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Of Interest: European Wool Day in Tralee, Co Kerry – the 28th of March

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

The Irish Grown Wool Council and Sharon Wells are excited to announce that Ireland has been selected as the host country for European Wool Day 2026!

Bringing together sheep farmers, designers, makers, researchers, crafters, educators, practitioners and those with a general interest in wool from across the island of Ireland and Europe to celebrate wool’s role in sustainability, circular economies and cultural heritage.


More information at https://lnkd.in/gYMQgRhe and https://ewe.network/ewd2026/

Register: Conference registration bookings at https://bit.ly/EWD26booking

Call for applications to present is open at www.ewe.network/ewd2026/

Co-hosts & Sponsor: Many thanks to the co-hosts, the European Wool Exchange Foundation, Circular Bioeconomy Cluster, Centre for Applied Bioscience Research (CABR), and sponsors, including FutureIslandIsland, and REVEIRE

Additional sponsorship opportunities are available.

Join in celebrating wool, connection, and collaboration at #EWD26 in Co Tralee, Ireland.

Instagram: @irish_grown_wool_council_ @sharonwellsart @ewe_foundation__ 

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Featured

Reminder: Membership Renewal Time

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland


It’s now THAT time of year – time to renew your Feltmakers Ireland membership. Our membership is valid for a calendar year, from January to December.

Good News:

If you joined Feltmakers Ireland through the Dublin Fibre Festival in October (or later), your membership will automatically roll over and remain valid through 2026.

Why Renew? Member Benefits Include:

Monthly Sunday Sessions

Take part in our popular Sunday Sessions, featuring hands-on felting, Textile Journeys, and more opportunities to learn and connect. We now have monthly meetings in County Galway too!

Exhibitions and Shows

Members are eligible to participate in our annual exhibition and additional group shows. In 2026, we will be exhibiting at:

  • Phoenix Park Visitor Centre (April)
  • European Wool Day, Tralee (May)
  • A group exhibition at The Leitrim Design House later in the year

Public Demonstrations of Feltmaking

Eligible members can demonstrate feltmaking to the public. In 2025, we shared the magic of feltmaking at:

  • Bloom
  • Two August Craft Month Open Days
  • Tullamore Show
  • Dublin Fibre Festival
  • Fibreshed Ireland’s Textile Market

Workshops & Learning Opportunities

Members can register for Feltmakers Ireland workshops. In 2025, these included:

  • Two multi-day workshops with international tutors
  • Our annual Fine Felt Workshop
  • Our Basic & Beyond course

Promotion & Visibility

  • Have your felting classes listed on our Resources Page
  • Share your exhibitions, courses, and other news on our blog and social media*
  • Be part of our Guild’s raising the profile of Feltmaking

Community

Most importantly, membership means being part of the warm, supportive, and inspiring Feltmakers Ireland community.

*We aim to be inclusive and share all members’ news. However, due to time constraints, we may be unable to share all events. We are an all-volunteer organisation. Please send your news to feltmakersIE@gmail.com

Ready to Renew (or Join)?

To renew your membership (or join) Feltmakers Ireland, please visit our Membership Page –https://feltmakersireland.com/membership-application/

We look forward to another creative year!

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Exhibitions: 2 Sheila Hicks shows – Paris & San Francisco

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

There are two exhibitions of Sheila Hicks‘ work right now.

In Paris

The Quai Branly Museum brings together the work of American-born/Paris-based artist Sheila Hicks and the scholarship of Monique Lévi-Strauss through their 60-year friendship and shared passion for textiles.

The exhibition juxtaposes 20 historical textile pieces from the museum’s collection with 30 contemporary works by Sheila Hicks. Drawing inspiration from ancient Andean weaving, Hicks reinterprets fundamental textile gestures: knotting, weaving, braiding, coiling, and tying, revealing their enduring expressive power. There is also a large installation by Hicks at the entrance to the collections.

Where: The Quai Branly Museum, 37 Quai Jacques Chirac, 75007 Paris, France

The show runs until the 8th of March, 2026.

