Unexpected Numbers

Wow!
Since most of the local schools had INSET days and so many of our number are parents, we were expecting to be depleted in number this week. AMAZINGLY though, the turnout was higher than ever with 21 adults at the time of the headcount and 9 or maybe more crafty kids, toddlers and babies.

I (Crafty) really needed the expertise of some of the crafters this week as I had arrived needing to undo some rows of knitting to beyond the button holes. I basically wanted to make my cushion cover bigger before knitting in the button holes (which is a whole new skill in itself). Fortunately, upon my arrival there was SD with her DD sat in the comfy window sofa. She is more or less a pro knitter and I was amused that she gave me a wonderful piece of advice but that when I checked how to execute it she said, 'Oh, I've never done it, I just read that it can help'! Ha ha ha, but it DID help. And I double checked with the lovely JE (our knitting artist) who helped me to get the stitches back on the needle.

Coffee may like to add something here when she is feeling a little more like herself. It won't take genius IQ levels to work out that she really has been very unwell of late.

I (Crafty) made the decision to leave Kid A at home with his Dad who was working at home but to bring Kid B who LOVES crafting and socialising. Unfortunately, Kid B couldn't be persuaded to being along one of her many WiPs (she started EVERYTHING on her birthday, peg dolls, hanging hearts, french knitting, button jewellery) and brought colouring instead. Trago Lounge is a very family friendly environment but even the staff struggled when some of the small people decided to play with the stones from the plant pots all over the floor! As one of the managers said though, 'We'll have to get used to it, we have a week of this ahead of us'. In many ways he is right, they will need to get used to children being children ... but it has made me think more carefully about how I will involve and engage Kid B if she comes next week.

Coffee may like to add something in here too as she made a real effort with an entire table of new crafters (with babies and toddlers) who were dragged along by EN.

I did make time to meet chat with JH and ZB who came along for the first time. JH is a real crafter and we'd love to see here again, ZB, her daughter, came along to get a 'feel' for the group rather than to participate but I think she was surprised at how comfortable and relaxed it all is. We LOVE that fact that experienced crafters, non-crafters, amateurs and people young and old can come together like this. Another lovely week.

January draws to a close.

So, as we kiss goodbye to January, now seems like a good time to reflect on the first month's goings on at A Crafty Coffee.


Week by week we have had approaching 20 attendees, some new faces each week, some returners and some people who are only able to attend sporadically. This is exactly how we'd hope the little crafting community would be. The Facebook group is registering 39 members which is a good indication of how large the community is but not 100% accurate as there are members who are not part of Facebook. We'd love to see more cross generational crafting and conversation and if Crafty EVER gets her backside into gear we will print off those lovely posters to promote the group in local surgeries, the library and the university.

In terms of crafting ... Coffee will have to work her magic here and put in the photos because I am new to this blogging lark. (Coffee: Magic has been worked - finally!)

This week we were pleased to welcome back OB (or LB depending who she's talking to) with her retro, hand-sewn Christmas decorations. I LOVE that she is working so far ahead of time in the hope that, somewhere in the midst of bringing up three children (one a pre-schooler), she will actually finish in time for decorating the tree. We have a mutual friend in EN who came again with her DD and bump in tow. Apparently they have also suggested to two of their NCT friends that they come along and craft with us. One of the wonderful things about A Crafty Coffee and Trago Lounge is that both are welcoming of children but neither are designed for children, so it is a place to be an adult, persue a hobby but that children can fit into and be content.

A newbie this time was CP with her DD too. I personally feel privileged to have at least two practicing artists withing the group. CP is currently exhibiting a cast iron bed in Bristol but the project she is working on at A Crafty Coffee is a portable one. She has collected an array of vintage lace doilies from charity shops and the like, and is sewing them together in an 'orchestrated random' way with a view to them becoming a suspended work of art. I am personally excited by this project because of its symbolism regarding women and crafts. Follow her progress at either http://www.chantalpowell.com or http://chantalpowell.wordpress.com

Other crafts this week included a wonderful Afghan that IW was crocheting on the largest hook I have ever seen.

She brought along some more instruments of torture with which she is going to learn to rag rug under the tuition of EN ... IW described herself as 'not to be beaten' which is why she is so keen to try out new crafts. She is also a wonderful teacher and put away her Afghan to teach another newbie (L) to crochet.

Two ladies brought along some premature baby clothes that they had knitted at the suggestion of a wonderful woman who approached the group on week one, we would love to see her return and join in one day.

