Annual    Salt Spring Island   Felt Retreat   

This fun and creative felt retreat will be held in our beautiful Beaver Point Hall, Salt Spring Island.  It is on our Island bus route and easily accessible by the Fulford Ferry and the Victoria airport.  There are a variety of accommodation choices nearby.

This 5 day retreat will include 3 projects:
a nuno silk chiffon scarf
a jazzy sculptural bag, hat or vessel
​and a breezy silk chiffon vest, dress or tunic
and a fibre dye session

Registration:
July 2-6,        5 days, $675 plus materials fee
July 4, 5, 6    3 days, $435,    garment workshop   
July 2, 3        2 days, $290,    scarf and bag,vessel workshops
you can bring your own or purchase all materials needed from me.  You will receive a supply list.

Here is a link to my helpful accommodation, travel info. and map.
   
Contact me for an e-transfer and or other payment method.
lauriesteffler@gmail.com

Felt Retreat Projects:

Monday:  
We will create our own unique scarf .  
                     

nuno silk chiffon scarf                                     Create a double-sided felt scarf with merino wool and silk chiffon.   Laurie will demonstrate many design ideas that include colour layering, how to join different silk fabrics, create holes and openings for fastening the scarf in place,  make felt leaves and vines that trail off the silk chiffon border, flower designs that can become button fasteners, colour layering and incorporating embellishments like silk hankies.  
You will learn how to felt by hand with tips and techniques that will make the felting process as easy and fast as possible.

Tuesday:
Learn how to create a resist for a bags vessel hat. 

Seamless Felt bag, vessel or hat created using a resist.  
Design your own unique and sculptural bag, hat or vessel by creating a resist that will define the shape and style.    Learn this seamless felting around a resist technique and gain a comprehensive understanding of layering wool.
I will be demonstrating many surface design techniques including the use of prefelts, cords, protrusions, textural embellishments and any ideas that you would like to incorporate.  For those making a hat you will also learn how to block the hat to fit you.

Wednesday
Thursday
Friday:
Creating a vest, dress or tunic with seamless garment construction 

"Designing Your Own"
Silk Chiffon Felt Vest, Dress or Tunic
seamless garment construction
   You will learn how to measure and create a resist with shrinkage allowance that allows you to make a nuno-felted dress, vest or tunic to fit you properly in your own unique style.   The felt techniques that you learned and practised in the previous classes will support this project.  You will have merino wool/ silk roving and silk chiffon fabric in a multitude of colours to choose from.  Laurie will demonstrate colour layering, creating texture, using silk chiffon as a base, piecing different silk fabrics, shadow layering, multiple resists, using pre-felts and embellishments.   You can bring design ideas and photos of designs that inspire you to help you create your project.   Laurie has 30 years of felting experience and can help you create anything you can conceive.           

" This workshop which included three different projects was extremely well organized and supplied.    Her explanations were clear and she made sure her instructions were understood before proceeding.  The techniques we learned were totally new to me... I designed and  created a seamless garment that fit me perfectly.  I would recommend this workshop to any level of felters from novices to an experienced master level."  Betsy

"This workshop was truly a deep adventure into the endless possibilities that felting allows. Laurie is a very passionate teacher with a rich artistic sensibility that allows for a very rewarding experience. She is generous with her knowledge, supplies and support. You will finish feeling very satisfied and grateful. " Kim