My many hats.

I am not talking about my numerous and expanding collection of knitted hats. Well, I am going to mention them later, but this is about the back story to my non literal, numerous and expanding collection of career hats. Currently, I own a nursery, growing all manner of plants but specialising in Lavender. I teach two art classes a week. I have a little gallery of my own work. I also have a campsite on the nursery. Plus, of course, the knitting design work. How has this happened? That’s a question I frequently ask myself.

In brief; I studied Fine art at Uni, straight into a lecturing job whilst also studying garden design and horticulture. A friend ran past a derelict nursery for sale one day and in my naïve ignorance, I thought this would be a good thing to take on, so ended up with eight acres of wilderness. Fast forward to more recent years and a bad back injury led to months of being able to do nothing but lay on my back and knit, triggering that addiction. I then converted a shed into a classroom/ gallery with a view to teaching, painting and knitting instead of the physical demands of horticulture. Except I somehow
didn’t give up the horticulture, I just added the teaching, painting and knitting and then the campsite. This I did on a whim when the Tour de France came to Yorkshire, never expecting it to become so popular.

So, an average day always starts with knitting, then maybe a few hundred Lavender cuttings, then cleaning the campsite toilets and showers, a bit more knitting or pattern writing, teach a class, check on the nursery then more knitting.

I hope this makes sense of my latest E-book in the making… Horticultural Hats. Already knitted and on the shortlist are the daffodil hat, daisy hat and recently finished twining vine hat. Also on the to do list are Dahlias, Passionflower, Lavenders (of course), Fuchsias, Violas and Roses.

Watch this space for updates!

The C word.

Maybe not what you’re thinking – I’m talking about the arcane, black art of crochet. At least, that’s how many people view this particular needlecraft, not least avid knitters. I’ve run a few crochet workshops with various degrees of success and I’m planning more this October (10th , 17th , 24th), so crocheting is on my mind. I learnt the rudiments from my Nanna and then taught myself a few more techniques relatively recently. My main motivation was that someone told me it used up yarn really quickly, so I envisioned an rapid diminishing of my stash. However, I instantly gravitated to crocheting little toys. When I say little, I mean teddies standing around 2cm tall, crocheted out of lace weight yarn with a 1.25mm hook. Stash reduction, approximately 4 metres of fine yarn!

I think one reason for many people’s aversion to crochet, mine included, is the memory of it in the fashions of the 1970’s. I have cringe-worthy photos of my young self in huge flares with a crocheted poncho. I also have some hilarious vintage pattern books with granny square garments in vile colour combinations. However, I recently saw this Dolce & Gabbana advert – far be it for me to suggest they have plagiarised anything, but note the similarity to the 1970’s magazine pattern!

So, the classes I’m running in October are going to be a celebration of granny squares. Watch out for a group of women in multi coloured maxi waistcoats!

To find out more about my classes, check out my Facebook page for The Art Shed.

Being Crafty

When I set up my art classes seven years ago, I had some advertising leaflets printed. On them, alongside the details was the banner, “improvements guaranteed or your money back”. After all, surely everyone has a goal in mind for their art or craft?

One of the very first people to sign up was a lady called Susan who had never done any art before and told me she couldn’t even draw a line, a statement I dismissed as nonsense. However, as the weeks went by I realised that she was right and I was wrong, but this wasn’t going to stop her coming to class every week and painting at home in between times. There were a few occasions when I told her what I liked about each of these pictures before she pointed out that I was in fact holding it upside down. Even these blunders on my part did not deter her; the years rolled by with me mentally calculating how much I might owe her if she remembered my leaflet’s confident promise.

I’d missed the point though. Painting, like knitting or any craft, clichéd though it sounds, is as much about the process as the outcome. The sensory pleasure of playing around with colours or handling a soft yarn, of being so absorbed in what you’re doing you forget job lists and stresses. It’s a bonus if it comes out looking or fitting the way you planned, but it’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t. Just make another one!