The Palace Bulletin

Last week I was delighted to travel to Alexandra Palace to teach at the Knitting & Stitching Show. I always enjoy visiting the show, but this was the first time that I have taught classes there. The sense of anticipation and excitement before the customers arrive always remains the same, though, and preparing to finally deliver my classes after so many hours of preparation (yes, more orange paper bags!) gave me happy butterflies. 

There are some pictures from my classes below, but I will spare you the intimate details. I will just say though that the organisation ran like clock work, and the entire team of staff that I encountered, from electricians and cleaners to security staff were absolutely brilliant. Also, the vast majority of my students were an absolute joy to teach, and were so patient with sharing equipment and sharing space. I have had several thankful emails since I have been home- what a joy to encounter such polite people! 

Apart from spending my time teaching, I chatted away to stallholders, and of course did a little tiny bit of buying. It was great to see my old friends at Art Van Go, and I had a lovely chat to Sara from Black Sheep. To my surprise, several kind strangers admired my dresses, and one of them turned out to be Jo from Baa Ram Ewe, so I chatted about their gorgeous 'Titus' yarn with her and Rachel Coopey for a while- I felt quite start-struck! Having visited the show four days running I had too many delightful encounters to mention them all!

I am now taking a few days to myself: to catch up on admin, to prepare for the next craft fair, and to play around with bits of yarn & fabric. Hopefully by Friday I will have some creations to show you.

students' binding & piping samples

the very beginnings of some broomstick crochet

we actually did use broomsticks: my bag was a lot lighter on the way home that day!

I was very impressed with the coincidental coordinating nail polish!

...also impressed with the coordinating jumper choice

Ties were great sessions, although cutting 300 pieces of fabric & interlining in preparation really was the 'marathon and a half' that I had predicted

Pouches & Prints

After a much-needed day out on Saturday, Sunday saw Part 2 of my 'Sewing Rescue' course in Petham Village Hall.

All 6 of my ladies achieved wonderful little zippy pouches, with their newly acquired zip sewing skills. I had fun just ogling all of their fat quarters before we had even got down to any serious sewing.

The zippy pouch gets a thumbs-up as a useful finished object, and something which is simple and yet nice enough to give as a gift, especially when stuffed with carefully selected smellies and the like. I know I have beautiful fat quarters waiting to star in their very own pretty project, so I know I will be making more to give, to keep, and also to sell at upcoming craft fairs. I might even make up some kits with written instructions.

Well done, ladies! 

Wednesday's skirt lesson was an exciting one, as we fitted toiles. I was so so happy to see my ladies all achieve this stage with panache- it takes some guts to walk around pinned into a calico skirt, being inspected for fit. Most of them fitted pretty fantastically well, and it was great to hear the ladies' input about their visions for finished garments. It makes me really excited for that stage!

After a mid week dabble with some sashiko (pictured in embryonic stages of a project), I'm now getting down to preparation for Ally Pally in earnest. Cutting out 51 Liberty print ties is going to be a marathon and a half in itself! But working with this gorgeous fabric is always a joy. Somehow I feel that some of these will also end up on my stall at a craft fair or two! 

Charting Progress

When coming up with new patterns, after the sample-making comes the writing-up and charting. And that sums up my week in a nutshell!

I love the design process, from the germination of a sketch and noodling around with yarn, through testing and development, creating, explaining it coherently, editing, and eventually publication... Yes, I love it all, except sometimes the tight deadlines!

But although I feel I have achieved a lot this week, I am unable to share any of it with you, because it all remains confidential.

However, there is something exciting which I can share: a pattern I designed has been printed in 'Inside Crochet' Issue 58- published today. It was quite a fun make, based around a Nordic theme. Excitingly, it is even featured on the front cover! This is such a gorgeous issue of Inside Crochet, and I completely want to make everything else that is featured!

