Preparations

The new season of crochet workshops starts this Saturday. I don't know if it's a good thing that I used to be a teacher. The good side is that I keep trying to think of ways to make the learning easier; the bad thing is that I have to get everything ready beforehand. So far I've tinkered with the lessons, new photos (still rotten) and so on; on Thursday I can print them off and wind the yarn into neat balls. Friday I pack my bags ...

We're offering a choice for beginners: granny squares or back-and-forth. I've been experimenting with granny squares, as in what can you make with them. I already have a waistcoat and a pair of tiny earrings. So I've made a dog coat:

This will fit Fig; if I could get her to pose I'd show you, but she has no idea about standing still.

It really is a granny square with a few extra bits.

Then we have little bags, one a granny and the other straight:

And a cushion: small squares one side, one big one for the back:

Somewhere I found a heart made of a granny square. It's a Hungarian pattern, but it had a chart so I made one last night:

I'm going to play, now I know how it works, and see if I can reduce the size and keep the shape. If so, people on Saturday will have the choice of making one.

Goaded by Caroline, I'm making a simple book cover that anyone can make; decorated with some of my favourite gingham buttons. And then there's the afghan pattern she spotted in the Crochet Crowd's gallery ...

I really do like to have plenty to think about, and that's certainly true at the moment. 

Only some of our plans ...

Saturday 3rd May

This is an event organised by Knit Now! magazine to remind people that there are alternatives to internet shopping. Book the date: Caroline has all sorts of ideas.

What do you get out of Christine's in Bournville that you don't get on line? Where to begin? 

• If it's yarn you want, you get to see the colours and squidge it for softness. 
• Patterns? There are 14 folders of baby patterns, lots of books of patterns, and then of course there's the adult stuff and the just-for-fun crafty patterns.
• Crochet hooks and knitting needles? We always have some in use in the shop so you can try before you buy.
• Someone on hand to help you work out pattern difficulties, or to show you new techniques.
• Haberdashery to solve most problems. (I'd never heard of bra extenders till I started taking up space at the shop!)

And this is just the start. Come and see!

Yesterday we had the Valentine crochet-with-Kate at the shop. There was lots of activity during the week; Doreen and Caroline did a major tidy of the workroom, then painted it as well! Julie bought a new rug, and the room looked really colourful and welcoming.

Sandie, Jenny, Carol and Diane all worked hard; there was a really great moment when Carol suddenly shouted out because she'd finished her heart and it looked brilliant. Next time I must remember to take a camera.

Caroline as always has inspired me to try something new; she'd made a big basket with scarf yarn, so I had to have a go.

Needless to say, I haven't darned the ends in yet! This is one ball of yarn and measures 7 inches across. I had to borrow Caroline's hook, but these tray/bowl/baskets could be addictive!

To give my fingers a rest I'm making up an old Paton's baby blanket pattern in 4-ply; no baby in mind, just wanted to make it:

Next up is a beginner's workshop; they will have a choice of granny squares or crochet in rows. In the shop I've been making a toddler's jacket out of 6 granny squares to show that they can be used for more than blankets. A photo on Facebook has inspired me to make something else rather whimsical - you'll have to wait to see what it is!

Then the next week we'll be making flowers. I hadn't realised until I started collecting them up for photos how many I've made! We'll offer a choice of techniques; maybe a simple flat flower:

Or a two-or-more tiers Irish rose:

Then this little beauty is absurdly simple: a rolled rose.

There will also be what I think of as a corsage flower - it has a back to it. Can't find any today so - horrors- I'll have to make another!

And a 3D flower that is made with separate petals; maybe a daffodil? Plenty of time to decide, so any requests will be considered!

I'm brooding over this:

I love these simple little blooms, made in a chain; they remind me of blossom. They might become violet and find their way into the Mother's Day crochet-along, or they might be blossom for the Easter one.

There are so many signs of Spring around. The snowdrops are out, and the great tits are singing (shouting?) their mating song. No doubt we will have some harsh weather before things really get going, but at least the promise is there.

When is a ..

beginner not a beginner?

This is one of the dilemmas facing any teacher. There is absolutely no point in teaching someone what they already know. So when I plan a workshop for people I've never met, I have to try and cater for all eventualities. Some people want to learn to make granny squares; some can already make granny squares but nothing else.

I have a lesson for granny beginners, prepared ages ago; I'm re-thinking the crochet-in-a-straight-line beginners. The basics are simple: double crochet and treble prepare the way for other stitches, so that's where to start. What I want is a simple project so they have something to take away with them. I'll think of something.

