The week after getting back from FibresWest, I hosted two fibre art camps for children in the studio.

It was great fun, and such a pleasure to share my passion for fibres with enthusiastic young people and get to know some of the island’s children a little better. They are just so sweet….and sometimes left me nostalgic for my own boys younger years…

We did some plant dyeing on silks, making a mystery bath from the children’s garden collections, and then  eco-printed them with golden rod, rose leaves and petals, carnation flowers and cinnamon sticks (deliciously scented bundles!)…. left to age until the last day of camp…

 We felted, of course! Needle felted figures and animals…wet felted flowers and pictures….experiencing some roving, batting, prefelts and inclusions, like magic mirrors! Which made for fibre adventures to try and find them and make them shine again!

 

  
One of the groups also made fine nuno felted scarves, sharing the rolling process….we also did some sewing, wool fiber paintings…and on the last day we opened our eco-printed bundles, and the children danced under the plum tree blossoms, flying with golden silks behind them….

 The days were glorious and sunny, and went by so fast. It is a nice balance to have some time working with children, in amongst all the more adult fiber pursuits….A truly enjoyable week… thank you all for joining me in my studio!

Warm wishes,
Fiona

ps..for those wondering…the rose leaves, golden rod flowers and cinnamon sticks all gave nice prints….the rose petals left no trace…but the red carnation flowers were a very pleasing surprise- the deep purple marks on the silks above are all from the carnations….