Lavender Harvest...

I try to leave cutting the lavender for as long as I dare! It always seems a shame to cut it when the flowers still look wonderful, but it needs to be done before they 'go over' so they retain the oils & fragrance. I have a late flowering variety 'Imperial Gem' which can be left until late July, but it also depends on the weather and how busy we are with other things.  Fortunately we've just had some dry days so the time was right..

We have about 30 bushes, which produce plenty of lavender. It's cut in the evening after a warm dry day, tied into bunches with elastic bands and hung up to dry. As I work along the rows I'm battling with the bees who get quite cross as their flowers slowly disappear...

KC assembles temporary bamboo cane racks in the garage, which are perfect for hanging the bunches and well spaced to allow for the air to circulate.  Old sheets are suspended underneath to catch the dried flowers. The drying process may take a couple of weeks depending on the weather conditions.

Our sloping garden, with it's chalky soil, is perfect for growing lavender and 'Imperial Gem' is a great variety, producing lots of deep purple flowers. The dried lavender has a very strong long-lasting fragrance and natural insect-repellent qualities.

I use lavender around the house to help keep moths & bugs away from my precious wools and felt fabrics. I fill bags, pincushions and felt lavender birds, and I've even been known to make lavender scones! It's a wonderful versatile plant with so many applications and it's a great pleasure to grow & harvest it and to be able to use it in so many ways... 

I shall be bringing along some of this year's harvest to 'Art at Turf Walk' on Saturday 27th August, plus plenty of bags of dried lavender and many of my felt products.

Let's hope the weather stays dry...

After the Events...

Just winding down now after Open Studios…  It's been a fantastic hectic two weeks. We had 620 people visit us at the Freshwater Parish Hall over a very wet weekend, which may have played in our favour as people lingered in the dry, browsing and enjoying Penny's homemade cakes.

Then we had some lovely sunny days at Quarr where a further 1,001 visitors came through the gallery doors. The Abbey looked very summery & peaceful in the July sunshine, with the gardens full of flowers & fruit trees, swallows roosting in the gallery eaves and I found some wonderful places to photograph the new pots…

Open Studios at Freshwater was where it all started for me last year and it's hard to believe that it's just one year ago that I came away with my visitor's book full of lovely comments and requests for workshops, not really knowing then what to do! 

This year, one year on, I'm looking through a visitor's book full of similar requests so the workshops continue with lots of new people keen to learn to make felt. But there's another aspect to it all - my 'students' came back to show me what they've been working on, still wanting to learn more. So from this feedback I'm putting together a programme for this autumn, with workshops for beginners plus some new ideas for those who wish to continue trying something different.

A very big THANK YOU to everyone who came along to Open Studios and helped to make it such an enjoyable success. It's lovely to have the opportunity to talk to so many enthusiastic people who all seem to share such an interest in felt...  Including the lady who came over from the mainland specifically to find out more about my workshops, the woodturner who wants to incorporate felt into his work and the gentleman who has asked me to repair his favourite Bavarian felt coat, bought over 30 years ago and although badly ripped he hadn't the heart to throw away...  I'm looking forward to the challenge!

And finally I must mention Paulette, who came along to one of my first workshops with her sister Jacqui and has now started to teach felt making to a group of ladies with learning difficulties. Some of these ladies have never been given the opportunity to do anything like felt making before, or to handle the fibres and craft materials that we take for granted in our creative lives. The colours and softness of the wool together with the gentle simplicity of the technique has produced some amazing results and they have really responded to her teaching...

It's such a wonderful story...  and it's just the beginning! 

Felt Slippers Workshop News...

The first two Felt Slippers workshops have been a great success! All credit to the sheer determination and hard work of everyone involved - especially during the first Saturday when I'm sure the temperatures in the conservatory at Madeira House must have peaked to well over 100° F…! It was like a furnace, even with three fans going BUT hardly a complaint and everyone went home with a smile, a PAIR of slippers and a great sense of achievement...

