Learn how to make a felted shoulder strap bag in this class.  Participants will learn how to work with resists to make a double-sided piece of felt and add a pocket.  Some felting experience would be helpful but is not required.  Wet felting is a very physically demanding activity, so come prepared with snacks and lunch to keep you going. 

Instructor's name 
Miriam Young - Using the traditional crafts of felting, knitting, crocheting, macrame, and embroidery, I create fiber art.  My most recent work involves wet felting and nuno felting.  Felting is transformation.  Thin, fragile wool roving is transformed into strong and vibrant felt by my hands, soap, water and agitation.  The colors, textures, thickness of the product, and ultimate shape of the felt are determined by me and the techniques that I use to create it.  I feel that I am creating something at a very fundamental level when I am felting.

I embellish my pieces with beads, hand embroidery, vintage lace or crochet work, and natural objects such as vines and driftwood.  The use of vintage work and hand embroidery ties me to the strong women in past generations who created beauty and art in their everyday lives by making pieces such as quilts.  Natural objects tie me to the earth, its intricate designs and rhythms, and our need to care for it.

I develop projects ideas in one of two ways.  Sometimes I select fiber and technique first and let that serve as the creative inspiration for the piece.  Often the colors and texture of the fibers themselves will tell me what they want to become in general terms.  Then I refine the idea, adding and subtracting materials until I have the combination that seems right for the piece.  Other times something external - a phrase from a book or song, a picture, or an object - will suggest an idea.  Then it is a matter of matching fiber, color and technique to make the idea a reality.  I seldom sketch an idea preferring to work with and manipulate the materials themselves to match the image I have in my mind of the finished piece. 

Course type 
1 Day Workshop 

Class time 
Saturday, January 22nd   10:00 am-4:00pm

Tuition 
$75 members; $95 non members

Ages
16 years old and up

Supplies
Please bring pantyhose or knee-highs and several towels to class. All other materials will be provided.

To RSVP please fill out our registration form here or call us at 405-744-1535.