Belper Woollen Woods 2017

Its that time of year again when the people of Belper are working hard to produce this years Belper Art Festival. A tremendous amount of planning goes into this event which each year gets bigger and better. Yesterday there was a small crowd who met at Number 28 on the Market Place to produce the festival trailer for 2017. IMG_0039

The part of the festival that I am most involved with is the Woollen Woods. This will be its third year and it is really exciting that both individuals and groups are already planning and working hard on their pieces. The wood is very central to the town of Belper, known as Belper Parks Wood. There is a free carpark beside the Market Place and a way to walk into the woods from there.

So far one of the care homes is getting involved as is a children’s nursery. There are young people who are learning to knit and others who have elaborate plans for complete trees. One of the highlights of last years event was the story trees, who could forget Alice in Wonderland or Noah’s Ark?Alice in tree doormouse Alice Tree animals ark

I know for a fact that this year there will be more of these trees, however this is truly an event that everyone can be part of. Last year we had lots of pom pom animals and spiders webs made from sticks and wool.pom pom ladybird in the woodsIMG_6243

It really doesn’t matter if you are not an expert knitter or crocheter, once everything is place in the woods it all looks fantastic and adds to the magic. Squares and rectangles of knitting can be turned into creatures fit for the woods. This caterpillar was made from a rectangular piece of knitting sewn into a tube and stuffed.IMG_0006

This year the pieces will be installed in the woods on Friday May 12th and will stay there until Sunday May 21st. We have an exciting addition to the Woollen Woods on Saturday May 13th when Lauren an artist and storyteller from Nottingham will be telling stories with the aide of her beautifully made puppets. This will be in Number 28 from 2.30pm. These are tales from Into the Wild Wood and will be suitable for families with primary school age children.IMG_0022

There is still plenty of time to be part of the Belper Art Festival and Woollen Woods. Please contact me at anneclarkhandmade@gmail.com

 

5 thoughts on “Belper Woollen Woods 2017”

  1. Hello my name is Glenda Jackson and I’ve been to see the woollen wood’s today with my family. I think it is fantastic. I love to see people’s knitted toy’s. I like to knit the odd toy my self. If you ever want me to knit something for the woollen wood’s please let me know. I live at Uttoxeter staffs. ?

  2. Thanks for you comment Glenda and yes please it would be fantastic if you made some things for next years Woollen Woods. I don’t know the dates yet but it will be in May. You can make single items or take on the challenge of a whole tree. We will be hoping to expand the Belper Zoo tree and animals you would expect to find in a wood are also ver welcome. Keep an eye on the Belper Woollen Woods Face-book page.

  3. hi Anne
    Jane at Fleet Arts said you are looking for teasels and other wild plants . I have some ( giant hairy thistle, teasel, foxglove – may be others) do you want to come and collect choose/collect some?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *