Week 25 - winding down for summer

Sorry I forgot to press "publish" at the weekend.....

My classes are starting to wind done for the summer.

I took a couple of last sessions this week, these being the forth or last class of the 4 week session. 

We learnt various ways to change colour including a little tapestry work

And we also leant how to join squares using double crochet

One of my ladies made this hook bag in her spare time. It's fantastic!

And sarah from sparrow uk in Shaftesbury and who is a lot more advanced than a beginner, showed me this cushion she made with crochet edging. Splendid. 

At home I also took the last class of 4

Again we learnt colour changes. 

In a private class I taught basketweave stitch amongst other things...

....like blocking your work!

On a personal note I had patterns in 4 UK magazines this month

Four alone were in Make and Craft, and my debut pattern in Let's Get Crafting Knitting and Crochet

However my Serena Kaftan in Inside Crochet is my favourite

Here are just some of my patterns on Ravelry!! 

How did I accumulate so many so quickly???

Week 24. Crochet. Crochet. Crochet!

Just a quick blog post this week as I have had a rare family weekend 

In no particular order......

Learning to make granny squares at Sparrow UK in Shaftesbury on Tuesday evening. It was very hit so we moved the table into the shady spot. It was also very noisy as there were workmen outside drilling the pavement to lay broadband cables!!

Preparing a little crochet scene for my special 3hour improvers class in my classroom

I wanted to show off my blanket

And SC showed hers off too

How wonderful is that? It's for her son who's just joining the army and fits his single bed

BP has started a stripey blanket. Loving the stitches. 

JG made thus beautiful doily in cotton. She followed the pattern single handed. 

A 'first' granny square is created. Yay

Working in the round

Another granny square in creation. This time we used stitch markers to identify the corners. 

My improvers class on Thursday

The worlds largest tea cup coaster??  Possibly!!

In Fridays class at Sparrow we learnt beading

And made bracelets and necklaces

                                                     

                                                            It was a really fun lesson

                                            AR made this wonderful cable stitch cushion

                                                        

            

                                                         

                                                            Such beautiful stitch work

And I , yes little old me, has had the honour of being mentioned by Lucy of Attic24 in her mood board inspiration in the latest copy of Simply Crochet magazine 

Thank you for reading. More next week

Crochet Confidence equals Improvement! Week 23

I rarely have time for my own projects at the moment, but when my neighbour invited me & hubby to their horse truck christening party / BBQ at the farm next door (any excuse for a drink LOL) I had to get a new idea going.... 

....more soon!

 Crochet Confidence equals Improvement!

On the left is homework - on the right is a piece made in the 2nd week of class with a little encouragement & crochet confidence, just look at the improvement!

.....and again here!

And another fantastic Improvement!

A few tweeks & reminders soon got them all back into the swing of it!  There's a lot to remember in 

Lesson 1 so this is understandable.

Another of my more advance pupils is giving chevrons and waves a tester

 Thanks to Lorraine at the Nail Workshop in Okeford Fitzpaine, I am not ashamed to show my hands off when teaching!

I love the daisies!

 One of my old pupils, GW, brought me some lovely Dewhurst's Sylko cotton reels to put in my vintage drawer cabinet

Wasn't that kind of her?  I am so thrilled

In Sparrow UK in Shaftesbury on Friday we made Granny Triangles & Rectangles

It was a shame that AR couldn't make it on Friday - if you are reading this I hope that you are feeling better xx

I didn't make all these in one go! This is my Triangle a Day Blanket.

Today is 166 (Sunday) and I have 163 triangles so far so I need to catch up

And look at this lovely cushion that SD made - to think that 6 months ago she couldn't crochet!!

Ah, yes, here's Bertina who is still a WIP

However after adding a "Festival going" flower garland

She's all ready for her adventures

Here she is safe & overlooking the celebrations!

And some  flowers from my local field picked whilst dog walking

Aren't the colours of nature fantastic?

So are these colours - I went to my local wool shop and got drawn to these straight away... 

And finally....

My latest pattern will be available in the next issue of Inside Crochet Magazine....

Serena Kaftan

Photo is courtesy & copyright of Tailormade Publishing / Inside Crochet

Week 22 - Crochet Makes by me & my pupils!

I would like to start this weeks blog post off with 2 personal great bits of news:

First is this latest feedback that I received on my book:

This book really bridges the gap from learning the first stiches; to actually tackling a full on pattern. The book uses a very clever "traffic light" system to guide you through the basic stitches into actually starting a project.

The book I describe as "man-friendly", as any newbie male crocheteer would find useful and interesting projects on which to start, for example hats and socks. This book is very inclusive to all people.

The book is good as it always encourages the crocheter to have a try on their own and experiment.
As soon as they feel confident.

I would recommend this book to any friends who wish to learn the art of crochet; and I look forward to the next publication from this author.

And secondly is that I have been reunited with my lovely blanket!

This is the one of the patterns that I made for the book CROCHET by DK Books & I am thrilled to have it back after it's whirl wind modelling tour!

Now for some "pupil" makes:

Squares ready to be joined together

An African flower

Bunting!

A cushion cover WIP

Two Mandala Coasters

Bavarian Crochet

More squares found deep in a crochet project bag

More Bunting!

More African Flowers

And finally, I even spied a crochet hat on the new series of Orange is the new Black!

This week I took 3 news beginners workshops - one was a private class and the other 2 were jammed packed to the brim with 6 in each group (the most beginners I will teach at one time as I don't think it's fair otherwise) I also took 2 more private lessons & a workshop of 3 "Improvers"

I have managed to keep on top of my commissions & I have even managed to add to my Triangle a Day blanket!

So, I have had a great crochet week - have you?