Saturday, January 29, 2011

Uber Chair Cover

We have a vintage chair which badly needs re-upholstering and I recently had a brain wave; crochet a cover for it - something stripy and cosy, in a mad colour combo.
Well I spotted this last week during my online wanderings...


How genius is that?! An Aran knitted cover. I want to sit there and read books all winter. Of course in our house it would be the colour of mud by the end of the week with grubby little finger marks and speckled with bits of food but you could use a washable wool and buttons to close it at the back.
You like?

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

New Year

A belated happy new year to everyone. Hope you had a restful and fun break. I also hope you managed to sneak in a bit of crafting, or at least made a few crafting resolutions.
I'm keen to make some sort of quilt this year for my son, something he won't be too shamed about as he gets older. I can't make up my mind whether to make a tivaevae inspired piece something like this...


... or a quilt รก la the celebrated ones made by the women of Gee's Bend. I just love how their designs are shaped by the materials available to them, whether it's old jeans or a curtain. Perhaps THAT can be my new years resolution - don't pay for any fabric this year, just use the pieces from my unruly, and not insubstantial, stash. I'll give it a shot.


So to the Piha Craft Exchange and the year ahead: What would you like to see happen? At times last year we struggled to get enough people to cover the hall hire, so we really need to increase the numbers. Is twice a month too often? Is Wednesday evening a good day and time for you? Recently I've had a number of mums tell me that their young daughters are keen to learn to knit etc. Do we change it to a Sunday afternoon, once a month? We'd love some feedback, please email me with your thoughts.

One thing is for certain; Hannah and I are keen to have more 'educational' sessions this year. Whether it's a cheese-making lesson (come on down Tasha, Melissa and Anna?!) or bread (Michael), screen-printing (JK), or even a basic introduction to sewing/knitting/crochet etc. Again, let us know what skills you would like to learn this year - and whether you know any talented people who would be keen to share their knowledge.

Our first session is on the 16th of February so we would love to see you there. I'm going to take along my mending - not very creative but sorely required at the moment.

See you there if not before.
Anna