Roses roses everywhere!

What an amazing morning we had.  A big thank you to the lovely ladies who joined me at the Royal Crescent Hotel for the first Charity Rose Crochet session.  Many of them came as a result of the feature in this weeks Bath Chronicle  and the Bath Magazine which just goes to show the power of publicity! It was a good job they came because otherwise I would have had to eat all the delicious handmade shortbread biscuits myself!  

And when I returned home there were a pile of roses waiting for me on the doormat sent from wonderful ladies who have been busy at home making roses for this great cause.  

Next week we are gathering at the rather swish  Carluccio's in Milsom Place and you are all welcome to join this growing movement of happy knitters and crocheters.  There will be a warm welcome, free wool and hooks and plenty of refreshments to keep us going.  It is happening on Wednesday 12th March from 10:00 - 13:00. Let's fill our city with wool and make Bath Fashion Week 2014 one to remember.  Every rose we make raises 10p for the Kids Company charity so make a rose and make a difference!  

Mothers Day Pin Cushion

Here's a little treat you can make for mothers day and all it takes is some colourful  felt, a felting needle and that very special tea cup that you never use to drink from!  

I'm always on the look out for old china I can use in my mosaic work and as a result I seem to have collected  a wide range of odd tea cups over the years.  On my journey through second hand shops, car boot sales and vintage flea markets I've managed to accumulate a wide array of cups too beautiful to break!  Indeed one shop I frequent even refused to sell me a tea set unless I promised not to break it for mosaic....she knows me well! I made the promise and scurried off with a fabulous set of tiny blue tea cups!  

So years later I'm looking at these wonderful tea cups wondering what to do with them when it suddenly struck me! Pin cushions....of course! So I set about gathering up my felting wool and laying it all out on my table top before selecting some of the much loved china and contemplating all the beautiful things I could do! Choosing the colours was the hardest part because there are so many delicious choices of wool.   I have to keep telling myself that sometimes less is more!  Once I have felted the main design and filled the cup with wool I decided to embellish some with a little basic embroidery. I'm not the worlds best embroiderer but I still had a lot of fun playing!

I think the results are stunning and they make the perfect mothers day gift.  

If you would like to spend a couple of hours in felting heaven making one of these beauties then March is your lucky month because I shall be hosting several workshops just for these.  You can book here or alternatively you could give the gift of learning a new skill by giving your mum a voucher to come on a workshop herself...or even better you can come together!  

A Workshop Of Wonders

After a wonderful year with many, many workshops under our belts I thought it would be really lovely to show you a few images of the workshops actually in action.

The picture aboves depicts a host of gorgeous mosaics all hand-made during the workshops I ran in 2013.

People often turn up to a workshop with a set idea of exactly the kind of piece they want to create, this is wonderful as it gives us a great jumping off point.

Many people really have no idea and like to be offered ideas or inspiration, some people arrive with a colour they want to experiment with or with a piece of china or crockery that has lost it's function but is dear to their heart - and can be used to make something entirely new, like this couple.

You can see from the montage of images above what beautiful pieces of art are created during a workshop. People always enjoy the process and find it extremely relaxing and soothing to sit and work with their hands for several hours, to meet like-minded people who want to escape the hum-drum of normal life and immerse themselves in being entirely creative.

There is always lots of laughter at my workshops as well, which is another powerful tonic for your wellbeing.

If you would like to take part in one of my workshops, but cannot find a date that suits you - why don't you gather a small group of friends and call me - we can arrange a date to suit you. 

Turn that unwanted gift into something loved!

Earlier this week husband and wife team Dan and Rebecca celebrated Dan's birthday by coming on a mosaic workshop together.  Dan bought a rather beautiful William Morris print mug as he decided he would rather look at it as a mosaic than sip his morning cuppa from it!

I love projects that incorporate a piece of ceramic that really means something or that is just so beautiful it would be a shame not to break it!

So before we had time to think about it too much he broke the mug ....now there was no going back!

Rebecca set about giving new life to the mug and decided a heart would be an ideal mosaic.

Time passed really quickly as they got stuck in.

And here is the finished work. One beautiful heart .........

And one AMAZING lizard.....congratulations Dan and Rebecca

Personal Crochet Workshops Just For You!

My crochet workshops are exceptionally popular and with  lashings of tea, home-made cake, giggles and the wonderful new skills we acquire during the class - it is no wonder.

The workshops are run on a regular basis but if you find that the dates just do not work for you - just get in touch and we can arrange a time that is convenient for you.

Bring a friend and we can have our own personal workshop together - the cost is still £20 per person - you will receive one-to-one tuition and all the support and help needed, you will leave the class not only with a new skill but with a hand-made crocheted piece. 

Learning a new craft is such fantastic fun and acquiring a new skill is such a boost to your well-being, a craft like crocheting can be put to so many good uses, you can crochet your own blankets and covers and make gifts for friends or loved ones.

So don't hesitate - get in touch today, book a workshop for a friend or loved one as an unusual but wonderful Christmas gift!