Spoonfest

I was there, and I've got the t shirt!
This had to be the best value festival ever. For the same price you would pay on a local campsite there was everything a spoon carving enthusiast could possibly want:- free wood, chopping blocks, inspirational teachers from around the world, food, local beer (after tools down of course), and the friendly company of nearly 200 other spooners. The atmosphere was great and inclusive so even people coming on their own felt involved. Skill sharing was rife and everyone from complete beginners to seasoned pro's had a fantastic time and the friendly atmosphere was infectious.
It's a big step from having a mad idea to actually pulling it off so a big thank you to Robin and barn for doing it and all the volunteers and people of Edale who helped to make it happen.
I arrived on Thursday to help get the party started and make sure the beer was well tested but also to attend the first workshop with Jogge Sundqvist  on the Friday morning. He was booked to do the opening lecture in the evening but added two workshops as well.

Sorry about the exposure, I wasn't paying attention and the camera was on the wrong setting!
Jogge's lecture was outstanding and worth the visit in its own right.

His spoons show particular attention to detail with a lovely finish. I dug deep into my pocket and bought the green and black one above to constantly inspire me! I also bought one of Jarrod StoneDahl's spoons which is a beautiful shape and a typical example of his work.

Fortunately, some of my spoons sold in the spoon shop (below) so I managed to make a small 'profit' over my purchases.

The workshops were very popular and quickly filled up. The demand was so great on the first day that extra ones were put on. This helped by doubling the places available but meant that the tutors missed out on ones that they would have liked to participate in as they were too busy teaching. Fritiof said that he was so tired in the last session that he ran out of English words!
After tea on Saturday night there was campfire singing into the early hours well away from the campsite.

Sunday morning saw another set of workshops organised ........

.... but people were better organised for queueing than before ....

..... with impromptu entertainment.

The last hour or so on Sunday saw a special collaborative event which was enjoyed by everyone. Sean Hellman took photos so I won't say anymore as I expect they will appear on another blog soon.

If you didn't attend this event make sure you look out for the next one and register as soon as possible.

Thanks again to all involved for a memorable event.

Pixie Spoons

Most people would know these as Gypsy spoons. When my 4 year old grandson was helping me get the shelter ready for the last spoon carving course he found a pointed stick and asked what it was for. It was left over from making some Gypsy flowers so I made him one. He gave it to his mum and said it was a pixie flower. I don't know if he miss-heard me or liked the name better but the name stuck and the spoons have bowls shaped like a pixie ear!

They are made quickly using Aspen which is a fairly soft wood and left as cut without any fine finishing. This gives a different aesthetic to the finer hard wood style used in Scandinavian carving yet still makes a practical spoon.

The right hand one was made without using an axe. I'm trying to reduce weight when traveling by bike so used a survival knife and lump of wood to cut across the grain for the shoulder, then split from the end of the handle. Worked well but needs working on the technique as you need three hands!

Multi-purpose Spoon?

When I was on the survival course four of us grouped together to reduce the effort needed for fire making and cooking. I soon found out that my nifty folding titanium spoon, which is excellent for camping on my own, wouldn't hack it for larger quantities. A spoon had to be made quickly from the wood used for the fire. No problem, as I had an axe and a knife, so 5 minutes later a multi-purpose but very crude spoon was in use. It worked quite well for stirring, serving and also for eating, and I was impressed by the wood as it worked well, was very dense (despite being a 'softwood') and was even used for poking the fire!

The wood had grown slowly and was very heavy and still green, so, being a keen  carver, I brought some home to identify and make some spoons with. These have spatula shaped ends for cooking, but with sufficient bowl depth to use for serving too. Not quite the multi-purpose spoon as they are too big for eating with.
Turns out that the wood is Lawson's Cypress which I checked with my 1972 copy of Herbert Edlin's 'Wayside and Woodland Trees'. He mentions another variety of Cypress which was discovered near Welshpool by someone called Leyland. It was being widely propagated as it had potential for quick timber production. I wonder if anything came of it?!!!!!!
I only have 6 spoons made from it and probably won't come across any more for a long time.

View from bivvi

Dawn, Saturday, -7C, 6 hours before snow arrived.

Camera battery had frozen. I warmed it up in the sleeping bag but could still only take this one pic. I was on Cannock Chase on a woodland survival course. Why, you may be wondering and so was I! Last minute decision which seemed like a good idea at the time. Was quite snug in my bivvi with two sleeping bags but not looking forward to getting out in the biting wind to get the fire going and cook the porridge. The wind had swung from the north to a south westerly and the bright morning was already closing in with the threat of snow. The tarp was arranged to cover the campfire and keep the worst of the wind out. Bang on 1pm the snow arrived, very fine at first which blew into everything, then larger flakes to build up a thick coating by late evening. The temperature had risen a little but it felt colder with anything damp freezing quickly so it was a relief to get into the cold but dry sleeping bag. This really was a survival course! Sunday morning was dull but calmer and with virgin snow everywhere a doddle to spot all the wildlife tracks left overnight including a lone badger in a sett not 30 yards from the camp.

So, what's the point? Could I do it I suppose was one reason, but you learn a lot in these situations and some of the skills are transferable to everyday spoon carving life. I prefer to work 'on site' which for spoon and bowl carving means close to the source of the wood. The finished products are much lighter to carry than the wet logs and all the waste can be used to keep you warm with a small but efficient fire.