Crochet
Tea & Hearts
04/02/12 13:34
I will be teaching crochet (and knitting) at The Tea Rooms, in Stoke Newington on the 14th February, St Valentines day! So I thought for something a bit special we could make some crochet hearts, you can wear them as a brooch or give to someone you love! I will be there on the Tuesday morning from 10am to 12noon, and then Wednesday 15th from 7pm till 9pm. Please contact The Tea Rooms to book your place.
New Crochet Classes
10/01/12 12:44
I will be teaching beginner’s crochet classes at Julies Handmade World, in Crystal Palace. Working from initial stitches, onto following a basic pattern of a traditional granny square, or to make your own hat! Please look through the other workshop pages to see the sort of things you could learn to make! Places are limited, so please contact me to book your place now!
The Tea Rooms
27/11/11 19:53
Over the last few months, I have taken on leading new knitting & crochet classes at The Tea Rooms, in Stoke Newington’s Church Street.
When I used to live very near by, I would go for their fantastic cream teas, and thought how nice it would be to hang out there more often. Now I get to have a lovely pot of tea whilst helping people learn new textile skills! The class is aimed at complete newbies and mixed ability in crochet and knitting, I have hooks, needles, yarns to get you started, and ideas for your projects!
Keep an eye on their facebook page for details of when I will be there.
50's Vintage Knit & Chat
16/08/11 15:05
On the 13th & 15th August, I lead workshops at Hornsey Library and Bruce Castle Museum with the theme of Vintage Knitting. Inspiration was taken from the 1950’s to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Festival of Britain, which took place at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank of London, with activities also taking place in North London’s borough of Haringey. Although my part was to facilitate the workshops, to help and teach people how to knit and crochet, I found the importance through what individual participants brought with them, together as a group. Sharing knitting experiences, memories and stories from a time gone past. Alison brought some fantastic original patterns with her, and a lifetime’s wealth of British knitting knowledge. I’m only sorry that my photography is rather shaky and blurred from my mobile phone, time to invest in a new camera!
Stitch & Craft 2011
23/03/11 21:44
Last weekend I was at the Stitch and Craft 2011 at Olympia, another show organised by Twisted Thread. After the success of my crochet workshop at Ally Pally, they invited me do some more at this show. I presented two workshops on making freeform crochet flowers. Here are some images of the pieces created, not the best photographs I know, but I was running around teaching too! Thank you to everyone who attended the workshops and to Twisted Thread for having me.
After the workshops, looking around the stalls I spotted this amazing hand knitted cardy!
After the workshops, looking around the stalls I spotted this amazing hand knitted cardy!
London Fashion Week A/W 2011
26/02/11 23:23
Don’t hang up your hooks just yet - crochet is back in fashion! As seen in the Autumn/Winter 2011 collections of Christopher Kane and House of Holland at London Fashion Week. I might make one of these for myself!
Waverley School
21/01/11 16:05
It has been a while since I’ve posted anything on here. I will gradually catch up with what I have been doing, but for now I just want to say a huge Thank You to Art Teacher - Mrs. Joubert and her pupils at Waverley School, in Birmingham for taking part in my workshops and for being fantastic budding Textile Artists!
Knitting & Stitching Show
09/10/10 23:41
So as mentioned before, I was back at Ally Pally again this year, but this time to teach crochet workshops in the Learning Curve.
How to make a granny square...
Here’s how some of the participants got on...
How to make a granny square...
Here’s how some of the participants got on...
How To Crochet A Granny Square
28/09/10 21:34
Not posted anything on here for a while. It’s been a busy month, with lots of change and new beginnings. However, I should mention that next week I will be running a workshop at The Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace. If you wanted to learn how to make a crochet granny square, I would have said, now is your chance, but apparently my workshop has already sold out! So in between packing boxes to move house and doing my homework for the Crafts Council maker development program I am now on, and learning to use a knitting machine at Morley College, I am putting together some crochet packs for my learners. Wish me luck! Come find me at Ally Pally on Thursday 7th Oct, around 3pm for a cuppa, I’ll need one after my workshop!
