This was day 4 of my 4 days of workshops at Bead Gallery Inc in Salem NH. It was devoted to feltmaking, rather than beading. Of course some cross-over beaders were in attendance: owner Genevieve, Dionne, Marianne and Gerry. But we also had lampwork beadmaker Jacqui, art clay instructor Michela, a fiber and jewelry artist Jamie, and a special surprise: Fran, a beader whose work appears in MASTERING BEADWORK page 185 (Fran's Swirling Ndebele) and is my studio assistant and Jamie's sister.
The sweet little reversible coat shown here is Michela's beautifully and seamlessly constructed masterpiece. She was kind enough to bring it for "show and tell".
Our project for this day is nuno felted neckwear. Here they are shown embellishing a hemmed 9 x 54 inch silk scarf with fine merino fiber, yarns and synthetic fibers.

After wetting the wool, some felters worked on their own projects and some shared the laborious rolling by layering several onto one piece of solar pool cover and taking turns.
I let all but three felters get away before I remembered to take a shot of their work to share with you. Sorry. Dionne, Gerry and Marianne are shown here.

Notice the quilted tote to the right of Marianne? Last year she came to class with a similar one and I coveted it so badly, she sold it to me. Plus, when I asked, she brought another to class the next day for my beloved niece Amy, who shares my passion for cool bags and the ceaseless search for the perfect one! Looks like she managed to make a replacement one for herself. Marianne makes exquisitely beautiful beading "cases". She combines gorgeous fabrics with her talent for piecework and quilting, with a beading mat. It has pockets for tools and supplies, and rolls up and buttons conveniently. She gifted me with one in a Laurel Birch cat fabric that I love! Thank you Marianne. PS If you are longing for one for yourself, no problem. She makes a constant supply for purchase at Bead Gallery Inc.

Ya know how that marketing business and competitiveness between Art Clay and PMC is foreign to us and frankly, off-putting? Many of us are wayyyy more interested in the medium and less hung up on choosing a camp. When we were talking about such things today, Michela shared with us that several metal clay instructors joined forces and began a registry of teachers that is not based on the branded product or marketing. She is proud to be the 7th of these Registered Metal Clay Masters!
Gerry had asked about bangle and beadmaking during this nuno class. I was able to demonstrate both quickly, since we had several Turbo Felting Boards on hand. So, while I packed up after class, Genevieve "banged out" this layered felt bangle. She'll use the slices she cut off as felt cabochons.

We have a series of workshops scheduled for April and October (Columbus 4-day weekend) for next year. There are already several sign ups so, if you want to join in, don't delay.