Gnomy time - you know me!

Autumn is here, and the gnomies are about, and Santa is a afoot, too, as well as other felt fall!

Kyrgyz Felt Expo in Glasgow's Collins Gallery

Nuno scarves the Kyrgyz way

Last month it was that this fab expo closed in Glasgow. Fabulous exhibition of a fabulous people! Patterns and rhythms of the universe pulse through the shimmering silk with soft woollen tread. What wealth of colour and texture and styles, what elegance and groundedness combined. 

Shirin will give us a workshop in Kyrgyz nuno felting beginning of November. So watch this space!

Meanwhile get inspired through the photo album: click here.

panels telling the strories of crafts alive in people and land

1st October Making Space @ West Street

Caroline Maciver's leaf from last year

Making Space enters it second year, and it starts it at 4-6 West Street, Penicuik, the Arts Centre, room 2 upstairs, tomorrow, 1st October. 11.30 am - 1.30 pm for a public crafting session.

This term we will have 3 public craft sessions, always on the first Saturday of the month. At West Street.

We also meet every Saturday there, to deepen our craft skills and - so we hope - rebuild our numbers, which have dwindled a little over the summer and with life moving some of our regular volunteers on.
The core group of Making Space volunteers wishes to 'make space' for deepeninng our craft skills, and for making things for the forth coming craft fairs - as we always are asked 'do you sell this' and we don't so far!

Please come and join us every week if you would like to build resources, skill wise, products wise, but especially people wise . Get in touch via making_space@talktalk.net or via 07818 061918 if you wish to know more. Or just come along with your project if you like, or come open to see and do what needs doing.

We will miss the friendly faces of the townhall gatherings at the Saturday coffee mornings and the good cakes (hm, no, not really, we might just buy them and bring them over ;-)!
And we hope that we may grow again in strength soon enough to come back to give ourselves and our skills again.

Nature's Frame weaving last year at Penicuik House

We also will do Story Scape every first Friday in the month and are open to the public then in the library at the usual time, 1.30/2 - 3pm. In between we work away on  story scape skills building - come and join up if you like?

Meanwhile: see you tomorrow between 11.30 and 1.30pm: for freeflow autumn felting and weaving!

Making Space at the Penicuik Arts Festival

Shirin from Kyrgystan singing and crafting in the yurt

9 days of full on crafting in the community action during the Penicuik Arts Festival, in townhall, library & arts centre, Penicuik House and our beloved festival yurt: let the photo album tell our story:

 https://picasaweb.google.com/117445521233701725799/MSPPDAF2011
Thank you to everyone!

Paul, the Red Kite Yurt builder, telling the story of the Silk road monkey

New Circlings

A new melody is being sung and played in Making Space Penicuik after the Arts Festival now.
So much has happened and updating of websites has fallen by the wayside. But now we can't wait to share with you the sounds and images of the yurt circlings during the festival - the Yurt, the perfect home for Making Space for 8 early autumn days.

Touch wood and you will hear soon more. Meanwhile a wee hint of things to come as of October:

Now, as the nights are drawing in, we also draw in to start gathering round the fire to really make space to make things....
Every first Friday of the month, 1 - 3 pm we will invite you to the library for Story Scape making, and every first Saturday of the month to the Arts Centre from 11.30 a.m. - 1.30 p.m to craft gifts. The library sessions will be free of charge, but material costs apply; the Arts Centre sessions will have a small charge to cover room hire :-)


And for the rest of the month you can request to join us for craft skills and story skills sharing and building.

Crumbs!

Due to a combination of holidays and sunny weather, the last Storyscape Session was unfortunately very quiet - the library had been very quiet all day too.

Some children came to make Gingerbread men at my house to compliment the telling of the Gingerbread Man story. These were readily received! Did I tell you that the biscuits were sculpted by hand because my two gingerbread cutters had disappeared? I could almost hear their teasing voices say: "you can't catch me, we're the gingerbread men!"

I just wanted to thank all the people who came on the journey with Annaruth and I; to the group of volunteers and to the staff at Penicuik Library who supported and enabled us to deliver our vision to create a welcoming, nurturing and fun space for children; to the volunteers who gave their time and talents in setting up and putting away; to those who faithfully babysat every week, operated open-houses, adapted and re-told stories, learnt music and who created felted creations to illustrate specific stories. How could it have been achieved without you?

Through Storyscape Sessions we were able to reach a good cross-section of children and adults in society and offer a safe form of escapism, whilst building realtionships and operating a community-nurturing spirit where we were aware of the needs of others.



For me, the best bit had to be the transition - when the children started to become comfortable within themselves, telling stories alongside their peers. When they were gently coaxed, it was delightful to hear their imaginative minds running loose and coming together to create entire story lines.

Look out for our special gathering, as we come together during Penicuik's September festival.  We welcome you and look forward to seeing you then.

Last Saturday, this week past and tomorrow in townhall

Last Saturday the few folks around managed to get some work as well as some catching up time done: shark for the festival sessions by Sarah with the customary precision of scientific proportions,  and 2 dinos by Andrew with just a little help from mum!

a brachio in process and what's the long one called again?
Shark tumbling in background and flying high here

In middle of week, in the at home sessions, there were more sea creatures being born - can you spot them here in this collage?:

under Tina's and Ramona's hands...

Tomorrow in town hall we will have a slighter shortened session, from 11.30m - 1pm, as at 1.30pm 60 odd French Twinning visitors will descend upon the hall.

Trish said she'll hopefully can manage tomorrow as she is keen to try out how to wetfelt Alpaca so that it could become a soft scarf.  So we'll do some experimenting on that and a swatch tomorrow then.

from peacefullheart alpaca website

Looking round online for samples of Alpaca felt scarves, there doesn't seem that much about, especially not in plain natural colour, but the principle of the texture possible seems to come out in the pic above.

Talking about picture, we have started a new Album of our autumn term so to speak, starting with August as we feel the wet again...