Jonanna Vasconcelos
26/09/10 21:55
I Will Survive. Jonanna Vasconcelos. Haunch of Venison.
“The use of crochet alludes to an activity usually associated with women and traditional crafts but in these ingenious manipulations it is such perceptions rather than the activity itself which are rendered obsolete”. - Bomi Odufunade (Haunch of Venison).
Here you see crochet being used to cover the surface of hard objects of concrete statues, a grand piano and ceramic animal figurines. The materials are out of context from what you would normally expect. Re-questioning how you see traditional crafts skills such as crochet (often associated with the idea of old grannies or bad 70’s fashion trends). The crochet here is not fluffy and woolly but crisp, intricate and graphic looking. On the concrete figures it looks like tattooing, again to make you question the traditional idea of who would use crochet. The motifs of the lacework echo the surrounding cornice plastering on the walls and ceiling. I am interested in the relationship of the constructed soft materials to the harder objects they envelope and the placement within the building’s architecture. Looking at the construction within ‘soft’ textile fabrics and finding details within the surrounding building / architecture or hard objects such as furniture, where these construction methods or decorative features have been used on another scale and in other materials.
“The use of crochet alludes to an activity usually associated with women and traditional crafts but in these ingenious manipulations it is such perceptions rather than the activity itself which are rendered obsolete”. - Bomi Odufunade (Haunch of Venison).
Here you see crochet being used to cover the surface of hard objects of concrete statues, a grand piano and ceramic animal figurines. The materials are out of context from what you would normally expect. Re-questioning how you see traditional crafts skills such as crochet (often associated with the idea of old grannies or bad 70’s fashion trends). The crochet here is not fluffy and woolly but crisp, intricate and graphic looking. On the concrete figures it looks like tattooing, again to make you question the traditional idea of who would use crochet. The motifs of the lacework echo the surrounding cornice plastering on the walls and ceiling. I am interested in the relationship of the constructed soft materials to the harder objects they envelope and the placement within the building’s architecture. Looking at the construction within ‘soft’ textile fabrics and finding details within the surrounding building / architecture or hard objects such as furniture, where these construction methods or decorative features have been used on another scale and in other materials.
Over 60's Club
15/06/10 17:51
Today I was invited to be the guest speaker at the Over 60’s Club at the Salvation Army. It was a bit nerve wrecking to walk into to a room full of wiser elders, and to be confronted with a microphone at a head table to do my thing. What could I tell these ladies about knitting that they didn’t already know?! I discarded a formal approach to run around each table in my own way to show all the ladies (and two gentlemen) how to cut a plastic bag to recycle it as Plarn (plastic yarn), as an alternative material for crocheting. For those who couldn’t hold a hook, we did some finger crochet and had a bit of fun!
Gardens & Crochet
26/05/10 00:07
So as a continuation of my previous post, it was such a lovely weekend, I wanted to show more of it. With the sun really out, proper, there was nowhere better to be than in the garden in Iffley, finishing off the final joins in my crochet comfort blanket. The last image shown here is my blanket modeled in Candy Pop’s dinning room (see my previous post).
Crochet Comfort Blanket
05/05/10 15:58
Cranberry Crochet Beret
24/12/09 12:14
A treat to myself this Christmas, to keep my head warm and pretty!
Beard For Boyce
19/10/09 22:32
After knowing Mr Boyce for over 3 years with a beard, he has decided to go clean shaven. This has been some what of a shock to me and others, so I have made him a woolly replacement in crochet to keep his face warm.
Wools & Crafts
13/06/09 15:54
I discovered this amazing little shop today on Blackstock Road, in Finsbury Park. Some of the ladies in my crochet group had mentioned it in passing, but I had no idea just how much stock they have! It was really hard to leave empty handed. I managed to only buy two items, some matching purple cotton to finish off my treble crochet granny square!
