At the end of my marathon autumn clean, I was rewarded with a welcome visit from an old blogging friend and her little dears. This is turning into an annual pilgrimage; it is the third year she has made the journey over the county border. The girls scampered into the back yard and were soon playing at amateur archaeologists, digging up the various bits of gubbins which have been deposited in the cottage garden over the years and washing the muddy 'finds' in a tub of water with an old toothbrush. With some peace guaranteed, Mummy and I dived into tea and chat, which inevitably led on to needle felting and Mummy found herself with needle and wool, embarking on her first stab. Within minutes, a manic gleam had entered her eyes and I knew I had hooked another convert. With only a little instruction from me, she turned out a very respectable pin-cushion...
In the middle of this impromptu lesson, the girls trooped in, having found all the antiquities in the garden (and several lumps which looked suspiciously like stones, although I was assured they were ''parts of the house', which wouldn't surprise me at all, it is falling apart in places). Finding Mummy having such a wonderful time, they naturally wanted to join in. I have often pondered how children would take to needle felting, which, let's face it, does involve major freehand use of a jolly sharp, barbed needle. I think it depends on the child. These two being sensible and with a lovely Mummy who has encouraged them to craft, it was judged that WITH CARE they could give it a go. Spare sponge foam was brought out, my wool sack pillaged, and creations were started...
As my three guests were immersed in their new found hobby, I picked one of my own projects up, and with nice Einaudi playing softly in the background, we chatted and felted. It reminded me that this is often how female lore is passed on, through the little ones half listening to the quiet chit-chat of their elders. 'Little pitchers have big ears', as Laura Ingalls Wilder's Pa used to say and I was reminded of L M Montgomery's frequent descriptions of quilting 'bees' in her 'Anne' books with gossip, dreams and home spun wisdom putting the world to rights, while hands old and young busied themselves with flying needles.
Amazingly, no-one stabbed themselves seriously; despite the above picture, most of the time the needles went down into the sponges, not into soft little palms. It was some time before we remembered that we were supposed to be off to the woods for a late summer picnic and with reluctance the little dears were coaxed out for a muddy trek to a fallen tree, where egg sandwiches and crisps were consumed and blackberries foraged for. Then it was back to the cottage for more felting...with what I can only describe as extraordinary results. On the left, we have 'the Farmer's Wife', her companion who's name escapes me, and two dogs of the sausage variety.
The day had passed all too quickly and my guests departed, new zealots to the cause of needle felting. Catch 'em young is what I say.
Keeping on the craft theme, many thank to Aglaya's Knitting Garden, who included me in her Blog Day post, with a lovely review, and to Cat of Scatterbox 2, for showing my geesey-storky birds on her blog. Cat had not one but three items picked for the Etsy International Gift Guide. Cat has two Etsy shops, Scatter Box Originals selling her funky designs ranging from cushions to toys to bags and Treacle Toffee, for her stylish and subtle jewellery. I recommend having a look, because girls do love their accessories...
