Last Saturday we taught a Blending Board workshop at The Tin Thimble in Loomis, CA. This workshop was a fun challenge for us as The Tin Thimble’s focus is felting, rather than spinning, knitting, and weaving – though they are branching out with new classes they are offering in each of those disciplines.
First, here’s a look inside the classroom while our students worked away:
The Tin Thimble is in an old fruit packing shed (they call it a shed but really it is a warehouse) that is home to about a dozen different businesses, including a nursery. The fruit shed has been carved into little shops, offices, and even a café, and it is fun to walk through and read the notes on the history of the building and the surrounding area (I’m making a mental note to take more photos next time!). The whole building has a pretty cool early 20th century factory vibe and is well-lit and designed for a fun experience for anyone walking through. The classroom has corrugated siding and bare wood walls with a wood floor that has been relieved of most of its paint by decades of fruit packers going about their business. A fun location to teach in!
But I digress. Back to the workshop! Here are a couple “batts” that our students removed whole – rather than as rolags – since their end use was felting:
The highlight of the day had to be a new technique we developed that we’re calling “the jelly roll” based on a project in the book Uniquely Felt by Christine White. The result was a smashing success, with Sharon – one of The Tin Thimble’s owners – promptly wet felting and slicing the roll. The round medallions can have any number of uses, as Sharon demonstrated by quickly working one into a future button and one into a small flower.
That’s it for now! We had a lot of fun teaching this class and look forward to more like it in the future. Head to our Class and Show Schedule page to see when and what we’ll be teaching in your area.
