Easter Egg Decorating

This Easter holidays I helped run a craft workshop for children with our local creative group the Neotists. The children made nests from found twigs and materials and painted and decorated Easter eggs. It was great fun and if you are at a loss for activities for your children this Easter weekend, then it is so simple, so here are some tips to give it a go!

To make the nests, we used very bendy green twigs - willow is a perfect choice. We started with three twigs arranged in six pronged 'star' and bound them in the centre with string or yarn. Then we proceeded to weave twigs, grass, straw and yarn in and out of this formation from the centre out. Now time to fill the nest.

We used polystyrene eggs, but you could just as easily use hard boiled hens eggs. Some of the younger children simply painted their eggs in bright colours, which looked fab. But we also laid out pretty floral paper napkins, leaves and foliage so some children could stick these on. If you want to play with decoupaging your eggs, simply water down some PVA glue slightly, then paint a layer of this onto your egg.

Now lay on the leaves, petals or paper napkins (make sure you take off the second, bottom layer of tissue from the napkin first to make it easier to stick down) then apply more glue over the top.

Some of the children cut out some of the motifs from the napkins first to create patterns, however you can cover the whole egg in one napkin, trimming off the excess as you go. You could also use coloured tissue paper to cut out shapes, or other decorative papers, but the thinner the paper the better as it will adhere much more easily.

This was all great fun, but if you want a slightly less messy activity this Easter, there is also always my cute knitting egg cosy pattern which you can find free here!

Happy Easter!

lush, plush hooks

p-LUSH hook in action

Belinda Harris-Reid and Rachel Vowles are the two very driven women behind the upcoming p-LUSH fibre festival and they recently very kindly sent me a rather red p-LUSH hook to play with. The hooks  are being sold in aid of Target Ovarian Cancer , the chosen charity of the festival. The p-LUSH festival will be held on the 27th and 28th of March 2015 in the Ricoh Arena, Coventry and looks to be a rather different sort of fibre fair. Focussing not only on fibre but also craft, design, art, upcycling and even the biggest alpaca event in Europe - there will be hundreds of alpacas roaming around to admire! There are also some rather wonderful looking workshops to sign up for. I fancy making the alpaca birds, while if you haven't tried Tunisian Crochet before, the talented Helen Jordan should be your ultimate guide.

I first heard about the festival, the hooks and the Target ovarian Cancer appeal through Rachel. She is a brilliant technical craft editor - you can find out more about her work in a great interview with Emma Varnam.

Rachel and I have worked together on a myriad of publishing projects now, but we mainly collaborate on Inside Crochet (in fact there is a very lovely interview with her in the current issue 63). She also has an amazing story to share about her own encounter with ovarian cancer, you can read more about her astonishing tale on the p-LUSH blog here. Please do take the time to read this post, as Rachel is doing the 50s Challenge - trying to tell at least 50 people about the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer (which she outlines in the post) as only 3% of women feel they can confidently name a symptom. I was shocked by the fact that many women get repeatedly misdiagnosed with IBS as the symptoms are so similar.

Anyway, onto the hooks! I might have mentioned before that I am not a lover of wooden crochet hooks, and so my heart did sink a little when I picked it up, as I wasn't sure I would like using these. Usually, I find that wood grips my yarn and loops too tightly, making it a pain for me to crochet. However, the hooks are made of beechwood, which is then painted red, and this shiny surface was a smooth joy to hook with. 
Another gripe with wooden hooks is usually that the hook is usually not 'hooked' enough, making it hard to grab the yarn, and getting caught when coming through the stitches. The hook on the p-LUSH hooks, I am pleased to report, is very well defined and crisp, meaning that my stitches were flying off the hook! Luckily the girls sent me a 4mm hook because, as we all know, you can never have enough 4mm hooks and I will definitely be using this one again! 

p-lush. Lush

The range of notions does not stop at hooks - if you are a knitter, they are also selling knitting needles in the same pretty red painted beechwood and £2 from every purchase goes to the ovarian cancer charity. If you do buy a hook or some needles, p-LUSH is asking that you then head to social media and post a picture of them in use with the lushplush and plushbritish hashtags to spread the word. Even if you don't knit or crochet, you can also donate by visiting Rachel's Just Giving page - find the link on the p-LUSH blog.

