Krgyz style Nuno Felting

Softest white silk, and delicate wisps of merino wool, diligent soft and firmly worked into silk, only to be wildly thrown onto the table in a bundle!

Shirin and Jenni making the first cut in the ream of the silk from the orient

See for yourself in the photoalbum from picture 48 until picture 93 how the different stages unfolded.

A very big thanks to Shirin for taking us as guinea pigs to practise her facilitation skills on! It is a huge challenge to handle all the practicalities from bubble wrap buying and later drying out again, from transporting the silk from Usbekistan (thanks, Matthew!) to washing the towels, and it is so much more fun to tackle it as a group in a firelit cosy room.
Even when one runs over time but luckily can evacuate the stragglers into the smaller room #2 for the final  touches:

When the silk is dry, we still need to hunt down one or the other lady to let us take a picture of her in her new shawl!

Coming Together!

It must have been the tiger who called them in!

6 + 2 tables today room 1 in West Street were overflowing with crafting activities and of old friends and guests!  Dry felting and wet felting, intro and advanced, and play scape all going on at once....

wet felting

So very new again and again: the magic of painting with wool.

And the creatures and other emerging people for the season to come.

 There has been lots going on today in this big room you love to see..

Please visit the photo album and enjoy the stories the pictures tell there from picture 18 to picture 47

Krygyz Nuno Felting and Angel/fairy creating

check out more on Laryna's work here http://creativefibercraftbylaryna.blogspot.com/ and also search for her and Shirin in our blog. We are so thrilled to have them both back next week!

Gathering in

Gnomie family in their new autumn into winter shelter at All Hallows Eve

It has been a time of 'gathering in' this autumn, and preparing for winter.
Our lives seem to get ever more hectic around us, but there is a stillness and softness in the air everywhere, and the golden glow of autumn...

carding and blending wool

We are using up our remnant wools and see what magical colours they turn in when blend together.
And try to work out what it could be that blend wants to turn into... ?

snow upon autumn fields...

Old friends came again this Saturday - which was fabulous!
See more on photoalbum here.

Earlier this month Jen was enjoying herself gloriously: teaching wet felting to a class of eager primary 1s and 2s kids and their teachers. It is just so amazing what wool can do to folks of all ages: brings out the glow!
(sorry no pics from that event, being a school event.)


And here is one very happy girl who got lucky: the braid she had started weaving on the inkle loom during the festival was given to her - secretly being completed by Christina, the weaver

Weekend away

the family is growing!

Your Maker friends (Jen, Ruth, Vicen) are all away this weekend, So sorry, hope you enjoy crafting all the same where ever you are - and yes, it would be lovely to have you send us pics?

We'll keep you posted of our next session, and yes, Shirin is back!

Meanwhile, not just the gnomy family is growing:

Festival presentation online now!

would it be good to have notes published, too, or do the slides speak for themselves enough?

Festival Family Ceilidh

Ceilidh at last - but ah, the time went flying!

Please click for more videos on the Arts Association' you tube channel,
and for photos on Peni Arts Facebook page .

The Arts Association has overtaken us on FB popularity, by the way! Still, we want you to 'like' them, good info there, too!