Our 1st Birthday

I'm just reading our post from January 15th 2010. That was the first official meeting of A Crafty Coffee and what a meeting it was. We counted 18 attendees that day, and saw so many projects on the go, it was such an exciting time.

Do you think we have maintained the buzz that surrounded that first meeting?
Are we as welcoming as a group as we were that first Friday?
Do people still enjoy coming to A Crafty Coffee?

Over time, I would always assume that the initial flurry of excitement would wane and that the numbers would tail off to a core clique of people. To my amazement and glee, the opposite is true of A Crafty Coffee. Our numbers have increased significantly. Upon ordering the bubbly at the bar this morning, I didn't know how many glasses to ask for but I was told that the rough head count was 34. 34!!! That's THIRTY FOUR people crafting away, bumps, babes and pre-schoolers in tow for some, all manner of life's ills in tow for others, but there we all are. 34 represents about half of our actual members, some people attend more sporadically, others are there week after week after week.



















As for whether or not we are welcoming, that is hard for me to personally testify to because I have not arrived as a newcomer at any stage. What I can say though, is that people tend to come once, and come back. I can barely think of two people who have tried us out and not yet returned, and one of those has been in touch to say that she felt really welcome but that with a stolen bike, car in the garage, and the early arrival of her wee son, she's not been able to make it back YET. In lieu of her attendance, she sent us this pic of her precious bundle, the 'thing' she is most chuffed with creating so far this/last year. He's just 1 week and 1 day old today. Aw.























In terms of whether people are still enjoying ACC, I would say the numbers speak for themselves. But more than that, today, at our little party, more than one person made a point of telling me that it was the highlight of their week. A couple of us vowed that we would not work on a Friday as it is so important to us. And Ruth has twice gone out of her way to share really encouraging stories demonstrating why ACC matters so much.

On January 15th last year there were so many projects to take in. It is wonderful to be able to share now that Coffee(Emma)'s cardi is complete, as are Liv's tree decs, my bear, Paula has taken her crocheting from strength to strength and I couldn't possibly count how many WsiP have been brought, shared and completed over the last 12 months. I asked for members to share photos of some of their works, here is a small selection ...


































































And now to today.

We have had a wonderful birthday celebration with cupcakes enjoyed by all, prosecco or sparkling elderflower for bubbles and a proper giggle.
We welcomed Barbara (the group is never the same without her, what a massive personality) back with her new babe, we're doing well on small people to cuddle up with these days.
{4 babies and counting, several toddlers and the odd poorly school child on occasion.}
Trago Lounge were as welcoming and accommodating as ever they have been, permitting us to partake in these little beauties and generally waiting on us hand and foot ...























And, on top of all that, we still made time for a spot of crafting.
Here's to the next 12 months.


















Thank you all.
C&C
xxx