Wonderful Workshop and Magnificent Moose

Last Thursday and Friday, I gave my "Photo to Mat" workshop to 14 enthusiastic hookers in Orillia, Ontario.

From start to finish, it was a great workshop! An easy drive of just an hour and a quarter and I arrived at a renovated movie theatre that is now the Orillia Community Church. We had a sun-filled, large room that easily accommodated us - lots of amenities including wifi and a coffee bar and on and on.

Here is the bright, cheery room we were set up in for the two days. In addition to the lower level where we had our tables set up for working, there was a wonderful set of sofas and coffee table for eating lunch.

The photos that people brought to work with ranged from an assortment of animals (giraffes and chipmunks, a beautiful pair of golden retrievers and a couple of moose), buildings, parents and grandkids, seascapes, pick up trucks - subjects as personal and as individual as the students.

I was lucky enough to spend Thursday night at my friend Helen's home in a lovely area of Orillia. I hadn't been there before and was very impressed with her "hood" and the lovely restaurant that some of us dined in on Thursday night. It was called Theo's Eatery and if you are ever in Orillia, I highly recommend it.

I took a few photos of their early stages on their projects on Friday, but have decided to hold off on showing anything until they send me their finished pieces, which they all promised to do.  I am always proud to brag about them here on the blog.

On Friday night, I arrived home just moments before the kids came from the city and made a delicious dinner. What a treat to have dinner made for me - and to have the kids here till Sunday after lunch.

Yesterday one of the couples we were with in Barbados arrived for a  short-but-sweet visit - basically dinner and a sleepover - again, not nearly long enough.  Check out my hostess gift! "Crawford" is needle felted and is sitting on a half birch log having his lunch. What a face!  He has a place of honour among his fellow moosies.

His creator has been making her own zoo of needle felted critters for her grand daughter.
And I am proud to be the owner of her first moose. She is very talented at many fibre arts.

She fell under the hooking spell while here and left with a frame, a hook, some backing and a project pattern. A sure convert!!! When she sat down to pull a few loops at the frame yesterday, it was like she had been doing it for ages. She is a natural. So another one joins the fold......