Category Archives: courses

Marlborough College Crochet Roundup

Posted in courses, Crochet, Tunisian, Tutorial, workshops by

Hello again! I’m back from a wonderful couple of weeks teaching at the Marlborough College Summer School – exhausting, but great fun!

Week one was

Beginners Crochet

The ladies were complete beginners, but picked it up so quickly – I was very impressed! We started with a basic chain, then moved on to double crochet (making phone covers), working up to trebles where we made bunting, flower pot covers and a bag. The course gave all students the skills needed to be able to read patterns so that they can crochet at home with confidence.

They produced a lot of finished pieces!

I was amazed at the distance some of the ladies had travelled to take the course – I had ladies from Greece, Hong Kong and France! They all enjoyed themselves and presented me with a card and voucher for a local yarn shop on the final day.

They were truly a joy to teach.

Week Two was

Tunisian Crochet

Most of the ladies on this course were completely new to crochet, but were keen knitters. This meant ‘retraining’ them to hold the yarn and hook in a different way. Not an easy thing to grasp when the hook you are holding feels just like a knitting needle! They picked it up very quickly, and we were soon moving from Tunisian Simple Stitch (TSS) to colour work, wrapping the yarn and working with floats. A couple of Intrepid Beginners were eager to work different stitches, so we also covered Tunisian Knit Stitch, Tunisian Purl and Entrelac.

So much work was created in the week that I almost ran out of blocking boards for the Exhibition at the end of the course!

It was fantastic to see the experimentation and imagination of the students take flight. Again, the students enjoyed the course – I was presented with a lovely card and a box of choccies. With all the amazing food at the College though it will be a while before I can enjoy them!

I was delighted to meet one of the Week One students (a big shout out to Dorothy!) at the end of Week Two – she had continued to crochet and was well underway with a blanket she was making, having found a pattern on line and had the confidence and ability to follow it.

I was so proud!

I love to see the lightbulb moment with students.
I love to watch them fall in love with the craft.
I love to see them go from struggling with the initial chain to working stitches with ease. 

I love to teach.

I really hope I can offer more courses at Marlborough next year. It is an amazing venue to teach at. The atmosphere is amazing, the hospitality is second to none. The food (ohmythefood!) and entertainment are fantastic. 

And I’d love to see you there too. 

With love,

 

p.s. I’ve had some lovely feedback from the students and thought I’d share it with you!

“Very well taught – kept my imagination going and
the troubleshooting from Zoe was fab!”

“Excellent value – tutor worked very hard and
was very encouraging”

“Tutor excellent”

Order your brochure for 2016 courses here.

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Learn to crochet!

Posted in courses, Crochet, workshops by

I am running a Beginner’s Crochet Course at the Wool Shop in Pewsey, Wiltshire on Saturday 8th March 2014. If you follow me on Twitter, you might have had a sneaky-peak at some of the class samples!

Granny Stripe Jar Cover

We will be covering holding the yarn and hook, how to make a chain, the treble stitch, ‘Granny’ stripes, changing colours and working in rows/rounds.

Students will go home with the skills to finish making their cowl or scarf, together with patterns for other projects using the skills they have learnt.

The course starts at 10am and finishes at 2pm – tea and biscuits are included! You will be able to select your own yarns and colours, so you can make a project you will love.

Cost: £25 – limited to 6 students only, so everyone will get individual attention. 

TO BOOK: Either use the Contact Form here to check on availability or ring 01672 564585. 

I will be doing monthly follow up courses covering more skills, leading to advanced courses and specific techniques such as Irish Crochet, Broomstick crochet and more.

For regular updates, please follow the blog or catch me on Twitter/Facebook!

Snowdrops

Posted in Baking, Bilko, courses, Crochet, Designs, workshops by

Fragile flowers

I love it when the first snowdrops of the year bravely push on through frozen (or in this case, flooded!) soil – it means that the mornings are getting lighter, and Spring is on the way. I find it amazing that these delicate little flowers are the first to arrive. I thought that they must be immortalised in knitting somewhere, but was struck by the lack of Snowdrop related patterns and projects. There are some lace pieces, and a couple of charts, but for a flower that (to me) heralds a new year, a fresh start (and always makes me smile) it didn’t seem to be a lot. I am working on some lace designs at the moment, and will be studying the humble Snowdrop to see what I can add to the mix. If I like it, I might even offer it on here!

SnowdropsCreative Commons Licence: Bankhallbretherton

Granny Stripes

The Granny Stripe Delight sample worked up a treat. I really like the colour combination. It’s a nice, simple pattern and makes for a snug fitting cowl – quick to work up, warm to wear. If anyone would like the ‘pattern’ do leave me a comment/get in touch and I’ll add it on here later!

Granny Stripe Delight

(Please excuse the make-shift light box – but it works, for now!) 

The first course has now been booked – we had someone sign up within five minutes, which was lovely. It’s on March 8th (Saturday) from 10-2pm at The Wool Shop in Pewsey, if anyone in the South West/Wiltshire is interested in coming along. I’ll be covering crochet basics:

  • How to hold the yarn and hook
  • Chaining
  • Trebles
  • Turning chains
  • Changing colours
  • Weaving in as you go
  • How to swatch & translate that so you can make anything you like – a cushion cover, blanket, long scarf, skinny scarf, anything your imagination can create!
  • US/UK terminology
  • Charts

There’s a lot to cover! We are working on more classes, including Irish Crochet Lace, Crochet Motifs, Knitted socks, How to Moebius and much, much more. Drop me a line if you’d like to be added to the email list and I can keep you updated.

Aside from the Granny Stripe Delight, I’ve been all homey and house-proud this weekend (probably because I can see the dust in the sunshine!) and felt the need to bake.

Baking FeverAs I was going out with My Boy for a long walk,  some stodgy nourishment was called for, so I plumped for Toad-in-the-hole (with cabbage and mash!) to warm me up afterwards. I’d love to show you the results, but it is still in the oven and I’ll probably shcoffle it before taking a pic. Well, it was a looooong walk! We (Bozo and I) had great fun in the sun – although he did get a little confused with the ‘hitchhiker’ on his nose…

Dinner’s ready, so I’m off for some yumminess now…until next time,

pw x