All 3 courses available in UK Crochet Terminology -Learn to Crochet from the comfort of your own home when YOU have some spare time, whatever time of day! The course never closes so you can return as often as you like, as many times as you like + you can add questions & photo's & have me as your virtual Crochet Teacher !
As I am launching a new Crochet Newsletter, I thought I would give you the link to subscribe again
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Now for the CLOCK
I need a clock in my classroom for obvious reasons & I did have a plain one
I also had lots of Crochet Flowers & Hearts, some that I made myself & some that were made by very kind Twitter Crochet Friends for my Crochet Basket on my mobility scooter, but as there was no space left I saved them for a sunny day!
With my new Glue Gun at the ready - thanks to a Giveaway on Make & Craft Magazine
I got to work
And glues lots of lovely crochetness to my boring clock!
Now it sits proudly on my Crochet Classroom wall
And looks perfect
Can you see it in the mirror?
Yesterday my wool ordered arrived from Yarn & Craft Shop
Yippeeee
So I checked all the balls off the list & put them on display
in my little Crochet Shop
Today I will be preparing some things for the September Workshops e.g. breaking down balls of Chunky so that my pupils can get started on their crochet journey, printing off "How To" leaflets and some patterns sheets too!
Well I managed to have a good sort out and got about 45 cards wrapped with lots of lovely Chunky in "Denim", "Fondant" & "Lavender"
I have also ordered some small baskets from eBaY so that I can keep my DK wraps separate from my Chunky Wraps and then another one with smaller "ends"
· Having your
pattern featured in a "next month" spread in a mag. YES
· Someone
making the pattern you wrote (and ideally putting a Rav project up - if a
design is knit in a forest and no Rav project is created then was it really
knit?) NOT SURE
· Getting
paid for a commission. YES
· Being
interviewed - be it a blog or in a magazine this always feels special. YES
· Getting
your pattern used as the magazine cover picture. (this one NEVER gets old! -
really experienced designers I know still thrill at this) NOT YET BUT HOPEFUL (I DID MAKE FRONT PAGE
BOTTOM LEFT CORNER ON INSIDE CROCHET ISSUE 44)
· Work
getting serious enough to have to have your own space to work. OH YES!
· The postman
now knows your name because you get so many yarn support parcels. LOL WE HAVE 3 POSTIES & I KNOW ALL THEIR
NAMES
· Being asked
to do a collection. NOT YET
· Realising
you need the right tools to work because this is your job now. ABSOLUTELY
· Looking
back over a year's output and feeling impressed and exhausted in equal measure.
OH YES I HAVE ACHIEVED A LOT IN THIS LAST YEAR!
· Being asked
to submit to a project. YES IT’S HAPPENED A FEW TIMES NOW
· Having to
turn down work because you are too busy.
UNFORTUNATELY
· Turning
down work because it doesn't pay enough - scary but hugely liberating and
important if you want to make this a career not a hobby. YES! IF I AM ASKED TO
MAKE SOMETHING UP I ALWAYS WORK OUT ROUGHLY HOW MANY HOURS IT WILL TAKE – I WILL
NOT WORK FOR LESS THAN THE MINIMUM WAGE! THIS IS NOT A HOBBY!!
· Hitting No
1 on the Ravelry Hot Right Now page. ER – NO BUT YOU NEVER KNOW – ONE DAY I
MIGHT!
· Having your name mentioned in a list of
designers you admire or used to sell something - yes this is starting to happen
to me now and it feels AMAZING!!! IT
DOES! I WAS MENTIONED BY TRACEY
TODHUNTER ON HER BLOG THE OTHER DAY. I WAS MADE UP & SMILED FOR THE REST OF
THE DAY!
However my personal greatest achievements are
My eLearning Courses which have been selling worldwide.
My Book which was only released on the 1st July 2013 & already has 4 lots of 5 star reviews & of course my
Granny Bag which was a featured pattern on Slugs on the Refrigerator that got over 1,000 pins on Pinterest from that post alone!
Being able to teach (as not everyone has this gift) Crochet and spreading the Crochet Love!
