Christmas Crafts at Quarr

With just a week to go before our Christmas event I visited the Abbey today to check over final details. I always find visiting Quarr an uplifting experience. It looked particularly beautiful today. The red brick structure of the Abbey really glowed in the November sunshine, surrounded by the colours of autumn. The pigs are always pleased to see any visitor, they charge towards you as soon as they hear you crunching along the pathway from the car park.

I hope many of you will be able to come to our crafts event. It's an opportunity to leave the bustle of town behind for a couple of hours and come Christmas shopping for those special gifts, in this peaceful setting.

The Abbey, the Pilgrims Chapel and the Bookshop will be open and you can enjoy home-made teas & lunches in the Monastery Garden Café. Admission and parking are free. You can check out the times of daily services on the Quarr Abbey website.

Don't forget to bring a couple of windfalls for the pigs. Not sure whether I should be saying this, but they are beginning to expect them! 

First steps...

I had been thinking about putting a blog together for a while and I'm really pleased to have finally done so, especially as this first post is all about my first felt making workshops that took place this October in Freshwater. The idea materialised during Open Studios in the summer, when over 30 people asked did I do workshops? I'd never considered it, but I took their details anyway. Then West Wight Landscape Partnership asked if I'd like to make use of premises available through Cuckoo, their empty shop project, where these temporary spaces are utilised as studios by local artists - so I jumped at the chance and let everyone know.   I organised a series of one-day workshops for beginners, in which the basic techniques of felt making were explained, with everyone aiming to make one or more pieces of flat felt, experimenting with blending colours & textures.The results were truly amazing! The sheer inventiveness of the participants, in their designs and end-projects, are here to see on my flickr pages. Some had a really clear purpose in mind, most just enjoyed using the vibrant coloured fibres to create stunning pieces of fabric. But everyone seems keen to continue making felt… ...So, hopefully there will be more workshops to follow in the New Year. More for beginners, as well as for those who wish to progress on to more advanced projects - making 3-D shapes, soft pots & bowls, as well as felt jewellery & bags. Watch this space!

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