When I first thought about this workshop I wasn't sure how best to organise things? We don't have a great deal of working space in the conservatory, using the traditional 'two boot' shaped resist would have been difficult, so I decided to use a simple 'slip-on' mule shape which everyone could easily size to their own foot and flip over for the pair.

We started by measuring our feet (always a good laugh!) allowing a 3cm allowance for shrinkage, then cut out the resists.  Most had made bags & bowls before, although a couple were new to working in 3-D. Having laminated instructions handy for everyone while they work is invaluable. Even I find it difficult to remember what layer and side I'm at. No comment ! I blame the heat!! And it did get very, very hot...

I got everyone to complete their first slipper to the point where the resist was removed, then to start on the second, bringing it to this same stage. It is easier to duplicate the cutting lines before they get too stretched, then both slippers can be rolled and worked on together in the final felting & shaping stages - this cuts down on time & energy physically rolling and helps to better ensure a matching pair. Lots more workshop photos here.

I did briefly explain how to make soles for the slippers, but I've recently discovered a new latex product called Sock-stop which can be painted onto felt slippers & knitted socks, and comes in a variety of colours. It improves grip, stops slipping on shiny floors and protects your slipper soles.  I've just ordered some so let me know if you would like more details.

At the end of the day the slippers did need some final felting but I suggested that when everyone got home they filled a bowl with warm soapy water, put on their slippers and soaked & rubbed them on their feet. Nice relaxing way to end a very warm day of felting!  Pat, Michaela & Karen even said they were going to wear theirs to the music Festival this weekend. Now that would be worth a photo ladies…!

  

I must also mention my 'real' Mongolian slippers, they must be at least a size 15 - but aren't they fantastic! Jane bought them back from her recent travels there. They inspired me to try making a pair of 'fairy' slippers with pointy toes...

These colours are not really very fairy-like - I actually think they are rather wicked so I've re-named them the 'Goblin boots' with thoughts of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market...

Now I think they need some needle felted spots to match my jacket...?

Following Rupert (Part 1)...

A small diversion from felting, and it's back to the day job...

Around this time of year I make a start on the artwork for the Followers of Rupert Annual get-together that takes place each summer. My pieces of artwork are used for all the printed matter for this weekend event - from T-shirts and badges, to programmes, menu cards, committee badges & lunch tickets. Here are some from previous years, click on the photos to enlarge…

I've already discussed ideas with Tony Griffin, the Annual organiser, and this year we're using one of Tony's favourite Alfred Bestall illustrations  "Rupert photographing The Chums" from the 1964 Annual. I've used it for the button badge design and now I'm drawing it up for the programme cover. I'm also using the 1964 cover as a starting point for the second piece of artwork.

 

I only draw Rupert once a year, and then just copy and re-work Alfred Bestall's existing illustrations. I start by working out a rough sketch for the new design and try and capture the style as best I can. It's not an exact copy as I have to alter and move various elements to fit the new A4 formats, plus leave space for headings & text. As you can see it's just pencil and rubber at this stage.

When I'm happy with this sketch I then trace it down, onto a smooth Fabriano watercolour paper, refine the pencil line and then ink in with Rotring pen line. The drawing is then coloured in using Dr Martins watercolour inks.  My colours are much brighter than the original, after all I'm copying an old printed book cover that is faded and discoloured with age. 

As a child I was bought up on Rupert annuals and they are very much a part of my visual memories. I have a sizeable collections of the old annuals going back to the 1930's and this particular 1964 annual was mine as a child. All the Magic Paintings have been done I'm afraid - and not very neatly - first steps towards a career in book illustration! Years later I studied AB's drawings & pen work with a different eye, marvelling at his imagination, skill and continuity in drawing Rupert for almost 40 years. I even wrote to him to tell him of my admiration, and received a very shaky reply, written on Boxing Day 1985 two weeks before he died. It's one of my most treasured possessions.  

