I’ve been going to Scrapbooking classes at Swanstitch in Deal, run by Anita. You can check out her blog – it’s great! I took some of my needle felting along with me one day and a few people expressed an interest in Needle Felting. Anita, the owner of the shop, asked if I would be interested in teaching a Needle Felting class. After much umming and erring I decided to give it a go thinking it would be fine and that I would probably only have a couple of people there but after advertising the class to her mailing list, Anita soon had a full class of 11 booked for me. Well… to say I was a bit nervous is an understatement, but I went and gave it a go.
The First Class
It was very quiet for the first four minutes as everyone concentrated on stabbing their felting needles into the wool roving and then the first yelp of pain was heard. Stabbing fingers is a hazard of this otherwise enjoyable hobby. If you have ever seen a felting needle with its very long sharp point with barbs on it, you will feel our pain. Anyway, soon everyone had an adorable little face of a teddy bear staring up at them and there was a lot of oohing and ahhhhing as everyone fell in love with their creations. By the end of the 2-part class, everyone had finished their first Needle Felted bear and were very pleased. Since then my needle felting class has become a regular thing.
Future Classes
My next needle felting class is this Thursday evening but is fully booked. I have a few new people coming but my regulars want to make the hedgehog. If you would like to come along to a class, pop in to the shop Swanstitch in Deal and put your name down or give them a ring on 01304 366915.
The class fee is £7 from 7pm-10pm, and includes tea or coffee and biscuits. Bring your own needle felting things with you, or buy them in the shop when you arrive.
I am doing 3 mohair bear workshops during February and March on either a Saturday or Sunday from 9am -5pm The three classes so far are fully booked, but if I get enough people to do another day, I will. If you are interested, pop in to Swanstitch in Deal or phone the shop 01304 366915 and put your name down. The bear we will be making is based on Buttercup.