This is a snap which I forgot to share last week: my trophies from Hampton Court. I'm going a bit linen-nuts, I think inspired by the crochet trimmed napkin workshop that I ran. My plan is to make a set of mis-matched napkins for at home: they will be lovely in the garden while the weather holds, or will brighten up wintry meals of comforting soups and warming stews. Or, at this rate, I will be lucky if they are ready for next summer! 

The Sunday Supplement

No prizes for noticing that I did not blog on Friday! That was of course because I was working at The Handmade Fair at Hampton Court.

Much of the week therefore disappeared into a lot of orange paper bags:

Bow tie pieces were cut, napkins made and sorted, bobbins wound... plus worksheets written, samples finalised, and everything packed into the correct bag. It felt a bit like wrapping up presents at Christmas (which I love), and with everything packing into my newly acquired granny-style trolly I did feel a little like Father Christmas. Pity there was no reindeer to help me out!

Having been awake since 3 (thanks, epic storm), when I finally arrived at the fair at 9:30 I was a little grumpy to find that absolutely everything was outside in the fresh air: portaloos, open-sided marquee for teaching, a little dampness in the air... I did not think it boded well! Despite the obvious sign that all the areas had been referred to as 'tents' I somehow had not been expecting a festival. Judging by the amount of people in heels, I was not the only one. 

The lovely ladies in the Prima tent made me more than welcome, and once I had found my groove I started to have a really great time. Christina, Linda and the rest of the lovelies were rushed off their feet, yet still found time to offer me water (it got pretty hot in those tents).

I was pleased that the chaps were well represented in my classes. 

Newbies to really fine crochet coped so very well!

Everybody loves pretty flowers.

Saturday was spent at the Calico Cat Craft Fair in Hythe. A wonderful day spent with fellow makers, with plenty of shoppers through the door of delightful St Michael's Hall. Plus an order for a shirt, hurrah! Although it may be a while until I can dedicate a few days to that!

I am so lucky: spontaneous gifts often find their way to me, thanks to somebody lovely!

We designated it #cutedogday, as there were such a lot of gorgeous pooches about. These two were up there with my favourites.

Strangely, somebody walked past clutching this gorgeous old painting, of Mermaid Street in Rye. I couldn't tear my eyes away form this little domestic vignette. I felt that it most likely ought to have been behind glass in an art gallery, so to be able to take the painting in my hands and peer at it held close to my face was a really special treat. 

Sparks-Flying-Friday... & Saturday

This week has been all about crochet. I'm working on a big project with an extremely tight deadline, hence I am crocheting like I have never crocheted before, and I can be a pretty intense hooker when I get involved with a project. 

In fact, I have crocheted so much that my hands and wrists ache, and my eyes are feeling the strain. But I have to admit that I have loved every stitch. Part of me really loves the challenge of working to tight schedules- perhaps you never really know what you can achieve until you are tested. 

I had to go for a walk for the sake of my sanity this morning, and I decided to wear the little silk dress that I made a few weeks ago, so I've pictured it here. I'm very pleased with it, and it is really comfortable. Despite being voluminous it is still practical (I'm all about practicality- see my shoes :-) )

After the Holidays...

Ah September, the gateway to my favourite season. I love the autumn, and this year it promises to be an exceedingly busy, but ultimately really rewarding few months. 

I am already immersed in a couple of large projects, which will have to remain confidential until they are published, but they are just a small corner of what I will be up to. 

Something I am pleased to share with you is that I will be teaching some workshops at The Handmade Fair on September the 19th, at Hampton Court Palace, no less. The Prima events are sponsored by Laura Ashley, so I have some of their lovely silk dupion for the bow tie workshop, in gorgeous muted unisex shades (watch out chaps-I-know, you may be getting the samples for Christmas!). 

I have also been accruing a range of pretty napkins on which to add crochet trims. No doubt the preparation of individual equipment packs and worksheets for everyone will be a mammoth task (as it always is), but I'm sure it will be worth it. 