With this particular cover the more you look into it, the more bizarre it seems, even for the 1960's!  Rupert rock climbing with The Chums, most unsuitably dressed in formal jackets & bowties, although Rupert is looking remarkably casual in his red 'sweatshirt' . Poor Edward Trunk just hasn't got the paws for climbing, nor has the Fish! But I love the colour and the elements of design - the elegant Japanese style trees, the blossom and the rock formations.

You might notice that my Rupert has a white head as opposed to the brown headed version on the 1964 cover. Why? Well Rupert and The Chums are traditionally drawn with white faces, hands and boots in all the story strips and incidental drawings throughout the annuals, and only appear completely coloured in on the covers & endsheets - so I've decided to keep them white in keeping with these drawings.  

These pieces of A/W will now be scanned before I send off the originals to the Followers. (They have been used as Raffle prizes in past years!) We will use the scanned images to create the designs for all the printed material, which will be put together in a couple of months time. With items like the committee & guest badges and the table place cards I will be handwriting all the names…  so I'll be practising my calligraphy! 

And you can catch up with the next stage of the production here

in the meantime there's more info' on the Followers of Rupert website and if you want to join the Followers there's a fantastic offer at the moment for new members - in the price of a year's membership you will get over £30 of extra Rupert goodies for FREE…

For more details contact the Membership Secretary : agriffog@btinternet.com           

Happy Birthday! Weavers, Spinners & Dyers...

The Isle of Wight Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers was founded in the 1980s by a group of like-minded people, who shared a common interest in these traditional crafts. This year the Island Guild is celebrating it's 30th Anniversary and has organised an exhibition of members' work at Ventnor Botanic Gardens taking place this week. "Twined Threads" is a marvellous display of hand-spun yarns, knitted & woven textiles, dyed fibres and felted designs as you can see here... 

Not being a spinner or weaver I felt a bit of an interloper when I first joined the Guild about 6 years ago, really as a way of keeping in touch with other feltmakers on the island - but I was made so welcome. It is a wonderful, friendly group and I really enjoy being amongst enthusiastic like-minded ladies, all sharing their amazing knowledge & skills. Monthly meetings are held at Rookley Village Hall and members enjoy a varied & interesting programme of events and workshops, covering all aspects of weaving, spinning & dyeing, plus related textile crafts such as feltmaking. 

  

Practical workshops are held regularly throughout the year and the Dyeing Days are a particular favourite. We all get-together, usually on a very hot summer's day and boil up pots of natural dyes over open fires. Brilliant coloured skeins are left hanging to dry in the trees and bushes, and ladies sit spinning in the shade waiting for the dyes to brew - it really is a magical day!  Not having hand-spun wool I take along small skeins of Jamieson's unbleached Shetland 2-ply to add to the dye pots and I now have a wonderful collection of natural dyed wools.

One of the highlights of the last couple of years was taking part in the Medina yurt project, which involved a number of schools and community groups island-wide. The Guild was invited to produce a 6ft square felt panel for the yurt and my design was chosen. We all worked together on this huge panel, making prefelts, cutting out and positioning the felt shapes onto layers of Blue Face Leicester fleece and finally rolling and felting it all together. A high percentage of Island fleece was used, all hand dyed by Chris Lines, the co-ordinator of the project and Guild member. It was great fun to be involved, hard work and an amazing achievement. Here are some photos and there's more if you follow this link …

The "Twined Threads" exhibition at Ventnor Botanic Gardens is on for this week, 1st - 6th May, in the Echium Room and if you are interested in textiles it's well worth a visit. Admission is free and it's open from 10 - 4pm each day. There will be Guild members on hand to give you more information... 

Merino Tops Fibre Packs… UPDATE!

