visit Halfpenny Home Website

Thursday 15 February 2018

Workshops 2018, forging ahead!

 Happy New Year!
I was given this (far to nice to be used as a) teatowel for Christmas, what to do with it? Hmmm...
This list of workshops is horribly delayed due to moving house over Christmas, having some fun decorating at home and finishing an upholstery project found in the garage! The chair wasn't going to be pink but the fabric we've had put by for 6-7 years didn't fit, a happy mistake!
 Finding lots of treasures in the large garage at home led to a move around in the shop, some vintage French linen sheets to be added soon...and that's not the only change this year! The farm that HH HQ is based on has made it a mission to help reduce single use plastic waste which has been highlighted for polluting our seas. Finding out that teabags contain a small amount of plastic has shocked a lot of people and when I think about emptying my wormeries there are all those mesh bags clinging onto the tea leaves, not a nice thought! Tea is an important part of the workshop day here and pleasing everyone is a priority, I was about to buy some more little teapots when I remembered the Pyrex pots with their retro shape and flying saucer lids - perfect!
 I'm not the only one moving stuff around, the farm shop has it's new dispensers on the shelves so you can bring along your own reusable containers to get your dry goods home safely.

Refills too!



 I always say that I could never be bored as there's always something I can find to do but the sight of woad at the allotment and the flower stem shooting reminded me that I really needed to get on with some work!



 That's not a forge and anyway why is there a forge on the table?

This was my little present to the Mister and me for getting to the end of another book, we have been looking for blacksmithing supplies for a while and this beauty can also do raku firing on pottery. We haven't lit it yet...
 Workshops 2018
 Needle Felting with Sue (we call her Super Sue)
March 10th
April 22nd
May 12th
June 10th
July 14th
September 23rd
October 20th
November 18th
December 9th

 Bears with Helen
Jointed, collector bears in mohair made over two sessions with a little homework in between. £80 with everything included, the pack includes a pattern.
April 21st and 28th
October 13th and 27th
 Stitchery, can also be booked as a private session, a 1-2-1 or a 1-2-2 Look at those lovely piped corners by a beginner piper and she did a zip too!
March 3rd - Free motion machine embroidery
May 13th - Buttons, piping, zips and bits
July 29th - Stumpwork embroidery
November 24th - Embroidered scarf
November 17th - Hessian Santa sacks
December 15th - Embroidered scarf
December 16th - Hessian Santa sacks
 Upholstery days are good fun, hard work but very satisfying! Contact me for details and booking. This gorgeous sofa was a very ambitious project for a complete beginner, I usually recommend a small chair!
 In addition to the two day workshops Helen runs for us she has also squeezed in a one day fluffy mouse day on March 17th.
 Some workshops are nice and tidy, some are just full on messy like indigo dyeing and I like to describe wet felting as 'clean mess' as it's just fluff with soap and water!
Kris is coming back on the following days this year. We start at 10 and run through till 4 with cake and coffee inbetween!
March 24th
May 25th
September 29th


Natural dyeing and Indigo
 April 15th - Plant dyeing
May 27th -Indigo
August 19th - Fresh woad
September 9th - Indigo
September 16th - Feathery reed heads

Hooking! Fun with hooks...

Crochet
March 25th
June 24th
September 30th 

 April 8th - Rag rugs

August 12th - Tatting

Printing

March 11th - Roller printing

Lino cutting and printing
April 29th
July 8th

Soap and candles
November 11th
November 25th

Lots more will be added over the year so watch this space! Nic x