As part of Ards & North Down Council’s Creative Peninsula season I ran a ‘learn to crochet’ workshop today. The four ladies who participated had never crocheted before. They did really well, picking up the basics, and learning how to include beads into their work.
We spent the morning drinking coffee, eating home made scones and soda bread, and making Fairy Bell charms (also known as Witch Bells), historically used for keeping good energy in and bad energy out of our houses. They were hung on window and door handles, and the bells chimed when there was danger or negative energy in the area.
On the evening of Monday 5th August, I ran a Nalbinding workshop in Ards Arts Centre, a great venue for workshops. Five lovely ladies came along and got to grips with Nalbinding very quickly and plan to keep practicing at home.
We had a change of pace for Kiri Cottage Crafts club this afternoon. Sharon invited us over to her premises for a pilot of her ‘Celtic Kraut’ fermentation workshop, and to hear about the land and sea connection with the Irish goddess Cliodhna.
Kiri Cottage had a very busy day today, with our normal every second Tuesday Craft Club, soda bread and scones this morning, and then a peg loom workshop this afternoon with Janet, Kim and Joanne.
Kiri Cottage was visited by another lovely family from Florida, visiting Belfast, the North Coast and Ards Peninsula. I was very fortunate to meet them at my workshop as part of their peninsula travels with tour guide Lizzie Charley.
It was lovely to meet Bobby and Hal this afternoon, over for a visit to Northern Ireland from Tampa Florida.
We swapped tales of Linenopolis and our linen ancestry for stories of growing pineapples in back gardens, and how to tell if they are ripe (by getting down on the ground and smelling the base of the pineapple – smells sweet and pineappley when ripe!).
We spent some interesting time in my workshop and I hope they went home to Florida with fond memories of the Ards Peninsula.
I have been preparing the workshop for a group of American visitors later this afternoon. I have laid out the machinery I use to prepare wool for spinning to demonstrate to them and thought I would share a video of this, as well as some items ‘I made earlier!’
Kiri Cottage hosted a lovely peg loom workshop this afternoon.
This was arranged as a surprise birthday party and we had some good fun with these very creative ladies.
Kiri Cottage Crafts Club was hosted by Jen today at her premises. We made Dorset Buttons from rings, wool and threads.
We used several different sizes of rings and our club members enjoyed coffee and cakes as well as producing varied colours and designs of buttons.
