The Craft Sessions

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New Teacher Announcements

Kirsten Johnstone from Assemblage 

Exciting news today. We have two new - fantastically talented - teachers joining us for The Craft Sessions. One you will know - the amazingly talented Kirsten Johnstone and the second you probably won't know but you really should - the stupendously clever Anna O'Brien

So let's chat a bit about Kirsten Johnstone - a stunning knitwear designer from Melbourne who is also an architect and just has incredible style. I love her work! Beautiful, simple shapes in knitwear patterns are often the trickiest to find and Kirsten has this covered. She has incredible attention to detail - her patterns contain simple details that result in knitwear that is really special. Her design stripes are so incredible that her work has been included in collections from Shibui and the always amazing Brooklyn Tweed. We are lucky enough to have talked Kirsten into teaching the Beyond Beginner Knitting class - she has a wealth of knowledge about knitting - so take advantage people....

The second teacher is a friend of mine in real life - the ever lovely Anna O'Brien. Anna would hands down be the most incredibly beautiful crafter I know. She would scare me a little, as the things she makes are just so beautiful and perfect, were it not that she is incredibly open and generous as a human, and with her crafting knowledge. Actually she is fabulous at more than just crafting. She is also an amazing cook; the woman can make croissants - who does that???? Anna runs workshops in Melbourne and I keep hearing report after report after report of how amazing she is as a teacher. I'm so excited she will be joining us to teach both the Beyond Beginner Knitting and Anatomy of a Quilt

Anna O'Brien - her blog is called Swallow Tail and Spool 

I cut some words out of Anna's bio for space reasons but I thought I would post them here as they say a lot about how she teaches and what she loves. 

"I really do feel that anyone can learn to make things with their hands. I think craft is mostly a combination of practice and, like most creative endeavours, a little bit of courage. It is so satisfying the first time a new skill or technique ’clicks’ and something that started off feeling awkward and clumsy suddenly feels natural, or when an idea that has lived in your imagination becomes real at your own hands." Anna O'Brien

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Anyway enough descriptive words (they are all true!)  for one morning. If you want to read a bit more about them - like their bios - I have updated our Teachers page with all their details. Enjoy!