Our party today was a high success!! All the party goers had a blast and finished their very own unique project!
Our classes did not meet last week because of Thanksgiving break, but it was fabulous to be back creating today!
These students have been working away with such enthusiasm!!
It has been totally amazing to see what these students have been creating! I LOVE working with them!
Monday has rolled around again and a new camp is starting. This week it is sewing and our new group of students are fabulous!
These days and weeks are flying by so quickly! Here I find that we have completed our penultimate day of knitting/crochet camp and everyone has made such great progress, I am so proud of our students!
WOW! That's all I can say about today! Everyone worked really hard and had lots of fun. They completed projects, started projects, mastered skills and much more.
Today was our last day of camp for the week. Everyone was laughing and talking and working on their projects.
I simply cannot believe how quickly all these students have learned to sew! They are amazing and focused and extremely creative!
Incredibly, we seemed to have had even MORE fun today in camp!
We are now hosting mother/child workshops at Let's Go Crafting's studio. The most recent one was so much fun! They chose the Lined Book Bag for their project.
All fabrics cut and placed on our worktable.
Purring the bags together.
We always prepare carefully for our workshops. All tools and necessary items are placed within easy reach on our work table.
The students first pick their fabrics and then we get right down to pinning and sewing. "Tux the distractor" usually gets into the mix asking for attention.
Sewing, sewing, sewing.
There are more than enough sewing machines for everyone to work at the same time.
WOW!
Check out these bags! I had some very fun designer fabrics on hand and decided to offer these for this project. Don't they look fabulous?!
They all turned out great!
Happy kids.
The mommies stayed in the back ground and let the kids take center stage for this photo.
Designer fabrics.
I really loved this fabric and was happy it was used for such a nice bag. Contact us to schedule your mother/child workshop.
Our sewing class has been hard at work finishing up some of their projects.
Sunday we had such a great time!! The birthday party was full of smiles and laughs and finished projects!
I'm always saying this, but I can't believe how much fun we have in knitting class! For class this week, this student brought an embroidery kit that she had at home and asked for help. Well...of course!! All forms of fiber arts are supported here in class.
This really is a sewing class. No, really!
Check out that ribbon trim!
Yes, it's still a sewing class, but we have taken a bit of a turn for to do some weaving. Making cloth - not just sewing cloth :o)
A little while ago, I led a Girl Scout Sewing Workshop that was tons of fun! I had to come up with an idea that they could complete in one session so I created the Lined Book Bag (click on the link to go to the tutorial). There were 12 girls who came to our workshop - only one of those knew how to sew.
The first order of business was to show the girls how to use the machines. Then they practiced on scrap pieces of fabric until they got the hang of sewing a straight line. This usually only takes about 20 minutes.
After picking their fabric for the bags, they got started right away. Then they were off an running!
The girls also learned to use an iron safely - a very important skill to have!
All 12 girls went home with finished book bags! What a great group they are!
I am continually amazed at what our students can do - and WANT to do. I am so lucky to be able to teach to students who truly are engaged and excited about their art. We do so much knitting and crochet (that is what this class is all about!), but we also do so many other things.
Making a small wallet.
Learning to read patterns with notations like: K2tog and kfb - not an easy task!
It takes a long time to make a scarf.
I was inspired by an art teacher named Cassis Stephens. She taught this circle weaving class to her students. It looked like so much fun that I decided to bring it to our students.
Aren't the bases for our circle weaving beautiful! Just wait until they add the details and then some weaving to them.
These students really love to play hopscotch. It appears that this is an "old time" game because while they knew some of the basics, they really didn't know how to play. I happily taught them the rules and away they went.
Sometimes, they are having so much fun, it is hard to get them to stop playing and come back to knit or crochet.
We don't always knit with knitting needles. This student brought her knitting loom to class to work on.
Spool knitting continues to be a huge hit.
I made these weaving boards for noon art and held back a few for knitting class. They make perfect bookmarks after being taken off the board! The best part? These boards can be used over and over again and are made with recycled (cereal boxes) cardboard.
REALLY? A 10 year old knitting on circular needles?! Yes!
I can't wait until the bases are finished so that they can start the warping and weaving!
I am so excited about what has been going on in the sewing studio lately!! We have had many finishes:
These shirts are quite complicated. They are not "kid" patterns, they are real patterns. The front of the bodice is totally lined and has interfacing in it. There are pleats - both front and back and it is sewn on knit fabric. Job Well Done!
This little puppy is done completely by hand! Isn't he cute?!
He wove this scarf for his mom!
These blouses are coming out so lovely. Lots of hard work and lots of time go into these. Great work!
This bag posed it's own set of difficulties for this student. She chose some gorgeous fabric, but it is a very fluffy fleece and is very hard to sew on. But she persevered and it turned out beautifully!
Celebrating her blouse finish.
Another weaver!
They were taking a little break and I was able to capture them - such a happy crowd.
Last week we mixed things up a bit in knitting. I find that sometimes, especially on warm, sunny days, the kids get restless about half way through class and need a bit of a break. Knitting for an hour and a half is hard work!
Sorry for the blurry photo. Sometimes it's hard to photograph someone's finished project as it is waved in front of the camera - the kids are just so excited about their creations, they can't hold still! This student made a pom-pom last week and turned it into a smiley pom-pom this week, which promptly retained the name of "Mr. Smiley". So cute!
About half way through class time, the students were getting a little bit restless so we took a small break and played "The Marble Game".
First, I hand each student a paper towel tube that has been cut in half. Then I show them a marble and explain the rules of the game. The object of this game is to work together and keep the marble rolling from person to person without dropping it.
Once the marble has passed from your tube to the next person's tube, you run from the start of the line to the end and get ready to catch the marble again. These students had a great time and managed the all-time record of four rounds!
Then it was back to their knitting!
Sewing was a BLAST! We saw a huge Spot Dog come to completion.
Isn't he cute?!
I wanted to share a few of our student's finishes that have not previously made it to the blog. These finishes represent a LOT of hard work an a LOT of learning in order to complete them.
This dachshund stuffie is such a cute toy. It is done completely by hand - no machine sewing at all.
It is made completely out of felt.
Check out all those small even stitches!! There are hundreds of them!
He can stand alone because of all the gusset pieces. This student did a fantastic job!!
This is another creation that is done completely by hand. This coin purse comes complete with a zipper.
This student took our Costume Workshop. She wanted to be one of the My Little Pony characters. She made pants and a crossover shirt in just a few sessions! Boy did she work hard!
She made her wings out of fabric and created her tail and mane out of curling ribbon - sooo creative!
Isn't this a fabulous costume?!