THE CACOPHONY OF SPRING & THE STILLNESS OF SUMMER

These workshops celebrated nesting birds by making a framed Victorian clay egg collection. We enjoyed Spring meadows and cast a herbarium tableau, created a wool basket inspired by riparian landscapes, printed seasonally inspired fabrics using plant pigments and experimented with silk bundle dyeing.

WINTER LANDSCAPES AND OVERWINTERING BIRDS

These workshops embraced all the glories of winter, we explored inchies, needle felted long tailed tits, made lagom baskets and enjoyed some hedgerow basketry. We reflected on frosty landscapes, were inspired by winter poems and celebrated native bulbs.

AUTUMN EQUINOX - INDIGO SKIES AND SASHIKO STITCHING

Preparing for the turn of the season, these sessions celebrated the indigo skies and harvest moon of the Autumn Equinox with some sashiko stitching on indigo fabric. We explored the indigo dye process and traditional stitches of Japanese sashiko and boro. We embellished our fabric further with migrating bird silouettes and turned it into a useful cosmetic case or wash bag.

MIGRATING SWALLOWS AND WILD GEESE

We celebrated the Autumn passage of migrating birds to and from our shores with simple bird silhouette stitching. We also explored the simple but fun technique of making fabric feathers from denim and tartan fabrics.

MUSHROOMS AND BERRIES - KASHIDA AND KASHUBIAN EMBROIDERY

Inspired by both Kashida (Indian) and Kashubian (Polish) embroidery techniques, these sessions drew inspiration from autumn fruits, berries and mushrooms of the season. We also explored stumpwork, Ruskin lace and linen work.

SPIDERS, SEEDS AND SIMPLE PEWTER CASTING.

Here we celebrated the fruitfulness of autumn with its abundance of seeds, nuts and berries through the technique of pewter casting. We also celebrated spiders and their beautiful Autumnal glistening webs with some free machine embroidery.

VEGAN YARNS AND CORDAGE.

These sesssions explored hand cordage and its adaptability to many different plant fibres. We looked at some exotic vegan yarns including ginger, banana and pineapple as well as some locally foraged native fibres. We made cordage from nettle and flax, with an introduction to drop spindles and the spinning wheel.

ACORN INKS AND AUTUMNAL PIGMENTS.

These session explored simple pigments and inks from plant material such as acorns, galls and walnuts. We used iron modifiers and gum arabica thickeneres. We experimented using them as textile paints and also made egg tempura. We also moulded natural beeswax pigment pens within dried autumnal stems.

SUMMER PIGMENT - GELLPLATES & ECO PRINTING

MAGNIFICENT MOTHS - BEADING, APPLIQUE & NEEDLE FELTING

SUMMER PIGMENT - SOLAR DYES

RIVERS AND MAYFLIES - RUG HOOKING & WIRE SCULPTURE

MAY MEADOWS - MOUNTMELLICK EMBROIDERY & LINEN LANTERNS

LORDS AND LADIES - PAINTED TEXTILE BOTANICAL BOOKCOVERS

These sessions celebrated unfurling ferns, lords and ladies and the other botannical beauties emerging in the woodland understorey. Inspired by Wiliamm Morris designs, botannical wallpaper and other simplified botanical prints from Kew Gardens, we created book covers.

STUNNING SPRINGSCAPES - WET FELTED POD BOWLS

Inspired by the official arrival of Spring and the changing colours of the landscape, we made wet-felted pod bowls using the resist technique. Wet-felting is a textile technique that has been practiced for thousands of years. There is evidence of it across some of the earliest human civilisations and it is thought to have been discovered long before weaving methods were developed. Wet felting using a resist allows you to create seamless complex shapes in one piece. We also celebrated the equinox with some refreshing botanical tea made from young shoots, full of nutrients to rejuvinate body and mind.

MARCH HARES - PYROGRAPHY NOTEBOOKS

The hare is a much-loved species associated with folklore and springtime. The idea of the Mad March Hare comes from the boxing behaviour of the males around the month of March when they are courting. We looked at the hare in history and took inspiration from various artworks to inspire a burnt wood design for the cover of a simple notebook. Pyrography is a great way of creating effective designs using a hot rod tool. We bound the books with fabric and leather.

CELEBRATING CELANDINES - SILK RIBBON EMBROIDERY

This wonderful craft of Silk Ribbon Embroidery, also known as Rococo Embroidery, made its first appearance in England in the early 17th century when London dressmakers began copying the French technique of embroidery de favor. We used this technique to decorate simple weighted doorstops. As the first snowdrops appear, they signal that Spring is on its way. Ancient traditions, folklore and tales show how people were once closely connected to the emergence of each flower as the land began to wake up in February - from primroses, lesser celandines and wood anenomes to wild daffodils and aconites. We looked at botanical prints of these beautiful flowers, then, after machine sewing a simple pre-cut natural linen or jute doorstop (weighting it with wheat, lentils or cherry stones), we embroidered a flower of choice using silk ribbons.

BEAUTIFUL BIRCH - WEAVING WINTER STEMS

We crafted a sculptural bowl using bare birch tree stems. The incorporation of winter colors and the use of various stems like dogwood, applewood and willow added a diverse and natural touch to the artistic process. Just before Spring emerges, these workshops embraced the wonderful winter colours of bare tree stems. Making birch bowls was once a common traditional country pastime. Different in technique to willow weaving, the bowls grow quickly. Their shapes and forms are easy to control using a looped copper wire technqiue.

ROOKS AND CROWS - SKETCHING WITH STITCHES

January's winter skies and bare trees make an amazing backdrop to observe the feeding and roosting behaviours of rooks and crows. Their blue/black bodies silouetted against the landscape make wonderful patterns. In these workshops we celebrated these amazing birds, using their pattern and form to create a calico vignette and an applique tote bag.

WINTER LICHEN AND MOSS - FUNKY FABRIC BOWLS.

This workshop introduced various hand and machine techniques. We looked at the wonderful colours and textures of lichen and moss in the winter landscape and used these observations to guide our choice of colour and texture to make a beautiful, woven fabric bowl, using embellishment and top stitching where desired.