For more information, visit the Museum’s website – https://www.quaibranly.fr/en/exhibitions-and-events/at-the-museum/exhibitions/event-details/e/le-fil-voyageur

In San Francisco

Concurrently, but slightly farther away, there is also a solo exhibition of Hicks’ work at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).

The SFMOMA presentation features the artist’s comet-like works, marked by vivid, intersecting, and layered lines, alongside an intimate selection of small-scale pieces that reveal her ongoing daily explorations of new materials and structural possibilities. At the centre stands a monumental phare (Lighthouse): a soaring installation of suspended, twisting cords that serves as the exhibition’s visual and conceptual anchor. Reimagined installations of Hicks’s signature wrapped bâtons, along with large, brightly coloured fibre mounds, demonstrate her continual reinvention of materials and forms—a forward-looking practice she describes as “walking the tightrope into the future.”

The exhibition extends beyond the gallery with a large-scale outdoor commission in the museum’s fifth-floor sculpture garden.

This show runs until Autumn 2026.

Where: SFMOMA, 151 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA.

For more information, visit the museum’s website – https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/new-work-sheila-hicks/

Interview with Hicks

Note: There is a VERY inspiring interview with Sheila Hicks on the Louisiana Channel, an organisation which focuses on creating interviews with artists – https://channel.louisiana.dk/video/sheila-hickswere-crying-for-softness

Instagram links

Quai Branly Museum @quaibranly

SFMOMA @sfmoma

The artist’s Instagram @ateliersheilahicks

Open Call: Cnoc Buí Art Centre Accepting Exhibition Proposals for 2027

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

The Cnoc Buí Community Arts Centre invites exhibition proposals for their 2027 programme.

They welcome solo and group submissions from artists at all stages of their careers, working in any medium. This open call offers artists the opportunity to engage new audiences and be part of Cnoc Buí’s growing and vibrant exhibitions programme.

The Cnock Buí Community Arts Centre is located in Union Hall, West Cork, P81 X274

The deadline is noon, the 17th of February 2026.

For more information, visit their website: https://www.cnocbuiarts.ie/open-calls

Their Instagram: @cnocbuiarts

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Sunday Session

Sunday Session: Preparing for the ‘Water and Flow’ Exhibition with Mind Mapping & Photographing Artwork with your Phone

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

On Sunday, the 11th of January, we will host our first Feltmakers Ireland Sunday Session of 2026.

This month’s session is designed to inspire members as they begin creating felted artwork for our upcoming Annual Exhibition. The 2026 exhibition theme is “Water & Flow”, and the month-long show will take place in April at the Phoenix Park Visitors Centre.

More information about the exhibition, including how to apply, can be found HERE on our website – https://feltmakersireland.com/exhibition-application-2026-water-and-flow/

The session will be divided into two parts:

Mind Mapping for Creative Inspiration

Guild member Deirdre Crofts will guide participants through a mind-mapping exercise to help generate ideas and develop concepts related to the exhibition theme.

Photographing Felted Art with Your Phone

Member and photographer Ramona Farrelly will share practical tips for photographing felted artwork effectively with a mobile phone.

The Details:

When: Sunday, the 11th of January, 2026, 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM.

Where: CIE Sports Hall, Library Square, Inchicore, Kilmainham, Dublin, D8

Additional Information:

If you can, please bring a home-baked good to share and a travel mug (so we can reduce our use of disposable cups).

And, as this is the season of coughs and sneezes, please refrain from coming if you feel unwell. We do have the benefit of technology – there will be access via Zoom, although it is not quite as lovely as being with us in person.

We look forward to welcoming members for a creative and inspiring start to the year.

If you want to join or renew your membership, please do so via our Membership Page – https://feltmakersireland.com/membership-application/

Zoom Access to the Sunday Session:

We will email a Zoom link to all members who wish to attend virtually. Please check your email on Friday afternoon.

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Open Call: RHA Annual Exhibition 2026 – Accepting Submissions

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland


The Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts (RHA) Annual Exhibition is accepting submissions for its 196th exhibition. It is Ireland’s largest and longest-running open submission exhibition, and will be open to the public from Monday, the 25th of May, to Sunday, the 9th of August, with free admission at all times.

