennachie and she liked this photo I'd taken in May with the oil seed rape in full bloom.

Her picture was soon taking shape.

Meanwhile, I was drawn to the bright colours in my Julie Dumbarton calendar and was guided gently by Lesley working alongside me.

My piece was two sided so was formed around a resist, or piece of material which withstands the felting process by not allowing the woolly fibres to stick to it.  Flexible packaging material works a treat.  After cutting out a shape, I covered it in white merino tufts and rubbed the wet soapy wool till it stuck together, then repeated the process on the other side.

 Here's the fun part - creating a design using all the colours!  First one side...

...which then gets wet, rubbed with soapy water under a light cloth to keep the fibres in place, then flipped over to apply a design to the other side.

More wetting and rubbing - must have the cleanest hands ever!

Time to take stock, enjoy a summery cocktail and chat about what still needs to be added.  Lesley has included the tiniest wisp of turquoise to her stormy sky - really brings it to life.

I incorporated trees into my designs and blame the delicious gin cocktail for not taking any photos at this stage!  Both our pieces were thoroughly rinsed in cold water.



Not all my fibres were sticking so the soapy process was repeated and I used Lesley's felting roller to encourage a bit more adhesion.  Final cold water rinsing gets rid of the suds and the wool is 'shocked' by having several kettles of boiling water poured over it.  Felting is brutal!

The cooled felt gets wrapped in a raffia mat (or bamboo window blind for Lesley's picture) surrounded with an old bath towel and rolled over and over in both directions to encourage the felt to shrink.  The resist has to be flexible to be able to accommodate this shrinkage.  Only then can the bottom edge of the tea cosy be cut and the resist removed.  Time for an overnight stint in the airing cupboard to dry off both our pieces.

Here's each side of my dry tea cosy.  They're a bit wrinkly and the lower edge is a bit wobbly.  Lesley irons her work at this point but I opted for the natural look.

We both used a felting needle to add detail and definition.  I trimmed my wobbly bottom (ooh err), edged it with magenta blanket stitch and embroidered a few rocks and grasses into the woodland foreground.

The finishing touch was a felted wool bobble.  Ooh - which colour to choose? 💚

Too pretty to be confined to a drawer, my tea cosy is on display in the kitchen to remind me of our friendship and a very happy weekend of felting and chat - few topics were off limits.  I'm really pleased with my work and know I've never felted like this before!  Having an experienced artist at my side really enabled me to produce a unique piece rather than simply copying someone else's work.

Lesley's creations can be seen in Ross Dougal Fish Merchant, 32 High Street, Peebles from 23rd to 31st August 2019 and you can keep up with her latest art exploits here.