Thursday 5 February 2015

Introducing the Occasional Whittling Club....

For a couple of years now, Julian and I have been talking about holding a carving club for midlands carvers, but then we never get round to setting a date. And I’ve realised, the only way to ever make it happen is to go ahead and just set a date and go for it. So, here it is – the first meeting of the Occasional Whittling Club. It is not an exclusive thing – everyone is welcome, carvers of all ages and abilities, even if it is only an interest and as yet you haven’t carved anything, you’re welcome to come along. It is not for spoon carvers alone; whatever your craft interest – spoons, bark craft, pole lathing, abstract whittling – you are welcome to come share your enthusiasm.
I chose to call it a ‘moot’ as this is the word for a gathering used amongst the Bushcraft fraternity, which is where Julian’s and my interest in whittling first originated, and I suspect the same is true for a number of greenwood workers. It comes from the old English word ‘gemot’ or the Anglo-Saxon ‘mot’ which means ‘a gathering’, but it seems also to mean ‘a tree stump’, which I thought was quite apt for our purposes.

I will post details of time and venue a little closer to the date, but it will be on Saturday 14th March, morning or afternoon, maybe both, not sure yet – put the date in your diary. It will be in Leicester (most probably my house so there is no charge for attendance) so if you are a Midlands based carver or fancy a trip to Leicester, we look forward to seeing you.

It will be an informal event – some carving, sharing of ideas, borrowing of tools, advice and guidance if required, but mostly chatting about wood. Bring tools and items to show; bring items to swap if you wish. If you have some nice wood, bring it with you. It should be fun – who knows, it might even become a regular thing.


Whilst confirmation of attendance is not compulsory, if you know for sure you are most likely going to come along, please just drop us a comment so we have some idea of numbers. Happy spooning!

5 comments:

  1. Sounds great! I'm a maybe, it's in my calender but that weekend could be tricky, will try!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Tom, it would be great if you could make it - nice to finally meet. Let me know.

      Richard

      Delete
    2. Hi Tom, didn't realize this was Mother's Day weekend so have changed to the following Saturday, if that helps any. Check out the blog for revised details.

      Thanks Richard

      Delete
  2. I thought I'd replied to this fantastic idea, but can't find trace of it. It would be great to meet, but can't commit to it yet as it's Mother's Day weekend. Can I let you know near the time?
    Rob

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rob, glad you got in touch - I have sent a reply once, but I'm never sure if I send them from my phone or ipad if they actually get sent - it hasn't shown it here so I'm guessing not. Any way, I'm changing the date to the follwong Saturday if that helps? Check out the most recent post for details.

      Thanks Richard

      Delete