The class is taught by local artist, Wendy Rodgers who took up the craft about six years ago. 

“I just fancied the idea of it and the opportunity came along more than anything,” she said.

Since then, she spins, dyes and felts both functional and sculptural work, and passes on her knowledge to some eager students.

Wendy said the class is working on felting and spinning with New England wool. She pulled out a handful of the dense raw fibre, then a colourful clutch purse in vivid purples and magenta tones she had created from that wool.

Hazel Gillard held up a beautiful felted handbag with a swirling image floral pattern. The class is her first experience with felting and is enjoying herself. “It’s fun. It’s just one of those classes where it’s got a real buzz,” she said.

She felt Wendy was a brilliant teacher, an opinion that raised a chorus of agreement in the studio.

Julie Michel was carding wool to even the strands, and then created a multicoloured woollen strap, rings and a compact and bright woollen disc as a button cover. She felt felting promoted sustainability by reusing old fabrics and fibres.

 “You use material piece for backing, and you can recycle wool,” she said.

Colleen Nancarrow and Ann Maree Nelson were busy rolling up gossamer layers of wool upon wool to make woollen beads for jewellery. Colleen demonstrated how to wet down the wool and rolls it up into a ball in the palms of her hands. 

“Just constant rolling will make it firm down,” she said, showing the small bright ball that resulted.

Pattie Provis had nearly completed a wall piece of a landscape dotted with puffs of white, soon to have heads and legs. Colleen had two of her felted paintings of her own beside her, one representing three men, hand-shearing in a shed with their legs awash in wool. 

Colleen felt the class offered her an enjoyable escape from an often hectic life.

“To be able to sit down and concentrate on something that’s really relaxing is such good R and R for me,” she said.