To Inverness Again

Inverness is already such a long way from Edinburgh that most official events for the Highlands and Islands--a region nearly as large as the rest of Scotland combined--take place there. I have gotten accustomed to a 120 mile trip (each way) in a day for hospital visits or collecting friends from the airport, or workshops. Yesterday was easy because my friend did all the driving, the weather was mostly pleasant, and the event was very rewarding.

Having discovered that getting published is not an impossible obstacle, but getting paid for it just might be, I have turned to Plan B, which is a sort of amorphous combination of crafting and writing and administration with some teaching thrown into the mix. That's why I was in Inverness at a HI-Arts workshop on crafting. And that is why I'll write a review of the day for them. The administrative part will follow.

I am hoping to take my cubicle-world experience, my fondness for almost anything textile, and my need/talent to write and make some sort of living out of it all. It must be the Highland air has gone to my head.

Craftscotland is an audience development agency. They want to get folks who have not thought about buying crafts--textile, jewelery, furniture, books, to think about buying them. And they want crafters to have some support and recognition. They are willing to wade in with media campaigns--in the jargon of the audience development biz--"forward facing" and then sector-facing. With crafters being the sector. I don't think I'll extend the forward facing metaphor too far. All the HI Arts craftscotland folks seemed both very energetic and willing to take on the job of actually listening to the folks they want to support.

It was a great day. Now I have a stack of handouts, a pocketful of business cards, some CDs and a headful of ideas. Now it's my turn to get down to work.

You can check out some of their ideas/activities here: www.craftscotland.org

Filled In Day

A rejection email for one of my non fiction pieces--albeit a very nice one--sent me scurrying from my keyboard into the consolation of wool. One batch--the cheviot fleece that, according to friend who gave it to me, was not folded properly, is still on the lawn having experienced several rainwater rinses now.

The remaining fleece has been retrieved from the lawn and we have been stepping over or around it on the floor of the laundry room.

I spent the past couple days in between chores reading two felting books, both of which I can wholeheartedly recommend to those of you given to idling away hours thinking of colours and patterns in wool.

Felt to Stitch: Creative Felting for Textile Artists by Sheila Smith ISBN 97807 13490084 is probably better for someone who already knows the fundamentals both of knitting and of felting although she includes the basics so that even a beginner ought to be able to do all the projects mentioned in the book. This book has an index, which I always like because I may often need to track down things that I have read somewhere, and an index is a lifeline for me. She provides additional resources, which I also like so that the learning from the book extends beyond the first or second reading. Her instructions are very clear and straightforward--the tech writer in me always pays close attention to that, and the photographs are both helpful and beautiful. Since she includes a very helpful chapter on colour and dyeing, this is a good book for background info for those of us who have had no formal art instruction since about 4th grade. There is also a brief list of different types of wool and their respective features for felting. Pretty much all you need is in this book. The chapters on shibori and other techniques incorporating stitches and non wool are great even for beginners and allow the reader to dip into those techniques without investing in more books or lessons. A good all around book.

Complete Feltmaking, as the title suggests, is another all around text. It is written for beginners with a subtitle is intended to reassure: "easy techniques and 25 great projects." Although it has a different look and feel about it from the more artistic, Felt to Stitch, it is an equally useful resource. I bought it on nothing more than the title and a quick peek at the contents on Amazon as a gift for a fellow textile-buddy. I was relieved to discover that it lived up to its name. Although intended for beginners, the projects range from simple to much more complex but all the techniques are limited to felting. The instructions are accompanied with large photogrpahs and easy step by step numbering. The book has no index, but it does include an additional resources page, and templates that can be photocopied for some of the projects in the book.

So yesterday was filled with reading these two books and looking at the slightly different approaches they take to felting. I made a list of projects from each to try and made one of the templates. Yesterday was what is called a filled in day--basically a day in which sky and ground combine to make a cloud blanket. The wind is still and the air reminds me of a supersaturated solution. If t6he sun comes out or the wind picks up ever so slightly, the day is said to "lift, " usually taking my spirit along with it.