The National Trust’s Arlington Court in North Devon is calling for enthusiastic crafters to create woollen creatures, great and small, to be part of their popular Woollen Woods exhibition which opens on 27 August.
Whether amateur or experienced, keen knitters, felters or crochet lovers are being asked to get crafting and donate woolly creatures to be part of the autumnal display when it opens later in the year. From acorns to owls or spiders webs to squirrels, all creations are welcome in the woods at Arlington Court for the exhibition.
Building on the success of the Woollen Woods in Bloom in partnership with Voluntary Arts in 2015, a woolly display of autumnal creatures will be returning to the woods at Arlington Court in North Devon. From May-August last year over 1000 knitted, felted or crocheted items were placed in a woodland glade, and visitors could explore the area with a trail challenging them to find specific creations.
Natalie Savage, Visitor Services manager for the National Trust at Arlington Court said: “All the creations from last year have been gently washed and stored over the winter, ready to begin the display in 2016. However, with this year’s exhibition taking place over September and October, we’re keen to have some more autumnal entries, such as acorns, fungi and dahlias.”
Over the past few years Arlington Court has established a reputation for being a crafty National Trust property. Past projects have included knitted bats, hundreds of woollen leaves, knitted daffodils and a community created peacock, where Facebook followers were asked to send in knitted peacock tail feathers.
Natalie said: “Additionally we’re looking to run a spooky trail for Halloween created from woollen characters such as knitted witches, crocheted pumpkins and felted eyeballs. There are plenty of great patterns on the internet and ideas from places such as Pinterest.”
The woollen items sent in during 2015 arrived from all over the country, with the youngest contributor being seven years old and the oldest well into her 90s.
To donate your crafty creations, each crafter is asked to send in their name, age and town where they live with their creation, to show who has contributed and how far they’ve been sent. All items should be sent to ‘Woollen Woods, Arlington Court, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 4LP’ by 16 October.
At the launch over the August bank holiday weekend there will also be a chance to get hands on making your own creations with The Knitting Tent, a homemade yurt, at Arlington from 27-29 August. The Halloween trail will run throughout October and will be free with usual admission charges.
For more information, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/arlington-court or call 01271 850296.
(from a press release)
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