My BIG Adventure

The day didn't start off well. There I was 15 minutes before the train was due to take me on my big adventure to Leeds. I text Shan to tell her to look out for me. Ten minutes or so later the train for Leeds pulls up and I jump on with my bags and scour the first carriage where she said she was sitting (She had got on the train at an earlier stop).

No Shan, Oh bu***r, wrong train! Her train was 4 minutes behind this one. So instead of the half hour chat and catch up on the way to Leeds we both trundled along on different trains. My train then developed an engine fault and we travelled through the longest tunnel ever at 20 mph with no carriage lights-bit scary, but at last we met at Leeds Station. A short walk to Fabric-ation which is just behind this lovely building, the Corn Exchange (picture above).

There were 7 in our group plus Angela Barrow who was taking the workshop. First she showed us some of her work, explained what she thought we could achieve today and then how to needle felt a simple shape (mine was a heart) to make into a brooch. We then had a go at a felted ball. After eating our packed lunches and cake supplied by Dawn at Fabric-ation we got down to the wet stuff!


The above picture is the beginning of my flower, Angela had shown us some lovely felted flower corsages with beads, threads and felted balls and we all had a go at one. Three layers of wispy Merino fleece and then some yarn and wisps of pale pink fleece on top. Then much rolling and rubbing, but not as much as I thought we would need to do, which was a relief! Then after a bit of trimming and moulding it looked like this-









Mine is the front one and the others were some of the other learners flowers. They all looked great and we all talked about how we could embellish them when they were dry. Then Angela showed us how to wet felt balls, and a long tube of three different colours to snip into beads when dry and how to felt around a piece of suede to make into a necklace. The possibilities are endless! We were all sad when the afternoon came to an end and we had to say goodbye. We left smiling clutching our goodies and buzzing with ideas for future jewellery to make out of felt.

We didn't want to go home straight away so we walked around Leeds and had a coffee in Costa.





And we found some bargain books in Borders-


Then it was a mad dash for the train home. We only just made it in time and I got stuck in the sliding door on the train-thankfully there is no photo of this! Shan pulled me through but she did think it may of cost me an 'Arm and a Leg!'

I took some photos of my goodies when I got back but the light was fading so they have not come out very well. The flower has my dry felted ball in the centre and it's sitting in a small jar to dry to the shape I want. The beads are the wet felted balls and the ones cut from the long tube of three coloured fleece.

I had such a good day lots of interesting stuff, laughs and good company.