Tis’ the season for shearing sheep.  Here are a couple of options if you’re interested in processing your own.

SHEEP FLEECES FOR SALE

We have unwashed white sheep fleeces for sale from our farm in Co.Kildare.

• Suitable for spinning, felting or other wool crafts.
• Staple length 3-4 inches.
• From Texel cross, Suffolk and Cheviot  ewes.
• 4 euros per kg  – average fleece is 2.5kg.
• Hand picked over for vegetable matter and dung.

Contact  Brid og on(045) 841912  or  bridognorrby@yahoo.ie

Fionntan Gogarty of Sea,Sky,Shore Gallery Westport has a small flock of Soay, Jacob and Friesian sheep and is offering their fleeces for FREE when the sheep are shorn in a few days time, if anyone is interested please make contact with him by email ……. seaskyshore@eircom.net   or call him 098 2712

Let us know how the fleeces work for felting!  We’d love pictures for the magazine.

Fiona's Vessels

A great morning ahead

Our next Sunday Session will take place on Sunday next 12th June from 10.30-13.00 in the Visitors Centre of the Phoenix Park in Dublin. Fiona Harvey from Feltmakers North is going to  bring some of the lovely vessels she has made and guide us through the process of making hollow form vessels. Please bring along a basic feltmaking kit if you would like to try it out yourself. We may have to make very small vessels as the space is limited. Everyone is welcome.

And….while you are there you can visit the textile exhibition in the gallery downstairs. The 04Textile group do beautiful work and many of them are feltmakers. Their exhibition runs until the end of June. Here is an invitation to the exhibition.

running threads

Due to the visit of Queen Elizabeth there are traffic and parking restrictions in the Phoenix Park and so we can’t use the studio this week. We have moved the venue for next Wednesday (May 18th) evenings talk to the nearby Anglers rest pub. We will have upstairs to ourselves and there is a car park across the road. The Anglers rest is only about 500m from the studio.  There is a link to a map below – any questions pleases call Sheila on 087 7738282

http://maps.google.ie/maps/ms?t=h&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=212269660918540604753.000495e2e7ccfee4aafe4&source=embed&ll=53.359388,-6.359773&spn=0.019183,0.038581&z=15

We are all recovering from a terrific day on Sunday when we held our Felt Frenzy and AGM – thanks to everyone who made it such a success. We are so sorry to lose three fantastic committee members – Colleen Prendiville, Cristina Garcia & Elaine Peden. Each of them has made a significant contribution to the organisation.

We are delighted to announce a visit by fibre artist Elis Vermeulen to our studio next week. She will be sharing her experience about her work and about Felt United which she co-founded. If you would like to attend please text Sheila on 0877738282 to book a place (space in the studio is limited so they are on a first come basis) – the talk takes place on Wednesday 18th May 2011 -7-9pm in Feltmakers Studio, Knockmaroon Gate, Phoenix Park, Dublin.

You can see some of Elis’s work on the link below.

http://elisvermeulen.wordpress.com/

We received an invitation to Filament’s exhibition opening to share with our members, click here to view Latitudes Postcard

Next Sunday the 8th May 2011 is our annual bash. We have invited members who are also wool producers/sellers, we will have an exhibition of work and are having demonstrations of techniques and materials, we will be eating lots of yummy homemade cake and generally having fun with other felt enthusiasts.

The stall holders this year are the Wool Initiative who supply the most beautiful fleece from native and rare breeds. We also have a stand from Craftspun Yarn in Naas and the Yarn Room from Ashford. Eamonn Murray will also be there with some of the beautiful wooden hat blocks and felt tools that he makes. All of the stall holders are donating spot prizes for some lucky winners.

We will have four demonstration areas – this is the “frenzy part:

Sheila Ahern & Maria Melvin showing how to work with fleece straight off the sheep (there will be a surprise guest – shhhh), they will share their passion for native breeds and all things woolly.

Holly & Angle & Kathrina Hughes will demonstrate the drum carder and our new baby “Wild” carder which can card just about anything.

Elizabeth Bonner & Rosemary McCarthy Morrough will have a silk treasure table where you can learn abut the huge variety of silk fabric and fibre that is available – tussah, chiffon, habotai, throwsters waste etc

Clodagh MacDonagh and Liz Nicholls will guide people through the merino maze of all the different types of tops, rovings, batts, 100′s 64′s  etc that felters use.

The event is being held in the Church of Ireland Parish Center hall in Lucan village from  1-4pm

Everyone is welcome. Please bring along some of your work for the exhibition table and wear some felt. Looking forward to seeing you there.

The next Sunday Session is on in the Visitors Centre of the Phoenix Park at 10.30 on the 10th April. Niki Collier will be giving a talk abut her textile experiences in Shanghai. If you are coming along please note that there is a major athletics race in the park and there are lots of road and gate closures. Gave a look at this link for more details http://www.phoenixpark.ie/newsevents/title,15715,en.html

You are invited to attend

Feltmakers Ireland

Felt Frenzy and AGM

In the Church of Ireland parish Centre Lucan village

On Sunday May 8th 2011  – 14.00 to 16.00

Feltmakers Ireland is holding their AGM on the second Sunday in May. Many of our members have shops and will have stalls at the AGM offering plenty of browsing and shopping opportunities. We will also have a “frenzy” of felt demonstrations ongoing throughout the afternoon.

The AGM offers all members an opportunity to have a say in how the organisation works. If you would like to submit a motion to the AGM please send it to the Chairperson Suzanne Phelan – phelansuz@eircom.net. All suggestions and comments are very welcome. We would also like to invite nominations to the committee and we urge anyone interested in taking part to please consider putting their name forward. All motions and nominations must be received by the end of April. Please wear (or bring along) some of your fabulous felt creations.

Looking forward to seeing you on May 8^th

A big thank you to Angela O’Kelly who gave a workshop for our members last week-end in Collins Barracks – she is a fantastic teacher (as well as a very talented designer and jeweler).  There was such a huge interest in the workshop that we had to plan a second one, which Angela very kindly agreed to, and so there are 12 lucky people who will be attending the next on on the 16th of April.

One of our members Sharon Wells has been running a textile project in her children’s school. Here’s an article she wrote about it, her energy and enthusiasm is fantastic

St Philomena’s textile exh (1)

Notice on the  Year of Craft website: http://www.craftinireland.com/

St Philomena’s National School, Ravenswell, Bray, have made craft pieces for a school exhibition in mixed media and fabric to mark the Year of Craft 2011.

The theme of the exhibition is Nature and the Sea and contains 11 pieces of textile and craft compiled by students from Junior Infants to Sixth class. They have used fabric, fibres, threads, and paper and have created the displays using a selection of crafts such as sewing and appliqué, feltmaking, weaving, silk papermaking, knitting, crochet, 3d model making and mixed media construction, fabric sculpture, fabric manipulation, art journaling and fabric collage.  Teacher Sharon Wells has also created a felted vessel which will be used to collect the comments of the students and families at the end of the exhibition on specially made silk paper.

The Exhibition will open on Monday 4th Aprill at 11am and will be officially opened by Helen Curran Weather and Continuity Announcer at RTE. It will be available for viewing during that week during certain school hours. Public should ring the school to check times.