For the Mother's Day workshop, the theme will be violets. When Gareth used to sing in Leicester Cathedral choir, the children were always given bunches of violets to give to their mothers, so I decided to stick with tradition. There will be a bunch of violets to make, but you'll have to wait for other things!

I've been working on various things for myself. So far my attempts at felting are almost a failure:

It's starting to felt, but hasn't shrunk at all. Back to the pot later!

I've been wanting to play with sort-of freeform for ages. What really makes me ooh and aah is the work coming out of Russia, a sort of modern Irish crochet. So here is my latest book:

Amazon originally told me it would be May before their copies arrived, but it dropped through my letter box this morning. The author is Kathryn White, who creates some of the loveliest thread crochet patterns you can find. This book is so practical and down-to-earth it's already had me trying bullions (again!) and padded rings.

I began playing before the book came.

 Lovely cheerful yellows ready for Easter.

And the cutest little leaf sprig out of Suzann Thompson's Crochet Bouquet.

I've also been labouring to make a length of Romanian cord; the theory is easy, but keeping the tension right is less so.

All of these things will come together eventually (I hope!) and you may find them in future workshops.

You could also send me a message if there is anything you're interested in learning.

Hearts and Flowers

Why on earth am I doing a valentine's day workshop? Do you remember all those days waiting for the post? The humiliation when you didn't get one? I can remember valentine's day in a hall of residence, with women students standing negligently near the open pigeonholes, pretending with all their might that they were there to speak to the porter, wait for a phone call, on their way out/in ... Humiliating. And all these women were, by definition, intelligent!

And then there's the shape. It's a really difficult shape to make, especially in crochet. But if you come to the workshop, you'll have four different patterns to choose from. Starting small:

A gift tag. Or, with 2 sewn together, a key ring:

For sports fanatics, a plaited heart in team colours:

For those of you who aren't in Brum, I should tell you that the blue/white one is Birmingham City, and the Claret/blue is Aston Villa. I know this because people come into the shop for the colours, but I don't understand the appeal of football. I'm a rugby fan and have spent many a happy hour on the terraces at Leicester Tigers.

Stay on the subject, Kate! This very red heart is destined to be part of bunting:

And finally, a pretty heart sachet; you could use it to give a small token to a niece or granddaughter, perhaps.

And that's it. Just have to finish the bunting and write up the patterns, but I'll wait to do that until I see whether there is any interest.

You'll have to wait for the hearts and flowers; it isn't part of the workshop, just something buzzing in my brain.

Mother's Day is more to my taste, and I have a fantastic idea for a workshop, though it might have to be a series of workshops or an all-day one. Interested? Watch this space.

2014

I don't usually do much resolving because I forget. But I'm starting the new year with the determination to make some of the things that have been in my head for years. I've solved some of the technical problems - thanks to Caroline - so now there are no excuses.

I've also made up my mind to spend time finishing things properly, instead of scrambling things together at the last minute. That, of course, means planning ahead. So how about crochet-with-Kates at the shop
 in January for Valentines (projects to include things adaptable for nieces etc);
 in February for Mother's Day;
and in March for Easter (Easter Sunday is late this year, so that gives time)?

I'm working on all sorts at the moment; the only thing far enough on to show you is the rug I'm making for Gareth's new house:

It's that recycled t-shirt yarn, worked with a 12mm hook, and it is HEAVY! I have to use my hook in a knife hold to cope with the size of everything.

Here we have a project I finished earlier:

The door onto the balcony needs adjusting, so while I wait I have a draught excluder. It's turned over now to hide the loops where Fig keeps digging her claws in to try and wrap it round herself. I loved playing with the colours - Stylecraft Special DK offers such a range and, of course, we have them all at the shop!

We were closed for four whole days! Some customers were disappointed, but how about the lady who complained about the opening hours on Christmas Eve? Jules and Caroline kept the shop open from 9am to 6pm. How much longer can anyone expect?

When we re-opened on Monday, Sally and her family were here. Brian has made a video of the shop; this is a panoramic still from it.



Just to give you some idea of the delights in store. Watch Facebook for the video!

Zoe received the hat and matching scarf made for her by Jules. It's in Louisa Harding Luzia, and is amazingly warm, as well as looking fabulous.

