What's On 2024

2024 UWALS Craft Workshops

Felting - *Please note the change of venue*

Friday June 7^th 2024 10am to 4pm at Threshfield Institute : FELTING WORKSHOP led by Louise Curnin. 

Louise is a Feltmaker, Tutor and Milliner. She lives in beautiful Wensleydale and the surrounding landscape is her inspiration. Louise has been a feltmaker for over 12 years, having been taught initially by the world-renowned Sheila Smith and she is passionate about spreading her feltmaking skills to new enthusiasts and thoroughly enjoys teaching workshops to groups and individuals hoping they also get the feltmaking bug! Wetfelting is a very versatile medium however Louise’s specialities are lighting and wearables such as scarves, hats and bags. More details about Louise and her workshops can be found on her website www.handmadefromloPeandlou.co.uk

Course description

The day will be separated into two halves. To start, Louise will guide you through the process of creating a beautiful garden or landscape inspired design, and then you will spend the rest of the morning session laying out your design in wool and silk fibres and working the fibres to make the felt fabric for your tealight shade using the wet felting method. Your felt fabric will then dry over lunchtime and we can then spend the afternoon constructing the tealight shade and testing our shade with the tealight provided. The day is suitable for everyone, especially novices. All materials and equipment are provided.

Equipment the participants will need to bring to the course:

A notebook and pen if you wish to take notes, a camera or mobile phone if you wish to record in pictures.

A waterproof apron to protect your clothes, not essential.

Waterproof gloves if you have skin allergies.

A hand towel

A ruler, pen or pencil and scissors for cutting paper.

Cost: £20 (UWALS subsidy), tea, coffee etc included. Please provide your own lunch.

Tapestry Weaving

Wednesday 10^th July 10 am to 4pm Threshfield Institute: Tapestry Weaving led by Anna Wetherall. Anna has been weaving tapestry since 2013 exhibiting her work as part of several group exhibitions.  She studied with a number of leading UK tapestry weavers, is an active member of the British Tapestry Group and runs Nearly Wild Weaving with colleague, Irene. Her inspiration for weaving comes from the natural world, the landscape and its history. She aims to convey a sense of place, the touchstone of a point in time. As a geologist and ecologist, she sees the processes and patterns that have shaped what is around us, this is reflected in the tapestries she weaves. She is passionate about connecting people and nature, and has found that tapestry weaving and other approaches to artistic creativity can make a massive difference to people’s health and wellbeing.

Course description

Come and explore the patterns, textures, colours and shapes in the landscape, translating them into simple woven tapestry. We will take a short stroll outside to look at the views and local features (weather permitting), taking our inspiration from what we see and perhaps hear. We will then return indoors and explore how we can translate our ideas into tapestry in simple ways, or, if you have woven before, perhaps stretching your skills in new ways. Suitable for beginners and improvers. Bring your own equipment if you have it, but there will also be looms warped up ready to go and a range of weft yarn for you to use. Additional equipment will be available for sale, should you wish to continue weaving after the workshop day.

Cost: £20 (UWALS subsidy), tea, coffee etc included. Please provide your own lunch.

Lino-printing

Wednesday 4^th September 10am to 4pm Conistone with Kilnsey Hall : Lino- printing led by Tilly Dagnall

Some of you may have attended Tilly’s very well received workshop some years ago We were asked to bring her back so here she is!

Tilly is a printmaker, usually working with found and reclaimed timber. (This will be a lino-printing workshop)
She draws influences from Japanese woodblock printing, the arts and crafts movement (especially William Morris!) and the natural world around her.

All materials will be provided but participants are encouraged to bring along pictures that inspire them.  Tilly will also provide books etc to stimulate ideas.

Cost: £20 (UWALS subsidy), tea, coffee etc included. Please provide your own lunch

2023

• David Joy, author of more than 50 books and a former editor of the Dalesman, will be giving us a talk at Conistone with Kilnsey Hall on Thursday, 26th October. Its theme will be his newly published memoir Mostly Joy, which looks back at times good and bad for his farming family, long based at Hebden. It forms a sequel to his earlier book, Men of Lead, which was the subject of a fascinating presentation at our 2021 AGM.   More details nearer the time.

  PLEASE NOTE; This talk will be totally new and not to be confused with the presentation David will be giving at The Stripey Badger on 19th September or, indeed a talk, his cousin, Dave Joy, is giving on October 23rd!

• Victoria Benn will be speaking at our AGM on November 22nd 2023 at Kilnsey with Coniston Hall. UWALS AGM Wednesday 22nd November Conistone with Kilnsey Hall 7pm. As usual business will be dealt with efficiently, followed by cheese and wine. Our guest speaker this year is Friends of the Dales' Membership and Events Secretary, Victoria Benn.  Victoria is well known as a feature writer across several regional publications and has also written two books about the Yorkshire Dales, its people and traditions; she  will be sharing stories and insights from her research into this area and its inhabitants over the years. I shall be giving more details of this talk nearer the time. It is always helpful for catering if you could indicate that you will be attending - we would hate to run out of chese and wine!