As if I don't already have enough to do, I am going to start writing a quarterly newsletter!
First of all here is the Square for Day 217 (yesterday)
And Day 218
Now for the interesting bit
Did you know that the time it takes you to crochet something could take you longer than you actually think! Like me, you could be doing it to relax, sitting in front of the TV or you simply pick up your hook, crochet away, unwinding at the same time & not realising where the time has gone.
Well I challenge you to TIME the next piece of Crochet that you make, including the colour changes, fastening off, sewing in ends, sewing on buttons, whatever you have to do to finish the piece.
I used the stopwatch on my iphone clock.
Realising the time involved in Crochet
Making the Granny Bag again turned out to be a very
interesting exercise as I timed each piece I made.
Each Rectangle (x2) took 2.5 hours = 5
Each Square (x4) took 1.25 hours =
5
The Base took 80mins = 1 / 20
The Top took 2 hours =
2
& the handles 30 mins each =
1
So total time to make = 14 hours 20 mins. This does not
include the time it took to cut out the lining, machine sew & hand sewing
involved!
Also, I am a fast crocheter, I wrote this pattern & I didn't have to refer to it that much, so if you are a beginner, find it hard to read patterns, have 3 million screaming kids or an attention seeking puppy to look after or the phone rings, these "obstacles" will add to your timings as it takes time to put your hook down, stop the timer, deal with XYZ, go back to your work, start the timer & work out where you last left off!!
And finally
CROCHET DAYS IN DORSET 2013
I am now taking bookings to maximum of 8 places
These are the proposed days
:
Choice 1 = Friday 27th & Saturday
28th September
Choice 2 = Saturday 28th & Sunday
29th September
Here’s what’s
planned!
Day
1 – Arrive
on the chosen day, any time after 12 noon.There is ample street parking. Refreshments / Light lunch & a good old
catch up will be provided. Crochet will start at 1 p.m.
We
will finish Crochet at 5 p.m. & you can go and check into your B&B’s
& freshen up in time for a meet up & an evening meal plus a few drinks
at the local Pub – The Old Ox Inn, Shillingstone.
Then to bed!
Day
2 – On
the following day, the crochet will start at 10 am. We will crochet until 1p.m.
when lunch will be provided (kindly let me know if you have any dietary
requirements at all) & after that we will all go on a local walk together,
using the local trailway and visiting Shillingstone Station Project (you will be
taken back in time when you see this place!) All
this is just on the doorstep (literally) and a breath of fresh air will prepare
us for the afternoon of Crochet which will end at 5
p.m.
So this is your chance to bring
along that Crochet Pattern you are stuck on, work on that stitch that you can’t
master or just learn something new from one of the many patterns available in
one of my ever growing pile of books & magazines!
If there is any specific technique
that you want to learn, then just let me know in advance e.g. “I want to learn
to crochet a poncho” or “I want to learn how to follow a pattern or understand
the symbols that I keep on seeing in pattern books”. I will cover each topic in
turn and can be prepared & have everything needed to hand!
Refreshments of Tea
& Coffee or Cold Drinks, including cake and biscuits, plus lunch on the 2nd
day, will be included in the price of £85.00. (no change from 2012!!)
Places limited to 8 people
The cost
of any B&B / Evening Meals / Drinks will be payable by you, directly to the
proprietor of the establishment. I can give you details of local b&b’s in
the area.
Crochet
Days in Dorset was a great success in 2012 & I hope that it will be the same
for 2013!
Kindly let me
know if you are a YES a NO or a MAYBE by SATURDAY 16TH AUGUST 2013 & I can
arrange from your replies. You will then be sent a booking form &
this will need to be completed & returned with a 50% deposit to reserve your
place.
I
look forward to hearing from you so if you are interested please email campbellmac44@gmail.com
After completing the application form online, Ian Wallace called me himself to take me through a few points on the policy & I can even pay monthly which helps with budgeting - it's less than £6.50 a month so a good deal if you ask me.
They are going to insure me for teaching whether I teach from home OR from another venue AND have having Craft Fairs etc + my home insurers have also agreed to this cover on my Home Contents policy!!
