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 14^th 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!