Wellington Area Felting Retreat

Trudi Karl has summarised the weekend felt retreat at Otaki very well - I am very grateful to her for her report. I apologise for the quality of photos, as I forgot to take my camera (!?what and I'm editor!?) so had to rely on my cell phone.

Enjoy Trudi's report 

OTAKI FELT RETREAT 16 – 19 February 2012 - Trudi Karl

This was a first time experience for me. While I had been felting for a few months, I realised I still had a lot to learn.

What an experience.

Wow.

Jenny with some of her stash.
An example of what all felters bring with
them on these working weekends

I didn’t take any projects with me. I had been told to only use a specific type of wool and was waiting for the dealer to arrive in order to check her colours. (little did I know that she wasn’t turning up till Sat afternoon).

I used the time to learn. And boy did I learn a lot.

New Felter Anne giving an
account of her experience

As Anne ‘with an E’ said at the ‘show and tell’, there was so much to learn, and the other felters were all so helpful and patient, happy to share their knowledge with the newbies.

It was wonderful to see that when one of our ladies was frustrated with a pair of infant booties that would have fit a 10 yr old, she was shown that by continuing to work the fleece, the booties shrunk down to the required size. Then she was shown how to continue working the booties in order to soften them. Fantastic. This ‘working the fleece till it shrunk’ came in handy when one of our ladies made a Yurt.



...to this 'Yurt' Bag

From This to....

Desirable Baby Boots

WOW. I WAS IMPRESED.

It soon became apparent, however, that the tent was supposed to be a large bag. (oops)

Well …with my new found knowledge, I was able to tell her ‘keep working it’. Others went to her aid, and in a short space of time she had her piece down to’ walkable’ size. It became a ‘surrogate’ pet.

Audrey Sangster showing Bridget the
finer points in silk paper making

‘silk hankies’ became squares of silk, not the hankies that my grandfather had used to blow his nose.

‘wool tops’ became another word for ‘wool roving’ and not the ‘curls’ on the end of the sheep’s’ fleece.

 Paper silk. O Wow. Awesome. Definitely going to (attempt to) make my own.

Maggie Atkins working
on her sculpture

Needle felting. Fantastic flowers. The ‘beret’ that became a vessel – who would have thought?

Isobel's tumeric dying and fabulous wrap

Jelly and turmeric dying – you learn something new every day.

Going into town, searching the shops for a ‘mold’. Eventually settling on a xmas pudding container. The bonus being the pudding.

Lynn giving a personal fitting

Bernice and her production line

To see beautiful sleeveless vests/boleros being churned out at a great rate – inspiring.

Megan's bedspread making
an appearance

From the scientist turning out a beautiful bedspread, to the ‘rousey’ who (apart from keeping us in hysterics later on in the evening) showing us another method of making flowers, to her roomie who showed us how to assess a fleece, (as well as creating a few disturbances in camp) the knowledge, and sharing thereof, was amazing. 

Tracy's flowers

Wool Classing demonstration with
Yvonne Monk and Denise Sandall

Learning hands-on

Heather Turner's creation

 The creation of the ‘Clampet’ hat was an experience I will never forget – no matter how hard I try.

The beautiful lady whose husband cooked her dinner and was waiting for her to come home and eat – despite the fact she had told him she would be eating with us on site, your flower was AWESOME.

Edna demonstrates using a sander

Seeing all the different tools used in felting – sander, using a sushi mat to beat a piece into submission, washboard, Tupperware lid, foot massager – all added to my knowledge.

Finished Wooly Art work

Being one of the tallest ladies on site, I found out NOT to use the first shower cubicle. I also found out which toilet door had no lock, and which one to avoid because the door jammed and being stuck in the loo was not necessarily something I wanted to repeat.

 A BIG THANK YOU to all those there.  

To the girls in the kitchen – many thanks. I haven’t eaten so well in ages (my cooking skills are not that great).

Lynn demonstrates one way to
use Earth Pallett Dyes as
a painter would use paints

To those that stayed up into the wee small hours - My body is still sore from all the laughter.

Kay & Alison sharing the load

I have learnt so much. I have so, so many ideas of what I want to do. If I can turn out at least one of everything I saw during the weekend, in the following 12 months, I will be happy.

Colleen and her volcanoes

Prue finishing a blanket, Barbara
discusses a finer point and at the back,
 serious shopping at traders stands

A special thank you to my mentor of the weekend. I have learned so much from you, and not all of it to do with felting.




Marion Valentine's
liquorice allsorts
were a great hit!

Guess what this years’ gifts’ are going to be.

Margaret Flack's version of
Kathrine O'Leary's technique

Bridget Pearsall working away at her hat

Must go. Projects just waiting to happen. Hoping to see you all next year.