The huge fibre order finally arrived a couple of days ago, but I hadn't quite appreciated just how bulky a 20+ kilo parcel would be! KC had to help the poor postman man-handle it up our very steep drive...

...But I was ordering for the summer workshops, including the children's Fibre Days, plus all the Merino tops needed to make up packs. And some for me… It was just like Christmas and my birthday, which coincidently happened to be a couple of days ago. It's been a week of parcels arriving!

And it's taken us several days to sort it all out, to put fibres aside for workshops, make up packs and store everything away. Fortunately KC is incredibly organised, as you can probably tell, but we did have to dash out for more storage boxes...

The original idea behind the packs was to be able to offer them at the workshops, enabling those who were keen, to continue making felt when they got home. Each pack contains enough coloured tops to make several sample pieces of flat felt (which can be made into a book cover or a purse). There's sufficent to make a bag or bowl, or lots of felt jewellery. I've had so many enquiries recently about the packs that I've decided to make them more widely available and sell them on-line. 

There are five packs with different colourways, as shown here : Pinks & Purples; Hot Reds & Oranges; Natural shades, including Blue Faced Leicester tops; Olive Greens & Browns and Aqua Blues & Lilacs. Each pack contains six different coloured lengths of Merino tops, each approx 36". Although the lengths are approximate the minimum weight of the total fibre is 100gms. There is also a 40gm sachet of grated olive oil soap in each pack. Everything you need to get going!

Some people who are new to feltmaking ask about the Merino Tops. Merino wool is one of the best for beginners as it felts very easily and is available in a wide range of colours. 'Tops' is a manufacturing term, describing fleece that has been cleaned, carded & processed so that all the fibres lay in the same direction, in a continuous rope-thick length that can easily be pulled out in tufts.

The packs are £6.00 each and are available to buy on-line through my Folksy shop, where you will find further details, and payments can be made via PayPal. If you do live on the Island you can always contact me direct : gc.felts@freeuk.com I can either post the packs to you or you can come and collect them...   

A Week of Workshops...

This week of workshops has certainly been a week of contrasts. I had a group of 6 year olds making pop-up cards on Monday afternoon, 10 year olds making Egyptian projects all day Wednesday and a group of ladies making felt on Thursday. 

The felt making took place at Dimbola Lodge as part of their season of taster workshops. I do wonder what Julia Margaret Cameron would have thought about these 'goings on' in her home. Our group of beginners were quite a snug fit in the upstairs room that used to be Julia's study, next door to her bedroom. I'm sure all the laughter and creative energy roused her spirit and she would have greatly approved. Dimbola has such a wonderful atmosphere and we're made so very welcome there, with great hospitality & home-made cakes! And such a lovely group of ladies, which made the day. All were experienced craft workers, just new to felting. Enthusiastic, amusing and really good company. All worked hard to produce lots of brilliant pieces of felt and there's more photos on my Flickr pages...

 

On Wednesday I was back in school with a class of 10 year olds. Several years ago I'd written a craft series called 'Art from the Past' and the Cat Mummys was a favourite project from the Egyptians book. This was a good opportunity to see how these children got on with making them…  And they loved it, especially the boys, transforming cardboard tubes and newspaper into cat mummy shapes. They left the glue to dry over lunch, then bandaged and painted them in the afternoon (probably a bit like the ancient Egyptians..?)

I don't know whether I might be driving my 6 year olds a bit hard on Monday afternoons, I did have tears from one little girl last week, but I thought I'd press on with pop-ups this week. Ben did complain that his Tiger didn't look much like mine… I tried to explain that I did have a slight 50 year advantage, but he wasn't convinced!

The common thread with all the workshops, whatever the age range, is the passing on of practical knowledge. I have always 'made things' - I've been very fortunate - it's been part of my upbringing and way of life, and it was my occupation as a writer & illustrator of children's craft books. Now these workshops are a new departure for me, putting knowledge into practice...

They're proving to be a great challenge, a little bit scary, but good fun!