Whittling away time at the Stobbie Jammin'

It’s always a delight to see a community come together to share and learn, and The Stobbie Jammin was that and more. A day of jamming, juicing, crafts, willow weaving, storytelling and a big community lunch.

It began at the Boomerang Centre planters, where our usual Saturday of watering the plants, deadheading the marigolds and harvesting the vegetables was broken up with trips through to the main hall to chat to the people there who were hosting a big lunch as part of the Eden Project. 

The lunch was a group effort in many ways. Volunteers all worked together; a whole team peeling carrots, another manning the pots and pans in the kitchen, others serving bustling tables. They were kind enough to pop through to us Room To Be folk and invite us in to join them at the table for food sharing. There was a spicy carrot soup, warm potato salad and coleslaw too - all vegan - which were made from donated and locally harvested foods. Afterwards, we were all encouraged to take any leftover produce, as well as recipe cards if we ever wanted to try the tasty dishes again. 

After a hearty meal, it was over to Baxter park for the arts and crafts portion of the day. Tucked away in a wee corner of the park there were a few different spots to check out. At one side, two tents, cosied up with cushions and blankets, made a delightful place for wee ones to sit and hear a story from a storyteller. And the willow weaving class in the main room looked full to the brim with folk learning how to turn branches into baskets.

Under a tree (where else?) was the whittling class run by Kiri Stone, who is available on Instagram under @woodswomanworkshops. Kiri hosts a variety of popular woodland skills workshops, but today we were all going to learn to make little wooden mushrooms.

All the whittlers hard at work!

Kiri had a stack of birch sticks, cut fresh from the forest that morning. She told us that in Celtic myth the birch represents renewal and beginnings. Very fitting for a beginners class! It was a bright, fresh afternoon, and we sat outside to carve away under the changing leaves. The time flew by as we whittled. Bit by bit, branches became little mushroom earrings or keyrings or ornaments. At the end, we all stacked them up on a nearby tree for a photo opportunity and it was delightful to see just how different everyone’s creations were. It just shows that you can give a group of people the same materials, tools and instructions, yet still everyone will have their own beautiful, unique take on the idea.

Article by El Dineley