CREATIVE work by members of The Wool Clip cooperative is at the heart of a new exhibition, From Fell to Fabulous, now opening at the Upfront Gallery, at Unthank, near Penrith.

Ruth Strong, a local sheep farmer as well as a member of The Wool Clip, has been organising the show with Elaine and John Parkinson at Upfront.

"We’ve 15 members in the cooperative and each one of us works with wool in different ways," said Ruth.

"Regular visitors to the shop at Caldbeck will be familiar with our designs and styles but occasionally we like to develop something more unusual, pushing our skills a bit further and creating pieces that sit somewhere between craft and art. Being able to exhibit these at Upfront and reach a wider audience is quite exciting."

The 25 or more pieces on display include a nuno-style felted dress with butterflies and other decoration felted into the vivid turquoise fabric (Linda Chapman); a knitted blanket that celebrates each of the British Coloured Sheep breeds (Alice Underwood); and a tufted Herdwick and Swaledale rug hanging that uses wool's natural colours to give an image of Blencathra (Chris Crofts).

Also on display are an evocative hanging made from Ruth’s late mother Betty’s knitting projects (Ruth Strong); a Hickory Dickory needle-felted mouse family at home in a vintage wall clock (Ruth Clayton); a felted woollen chess set (Ellie Langley); and a handwoven shawl made from 100 per cent wool which transforms into a Herdwick Hog fleece (Jan Beadle).

From Fell to Fabulous runs until Sunday, May 13. For more, visit www.woolclip.com