city lit textiles courses

One of the first things I shall be doing when back from maternity leave is teaching at City Lit. They have a huge variety of exciting Textiles courses available - here's the list of some of their upcoming classes:

This Spring/ Summer at the City Lit features an extended programme in textiles, accessories, sewing and clothes making with new courses to follow in the summer school. Courses are offered in a range of specialist areas giving you opportunities to develop design ideas, skills, and techniques and to explore and experiment with different materials and processes

Accessories

VX113 Fashioning fabrics; collars, cuffs, corsages, cameos

Fri 24/02/2012 to 30/03/2012, 6 sessions,18:00 to 21:00

Discover overlaps between textiles and jewellery to create original fashion accessories. Explore costume, and fashion trends, experiment with new or recycled materials and techniques to develop decorative, even flamboyant wearable art pieces. Tutor: Flea Cooke

VX126 Fashioning fabrics: ruffles, flounces, pleats and tucks

Sun 26/02/2012 to 18/03/2012, 4 sessions, 10:30 to 16:30

Develop fabric manipulation techniques to add volume, structure and drama using ruffles and flounces, pleating, tucks and gathering. Sculpt surfaces for fashion/costume detailing or create your own textile surfaces. Sewing skills required. Tutor: Flea Cooke

VX960 Felt Jewellery

Fri 02/03/2012 to Fri 30/03/2012, 5 sessions, 18:00 to 21:00

Create colourful pieces of jewellery combining the process of making your own felt with simple jewellery techniques. Learn to make felt beads, chains, brooches, rings and earrings. All levels welcome. Basic materials will be provided. Tutor: Harriet Hill

VX118 Fashioning fabrics; personality pockets and pouches

Fri 20/04/2012 to18/05/2012, 5 sessions, 18:00 to 21:00

Attached or separate, pockets can add personality. Take a fresh look at a functional form to add character, expression and embellishment. Structure cloth, create hidden or striking openings, tell a story, or be highly decorative. Tutor: Flea Cooke

Textiles

VX114 Surface pattern: design and decoration

Tue, Wed 20/03/2012 to28/03/2012, 10:3016:30

Understand pattern and repeats and develop your own designs using motifs, repeats and borders. Explore a variety of ways of applying your designs to paper and cloth. Tutor: Rachel Gornall

VX958 Creative stitched textiles

Create experimental textile samples exploring machine embroidery, manipulative and decorative stitch techniques and related textile approaches. Beginners and experienced students welcome. Tutor: Rachel Gornall

Wed 18/04/2012 to Wed 20/06/2012, 10 sessions, 18:00 to 21:00

VX119 Textiles: approaches to drawing, sketchbooks and design development

Fri 20/04/2012 to 25/05/2012, 6 sessions, 10:30 to 16:30

Investigate mark-making, layering and juxtaposing ideas through experimental drawings. Explore the importance of imaginative research and how to record it in a sketchbook. Develop versatile design ideas for textiles: interiors, fashion, stationary or textile art. Tutor: Charlotte Hardy

VX952 The textile course 1: evenings; colour and pattern

Tue 24/04/2012 to 13/07/2012, 10 sessions, 18:00 to 21:00

Project based course for personal development or to begin to build a portfolio for further studies. The emphasis is on developing your ideas and practice using a variety of materials and processes. Basic materials included. Each term has a different focus. Term 3: Colour and pattern. Tutor: Louise Baldwin

VX972 Felt: developing techniques and ideas

Sat 19/05/2012 to 09/06/2012, 4 sessions, 10:30 to16:30

Develop your skills and confidence in making felt as you combine a number of techniques, enabling you to explore your own ideas and personal projects. Tutor: Harriet Hill

VX985 Hand knitting for improvers

Sun 20/05/2012 to 03/06/2012, 3 sessions, 10:30 to16:30

Working with different sized needles and experimenting with different yarns, produce swatches as the basis for designing your own garments or fine art structures. Basic materials included. Tutor: Claire Montgomerie click to view

VX120 Textiles: Recycle, Reuse, Retell

Sun 06/05/2012 to 13/05/2012, 2 sessions, 10:30 to16:30

Recycle your old favourite fabrics into a small experimental quilt; exploring the idea that textile carries many memories and secrets. Re-tell your story or journey of these fabrics, using patching, piecing, darning and machine stitching. Tutor: Amarjeet Nandhra

VX121 Manipulated textiles using heat setting techniques

Sun13/05/2012 to27/05/2012, 3 sessions10:30 to16:30

Create innovative subtle or dramatic fabrics using heat to permanently structure the surface. Explore the creative potential of crumpling, crushing, pole wrapping, stitching and colouring, tying in objects and using origami moulds to shape fabric. Tutor: Caroline Bartlett

VX122 Crochet for improvers

Fri 01/06/2012 to 29/06/2012, 5 sessions, 18:00 to 21:00

An improvers crochet course for those who know how to crochet but want to progress from the basic stitches. You will learn advanced techniques such as shaping, working in the round, cluster stitches and reading patterns. Tutor: Claire Montgomerie click to view

VX123 An introduction to fabric printing

12/06/2012 to 3/07/12, 4 sessions, 10:30 to 16:30

An introduction to simple and effective methods of printing using silkscreen, block and mono-printing. Experiment with effects of opaque and transparent colour and finishes such as foiling and explore colour, shape and texture. Tutor: Caroline Bartlett

VX214 Structural crochet: working with 3D forms

Sun 17/06/2012 to Sun 24/06/2012, 2 sessions, 10:30 to 16:30

For intermediate crocheters, wanting to progress from flat swatches/fabrics. Develop three dimensional pieces for jewellery, fashion items or sculptural objects using advanced techniques such as shaping, working in the round and free forming. Tutor: Claire Montgomerie

Sewing and Clothesmaking

VX105 The clothes making course 3: day

Tue 17/04/2012 to 29/05/2012; 7 sessions, 10:30 to 16:30Further your sewing skills and techniques through working on your own personal project. Demonstrate improved skills in the making of clothes and complete a well fitted and professionally finished garment using a bought pattern. Tutor: Dawn Burton

VX106 The clothes making course 3; evening

Thu 19/04/2012 to 21/06/2012, 10 sessions, 18:00 to 21:00

Further develop your clothes making skills through working on your own assignments whilst learning new techniques. Learn further collars, pleats, lining etc. through demonstrations. You will receive help and advice from your tutor. Tutor: Jasmine Carey

VX997 Clothes making intensive 3

Sun 10/06/2012 to 24/06/2012, 3 sessions, 10:30 to 16:30

Further your skills through working on your own assignments whilst learning new techniques. Learn collars, plackets, pleats, frills, gathers etc. through demonstrations. Help and advice at hand. Tutor: Dawn Burton

VX116 Introduction to using a commercial sewing pattern

Sun 01/04/2012, 10:30 to 16:30

Learn how to buy a pattern for your size and how to cut it out. Recognise symbols and keys in the instructions and follow fabric lays for your style. Understand what some of the puzzling sewing terminology means. Tutor: Dawn Burton

VX998 General sewing to survive! – an Introduction to Sewing

Fri 01/06/2012 to 29/06/2012, 5 sessions 18:00 to 21:00

You will learn mainly machine and a few hand sewing skills, through sample work, such as seam finishes, hems and buttonholes, inserting zips, and move on to complete a small project like a cushion. Tutor: Dawn Burton

SUMMER SCHOOL

The new Summer School Course Guide will be published on 9^th March with enrolment from 11^th March, featuring more Textiles, Fashion, Sewing and Clothesmaking courses that will take place between the end of June and the end of July. Reserve your copy of the new Course Guide.

You can find out more about our courses, by visiting our website, or call 020 7492 2700 / 03, or email visual.arts@citylit.ac.uk.

3d crochet workshop

Details of my upcoming class at citylit, perfect for crocheters who know the basics and want to try out some new techniques in a fun way, we will be going through shaping techniques, to create pieces which could be jewellery, toys or art pieces. Get booked on!

crochet floral necklace class

This weekend it was Stitch and Knit show time again and I was asked to run some workshops for West Dean college.

We only had an hour so I taught my crocheters how to make a simple floral necklace, one of my favourite accessories.

More pictures from the stalls and the show later...

vintage at goodwood

Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting the Vintage at Goodwood festival to teach a few workshops and soak up the atmosphere, which was slightly damp at times, unfortunately for my sandals!

But when the sun shone, the Sussex countryside was glorious and the vintage style surroundings were great fun.

Here are some pics, if you didn't get the chance to go this year, book up for next, it was lovely! Although make sure you dress up - I made the mistake of thinking it was a typical festival and (shock! horror!) forgot my heels!!

west dean in summer

The only season I hadn't been to teach at West Dean was high summer, which has now been rectified as I have just spent two days there teaching some beginners classes. The ladies in the class were lovely, even if the weather turned against me and I didn't get a long, lazy, summers evening stroll through the sheep fields.

The gardens were in full bloom however and looking just beautiful, even in the drizzle and the view from my fabulous room in the quaint vicarage was gorgeous.

I am teaching a new class at West Dean next time, looking at adapting vintage knitting patterns to fit the modern sizes and tastes. Come along and peruse my extensive collection of vintage patterns or bring along your own pattern to decipher.

craftravaganza!

Today it was the Bust Craftacular at York Hall, Bethnal Green and I was there with my good friend gingerknits (check out the great cartoon about knitting she has posted this week).

The weather was probably a little too warm to spend a lot of time in such a toasty hall, but that didn't put off the hoards queuing to get in when we arrived. It was sometimes too crowded to see what was on the stalls, so we decided to take refreshments in the form of iced tea in these wonderful cups - I want some in china, and the tablecloth to match! All very summery.

Ginger and I noticed that there were quite a few themes throughout the show, including moustaches, birds and perhaps strangely for East London at the moment, foxes! (although these seemed way friendlier than the Hackney ones!)

I loved these birdie buttons from Four and Plenty and couldn't resist them, although I was very jealous of the last flamingo which Ginger snapped up quick smart.

I also loved Brat and Suzie's cute rabbit vest or squirrel on a motorbike cropped tee (more animals!) but resisted temptation. (If they'd had it in a red or green or stripy, like some of their other prints I may have succumbed...)

We then of course had to go to Prick Your Finger as it was just around the corner and had a chat to the lovely owner Rachael, who was busy knitting the new sign for the shop! Ginger had not been before, so of course had to buy some lovely new yarn, which happened to be a J C Rennie yarn in the exact same colour I have at home...I think we are turning into the same person....

I loved the mini exhibit they have in the window promoting John Paul Flintoff's new book, Sew Your Own, a book about a man's quest to find the meaning of life through making his own stuff...or something.

I must now read the book and see what the hype is about, as I love some of the products he made on his journey. This dress is for Rosie, the favourite bear of Flintoff's daughter and his sewing is on a par with mine (which isn't a compliment) but I love the naivety of it and the pretty print and the fact you can tell it is hand made. Fortunately for my sewing skills, I have always admired the childlike finish is sewing and the reverse of sewn works, with all the colourful tangling of loose threads.

All in all, it was a lovely day out in very good company so I am glad we dragged our freckled skin out into the midday sun.

knitting and crochet classes in london and the south east

This is the latest list of knitting and crochet classes I shall be teaching in 2010:

Project Crochet; Chevron Pillow, an intermediate class run as my alter-ego, Make Do Mend, where we shall be supplying all materials needed to complete a pretty zig-zag patterned blanket as we hold your hand through the first steps of the advanced stitches. Each project we make throughout the series will increase in difficulty and be varied enough to hold your attention. Other planned projects include vintage style bags, flowers and simple first garments. 23rd May, Kingly Court, London.

Crochet; The Basics, a taster day at West Dean College, Sussex, 13th July

Hand Knitting; The Basics, a taster day at West Dean College, Sussex, 14th July

Crochet for Beginners at City Lit college, Covent Garden, weekday evenings, 28th-30th July

There are also quite a few interesting classes in the pipeline for fairs and festivals this summer and autumn, which I am excited about, so I will let you know when these are confirmed.

spring into knitting

Another incredibly busy few weeks has seen me teaching knitting all over the place. This bank holiday weekend brought me to my favourite place of all; West Dean College in Sussex and it just so happened to be my favourite time of year to visit too; the lambs were gambolling all over the front fields, ducklings paddled in the pond and spring flowers bloomed everywhere. The food was divine as usual, using all the local spring produce and of course, as with any time of the year, the company was excellent.