Open to all artists working in painting, drawing, print, sculpture, photography and architecture, the RHA Annual attracts a large public and critical audience.

Editor’s Note: There is a recap of 2024’s exhibition as several pieces included textile materials or techniques, including a piece by guild member Leiko Uchiyama – https://feltmakersireland.com/2024/07/30/exhibition-final-week-of-the-rha-annual-show/

Entry deadline: Monday, the 23rd of February, 2026.

For more information, visit the RHA website – https://rhagallery.ie/rha-annual/

Their Instagram: @rha.arts

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Wishing All a Happy and Felt-Full Christmas

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Dear Feltmakers Ireland Community,

As the festive season approaches, we wish you and all supporters of Feltmakers Ireland a joyful, peaceful, and safe Christmas with your loved ones. We hope the holidays bring moments of creativity—perhaps even a chance to make some felt!

Looking ahead to the New Year, our first Sunday Session of 2026 promises to be an inspiring start! On Sunday, the 12th of January, we will have a ‘Mind Mapping and Photographing Artwork Session’. Guild members Dee Crofts and Ramona Farrelly will guide us in preparing for our upcoming exhibition at the Phoenix Park Visitors Centre. The theme this year is ‘Water & Flow’, and we will be exhibiting during April.

To learn more about the exhibition, visit this page on our website – https://feltmakersireland.com/exhibition-application-2026-water-and-flow/

As the calendar year comes to an end, we invite you to renew your membership online – https://feltmakersireland.com/membership-application/

Wishing you a healthy, happy, and creative holiday season!

With warm regards,
The Committee of Feltmakers Ireland

PS: Unless there is breaking news that cannot be missed, we will take a short break over the holidays. We will return with daily blog and social media posts on Monday, the 2nd of January. So, in the meantime, Happy New Year & Happy Felting!!!

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Education:Year-Long Online Natural Dyeing Course – Natural Dyers and Growers Academy

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Jennifer Lienhard of Apple Oak Fibre Works will teach a year-long online course in natural dyeing – a guided, in-depth journey into the science, craft, and history of colour.

The program consists of the following-

  • 12 learning modules released monthly via a private course platform
  • Live Zoom calls, Q&A, and portfolio building
  • Live calls are scheduled twice a day to accommodate students in different time zones. Recordings available after every session
  • Optional in-person intensives and gardening session in August
  • Deep dives into fibres, tannins, mordanting, lasting colours, indigo fermentation vats and sustainability
  • Build a professional portfolio and creative direction for your own studio
  • Course certificate upon completion of the portfolio work

The course starts on the 13th of January 2026.

Monthly topics

  • January — Fibres and their differences
  • February — Mordanting
  • March — Tannins
  • April — Creating blues
  • May — Creating yellows
  • June — Creating reds
  • July — Creating purples
  • August — Secondary colours & modifiers
  • September — Lake making and related processes
  • October — Printing and advanced techniques
  • November — Industry standards & personal project
  • December — Final projects & presentations

Irish residents: receive 40% discount via the National Organic Training Skillnet (NOTS) funding (includes materials).

For more information, visit the NOTS’ website – https://nots.courseco.co/course-detail/1-year-professional-course-in-natural-dyeing-online/?id=76

For individuals living outside of Ireland, visit the Natural Dyers Academy‘s website – https://appleoakfibreworks.com/collections/1-year-professional-natural-dyeing-programme-build-your-portfolio/products/mastering-natural-colour-professional-natural-dyeing-course-2026

There is also a monthly payment plan option – https://appleoakfibreworks.com/collections/1-year-professional-natural-dyeing-programme-build-your-portfolio/products/1-year-professional-natural-dyeing-programme-2026-monthly-plan

Their Instagram: @appleoakfibreworks @naturaldyersacademy

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Exhibition: Lucid Dreaming at DLR Lexicon – Deirdre Crofts included

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland
Poster for the exhibition
Dlr An Cathaoirleach, Councillor Jim Gildea and artist Deirdre Crofts

Feltmakers Ireland guild member Deirdre Crofts has a piece in ‘Lucid Dreaming’, a group exhibition at the DLR Lexicon Library in Dún Laoghaire, selected and curated by Davey Moor, Curator at the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA).

