Studio 256 celebrates Felstgiving

Wadesboro — Studio 256 owner Heather Edwards has been hosting Community Night events for her fellow creatives in Anson County for quite some time now, though during the winter months she goes from meeting once a week to once a month.

Edwards shop holds a special kind of magic, a feeling of being welcome to experiment creatively without judgement, and Feltsgiving Community Night was no different.

Quite a group gathers for the Tuesday night afternoon fellowship from 4-6 p.m. at Studio 256. It is a mix of adults and children kicked back in Edward’s cozy studio enjoying some stress-free time, a chance to ask advice and to learn something new, in this case, felting.

Sheena O’ Shea, co-owner of Shae’s Craic N’ Crafts, got the idea for holding the needle felting community night, suggested it to Edwards, and the rest is history.

O’Shea says needle felting involves sculpting shapes and figures using wool and special felting needles.

“It is best to start off as small as possible. Say you are making a pumpkin, anything spherical, you want to start off with a hard ball, something like a tennis ball, and then you build your layers from there with the felt,” says O’Shea.

As you add layers, O’Shea says to consistently stab your project with a needle to make it firm.

At the meeting, attendees worked steadily away on various shapes including sheep, Christmas trees, pumpkins, and even a snowman.

“I love holding community nights because it gives people a chance to get together to craft, stitch, whatever you do creatively, and just have a good time together,” says Edwards.

Edwards says she believes in fostering a spirit of goodwill in the community and says she feels the best way to do this is by getting to know each other, and so has opened the night up to those at home to join in via Zoom.

“I just encourage people to come by, get comfortable, and do their own thing,” says Edwards.