Finished Object?
30/05/09 14:13
Well, I have run out of time on my UFO, so I guess for now it is finished. I had intended to do something totally obscure and weird to transform an ordinary piece of knitting into some sculptural multi-coloured form. But when I received the unfinished cardigan, I couldn’t bare to make it odd, in saying that I think my colour choice has made it end up equally as an oddment! Anyway here’s the story behind it, then what I did...
Great Granny’s Oddment Cardigan. “This back of a cardigan was constructed from great granny’s sock oddments basket. From a mixture of 4ply blues and greens. Have you any oddments lying around?”…
The back instantly looked like it would make a rather lovely top. I found an odd ball of sock yarn and started crocheting around the edge, gave it a few ruffles, then it was transformed from an cast-off cardigan to a hyperbolic halter-neck!
Great Granny’s Oddment Cardigan. “This back of a cardigan was constructed from great granny’s sock oddments basket. From a mixture of 4ply blues and greens. Have you any oddments lying around?”…
The back instantly looked like it would make a rather lovely top. I found an odd ball of sock yarn and started crocheting around the edge, gave it a few ruffles, then it was transformed from an cast-off cardigan to a hyperbolic halter-neck!
UFO Project Administration Service
09/05/09 13:44
Rachael and Louise at Prick Your Finger are, for the next couple of months, becoming the administration service for a UFO project, which will result in an exhibition at the Jerwood Space. UFO being - Un Finished Object! This is aimed at all those knitting and crochet items that were once started then forgotten, another chance for these to have a lease of life. It sounded like a great project for me to get stuck into, so for the next couple of weeks I have put on hold my crochet and knits to finish off someone else’s UFO, and at the same time handing over a piece I had given up on.
This is a hat I started a while back, then used it as sample to practice my cable stitch on. It then got too tight for my head, and I got fed up of it. I wonder how it will turn out?
This is a hat I started a while back, then used it as sample to practice my cable stitch on. It then got too tight for my head, and I got fed up of it. I wonder how it will turn out?
A Little Bazaar...
24/04/09 08:51
Last night I took my hand screen printed felt cats on their first outing, down to The Albany, in Deptford for A Little Bazaar. I shared a stall with two lovely and creative ladies Parusha & Anita, and together we had a wealth of vintage, design and hand made craft on our table! We had lots of fun dancing about to a great DJ set, ate glitter cupcakes from the next stall, and tested punters on their bartering skills! My cats had a fair amount of interest, so I thought it was time to share them with you! If you would like to buy one, please email me!
Thank you Parusha & Anita and A Little Bazaar for a fun evening. x
Thank you Parusha & Anita and A Little Bazaar for a fun evening. x
plastic bag turned hyperbolic
23/03/09 22:46
Here, is what I came up with after a few days working at the Stitch and Craft Show at Olympia...Yet more hyperbolic crochet forms, working with stripped up plastic bags. This one is made with a bag from Marks & Sparks, and a few Accardo bags on the edge.
One week later...
02/02/09 23:46
SNOW!!!
and my zebra crochet cosy is still there
The tree is still warped up in the park - i still don’t know who did this.
And this was our snowslug...
and my zebra crochet cosy is still there
The tree is still warped up in the park - i still don’t know who did this.
And this was our snowslug...
Taking knit out to the street
25/01/09 10:23
I’ve been a bit naughty and have started a bout of graffitti...
ha ha! watch out for more to come!
If you like this, check out www.yarnbombing.com
ha ha! watch out for more to come!
If you like this, check out www.yarnbombing.com
Crochet Balaclava
18/01/09 17:28
I have been making a knitted balaclava - watch this space for further news why! Anyway, I got a bit inspired and went off on a colorful one to make this crocheted piece too! I was thinking that the whole idea for having a balaclava is to blend into the background, and to create a disguise - well I would love to find the place where this blends into...