We all enjoyed having Ben and Zoe in the shop: endless entertainment, from Ben's wobbly tooth to Zoe's 'No' to everything. In her Scots accent it's really cute!

I'm glad it's the New Year. 2013 was all right (yes, only all right), but it's good to start over. The only looking back I'm going to do is Zoe with her hippo:

Otherwise, let's look forward. A happy 2014 to you all!

Talking turkey.

In our house Christmas doesn't mean turkey and sprouts. For a start, I absolutely loathe turkey, loathe it with a passion! I like bread sauce and stuffing, and the veg, but not the traditional centrepiece. We've experimented with different things, but this year we're going for what we know as a shopping tea, and no-one has to cook. A shopping tea is basically a buffet with all the things we like to eat - cheese, dips, raw vegetables, olives and so on. Odd, but we like it!

We've got our mini trees up and decorated, and fairy lights strewn round. I have one Christmas present left to finish, then I'm going to have a holiday of making what I like, cuddling with and walking dog Fig, and listening to audiobooks. Bliss!

Gareth will be doing his usual tour of friends in Leicester, but back here for Christmas food. Then off to his new house, which he finally moved into yesterday, after the usual traumatic this week, next week, sometime, never practised by solicitors. Come the after-Christmas, a trip to Ikea is planned, but he has kettle, cooker, fridge, bed, chair and tv. All the essentials.

My Christmas work shops are over; they were honestly a real flop. I'm not sufficiently well known to draw people. So I have to decide whether to give up now, or to do some things to try and make a name for myself. But I really don't want to waste time on self-publicising when I could be making new things.

I was quite pleased with some of the wreath stuff I planned for people. The top photo is a mini-wreath, about 3 inches across. The middle one is bigger; I'm using it as a candle jazzer-upper rather than hanging on the door.

The final one never got finished because the planned robin was way out of scale, and I ran out of time.

 I couldn't hang it up because it's only tacked together. I was pleased with the snow effect, and had fun with the snowman:

Caroline insisted he had a hat! The Santa to hang down was also fun.

I think I'll finish it for next year, though I've been thinking of shepherds in the field with the star ...

We had planned to yarn bomb the tree outside the shop, with lots of baubles etc. Unfortunately the weather has been appalling, with torrential rain and high winds. Maybe it will calm down enough to get it done. 

It's lovely to see so many friends popping in to the shop to wish us happy Christmas. Tomorrow we have some of Rhiannon's fudge. It's mince pie fudge, with home-made mincemeat marinaded in sherry. If you get a chance, come in and have a piece!

No excuses - just

nothing much to say! And since the blog is called 'the crochet year', I can't really talk about knitting. Julie showed me a new book by Louisa Harding and I couldn't resist!

But I'm still crocheting, don't worry. We had a Crochet-along at the shop on Saturday to work on Christmas wreaths. Mine was 'The Holly and the Ivy'.

I really enjoyed the workshop. Apart from how to do the basic wreath cover, we played with:

pine cones - great fun, if rather fiddly. I think Sandie is so interested in the technique that she's planning on a scarf using it.

Then 'the holly bears a blossom,

As white as lily flower ...

Three slightly different ones; I wanted to get a cupped effect. They are all short of their green stamen things in the centre.

And of course, 'The holly bears a berry,

As red as any blood':

These were a nightmare to sort out, but they are a lovely holly-berry red.

Of course, for Christmas you have to have bells. This one looked more like a doll's bonnet:

But these are OK.

I want them in groups of three, 'open' like this; Caroline has promised to try and get some bells to go inside; the ones we had in the shop were too big or too small.

And you have to have mistletoe depending from the wreath, of course:

You can't see the assembled wreath because I gave my covered frame to one of the other ladies, so I have to make another cover.

I have this idea for a sort of picture wreath - snowy, with trees in the background, a house, a snowman, and maybe Santa's sleigh driving across the top. Any one want to comment?

A little shop news to report. Julie and Caroline went to a presentation day with Theo Paphitis, to get their small business award:



And the big reveal finally took place last Sunday, after Caroline presented the cheque to Anne at a dinner-dance for the Felix Fund:



We raised £2,550 pounds by making and selling poppies. That's an awful lot of poppies!
So here's to:
Avril, poppy-maker extraordinaire,
Caroline the creative,
Jules the willing leaf-maker,
Maureen, late joining but prolific, and
Doreen, who cheerfully sewed leaves and pins onto poppies by the hundred.
We had a little help from Sandie, but basically the six of us made all this money. Wow!