being heartfelt by Liz

At last -today was the day where the long awaited outing to the Heartfelt Studio of Liz Brown in Ayrshire too place. The places had been booked out for weeks, but some last minute changes in the lives of our two new friends Mary (the one who paints pictures with wool since the Portal projects) and Alison (the one with the red hair) meant 2 spare places which quickly got filled with Naomi's little Emma and with Jude, a Galgael friend with already quite some felting experience.

After some getting lost in rural Ayrshire, our 3 cars and 11 folks arrived safely in the Studio in Ochiltree for a most amazing day of 'being heartfelt by Liz'. There is simply no other way of putting it. We were all totally blown over by Liz's great Irish heart, her superb craftsman and teaching skills and scope (how else could do 11 different projects in a studio that usually holds a max of 8 students!), and the absolute unending manifoldness of felt products for sale and on display, one more magical than the other! A true inspiration to each one of us. Best to be seen on our "Galgael folks being hearfelt by Liz" photoalbum

There are also 2 videos capturing some lovely moments of Liz teaching us how to felt ropes and beads - And if you get a chance, visit her website, and sign up for a course or buy some of her beautiful heartfelted goods.

You want to know to was part of the party and what they did?

Anna (from Helensburgh) and Alison (the dark haired, our Portal felter #1), who had missed the beginning of the Portal felting classes caught up with picture felting first, and then learned how to felt flowers for brooches and embellishment.

David (the 10 year old son of Jackie), who has, as it turned out, the perfect felter hands albeit never done it before, started with a picture, too, and then made a seamless vessel., as well as a rope and beads!

Jackie and Laryna made a big bag each.

And Naomi (lucky devil!) got to make a nunofelt scarf on the big table, and her little Emma learned lots more felting as she already knew with making beads and ropes, and als helping the grown ups to full their projects when they got weary. Something also David did - to help the adults with the fulling!

Debbie made a beautiful merino hat, Himalayan style, and Anneruth also laid her hands on making a hat, a rimmed one, but from her own wool, a carded blend of white Wensleydale and the white bits of her fawn Alpaca fleece.

Jude courageously dug her hands into a pair of boots with earth fairy flaps, and Sarah-Jane - well... she got started on her big project: felt-puppets for a story telling project which she is planinng for next year and beyond! She at last had a go a seamless felt (the hand puppet glove) and nunofelting (the puppet dress). She will still have to needlefelt the head at home.

It was such a relief for the nunofelters to be able to make use of Liz's 'Seffa Pinky Bling Bling': the felt rolling machine! Aye, felting is hard work esp on the delicate fabrics which need endless rolling!
We all came away later as planned but also richer as expected in new skills, through doing and watching, new inspirations and new glorious felted things and deepened friendships.

Thank you so much, Liz, for heartfelting us all!