I've been quite busy over the last month or so and what's been lovely is that workshops have now sprung up in my life again. I used to teach patchwork and quilting to children (under 16's) all around the South West of the UK and at the Festival of Quilts each year but that was ages ago and I had missed it. So, when Fudges here in Cullompton kindly asked if I'd like to do a workshop for Yarnstravaganza I was just a bit excited to say the least!
Yarnstravaganza was organised by UK Hand Knitting to champion local yarn shops and creativity with yarn. It ran throughout September but specifically 17 to 24 September.
Granny squares and granny stitch inspired clothing had been all the rage over the summer so I just had to do something with this. I then happened upon the idea of making a zipper pouch or pencil case without necessarily needing a sewing machine. I think people get put off by things if a sewing machine is included. It's no longer the sort of thing that we have in our homes. So after much drafting and a bit of swearing the pattern appeared.
I did two workshops at Fudges during that week, both of which were successful, the second moreso than the first after a tweak in pattern. I had forgotten to take into account how tension between people can vary so much, and that we were crocheting in cotton which is not in my usual remit. But I saw it as a great learning opportunity and all the participants ended up with a finished zip pouch after three hours. Three hours, yes three hours. The other thing that I forgot was how much chatting takes place at a workshop, that and the coffee drinking and biscuit eating but it made for two brilliant sessions.
The paid pattern for the zip pouch is available on my Ravelry page, if you struggle to use this please let me know and I can arrange payment outside of Ravelry via PayPal and email the pattern to you.
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/granny-square-zip-pouch
I'm at Fudges again on 3 and 5 November making crochet covered baubles. Here's the poster for that, please book direct through Fudges if you'd like to come.