Last Sunday I met with my lovely ladies at 'Sewing Rescue', where they all accomplished several tricky samples, including a zip and buttonholes. They were keen to make the zippy pouch, so that's what we will do in the next session at the end of the month- putting their newly acquired knowledge to work! 

My skirt course starts again next Wednesday, which I am looking forward to as it has been such a rewarding one to teach in the past. 

So what with a craft fair, a theatre trip, and no doubt a whole load of other unforseen things happening, and probably a whole bunch of things I have forgotten to mention, September is looking pretty full. And then there is October: Ally Pally, some designs which I really need to finish sampling and put down on paper, another craft fair... it will probably be Christmas before I even know it, but I'm certainly not complaining. 

If you are Canterbury based then do consider going to the Knitting & Crochet social on Saturday, 1st of November from 1-4pm at St Paul's Parish Centre, just opposite the Burgate. It will be £4 entry, to include tea/coffee and cake and a chance to meet some like-minded stitchers for a chat. 

Pandora's (Sewing) Box

Sometimes, and often at the most inopportune moments I find myself helpless in the face of the urge to sew. A splurge of making usually follows, and sometimes projects get finished and sometimes they have to wait for a little while! 

This week, after the craft fair I was selling at last weekend, has been mainly occupied with stitching. Pictured above is a little lined zippy pouch, which I have developed for teaching purposes. Not only is it a fun make and a useful finished article, but a great way to use up smaller pieces of fabric. I can see me running up quite a few, perhaps as gifts? Not being a cosmetics sort of person, mine is now stuffed with stationery and pattern drafting tools. 

If you are a regular reader you may recognise the fabric below as I mentioned this dress as my semi-toile. I've done the basic assembly, and I'm really happy with the result. I will finalise the pattern, and finish this properly, and I'm looking forward to wearing it. I will probably bind the neckline instead of taking the seam allowance as a facing, as I don't think I want to take 1cm off it. And although there is a little spare fabric at the waist and hips I am reluctant to take it in_ I want it to fit, but also to be able to move.

Below, my circle skirt is coming together. I had not stay stitched the curves- what a rookie mistake! You can see from how the hem now hangs in more of a handkerchief shape how much the weave has relaxed and travelled since I cut my semicircles. Attaching the waistband was a bit of a nightmare, but it's on there now. Pleasingly, the print pretty much matches up at the side seams. I am leaving it on the dummy for a little while before I cut the hem, just to make sure it has sort of settled and shifted as much as it wants to.

This is some gorgeous needlecord which I bought in a remnant sale, as I just fell in love with the painterly print. I am not really a pink person, but as it juxtaposed with bright red and steely grey I somehow really like it here. There is quite a lot left to do on this skirt: draft, cut, and assemble the facing and lining, as well as insert the zip and sew the back seam... I'm hoping it will be a nice comfortable everyday sort of skirt for chillier days. I am not very good at getting all bundled up for the winter, but I'm hoping with some pretty hand made clothes this winter I will be toasty enough. 

As much as I love to draft my own patterns, it is sometimes fun to follow instructions. I made a little dress from this exciting book as well this week (and actually completed it, you will be pleased to hear!). My version is in silk satin, and it hangs beautifully. There are things I would change if I was to make it again, for example I would change the neck band, as the instructions are for making quite a wide strip on the grain with no shaping, to go all around the neck and shoulders. As a result it sticks out a little, which is not a massive turn-off, but just something I would change next time. Also, I would consider cutting the pattern pieces the opposite way on the fabric. This would be more economic, and would make the straight of grain run up and down the side. This would affect the drape, but depending on the fabric choice I don't think it would reck the design.  I'm really pleased with the result, but it is both very short and very revealing, so I will be wearing it with a top and leggings. 

You may also remember this endearing zebra print from previous entries. I have now cut the pieces for a shirt, so watch out for updates as the finished article comes together. I get the impression many people don't realise how much work there is in a shirt... suffice to say it is a lot! 

And lastly, apologies that my pictures have come out so dark this time, I'll try to make them brighter and sunnier in future :-)