Amigurumi
08/11/08 18:37
I’m completely hooked.
I could spend all day on the net looking at pictures of japanese amigurumi crochet.
Kawaii!
This is one of mine:
Ari The One Armed Ami.
If you want to make some crochet characters, check out this book by Annie, a lovely girl who also works at Tatty Devine.
I could spend all day on the net looking at pictures of japanese amigurumi crochet.
Kawaii!
This is one of mine:
Ari The One Armed Ami.
If you want to make some crochet characters, check out this book by Annie, a lovely girl who also works at Tatty Devine.
Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef
02/07/08 21:40
Hyperbolic Crochet
I have become hooked into crochet. As a Textile Artist this activity is something I already had in practice, picking up the stitches and following on from my grandma’s legacy, this has gone beyond what is commonly perceived as a feminine handicraft, a hobby of the past or of a quirky, kitche activity to do in the pub with your indie mates. Crochet, knit and other textile techniques are not just a physical activity. Here lies a cognitive exercise, in which thought process develops through the process of making. Crochet has gone into the realm of physics and mathematics, as being a perfect method to create models to express and explain the hyperbolic plane.
A hyperbolic plane?… I have become stuck for trying to describe it, yet through making I can show you an example of this one surface that is ever expanding and multiplying in its negative curvature. If mathematics is a language, then in its visual form shows structure and pattern. Using crochet, increasing the number of stitches from the starting point, demonstrates these geometric forms. I have found a connection here, a thread that runs through all my textile work, uncovering a sense of order out of apparent chaos.
The hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef is an international collaboration conceived by The Institute For Figuring bringing together the work of countless people, creating their own crochet models as single elements, brought together as a whole, show a mass of microcosms and macrocosms. The “coral reef” has been exampled for this project to push forward an ecological issue, but when looking at these forms could equally be describing other biological structures.
From its international exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, people from the Uk were invited to respond and make their own crochet corals. This response has been so fantastic, that I have become involved in this branching off, to create the UK Reef. In partnership with Denise Quinn, and with support from the Crafts Council I have helped curate and install the crochet display for tour in the Knitting and Stitching Show, during which I taught more people how to crochet. The project grows and spreads as more people get hooked. The future for the growing UK Reef? As more off shoots develop, this craft is becoming viral, watch this space...
I have become hooked into crochet. As a Textile Artist this activity is something I already had in practice, picking up the stitches and following on from my grandma’s legacy, this has gone beyond what is commonly perceived as a feminine handicraft, a hobby of the past or of a quirky, kitche activity to do in the pub with your indie mates. Crochet, knit and other textile techniques are not just a physical activity. Here lies a cognitive exercise, in which thought process develops through the process of making. Crochet has gone into the realm of physics and mathematics, as being a perfect method to create models to express and explain the hyperbolic plane.
A hyperbolic plane?… I have become stuck for trying to describe it, yet through making I can show you an example of this one surface that is ever expanding and multiplying in its negative curvature. If mathematics is a language, then in its visual form shows structure and pattern. Using crochet, increasing the number of stitches from the starting point, demonstrates these geometric forms. I have found a connection here, a thread that runs through all my textile work, uncovering a sense of order out of apparent chaos.
The hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef is an international collaboration conceived by The Institute For Figuring bringing together the work of countless people, creating their own crochet models as single elements, brought together as a whole, show a mass of microcosms and macrocosms. The “coral reef” has been exampled for this project to push forward an ecological issue, but when looking at these forms could equally be describing other biological structures.
From its international exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, people from the Uk were invited to respond and make their own crochet corals. This response has been so fantastic, that I have become involved in this branching off, to create the UK Reef. In partnership with Denise Quinn, and with support from the Crafts Council I have helped curate and install the crochet display for tour in the Knitting and Stitching Show, during which I taught more people how to crochet. The project grows and spreads as more people get hooked. The future for the growing UK Reef? As more off shoots develop, this craft is becoming viral, watch this space...