mixed media workshop

i've just realised that i never did blog about this! i think the few months around christmas time were swallowed up in preparation for snowdrops by starlight so i feel like i'm just catching up.

aaaaanyways ... i'm always keen to try and push myself as a feltmaker and add new elements to my work by learning new techniques, i just don't think i'm very good at doing that on my own. so, when i saw that angela was running a mixed media workshop i couldn't resist.

luckily enough, it coincided with a rare weekend off for m, so we headed off to yorkshire for a few days.

on the way down we stopped off at fairburn ings for a spot of birdwatching, and it was great to get some fresh air and stretch our legs after what felt like a very long drive.

i had a fab time at the workshop, angela is really inspiring and brought along such a range of different materials and ideas it was hard to choose! i did my ususal and spent too much time chatting and looking at what everyone else was making but i still managed to end up with two finished pieces. it was a great opportunity just to get to play and experiment without worrying too much about the end result, i tried to use as many different materials and techniques as possible and chose colours i wouldn't normally choose and i loved the end result!

here's a few pics from the end of our very productive day ...

we had such a lovely weekend, everyone we met was so friendly - to the extent that m had to 'rescue' me from a very chatty chap in a gift shop i popped in to for 'five minutes'! and the scenery is amazing - although the fog on sunday and monday meant that i didn't get to see too much of it so we'll need to go back again :)

we took the slow route home and stopped off to have a quick look at hadrian's wall, there's so much to see around this area that i think another long weekend is in the offing!

horst workshop in ireland

my lovely wee pitch at the campsite

i can't quite believe it was seven months ago that i went to ireland for the workshop with horst, it really has been such a quick year.

so, in the spirit of 'better late than never', here are a few pics from my trip.

it really was the most amazing weekend - it was the furthest i've ever travelled on my own, the first time i've been overseas on my own and the first time (and thankfully not the last) that i've been camping on my own.

busy, busy

i did get off to a bit of a shaky start though, as the ferry was late leaving and once we had boarded, the tannoy announcement to apologise for the delay also mentioned that the journey would take longer than expected as one of the engines wasn't working quite right.

the two hour delay and the five hour drive meant that i didn't arrive at the campsite until 4.30 in the morning, in the middle of a thunder storm! as i didn't really feel like pitching my tent i tried to sleep in the car, without much success.

however, i'm really happy to say that the weekend started looking up after that! the sun came out, i got a lovely spot in the campsite, i met wonderful people and learned so much from horst. in fact, by the time i got back to the tent at night i was so excited and my head was so full of ideas it was hard to get to sleep.

it was also a great opportunity to see some of horst's garments up close - unfortunately my photos don't do them justice. i really fell in love with the gold coat with the green dreads and it felt amazing when i tried it on.

unfortunately, i didn't get too many piccies as i was either too busy chatting or too busy working to catch up after chatting too much!

laying out the top part of my coat

laying out the skirt of my coat and attaching it to the top

attaching the 'leaflets' around the skirt

so many colours to choose from!

busy at the dyeing station

where we were 'assisted' by a friendly local dog

exhaust dyeing the finished garments

a small selection of finished pieces

and here is the end result ...

i cannot tell you how much it meant to me to be able to take part in this workshop. it was great to finally meet nicola who worked so hard to arrange everything, it was amazing to get to work with horst (you know how they say you should never meet your heroes? well, in this case that saying was entirely incorrect! horst is a fabulously talented, inspiring and giving person), and it was an honour to get to meet and work with gina, lorraine, kirsten, girda, natasha, sigrid, nessa, michelle, cristina and tricia. with big thanks to cristina and niall for the fab food that kept us all going through the weekend.

you can find much better pics here ...

from kirsten
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elisefilt/sets/72157627045592490/

and from nicola
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28367475@N02/sets/72157627013061886/

wordless wednesday: välkommen till stockholm

i've been away again, for a lovely family holiday this time :)

i'm just back.

got lots to catch up on.

not much time for sitting at a computer.

promise to catch up with you all soon but in the meantime, thanks for your lovely comments.

wordless wednesday: välkommen till stockholm

hols - durness

last stop on the holiday saw us back at the campsite at durness, where i spent my favourite day of the holiday at the beach, pottering in the sun, pootling about in rockpools with a bit of birdwatching and then a picnic :)

'bob' the friendly campsite gull


fantastic view from the tent






the water wasn't quite as inviting as it looked, in fact it was flipping freezing!


while m got progressively frustrated that the kite wouldn't stay up, i was quite happy poking about in the rock pools














yes, this really is a sign warning of pigs, piglets, lambs and sheep on the road ...


25% gradient on the hilliest road in scotland on the way to drumbeg, glad i wasn't the one cycling!


lovely sheep inspired pottery at the gorgeous drumbeg craft shop and tea garden

wordless wednesday: välkommen till stockholm

hols - handa island

on the way to our campsite in durness we stopped off to take the boat trip to handa island which is a fantastic place managed by scottish natural heritage as a bird reserve. we saw fulmar, guillemot, razorbill (nesting precariously on the cliffs), puffin, red grouse, jack snipe, great skua, wheatear, curlew and lot of bunnies!

this face says i'm on a tiny boat, about to go out to sea and i'm a little terrified

hols - lewis

and then on to lewis, where i used to live. this was the first time i'd been back since leaving five years ago and it felt quite strange to be a tourist passing through a place that had been really important to me.

unfortunately, i didn't have time to catch up with old friends so i'm planning a longer trip for that. i didn't realise, until i got back, just quite how much i missed the landscape, the light, the huge skies, the beaches ...

the road to the campsite


how about this for a campsite?


first barbecue of the year




stornoway town


callanish stones, i spent so many hours at the stones when i lived here, each stone is a work of art in itself and the site is breathtaking




castle grounds woodland centre, fab coffee shop!


with lovely tulips






by good chance, the museum had an exhibit of some of the lewis chessmen! don't think i was allowed to take pics inside but i did really like their wall tiles :)


the butt of lewis lighthouse, where m finishes his cycle of the western isles


fulmars were nesting on the cliffs at the butt ... take a picture he says, they're really close, take a picture ... and then stands where?!


one of the things i love about the landscape here is the rock formations (i know, i know, i'm a geek!)


might not look much from outside, but this is the best hostel i have ever stayed in


queuing for the ferry back to the mainland :(


ferry crossing to ullapool, where i finally saw dolphins! i have done this crossing countless times and never seen so much as a fin before