I had a rather more art based collective of students than usual, which led to an interesting, fun and inspirational weekend, fuelled by very different creative personalities. We also had a Kiwi taking a stop gap travelling the world and an Oz based Brit, making us a very cosmopolitan group, which also added interest to the colours chosen, as the ladies who saw the sun a little more often were more daring in their palettes than those of us more used to wet, grey days!

Most of the experimental pieces made at the weekend looked like they should have been at the bottom of the sea, as part of some great, vibrantly coloured coral reef - perhaps it was the antipodean influence. Whatever it was, it made a typically grey bank holiday weekend much brighter and the oddly shaped jewels, beads, flowers and art pieces all served to inspire and intrigue.

This weekend, there were two other jewellery craft courses occuring at the same time as mine, a felt making workshop run by Heather Belcher and a polymer clay workshop with Carol Blackburn. Both looked like great fun and I always enjoy watching Heather's industrial carder at work. She also had fabulous colours on display in her unspun wool hanks, it seems that, just like me, she cannot resist a rainbow! I wish we had all realised beforehand we were all doing jewellery at the same time as our students could have bartered over each others colourful and unusual beads, creating a truly unique necklace out of it.

Next time at West Dean, after my taster days teaching beginners knitting and beginners crochet, I shall be doing a vintage fashion and knitting patterns inspired course. Keep an eye out for more details soon.

catch up

An insanely busy few months has meant that recently I have been rather neglecting the blog I am afraid, so sorry! I have been trying to cater for all you lovely folk who want to learn how to knit and crochet, and so have been running round London teaching with my friend and co-crochet obsessive ChainCreative. Alone we are just two mad yarn freaks but together we are the dynamic duo Make Do Mend, so do let us know if there is anything you wish to learn!

All this means that I have forgotten to tell you about the interviews with li'l ol' me in a few craft mags around and about and a few patterns in Yarn Forward which have come out recently. So there you are, I was in Yarn Forward a couple of times and in a Baby Knits Craft special of Lets Get Crafting and with an exciting new collaboration with Yarn Forward coming in the next few issues, you may be fed up of me soon! More of that very soon.

Therefore, I shall keep it short and just let you know that I am off running round London Teaching improvers knitting classes this weekend, firstly at High Tea of Highgate on Saturday morning, then at City Lit college on Sunday, which is a three week course. Let's hope the weather stays nice as I love walking round Covent Garden on my lunchbreak - spending my wages as fast as I can earn them!

Oh, and I shall be in Bethnal Green on Monday teaching some crocheters to make granny square motifs, not just square onesbut also granny circle, triangles and rectangles! Pop by if you fancy making yourself one of these Paul Smith inspired cowls, which is one of my latest projects. Crochet seems to be overtaking the knitting recently, I am also working on a crocheted cushion, a bag and a hairpin lace top - everyone is going mad for crochet! If you don't yet know how to do it, now is the time to give it a try!

artreach quilting bee

In the past few weeks, I have mentioned that I have been working with Northwood Artreach, running crafty workshops for the community. The outcome needed to be a group art piece which could be displayed, so with the present popularity of quilts, not least due to the fantastic V&A exhibition, I decided to make a quilt-like wall hanging, with inspiration from Tracey Emin's beautiful textiles artwork. Finally, we have finished our own version of an art quilt, with each individual contributing a beautifully crafted square based on our initial inspiration of Winter Colours.

I had a fantastic time with these lovely folk and am glad I could help bring out their creative side. Some of them may never have done any textiles work before, while others had not touched a knitting or sewing needle in years, but were inspired to begin making for themselves again after the class.

I am very impressed with the diversity of colour, texture and technique used and the individuality of each contribution and the final piece has come together really well. The picture (above) shows the initial arranging phase of the final quilt. I will post a final picture hanging in situ asap. It will be displayed in a community theatre very shortly, which is fabulous for the quilters!