TAG Treasury Team

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

A Weekend in September

Although we all live in the same state of Washington, the TAGT Team leaders had never all met in person. Mind you, we've been trying to make it happen for a couple of years! Well, it finally happened on the weekend of September 12th, 13th and 14th.

We met at Gail's home on the outskirts of Ellensburg, WA, on a beautiful Friday morning. Gail's property is situated a ways from the main road. There is a fabulous natural spring that feeds a beautiful pond in Gail's backyard.
She told us stories of otters that come in the winter and fish through the ice that doesn't quite harden off at one end of the pond. They also have Heron that come to fish. What a delight it is for them to have such an array of wildlife in their own backyard.

Gail's husband, John is a native of Great Britain. We were treated to his delightful humor, as well as his accent!

Come to find out that Gail is not the only creative one in her household. John is also the craftsman of amazing walking sticks. He gathers different species of wood and antlers from the nearby hills, and creates sticks such as these.

They come in a wide variety of sizes and styles. Some even include carvings done in the antlers, which are used to create the handles.
The detail is meticulous. It is clearly obvious that John's dedication to his craft runs deep. The areas that join wood to antler appear to be seamless, and the final finish is buttery soft and smooth. They are indeed works of art. I hope we will see some of these in Gail's shop in the near future!

One of the goals we had for this meeting, was to learn nuno felting, or wet felting as some call it.
We spread our supplies over the island in the kitchen and began crafting flowers. It's magical to watch layers of wool roving, silk hankies, silk fibers and other bits of sparkle and shine, bind themselves together to form fabric. Take a look at what we created! Be forewarned, once you get a taste of nuno felting, there's a chance you'll be hooked! Some of us spent some time ordering supplies for future felting fun!

We also learned the basics of some wire wrapping techniques, needle felted some colorful acorns and finished our crafting with Kathy teaching us how to make spirit dolls to commemorate our meeting. We walked around Gail's property, gathering weeds, twigs, rocks or other interesting bits of nature, then assembled our items into these delightful dolls.
The experience was so much fun! We were treated to great food, wonderful conversation and we learned new things. What could be better than that? Gail and John were wonderful hosts and if you are ever passing through Ellensburg, WA, you will want to stop by and meet them. This was our first meeting, but I doubt it will be our last!

Article submitted by Leanna of Seams Victorian, Bits and Purses, and Teez Loueez

13 comments:

  1. That sounds like such wonderful weekend.

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  2. What FUN!! You are Sisters in Etsy!!

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  3. What a beautiful home and area Gail lives in! How wonderful it is to meet up with other teamies :)

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  4. What fun to get to enjoy nature and create something beautiful together! :)

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  5. I can't imagine how satisfying, exciting and FUN the weekend must have been. Congratulations for all getting it together!

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  6. amazing walking sticks!! love the decorations
    ioana

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  7. This was such a fun weekend! I was so happy to be able to spend the time with all the wonderful Leaders and the Captain! Great tribute to our weekend Leanna!

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  8. Ladies, I envy your gathering. Oh how I miss getting together with friends to learn different art forms.

    Gail's property looks so tranquil I imagine she has some beautiful photographs of the wildlife and the scenery!
    Thank you so much for sharing your experience in a little corner of heaven.

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  9. What a wonderful story and gathering of TAGT Team. I wish I was there too! Your property is stunning and tranquil, fitting with nature. It's like a private paradise. Thank you for sharing your story with us. :)

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  10. What a beautiful meeting! Thank you for sharing with us! We are so far away but you make everyone feel so close to each other! :)

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  11. This looks like great fun! I would have loved to have been there :) The felting craft has always interested me and you girls have made some gorgeous pieces !

    Thank you for sharing.

    Best always,
    Robin

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  12. Wow! Looks a great time was had by all. Sounds like so much fun. What a beautiful spot, Gail. Love the pond.

    You all did a beautiful job nuno felting! I want to learn. The flowers are beautiful.

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  13. Looks like you all had so much fun and those dolls are just wondrous!! John's walking sticks are so cool!! Does he have an Etsy shop?? ;-) And the felting sounds like a fun new learn!!

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