Yesterday's Fantasy Beach Felt workshop went really well, although I wish it had lasted an hour longer. Except for a couple of students who had minimal experience, most were totally new to felt making (although very talented in other fiber areas) I do love teaching about the differences in wools, the varieties of silk and other fibers and the importance of using proper techniques, also understanding when the felt is properly finished. I really wanted to be able to show the students the difference that stitching would make - since the pieces were still damp, we could not use a sewing machine but some hand stitching really is fun and makes a huge difference to the texture, but by the time their piece was felted, our time was over and it was time to quickly clean up. I will make sure that next time, class is long enough to include time for stitching and embellishment. Anyway, the students asked for "more" so it was a success.
I could do a much better job taking pictures and confess that I am VERY bad about that and really must focus more on picture taking; I love giving individual attention, so I just don't think about it until it is too late. I need an assistant who is a photographer! Maybe I'll get a volunteer who can take classes in consideration for photographs - Wendy Avery???
One of the students, Elizabeth, who drove from North Carolina (6 hours!) very kindly gave me a gift of a silk handkerchief from Japan, printed with the story of silk - what a wonderful teaching aid this will be! I didn't really get to appreciate it until this morning when I had time to sit and look at the silk in all the different stages and forms. Thank you again dear Elizabeth!
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