CK was colouring by numbers whilst chatting to DH (who was knitting away at the speed of light). I think there must be something so wonderful about emptying your brain of all that fills it for a while and simply doing as instructed. Anybody could do it, but not everybody would, I hope she felt relaxed afterwards.

I forget what else I saw taking place, I was very tired after a tricky week with a poorly DD but that is part of what the group is about, some support and chatter over a coffee and craft. I knitted one section three times before breaking it off and starting again because white yarn discolours so easily with the natural oils on our hands. At least I had experienced knitters around me to help and explain these things.

So, having been inspired by KB's bag of coloured loveliness, I left with a WiP and an intention to embark on something completely different. Watch this space!

Can I think of a more imaginative title than 'Week Two'?

The MISERABLE weather outside did not deter a large number of people returning for a second Crafty Coffee, in fact, this week there were some new members too which was rather nice.

One new lady (J) felt so inspired that she would like to bring her mother (who is in a nursing home) along for the companionship and to see if she will remember how to knit if the needles and yarn are given to her. Her tales of her lovely (but poorly) mother were both amusing and challenging and raised unexpected emotions in more than one of us. But the chat gives a hint to the fact that A Crafty Coffee is going to be about more than just coffee and crafts.

I (Crafty) feel that I am getting to know new people, and deepening relationships with others, and all through the medium of crafting. This week I completed my [still TOP SECRET] knitting project (Coffee: it is gorgeous!), and learned to thread and use a sewing machine. I am off to the theatre on Saturday and have made my costume so I will look the part at The Rocky Horror Show. Of course, when I say 'made' I mean altered a pair of shorts and hand stitched MANY sequins onto ribbon to make a bow tie, but you know ... for me this was a project. This did leave me at a loss for a project to work on at A Crafty Coffee today, so I looked at patterns and tried to think of where to go from here (Coffee: And distracted me...).

This morning KB was hooking away on some granny squares. She very kindly, and somewhat inspiringly, brought along a beautiful quilt she has been working on. She has completed a City and Guilds course, and her expertise is more than welcome.
Some of us are complete amateurs, others aspiring, and then we have the [what I call] professionals. Or what AS calls, post grad!
AS brought along an amazing jumper she is knitting for her DD, she is designing a cupcake to knit into the pattern for the front and had beautiful seed beads to stitch on for sprinkles.
EN came along with DD (13 months) and bump in tow. She is working on a really chunky knit baby blanket and turns out to be a bit of a 'Jack of all' on the crafting front. When IW (our resident crochet teacher) was asking if anyone knew about rag rugging, EN was just the lady ... so while they chatted on such things I irresponsibly let her DD play with the plastic knitting needles on the table, much to the absolute dismay of Coffee! However, said DD has been 'attachment parented' which is a posh and educated way of saying that her parents are lazy and that she has freedom to get hurt and make mistakes. See the level of discussion we are already having as a group?

Coffee: To the right you will see a beautiful piece of patchwork that IW has done and brought in to show us. I have wanted to learn patchworking and quilting for a very long time, so now know who to go to for advice. I have even started planning my first two quilts - very basic ones - after being inspired by I's work.

Both CL (another newcomer) and SJ were working on knitted garments for themselves (good for them I say). CL was also modeling the most fabulous home knit cardi in a lovely chunky yarn with cable detail and everything. She taught me how to cast on mid-knit which has been a problem for me, and made a useful suggestion for maintaining a tight stitch when I have to make another ... **** oops, nearly let slip there!
SR came along for the first time and was emulating a lovely piece of 'Pia' jewellery in faux pearl, crystal and silver (coloured) chain. It was really wonderful to see different crafts taking place.
HD was able to pop in for the first, and possibly a rare, time. She paints. But felt completely at home drinking coffee and socialising with other crafters. She said to me that she felt the group was necessary and had good mileage. I hope she is right!
I am worried about the people I have not mentioned (like CK with her 6 year old cross stitch) and that I didn't do a headcount, but I bet Coffee will interject here and make up for my inadequacies (Coffee: No inadequacies! But I did count 18 people, again).

Sadly, this week Crafty forgot the camera (MUST try harder) ... but saw new WiPs and even some projects completed from last week. But, more important was the fact that newcomers felt welcome, and returners will return again.

Background

Upon waking, it occurred to me that neither Coffee nor myself had posted any background to the group.

Since about September, Coffee has been teaching me how to knit, and encouraging me to pick up other crafts along the way. She is enormously talented, creative, skilled, intelligent, has a thirst for knowledge (meaning she has started more than one degree course (Coffee: Hey! I object. Although, come to think of it, you have a point...)) and has been a great help to me.