I have that big fluffy cotton wool wrap warmth feeling now that I know that this is all in place.
I didn't know this - even if you bake cakes from home for a little business then you might not be insured on your home policy! Did you know that? The moral of this story is - best to phone your insurance company & get it checked out!
Crochet Workshops - September 13
So this morning I sent out 10, yes 10 booking forms for the classes that I have arranged for September.
It's amazing that from one little advert in the local paper, I have had this much interest. Actually I have had 14 calls but not all of them can make September workshops so I have noted their details and will let the know when the new classes will start.
Now for some great news
CONGRATULATIONS
Julie Lever
Who won the Crochet Bundle Giveaway!
You should have an email asking to provide me with your address so check your emails now !!!!
In other news:
I have finished the Crochet Granny Bag
I haven't finished the socks
This is it so far.
I am shattered so I will make Square 217 tomorrow.
Hooking for Cash: 10 Ways to Earn Money with Your Crochet Blog
I've bought the eBook - why not give it a try ?
Day 216
I am still cracking on with my commission for the Granny Square Bag, which is taking a lot longer than I originally thought it would. Just goes to show you how much FUN TIME you have whilst you are crocheting if you don't realise timings!
The socks, or that should be sock as I have only started one of them so far is also coming along fine. It's hard working without an actual "foot" to work with!! Previously I have only crocheted socks for myself & every now and then I try them on and adjust if necessary, but this one is "blind" All I know is that he's a size 9 UK with a wide foot.
We chatted so much that we nearly forgot to Crochet LOL but then she showed me her lovely Granny Triangles that she's making for Bunting - I suggested she used a contrasting colour ribbon to (A) use as an alternative to a chain & (B) give it some ZING!
We then went on to making (together) some motifs from Inside Crochet Magazine from a recent issue
As she had tried this at home but she misunderstood the pattern - so together we "conquered" it
If you have trouble reading or understanding patterns then give this book a try
So for homework she finished it off & look at this beauty!
She also brought in this scarf that we started to work on a few lessons ago from Crochet Workshop Book by Erica Knight
It's coming along very nicely!!
Considering that the original reading of the pattern & putting it into practice caused a few frustrated moments!!
So today, I told KPK that she would be designing her own Mandala!!
(with a little help of course)
So we crocheted wrote out the pattern at the same time
And this is what we came up with so far
Aren't they just amazing
This is the pattern so far...
Rnd 1: Magic Loop or Sloppy Knot, 3ch, 11tr into 3rd ch from hook (sloppy) or into Loop. OR 4ch, join to form a ring, 3ch, 11tr into ring.
Rnd 2: 4ch (counts as 1tr, 1ch) 1tr & 1ch into each st to end. Join with a sl st into 3rd ch of 4ch.
Rnd 3: Join a new colour. 1ch, 2dc in each ch-sp, 1dc into each tr to end. Join with a sl st to 1ch
Rnd 4: Join a new colour directly above a tr from Rnd 2. 3ch. 4trcl (4 treble cluster) miss 2 st *3ch, 5trcl; rep from * to end. Join with a sl st to 3rd ch of 3ch.
Rnd 5: 1dc in each of the st on top of cl, 3dc in ch-sp
Rnd 6: Join a new colour directly above a cl from rnd 4. 3ch, 1tr in same sp. Miss 4 st. *2tr, 4ch, miss 4 st; rep from * to end.
Come back next week for more!!
Please let me know if you are going to join in - it would be lovely for me & KPK to see some photos
Day 214 is here
And finally
This arrived in the post today
I didn't order one so I must have won a competition!! YAY
The good thing is that the measurements above do actually correspond with the pattern I am working on so that's a bonus!
I got a little bit of Cabin Fever today so hubby suggested that I go out in the car with him & our dog Scrumpy. So I did & I say in the car whilst they went for a walk
Guess what I did to keep busy? Crocheted!! YAY
Oh I nearly forgot to mention that I sold another pattern on Ravelry today
Why not pop along to my pattern store to see what I have available?
