On Sunday, the 12th of October, guild member Sandra Coote of Crafts of Ireland will teach members how to create a three-dimensional, needle-felted wren.
Sandra will provide materials, which include her own Irish-raised wool and the wires for the legs/ feet.
Members, please bring your felting needles and pads. The guild will have a few extra sets for those who do not have these tools.
This session is limited to 25 participants and costs 15 euros.
We will email an online payment link to members on the afternoon of Friday, October 3rd – at 2 PM, Irish Time. If you are not already a member, you can join us via our website – https://feltmakersireland.com/membership-application/
Sandra will also bring her popular needle felting kits, which will be available for purchase.
The Details
When: Sunday, the 12th of October.
The Sunday Session’s Hours are the following: 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
Guild member Jane Fox will lead us in creating our own Name Badges. The photo shows her badge, which she wore to demonstrate at this year’s Bloom. It is both beautiful and sustainable, and combines wet felting with needle felting!
Please bring the following items:
Your usual Wet Felting Kit, which includes a hand towel, soap, a small bowl, and a medium-sized piece of bubble plastic.
Felting needles and a sponge or felting mat. (We will have some extra felting needles and sponges on hand).
Sharp scissors.
Small bamboo mat – if you already have one. We have some extras for members to use during the session.
Optional: Bits and bobs such as beads, sequins, thread, and a needle – if you would like to sew these in.
Optional: Embellishment fibres, if desired.
The Guild and Jane will provide the other materials needed.
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 do not come if you feel that you are ill.
Zoom Access to the Sunday Session:
A Zoom link to members will be emailed at 9 AM on Friday, the 12th of September. Please check your email.
Meetup in Co Galway:
Can’t make it to Dublin AND want to chat with folks in personabout everyone’s favourite thing – feltmaking?
Feltmakers Ireland will have a meeting in Gort, Co Galway THIS Sunday, the 14th at 11 AM.
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 the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
Sunday Sessions will resume, with our next one on the following Sunday, the 14th of September, from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM.
Guild member Jane Fox will lead us in creating our own Name Badges. Above is a photo of her badge, which she wore to demonstrate at this year’s Bloom. It is both beautiful AND sustainable!
Please bring the following items:
Your usual Wet Felting Kit, which includes a hand towel, soap, a small bowl, and a medium-sized piece of bubble plastic.
Felting needles and a sponge or felting mat. (We will have some extra felting needles on hand).
Sharp scissors.
Small bamboo mat – if you already have one. We have some for members to use during the session.
Optional: Bits and bobs such as beads, sequins and thread – if you would like to sew these in.
Optional: Embellishment fibres, if desired.
The Guild and Jane will provide the other materials needed.
Complimentary tea and coffee will be served at our Sunday Session. Home-baked goods to share are always welcome! If you can, please bring a travel mug to replace disposable paper cups.
As this is the season of coughs and sneezes, we prefer you not to share these. Please do not attend if you may be unwell.
On Friday, we will email a Zoom link to all members for those who wish to attend virtually.
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 the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
On Sunday, the 1st of June and Monday, the 2nd of June, volunteers from Feltmakers Ireland will demonstrate wet and needlefelting at the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland‘s Irish Craft Village, at Bord Bia Bloom in Phoenix Park. We will be in the central pavilion within Area 26, near the Conservation Area. Our book, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’, will also be for sale, along with some of our members’ works. Come by and say, ‘Hello’!
Feltmakers Ireland guild member Caoimhe Tuthill (Boann Irish Felt) will display her felted work at the MeathMade booth, Grand Pavilion stand G117.
This June bank holiday weekend (Thursday, May 29th– Monday, June 2nd, 2025), Bord Bia Bloom, Ireland’s most unique gardening, food, and sustainable living festival, returns for its 19th year.
Filled with colour and creativity, the event heralds the start of summer with a dazzling display of glorious gardens, fabulous food, and enthralling entertainment to entice visitors of all ages.
Spanning a 70-acre site in Dublin’s leafy Phoenix Park, Bord Bia Bloom is one of the country’s largest outdoor experiences, attracting over 100,000 visitors annually. This year, visitors can soak up the sights, sounds, and tastes of summer over five buzzing days packed with live entertainment, talks, interactive workshops, dining, shopping, and so much more.
Bord Bia Bloom offers abundant opportunities to grow, taste, and learn. Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster, and two children can go free with each adult ticket purchased.
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.
Many thanks to Feltmakers Ireland guild member Hélène Dooley for bringing to our attention a highly educational three-part series of blog posts from the Felting and Fiber Studio about Felting Needles.
The first article of the series is all about felting needles: their length, gauge, shape, and more. The second is about how the needles are used in industry, and the third and final instalment is about how textile artists can purchase, store, and use felting needles.
The writer, Jan, is a Canadian member of the Felting and Fiber Studio organisation and an experienced three-dimensional needle felter. Each instalment is interesting, and Jan is a thorough researcher, perceptive maker, and humorous writer. And don’t mind her spelling—she is severely dyslexic. She says on her bio page, “If you read out loud, I make more sense.” And she does!
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.
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.
The recent Sunday Session in September had a bit of fantasy as we were led by the wonderful Nara Fritch in a workshop making toadstools. The task for the morning was to learn to needlefelt a mushroom of the Fly Agaric variety.
