Tag: Heartfelt Community Project

Recap - Sunday Session

Recap: ‘Heart on Your Sleeve’ – Helena Mc Guinness – February Sunday Session

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland
A group of people engaged in a crafting session, with a woman demonstrating a technique at the forefront, surrounded by participants seated at tables with various materials.
Helena Mc Guinness helping a student
A woman in a white sweater working at a table covered with crafting materials, including a brown bowl and pieces of fabric.
Helena demonstrating

On Sunday, the 8th of February, members of Feltmakers Ireland were delighted to have the multitalented artist, storyteller and committee member Helena Mc Guinness show us how to create felted hearts using a combination of wet and needle felting.

A variety of handmade felt decorative items, including colourful stones, a starfish, and a polka-dotted red piece, arranged on a grey table surface. Some items are wrapped in bubble wrap.
Helena’s samples that use the combined technique

Helena shared many interesting tidbits about how one can approach felting. Here are some of our favourites:

  • Thanking the Sheep for their wool
  • Allowing oneself not to think one needs a huge towel or a big setup
  • Using small sponges to wet the felt instead of more expensive tools, such as ball brausers
  • Adding the olive oil soap after wetting allows more control
  • Rubbing more reduces the need to roll
  • Adding a small metal ring by using needle felting instead of stitching

Scroll to the bottom to watch the video of our session.

A plastic container filled with yellow and green sponges, with some sponges stacked and others lying flat.

Students at the Session

A group of women engaged in a crafting workshop, seated around several tables covered with various materials and tools for creating felted items.
A group of people engaged in a craft workshop, focusing on felting techniques. One woman in the foreground gently works with materials on a pink towel, while others are seen in the background, participating actively.
A group of people engaged in a craft workshop, working on felt-making at a long table. Various tools and materials are spread out, including sponges, felting needles, and bowls with mixed media. Participants are focused on their projects, showcasing a collaborative and creative environment.

Completed Hearts

A heart-shaped keyring made from felt, featuring colourful flower designs in purple, pink, and green.
A handmade felt heart in shades of green, featuring a small red heart on one side.
A colourful felted wool heart shape placed on a grey foam pad, with a felting needle beside it.
A decorative felt heart shape embellished with red gemstones along the bottom edge.
A heart-shaped object made of felt, featuring green and orange patterns.
A smiling elderly woman with glasses holding a handmade felt heart with a face, sitting at a crafting table.
A handmade felted heart with an eye design, featuring the text 'I got 4'. The heart is predominantly white with red and black details, displayed on a textured background.
A handmade felt heart keychain with a cream background, featuring red and teal floral patterns.
A felted heart-shaped decoration featuring a colourful abstract design in shades of green, blue, and red.

Heart Photos kindly taken by Adrienne Dempsey

If your heart was not included, or you were working alongside at home via Zoom, please email us a photo of your completed heart. feltmakersIE@gmail.com

A Group Photo

A diverse group of twelve people, mostly women, smiling and posing together in a community centre, each holding colourful handmade crafts, with a banner visible in the background.
A photo of some of the students – taken at the very end of the session. Sorry if we missed everyone.

Biscuits with History

A tin filled with heart-shaped iced shortbread biscuits, accompanied by a handwritten sign explaining their significance linked to St. Valentine.

‘Biscuits with History’ is an ongoing series of baked goods created by committee member Lorna Cady. They are always so fun!

Appreciation

Many thanks to Helena Mc Guinness for leading us in an educational and enjoyable Sunday Session. Thank you to the members who helped set up the room and who assisted in guiding some of our newer felters.

Video

Sunday Session Video

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Of Interest: The Heartfelt Community Project

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

The Heartfelt Community Project was founded by Australian feltmaker Wendy Bailye. The group makes 100% wool, felted hearts to give comfort to those in hospice and palliative care or to anyone else who is in need of comfort.

Make comfort hearts and share them freely with your local community, then post your beautiful stories on this (Facebook) page. Let’s fill the page with beauty and wonderful heartfelt stories.

The Heartfelt Community Project

To learn more or participate, visit the group’s Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/groups/837533101303852