Shepherds' Spring Farm

This is my post over on the Felting and Fiber Studio Blog. If you would like to join, just follow the link.

Hi, I’m Ann McElroy. I have been doing in-person teaching for about 20 years now.  After hearing much demand for a workshop like this from people who do not have access to in-person teachers and much nagging encouragement from my fellow bloggers, I put this class together.  Doing multi-part resist is great fun, and there are so many possibilities for this technique. Registration opens today, and class starts Oct 17.  You can register here, just scroll to the bottom: https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/classes/3d-multi-part-resist/

Have you ever wondered about working with more than one resist? Have you tried one resist and found that only one is not enough? Do you want more? I can help! Why have a single resist when you could have a full book of them! This fun course will expand your felting horizons. This step-by-step course will guide you from building the multi-part resist to the finished piece and give you the skills to continue. Why use only one resist when you can use more?

This workshop is $60 Canadian, approx. $45 US, $37 Euro, $32 British Pounds, $66 Aus., $73 NZ.

The workshop will be open for 4 weeks: from October 17 to November 14, 2025.  Here is a link to the material list: 3D supply list.   You will likely already have most or all of this. Registration and contact information are at the bottom of the page. Registration will open on October 1 2025.

This course is designed for Felters who have felted over a simple resist before. An experienced felter may be able to complete this class within a single day; however, the course can easily be extended over multiple days as needed. You can stop at the end of each PDF and continue another day or time. Using a step-by-step guide, you will make a three-dimensional six-part resist. This type of resist is often called a book resist, as it resembles an open book with the pages splayed.

The workshop is accessible for four weeks and has four downloadable instructional PDFs. I will be available to answer any questions for the 4 weeks the class is open. You will also have access to community spaces where you can share progress pictures and connect with the teacher and other students.

Your learning goals

• Learn how to make a multipart 3D book resist
• You will learn how to lay out and manage your wool for a three-dimensional resist.
• How to bring the wool and resist together in an organised and logical way. Including all the fiddly bits.
• How to felt a multi-part resist, managing all the parts.
• Learn three different methods of fulling and their advantages and disadvantages.
• You will have the option to choose from various finishing methods.
• How to use some everyday items to help with shaping and finishing.
• Experimenting with different shapes.

By the end of the course, you will have a unique sculpture. Mastering the book resist technique, you will unlock new creative possibilities for complex sculptural felting.

This workshop is $60 Canadian, approx. $45 US, $37 Euro, $32 Pounds, $66 Aus., $73 NZ.

You will be billed/invoiced by PayPal, and the vendor name on the bill will be Shepherds’ Spring Farm. Class sizes are limited to 50. A supply list, a Class Website Navigation PDF, and an Adding Photos to the Class Website PDF will be attached to the PayPal invoice for your convenience.

Please remember that the course content is for your own use and should not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without obtaining my prior written permission. Please respect the copyright.

The workshop will be open for 4 weeks: from October 17 to November 14, 2025.

Registration is now open. Register here, just scroll to the bottom: https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/classes/3d-multi-part-resist/

I’ve been working on my picture a little.  I decided there was no definite direction for the sun. I added some lighter green to the trees on the far edge, which also defined them more. They look very yellow-green in the photos, but they are much more green in person. I rearranged and added some very light grey to the mountains.

Finding the sun.

For the mid-ground, I thought maybe some bushes. I added 3 to work with but didn’t get very far before I pulled them off.

Bushes

I thought maybe some flowers in the mid-ground would work. I tried out several colours of sari silk waste.

Softsilk is a brand name, I think. It is shreaded finer than the other sari silk waist I have seen.  The pink and the brown are from the same batch of silk waist. I decided the softsilk was the best colour.

Flowers in the mid-ground

Now, I need to figure out the foreground. I may needlfelt and stitch some flowers. I may need to do something to blur the straight line in the sky on the left. I don’t notice it until I take a picture.

Before talking about felt, I just wanted to share with our friends who have mild winters. It is March here in Central Canada, and there is very little snow left. But as I said, it’s March, and March is a fickle month.  This is what I woke up to last Saturday.

March 29 snowfall.

Followed by freezing rain overnight Sunday.

March 30, freezing rain on top of snow.

Do not be feeling sorry for me. This is fairly normal here. We expect it, but I am envious of you sitting out in your gardens enjoying the spring flowers.

Now some felt. I finished up the pink sample for the book-resist workshop. I finished the pages 2 different ways just to show them. I think it might look nice with a light inside.

I made a second sample using a football shape. It is smaller.

The resist was fiddley to get out because I didn’t want a hole in it. So, didn’t want to cut a hole in the end.

After removing the resist, I sewed up the hole.

Stitching up the hole

Stitching after fulling.

Here is how it looks finished. I am really pleased with it. The stitching was resistant to being pulled out, but I did get it out.

I may have to make another one.   I may just have to stitch on this one. I have the wool ready for the next sample. I hope to have it done for you to see next time.

When teaching my vessels workshop a few weeks ago, I was showing the class pictures and talking about some more advanced vessels. They expressed an interest in all of them but especially in the book resist vessels. It got me thinking and now I am planning to give an intermediate vessel workshop later in the year, or maybe the new year, depending on scheduling.

At this point, my plan is to make 3 samples. That will help me write down the order and figure out how to teach it. I need to work out the materials list and timing, as well as how to teach it. Making them will also help me think of where things might go wrong.

I know there will have to be a prerequisite of having made at least one item, and preferably 2 or more items over a resist.

I plan on 3 different vessels. The first is a simple 6-sided circle pot.

The second one is more oval shaped vessel, I cut down the paper template from the circle so they will be about the same height when done.

And the last has an “odd” shape, again I used the half circle from the circle to draw the new shape to keep them about the same size.

As with most best laid plans, I discovered all I had for tape was narrow painters tape. So I will have to head to the store for some wide, strong tape that will hopefully stay stuck through the wet process of making a vessel.  In the meantime, I think I will start writing the instruction so I can jot down additions as I go.  I am not sure how long it will take to do all that. If I want to teach it in the fall through my guild, I will need to get the proposal in when the call for workshops goes out in the spring.