Each participant received a small bag of fibre and the tools, needles, and foam pad to make the mushroom.
Nara is an amazing tutor; as you will see from the photographs, everyone engaged with the task, and the resulting little red mushrooms with white spots were a joy to behold. One person actually managed to make two in the short period. Nara explained how to cover the white cap with red wool, keep a straight line between the colours, and make the cap itself and the stem and join them together. I am sure there are many more toadstools in the making around the country as several members joined us online via Zoom.
Stabbing Away
Some of Nara’s Work
Nara had some wonderful examples of her needle felting on display, not just toadstools of different colours, but also fantastic needlefelted figures. In addition, she displayed pieces of her fused lampwork beads, along with her small-batch roasted coffees and cards.
It was a fantastic Sunday Session. Thank you to Nara for coming to share her knowledge with us and thank you, Suzanne for putting together this post.
Our next Sunday Session will be the 13th of October and is a ‘Feltmaking Playtime’ – bring and share what you are working on with the rest of the Guild.
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.
Over the June Bank holiday, volunteers from Feltmakers Ireland spent two days at the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland’s Irish Craft Village within Bord Bia’s Bloom 2024 in Phonix Park. Our volunteers shared the wonders of transforming fluff into felt.
Irish Craft Village Sign – Photo by Sam Fagan
Most of all, Feltmakers Ireland wants to thank theDesign and Crafts Council of Ireland (DCCI) for giving us such an excellent marquee and display opportunity in the Craft’s Demonstration Booth at Bloom. We especially want to thank Geraldine Gray (of the DCCI ) and her sister Catherine for their support, helpfulness, and friendship on-site over the two days.
The Design and Crafts Council of Ireland’s Irish Craft Village – Photo by Sam Fagan
Our Booth
The public enjoyed watching volunteers show how to wet felt and needle-felt.
The photo on the left is early in the day – Photo by Loli Cox. The one on the right shows how popular our booth was – Photo by Sam Fagan.
Annika with samples of Irish Wool Breeds – Photo by Maria Mc Garry
Irish Wool Breed Felted Samples – Photo by Sam Fagan
Annika’s 3D fish and butterflies attracted much interest, as did other artworks on display.
Fishes and Butterfhly – Photo by Maria Mc Garry
3D Butterflies by Annika Berglund – Photo by Sam Fagan
Hélène Dooley’s spiral in the foregraound.
A busy booth – Photo by Hélène Dooley
Tamzen Lundy demonstrated wet feltmaking by creating a Mr Fantastic Fox. Her cute, wee-felted animals on display are terrific. You can find her work at Tamzen Lundy Designs.
Tamzen promoting wet feltmaking. (See below)
Tamzen demonstrating
Tamzen chatting with the public – Photo by Maria Mc Garry
Marian Fagan demonstrated needle felting and how she makes puppets of the various characters in children’s books for her granddaughter as they share the joy of reading. (See photo below).
Marian demonstrating feltmaking – Photo by Maria Mc Garry
Loli Cox, Marian, and Annika were busy demonstrating.
Loli, Marian, and Annika talking with the public – Photo by Maria Mc Garry
In the afternoon, Joanne Foley (in the yellow dress) demonstrated the process of creating her animal portraits. (See photograph below).
More sharing of feltmaking at Bloom – Joanne Foley, Lorna Cady, Margaret Ryan Collings, and Annika Berglund – Photo by Maria Mc Garry
Guild member Caoimhe Tuthill of Boann Irish Felt exhibited her beautiful work in the main pavilion with MeathMade. (See below).
Caoimhe Tuthill at the MeathMade Booth – Photo by Maria Mc Garry
Day 2
Saturday was busy, and Hélène Dooley started us off by demonstrating wet felting flowers and displaying her felted vessels. The red-coloured, hanging felted spiral is from an online class she teaches at the Felting and Fiber Studio. (See photo below).
Helene demonstrating – Photo by Maria Mc Garry
Hélène demonstrated and answered curious questions.
Hélène, Lory Cotti Cottini, and Annika demonstrating, below. Annika promoted Feltmakers Ireland and encouraged the interested public to become members of the guild.
Helene, Lory, and Annika sharing the wonders of feltmaking – Photo by Maria Mc Garry
Siobhan Ryan, Sam Fagan, Elaine Peden, and Annika at Bloom.
Siobhan, Sam, Elaine, and Annika demonstrating – Photo by Maria Mc Garry
Elain Peden demonstrating – Photo by Maria Mc Garry
Elaine and Annika share feltmaking with the public. (Below).
Elaine and Annika – Photo by Maria Mc Garry
Siobhan demonstrates her unique artwork.
Siobhan demonstrating – Photo by Maria Mc Garry
Valerie Nowak O’Ceallaigh shared her needle-felted horse portrait.
Photo by Valerie
Conclusion
Many thanks to Maria Mc Garry and Annika Berglund for coordinating this year’s Feltmakers Ireland booth at Bloom! Also, thanks to all the members, who also volunteered their time during the busy bank holiday weekend.
Elaine, Annika, and Maria pictured – Photo by Sam Fagan
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.
This September, Feltmakers Ireland guild member Jenni Kilgallon is teaching two needle-felting classes for teens and adults at Tales for Tadpoles in Bray. The first class is this Friday, the 8th at 11 AM.
