Needle Felting in the Potting Shed at Nymans.

Last Monday I had the great pleasure of teaching 10 very willing ladies the art of Needle Felting in the most glorious location, Nymans Gardens.

If you havent been to Nymans, its a stunning romantic house and ruins belonging to the National Trust set in a beautiful 20th Century garden and ancient woodland in West Sussex.

Being my first workshop, I wanted to get it right, so.......

Prior to the day there was a lot of preparation......

...as you can see, I had cut and sewn lots of bags all made from recycled felted blankets.....

....pinks.......white......

....green and blue!

...all ready for the ladies to needle felt onto.

 If youve never heard of needle felting its a very simple process of pushing a very sharp needle that has little barbs on through wool that has been carded, graded and dyed. The more you stab the wool the more it felts. You can be a simple as you like or add as much detail and embellishment as you like. There are some great tutorials online!

All set and ready to go, I filled the car with boxes and bags, books and foam, needles and embellishments! The day had come........

 Now let me set the scene....... a roaring fire in a huge woodburner inside a large potting shed which is very similar to the bookshop seen in the picture below.

I love the fact that even though the potting shed is set up for workshops it still has the pots under the tables!

As you walk down to the shed you get glimpses of the house and ruins......

These pictures were taken during the summer but even in the winter the gardens are sensational...

......as I strolled down secret pathways carrying my boxes and bags, a little Robin skittered around a wash of snowdrops, chirping away as it hunted out its breakfast....

Eventually the potting shed and I were ready to meet the willing students!

The staff were fantastic in helping me set up (thanks Kirsty!) and had even laid on tea, coffee and delicious cakes!

After showing the ladies the basics of Needle Felting they were all eager to get started on their own bags.

I was in total awe at how easily they all just got stuck in and how different they all were......

..... some of the ladies were very abstract, this lady made the most delightful landscape......

.... there were hearts and spots.....

...... beautiful flowers, petals and leaves.

The ladies were a delightful bunch and a real pleasure to teach and I am very proud of my talented students!

This photo doesn't do them justice but they made a fantastic and beautiful collection, all lined and ready to go, you can understand why I'm so proud of my students!

I will  be teaching the same workshop at the end of March (fully booked) but if you are interested, I will be teaching again at Nymans in May, the art of Needle Felting Little Animals!