Felting Happy!

I have finally returned home from a long, tiring, but extremely fun weekend!
This weekend I have started a Foundation Course in felt, which leads to a City and Guilds Level 1 qualification in Textiles, with Artybrid up in Carnforth.  I first learnt about Artybird in 2011 when I attended my first Woolfest.  Me and my Mum oohed and ahhed over the beautiful sketchbooks and samples of the felting the students had made and I decided then that I wanted to be a felter - I even bought a kit to make a felt flower (which I never did make) in my enthusiasm to learn this art.  At that time, my weekends were rather hectic and I was unable to commit but, when I met them again at Woolfest, I knew that I had to do it!

So, after a few months of waiting for September to come around, trailing around shops to buy felting equipment (cane blinds, bubble wrap, dog brushes etc) and reading through the assignments for the first weekend, the day eventually came around and I was off up the M6 to learn how to felt.

The weekend has been amazing!  I have made some new crafty friends, taken a completley new perspective on colour, made paper collages, dyed fabric and made my first ever piece of felt (which apparently was really good!!).  My sketch book has started and I can't wait to spend more time on it next weekend, reflecting on what I have learnt and created so far. 

If I write this post without giving credit to Mr Bunny, he may refuse to help in the future!  He made me the perfect sprinkler for felting and sorted out some old towels for me.  He is now tasked with creating me a washing line in the bathroom to dry all my dyed fabric (there just aren't enough radiators in the house!) and shortening my rather large broom handle into 2 smaller ones for felting).  Thank you Mr Bunny.

I have enjoyed it all so much that I want to do it again tomorrow - I can't wait for the next weekend!
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On a completley different, but not completley unrelated, note, The Gingerbread Bunny stall was out and about in Liverpool today at a belly dance event.  My assistant Bunnies (Mum and Janice), kindly looked after the stall and did a brilliant job!  I may hire them again!  Thank you x

What happened to summer?

Well, summer has disappeared - did it ever really arrive? Despite the odd sunny day, it has pretty much rained and been miserable and now it is pretty chilly to! For some this is bad news but for us knitters and crocheters it means we can finally get on with cowls, scarfs, jumpers and cardigans in smooshy yarns without worrying about overheating (like that was ever a problem!)

I have a queue as long as my arm of items I want to make and I still have my Pax shawl and Fresh Stitches Dragon to finish before I even start something else! I have yarn and patterns ready to go once they are finished - my stash is pretty large at the moment and keeps getting larger!

Now that autumn has arrived, I also have the start of my City and Guilds felting course this weekend (squeal!) and I have enrolled on a 6 week dressmaking course at night school starting in September. Add to this lots if making to sell at a belly dance event and I'm a pretty busy person - will I find time to make for me?

So, eventhough summer has gone, autumn is the season of the knitter and crocheter and it is time to dig deep in your stash and get working on that sweater that's been in your Ravelry queue for ages!

(below is a picture to remind you of the summer - it was taken on my birthday way back in June when it was warm enough to eat ice-cream)

The Hills are Alive Part 2 - New Kids on the Block!

As promised, here is part 2 of The Hills are Alive - crafty podcasts I love to listen to whilst I'm sewing, crocheting, knitting etc etc etc

Part 2 is appropriatley called New Kids on the Block as these are (relatively) new podcasts.  Hopefully, there will be a podcast here that is new to you that you can try out!

Shinybees
The Shinybees podcast is in it's infancy - there are infact only 3 episodes so far but it promises to be a brilliant podcast.  The host, Jo, is originally from England (infact, we have been friends for 15 years and I am godmother to her daughter so I know her pretty well and may be slightly biased about his one!) but now resides in South Africa.  She talks about her sewing and knitting as well as her experiences in South Africa in a friendly and chatty way that is easy to listening.  Well worth downloading!!

Knit.Spin.Cake
I love Knit.Spin.Cake.  A podcast that has been around for a year now with a gorgeous Geordie presenter who not only talks about craft but also about cake and Doctor Who!  There is lots of chat about knitting, spinning and sewing - another fabulous podcast

Crochet Chat
You do not know how excited I was to find  a podcast dedicated to crochet!  The lovely Stacey Trock, who is Amercian, presents this podcast which has only been around since March this year.  She chats about crochet and it is fabulous!  Stacey is also the lovely Fresh Stitches and her amigurmi designs are truly awesome and well worth checking oout on her website and on Ravelry.  If you are a keen crocheter, this is the podcast for you!

So, that rounds up the podcasts I listen to.  I love them all because they are all so different and inspiring.  They are all available to download from iTunes and I hope you found something new to listen to whilst crafting!

Sarah x