Where: DLR LexIcon Library and Cultural Centre, Queen’s Rd, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin.

The show runs until Sunday, the 15th of February 2026.

For more information, visit the DLR’s website – https://www.dlrcoco.ie/arts/municipal-gallery-dlr-lexicon/lucid-dreaming-dlr-open-exhibition-2025

@dlr_arts @crofts.deirdre


Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Of Interest: Cecilia Vicuña Exhibition at IMMA – Galway Wool via Woolstore Ireland

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland
Poster from IMMA for Cecilia Vicuña exhibition

Cecilia Vicuña‘s solo exhibition, ‘Reverse Migration: A Poetic Journey’, is the first show in Ireland by the renowned artist, poet and activist. For this exhibition at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Vicuña delves into themes of ancestry, ecological urgency, and the interconnectedness of humanity, inspired by the discovery of her ancient ties to Ireland.

Feltmakers Ireland guild member Katarina Hruskova, of WoolStore Ireland, assisted the artist in preparing the wool used in the creation of the installation, titled ‘Aran Quipu’.

Placard from the gallery wall.

Photos of the Piece, ‘Aran Quipu’

In her Co Galway workshop, Katarina washed and carded 50 kilograms of wool, which she purchased from the Galway Wool Co-op at their annual Meitheal. Then she needle-felted the clean fibre by hand into 50 strips, each 5.5 metres long. As Cecilia Vicuña wanted the strips to be very fluffy, hand needle felting was the method. Altogether, it came to 275 metres of Galway wool. The entire process from start (washing) to finish took Katarina 6-7 weeks to complete.

The Galway Wool, after being cleaned and carded

Needle Felting

The wool fibres were then needle felted.
Further along, with more fibres added in.
Loading the trailer with the felted wool.
More wool.
Unloading at IMMA

At IMMA, the long strips were then mounted, with assistance from other Irish artists, in a large hall.

Katarina Hruskova and artist Cecilia Vicuña at the opening
Katarina and her partner Keith

Katarina said that at the opening, visitors were encouraged to walk between the strips. Editor’s Note: On a recent visit, a museum attendant encouraged attendees to touch a sample of needle-felted Galway Wool.

In addition to the installation incorporating Irish wool, the exhibition includes other installations featuring natural materials such as plants and shells, along with paintings, drawings, and sound art by Vicuña.

The exhibition runs until the 5th of July, 2026.

Where: IMMA, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Military Rd, Kilmainham, Dublin 8, D08 FW31

For more information about Cecilia Vicuna’s exhibition, visit the IMMA’s website – https://imma.ie/whats-on/cecilia-vicuna/

Katarina has a display showing the stages of wool processing.

To purchase cleaned and carded Galway wool fibre (and those from other Irish-raised breeds), visit Katarina’s website – https://www.woolstore.ie/

Katarina’s Instagram: @woolstoreireland

Of Interest: Wool Map of Ireland – World’s Largest 3D Knit Scene

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland
Image from Irish Independent Newspaper with headlines of 'Huge wool map of Ireland ratified by GUinness as world's largest 3D knitted scene'. Also includes a photo of the women who knitted the map.

The Guinness Book of Records has said that the huge knitted wool map of Ireland, created by a group of knitters at Carnew Community Care, in Co Wicklow, is the largest 3-dimensional knitted scene in the world! The map is 5 by 4 metres, took over four years and thousands of hours to make. It includes buildings and places iconic to Ireland.

To read more, visit here (There ~may~ be paywall for the full article) – https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexford/gorey-news/huge-wool-map-of-ireland-ratified-by-guinness-as-worlds-largest-3d-knitted-scene/a1011522360.html

If you missed seeing the map on display at Gifted at the RDS, it can be viewed in person at Carnew Community Care in Carnew, Co Wicklow. For more information, visit this website – https://visitwicklow.ie/listing/knitted-map-of-ireland-carnew-community-care/

There is also a short, cute video on the above website – so many cool details!

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.