time for tea

Last week I took my knitting into High Tea of Highgate in North London. While I knew that it was a quaint, lovely little tea shop with delicious cake and warming tea all served up in dainty china, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is also a fabulously stylish shop, stocking all kinds of quirky, handmade and British wares. These are all hand picked by owner Georgina Worthington and having worked in fashion in a previous life, she has a discerning eye for contemporary, chic yet charming pieces.
High Tea stocks a broad spectrum of interesting cards from independant designers and illustrators as well as selling art pieces, traditional sweets, textiles and crockery. Worthington likes to support British businesses, selling stunning Burleigh Ware ceramics from the last working Victorian Pottery in the UK and beautiful blankets from Johnstons, where every last item is produced from scratch in their Scottish mills.

The shop is decorated with a thoughtful, elegant cosiness and I personally loved Charlotte Hardy's monochrome trompe l'oeil illustrations drawn straight onto the walls.

Hopefully I will be running a few knitting lessons and workshops At High Tea in the near future, which you can read a little more about here.

In the meantime, get yourself down to highgate for tea and a piece of home made cake - she even does gluten free alternatives, so there should be little excuse for not making a visit...!

big bunny

I am slap bang in the midst of teaching a beginners knitting class at City Lit at the mo. One of the nicest things about teaching there is being so close to Covent Garden market and walking around it to relax at lunchtime.

Last week, there was a massive Jeff Koons inflatable bunny hoisted in the rafters to promote the Tate Modern's Pop Life exhibition. I saw Koons' show at the Serpentine in the summer and loved that too, so I shall have to scoot off to the tate to see more of his and other great modern artists' work.

Will post some pics from the City Lit class soon.

knitting classes

Below are some of my upcoming beginners knitting classes and craft workshops in London, the South East and the rest of the world!


Hand knitting for improvers April/May 2010
City Lit College

Textiles Jewellery - Innovative Knit and Yarn techniques, 30th April - 2nd May 2010
West Dean College, Sussex

Knitting classes in the South of France! Next class will be in May 2010 and will be designing your own knitting. Contact Les Soeurs Anglaises for details

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you wish to arrange your own bespoke knitting, crochet or craft classes in London.

If you want to book classes for groups, please check out my alter ego, Make.Do.Mend

beginners ahoy!

I had the pleasure of introducing some enthusiastic students how to knit and crochet this week at West Dean College in Sussex. It was gloriously sunny autumnal weather and the weekend was lots of fun; filled with great food, great weather, crafting, relaxing and laughter. Just as it should be at West Dean!

This is some of the knitters' great first attempts. They all did fantastically well and there are already plans for more one day tasters of knitting and crochet for improvers!

kioskiosk

Yesterday I was at the Kioskiosk selling my wares and teaching a load of unsuspecting tourists and daytripping families how to knit and crochet with my trusty sidekick Bee from Chain Creative. Here are a few shots of us in action:

Setting up

Bags and tees from Model Robot. Check out the website if you want one!

The fantastic view of Tower bridge from inside the kiosk

Workshops in full swing...

...and moving inside to shelter from the elements...British summertime, eh?!

A natural knitter and just eight years old, Olivia had never picked up the pins before but was a whizz!

More young knitters and crocheters with Bee; afterwards they treated themselves to a yummy Sugar Rose cupcake as a reward for their hard work...

...my little knitted birdies couldn't resist the cakes either!

My favourite part of the day was when a little girl fell in love with one of my tiny aliens and went away with it, with a bright smile on her face. It was so nice to see that other look upon my characters as lovingly as I do.

I will be at the Kiosk again on the 27th August, so if you fancy popping by to say hi, to ask for advice with your knitting or crochet project or to get a copy of my latest book, please do, I would love to see you!