In February Region 9 held a Felt Festival open to all. A series of four workshops were attended by IFA members from five different regions. Tutors were Valborg Mortensen from Norway teaching Spiral Hats and Bags, Anna Gunnarsdottir from Iceland teaching Hand-stitched Leather Bags and later Jackets, Anoraks and Shrugs and also from Region 9 itself Barbara Meek teaching the Osman technique. Below are accounts of the workshops by 3 of the students who like all of us really enjoyed their creative time. If you are a new member and have not yet made it to one of our meetings, do try and join us some time. We can promise you a lot of fun! Equally members from other regions are very welcome to join us. Please see diary dates for details of other workshops this year.

Melanie Bermingham

Valborg Mortensen – Spiral Hats and Bags

We have just returned from a wonderful two days with Valborg Mortensen in Lichfield, arranged by Melanie Bermingham as part of a felt event in Region 9. My group made spiral bags and hats and in the process learned all manner of tips and wrinkles, which will be extremely useful in future work. We were all experienced feltmakers, so we were able to work quickly and achieve two pieces of work over the two days. Valborg’s work is dramatic in effect and meticulous in execution. Her spiral bags are beautiful and the hat technique creates a very versatile item, as witnessed by the fact that no two hats will be worn in the same way. She was a giving and attentive teacher, spotting quickly where felt needed to work more and helping us to correct what might be a problem further down the line, whilst standing back and making us make creative decisions for ourselves. I for one will never worry about small holes in felt again, because I can correct them using Valborg’s methods. Previously, I have always made seamless items with template additions by joining the templates before starting work, and this has always made an awkward piece around the join when laying out the fibres; Valborg joins the soft felt to create her spirals and this is much easier. We all came away buzzing with ideas. All in all, a very successful two days. Thank you Melanie and Valborg!

Lyn Griffiths

Hand-stitched Leather Bags -  Anna Gunnarsdottir

Osman technique – Barbara Meek

On Saturday 23rd February a group of us stood admiring a hanging which Barbara Meek had made on a visit to Mehmet Girgic in Turkey. Barbara was very keen to pass on the information about the Osman technique which she had learnt there and we were inspired to produce a small panel in the same style as Barbara’s large hanging. This technique depends on laying out the fibres working from the top surface to the bottom so as we started to roll we could no longer see our design. We rubbed and we rolled and we rubbed some more and at the end of the day we all went away very pleased with our pieces which featured flowers, fans and more stylised patterns. It was a very successful day which we all enjoyed and all learnt a good deal.

Ursula Greenwood

Jackets, Anoraks and Shrugs – Anna Gunnarsdottir

We are pleased to announce a rather unique opportunity to attend a residential felting symposium on the island of Gotland (You know the sheep but have you ever met the wool??) between July 30 – August 3.2008.

The price includes all accomodation and meals, two workshops, field trips, exhibitions and lectures by innovative felters from Gotland, Sweden, Estonia, and Finland. Some of the workshops are truly unique, using techniques you will find nowhere else...

More precise information about the workshops and a detailed programme will follow later... the price is between 4000 and 5000 SKR (Swedish Kronor) depending on the accomodation.

Please contact: Birgitta Nygren, Visby. Tel +46 (0) 498 217160. E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Gotland itself is a place of legend, not only because of Ingmar Bergman, but even 1100 years ago it was already the most important centre of trade in the Baltic. Hordes of Arab Dirhams have been discovered in huge quantities and the island is littered with Viking graves and carved stones... The symposium coincides with Gotlands Medieval week (http://www.medeltidsveckan.se/default.asp) which is a wonderful week-long festival with all kinds of madness and medieval mayhem, from the street market within the walls of Visby, to Knights on horseback jousting for the ladies... (and I wouldn't argue with these guys... unless you are a viking too of course...)

Nuno Felt by Liz Clay

Unfortunately the review did not make it into the latest Felt Matters so it is supplied here

Review

Nuno and Felt is a marriage of woven fabric and fibres. This alliance allows Liz Clay to pursue her artistry over the medium with subtle, inspirational subversions. Using pebbles as fortuitous interlopers, or in her masterly apprehension of the gossamer translucence of fibres into wearable forms, which is where her greatest innovation lies. In this book, she shares her secrets.