So, we have been meeting to craft together in her lovely little home. In October, this great Lounge Bar opened in the High Street and we began to take our crafts down there once a week (sometimes more as Coffee really does like her Coffee). Being on the High Street, Trago Lounge gets a lot of passing traffic and before long people were popping in for a cuppa, noticing us crafting away and telling us we should start a group.

Having sown (or should I say sewn) the seed, these people came and went, as did many others before we took seriously the need for a group in the area we inhabit. We knew that a knitting group would be too exclusive and that there are knitting groups already. We had a sense that we needed to be more encompassing than that. And, being the brilliant procrastinators we both are, we put it off to think some more.

Finally, we had a few snowy days off school, and as cabin fever set in, we found ourselves in a position to abandon our children in the care of others to frequent our favourite Lounge with a little knitting. It was on this day, Friday the 8th of January 2010 that A Crafty Coffee began its journey.

We anticipate this group evolving, relationships deepening, craft skills improving and caffeine addictions worsening over the coming year! A Crafty Coffee (as the title suggests) gives people a license to craft over coffee in an environment where the washing/ironing/vacuuming etc can't get in the way. We extend a warm welcome to all of you who choose to join in, weekly, monthly, or on an ad hoc basis.

The first OFFICIAL meeting of A Crafty Coffee

Well, after much excitement and anticipation, especially on the part of Crafty and Coffee, the day of the first OFFICIAL meeting of A Crafty Coffee finally arrived.

Crafty: Phew. What a week. That is all it's been, a week since we 'decided' to make A Crafty Coffee official. I've been beavering away behind the scenes generating a poster, and setting up a facebook group with Coffee, while Coffee started this beautiful blog (Coffee: Thank you!). The morning was here, and we were ready!

I literally cannot believe how many people pitched up this morning ... Upon my arrival CK had already bagged the warm radiator spot for a somewhat ambitious (or so I thought) table of 8-10. Little did I know that it would be full, and people be spreading to nearby sofas and tables before Coffee even put in an appearance herself.

Coffee: Yes. The first meeting and I was late - no surprises there! As I passed the window of Trago Lounge I thought I saw a glimpse of a few knitting needles. But when I stepped inside I could hardly believe my eyes! There were about a dozen women of various ages already there, knitting, sewing, cross stitching, drinking teas, coffees, hot chocolates, and yabbering away as if they had known each other all their lives.

The final number of Crafters was 18. An unbelievable turnout for the first meeting, with hardly any advertising, only word of mouth. (Does Facebook count as word of mouth?) And there were a fair number of people who had wanted to come but couldn't make it this week. The atmosphere was great - friendly and chatty, but productive too. There were a number of projects that had been dusted off for the meeting. There were women learning new skills, including two who started to learn how to crochet and Crafty who learned how to 'increase' in knitting.

Crafty: As I waited (for I am in great need of tuition, having never been a crafter before now) my patience paid dividends. I was party to many conversations, deeper than I anticipated for the time of day and in a group of people who hadn't met much before (if at all). I guess that is what happens when like minded people come together?

Eventually, Coffee took me under her wing, but S and J also patiently and kindly offered to assist. I will learn from these wonderfully talented women.

And now for some photos of Crafty projects....

C's WiP

Vintage Christmas decorations - busy Mamas know you need to start these things early...

J's WiP

D's WiP - a hooded cable cardie for a friend's little boy

S's WiP - fingerless gloves with mitten flap (for Coffee who is too lazy to knit them herself). One down....

One to go...


Learning to crochet

A's WiP - see, there was more than just knitting and crochet, honest!

S's WiP - another sleeve done...

Crafty, learning to increase, under Coffee's inexpert tuition...

Coffee's WiP, a hooded little girl's cardie, and the all-important cup of coffee

Crafty: I have left with my 'homework' for the week. And my WiP, which I cannot name so publicly before March, will be well underway by the time we next come together.

Coffee: My challenge for the week is to make headway with my WiP, as there have been various rumblings that I take on too many projects, and don't finished them! Hmmm, need to refute this slander...

See you next week. Bye!

(All photos (except one - can you work out which one?) taken by the lovely Crafty.)

Welcome!

Welcome to A Crafty Coffee's blog! Our first meeting will be on Friday 15th January between 9.30 (ish) and 11.30 (ish) at Trago Lounge, Portswood. Hope to see you there!