Dornoch Fibre Fest: 17th-19th March 2017

This exciting event, held in mid-March each year, has become a fixture in the Dornoch Calendar and is an opportunity for you to immerse yourself in all things fibre. Spinning, weaving, patchwork and feltmaking; all these feature regularly either as Masterclasses or drop-in demonstrations where you can try new skills. And of course it provides a great opportunity to browse the market area where you can buy those essential additions absolutely necessary to any serious fibre worker’s stash.

Fibre Fest is run by an enthusiastic group of local fibre artists. Past teachers include world famous tapestry artist Joan Baxter. In 2017 the opening talk ‘In the Footsteps of Sheep’ is by Feral Spinner, Debbie Zawinski. Please see the website for the full programme

This year there is a distinctly woolly feel with classes in spinning, felting, knitting and tweed holdall making. The weekend begins with an Opening Talk on Friday evening (6.30pm at St Finnbarr's Church, Admission £5 on the door) followed by a soup and cheese supper at the Social Club.

Then the weekend continues on Saturday morning with stalls and events at the West Church Hall and the Social club.  There will be a wide variety of craft materials available to purchase and a number of classes and drop-in demonstrations where you can learn new skills. Classes must be booked in advance but drop-in sessions are free to all.

Our cushion competition is back! The cushion can be of any design using mixed media, but must not measure more than 18”. Sponsored by the Royal Dornoch Golf Club, entries must be at the West Church Hall by 11am, Saturday 18th March. There are three prizes on offer, including a special prize from the Shetland Sheep Society for any cushion which includes the use of Shetland Wool*.

Take part in the raffle and be in with a chance of winning a Quality Quilting and Dressmaking Starter Kit worth £70! Other prizes will include a signed copy of the book “In the Footsteps of Sheep” by our guest speaker Debbie Zawinski.

The Opening Talk this year is 'In the Footsteps of Sheep' by Debbie Zawinski, a Welsh-born Scot. She is a lady of many talents and an intrepid explorer of wild places. One summer Debbie took her spinning, her knitting and her tent and set off around Scotland in search of a unique pair of Scottish socks. ‘In the Footsteps of Sheep’ tells the tales of her adventures, in words, pictures and socks, discovering rare sheep, remote communities and Scotland’s wildest places. Debbie will be recounting her travels around Scotland in this opening talk and copies of her book will also be available to buy

Saturday 18th March

Make Felt pictures with Sheila Bates, a textile artist who has been 'painting' with wool for over 20 years. She is inspired by our Highland land and seascapes as well as the traditional felting techniques of Central Asia. She continues to produce work from her business now based in Torridon, Croft 7. Sheila has been running felt workshops over a number of years using natural dyes in her art work to help capture the soft hues of the landscape. In this workshop you will have the opportunity to design and create your own felt-scape using two different techniques, one of which will involve the use of pre-felts as the canvas for an abstract piece. You will use a mix of merino, Shetland and other locally produced wool.

There will be drop in workshops in embroidery, patchwork and knitting.

Sunday 19th March

Jennie Howes is a spinner, knitter and designer with a business selling her own yarns and designs, Skybluepink Designs. In this advanced spinning class Jennie will teach you to make supercoil yarns. These can then be used for crochet, knitting, weaving or embroidering. They can also be used to embellish and adorn all kinds of craftwork, or be made into jewellery using needle felt finishing techniques. You will also learn to spin core spun yarns, which allow small quantities of beautiful fibres to be spun into strong yarns which emphasise the qualities of the fibre used.

Make your very own travel holdall with Denise Brown, a seamstress who has a studio in Lairg and is presently training to be an upholsterer. She has been teaching various sewing classes over the last 5 years, is passionate about her craft and loves teaching it to others. In this workshop you will have the opportunity to make your own small tweed travel holdall.

Drop in workshops include crochet and needle felting.

Book online for masterclasses now

Click here to download a pdf copy of the 2017 Fibre Fest Brochure

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Dornoch Fibre Fest: 17th-19th March 2017 first published to Visit Dornoch YouTube Channel