The Craft Sessions - Part 1 - I craft for joy!

I have no idea where to begin. Such was the weekend of goodness we just experienced. I know I keep saying it, but I want to say thankyou to all of you who have embraced the vision we had for this weekend with such enthusiasm and joy! And that means you - the lovely participants, our super generous teachers and those of you that have been following along on social media.  

I actually don't have the energy today for many words or a big post so I thought I would leave the "what happened" posts till a bit later in the week. Instead I thought I would give you a little taster of the feel of what the weekend was. So very fun - and all about the joy!

Felicia x

Freeform Patchwork with Leslie Keating.

Knitting in the lounge

Embroidery from the Natural World 

Colourwork class with Julia Billings

Indigo dyeing with Julia Billings

Wiksten Tank Dress with Sophie Parslow - there were so many pretty hand knits this weekend!!

Intro to Design with Georgie Hallam.

Sewing with Knits with Sophie Parslow

Colourwork - teacher was Julia Billings, hands belong to Kylie and photo is mine.

Embroidery from the Natural World taught by Melissa Wastney.

Embroidery Sampler with Melissa Wastney

Celebrating birthdays crafter style

Birthday craft is probably my favourite kind of craft. It is crafting at it's best - all about the intention and the love! Designing something and making it with someone's special day in mind somehow makes the making even more fun.

Birthday craft also holds a special place in my heart as this is how I came back to making after a long drought in my 20s. I really wanted to do something special for one of my oldest friends for her 30th. Buying a gift just didn't seem special enough. As I was overseas at the time and didn't have access to a sewing machine I decided to teach myself how to knit. I picked out a pattern and started to knit. I made a shawl pattern called Birch - completely nuts! I had no idea that what I was doing was tricky. Luckily I didn't use the yarn the pattern called for - Kidsilk Haze which is impossible to rip out - but used what was available, a 4ply alpaca. I ripped that thing out four times and eventually finished it in time to gift it, mistakes and all. 

Only photo I have of this pattern - This is Birch from an old Rowan magazine. Made by Felicia Semple

So back to birthdays today - handcrafted gifts feature heavily in my house these days obviously. There is always a store purchased present or two but we each try to make the person something. And I have learnt over the years a few things that keep it simple and trauma free. Because noone wants a traumatic birthday.

1. The build up is almost the best part.

Months before, we start dreaming up projects the birthday person might love. We (the rest of the family) pick fabrics and patterns and start working towards the end date. There is all that thought and love and excitement for the birthday person who hears murmurings here and there, and for the gift makers themselves. LOVE IT!! 

Remembering this is really helpful when we are faced with point number 4 below. 

2. Birthday crafting is great for kids.

For my kids - birthday crafting (and crafting in general) gives them a feeling of empowerment. I love the fact that through designing things they think someone else will love they get to practice thoughtfulness. They get to spend time imagining making someone else happy. And then there is the incredible pride to know that they have made something that someone else truly loves. 

After many years of doing this I now understand just how much time I need to allow to help them to make. I take what I think and quadruple it. Small people (sadly) can't be rushed . 

This year for the first time my seven-er managed to do all the sewing on a skirt he wanted to make for the small. He is crazy proud as is his little sister.  

3. Little traditions go a long way to make specialness.

Over the years we have developed some simple handmade birthday traditions that help make the birthday person feel super special from the time they wake up. We start the day with a birthday table - which has their brand new birthday outfit (a dress or shirt) as well as all their presents waiting for them in a pile - a bit like your own personal Christmas but without a tree.

The birthday outfit is a big big thing. They often have had some input into what they would like and they wear it on the day.  I would guess that the words "birthday dress" or "birthday shirt" get said every second time they wear in over the next year. The gift that keeps on giving.

Her first birthday outfit. Pattern is Clara. Knitting and photo by Felicia Semple

Second birthday outfit. Pattern is Immie Tee. Knitting and photo - Felicia Semple

We always try to make a home made present of some kind. This year it was a rabbit. Please meet Sophie. She has a matching dress to her owner. And is much loved already. The lovely Anna made Sophie a matching rabbit quilt that has some of the fabric from Sophie's ears. So sweet.

Meet the lovely Sophie - Funky iphone photo.

Another super simple "homemade" thing we do is to print out (on our dodgy home printer) a selection of photos. Inevitably I end up doing this super late the night before, but no matter. All of them love it. I try to find photos they haven't seen before. Funny faces and double chins are always a hilarious winner for the other kids. And after breakfast we go through the wall - chatting about what was happening in each picture. So fun and so simple.

3rd birthday dress

4. Find out what is important - and keep it simple.

Figure out what is really important and downsize when necessary - otherwise known as abort the mission. Obviously there have been the years where it has all fallen apart in the last week. When grand plans have had to be downsized at the last minute. Through this I have found out what the important stuff is to them. They need their birthday outfit. They need the birthday wall. Anything else including handmade presents can be left for another time. This lesson was super helpful - keep it simple and basic. 

What crafty things do you do for your family birthdays? I'd love to hear....

Felicia x

Inspiring blogs - Fringe Association

Time is short at the moment my friends - I apologise for the slight slackness you may have noticed around here on The Craft Sessions blog. I will be back soon - this week is crazy crazy busy with my smallest person turning three and the event only being a week away. 

Anyway - so this post is perfect today, as it means I don't have to roam around my hard drive looking for images. All the images today are provided by the lovely subject of today's post Karen Templer. Thank you Karen.

Karen runs a newish blog called Fringe Association and I would go so far as to say that it is possibly my favourite knitting blog. She blogs each working day of the week - which I find so impressive - but then, she is an impressive woman. She learnt to knit around two years ago and has really thrown herself into it. I can see that it is a case of true love. And I understand that love.

Photo by Karen Templer

Photo by Karen Templer

Back to her blog though - what makes Fringe Association different is the content Karen provides. Useful intelligent content such as her "Knit the look" posts where she matches a photo of someone looking spiffy in their knits with a similar pattern and some yarn. I love them. She has great style, gorgeous photos, offers free patterns and great advice on how to get started. Karen's "Elsewhere" posts have wonderful links to resources and inspiration around the web. Super useful and always interesting and beautiful. There is not a nana knit in sight.

Photo by Karen Templer

She also runs one of the prettiest knitting notions shops I have ever seen called the Fringe Supply Co. How insanely gorgeous are her tool pouches - YUM! And the baskets and the needle size ruler thing and the bento bags and....

Go check her site out. You won't regret it. You may even come back and leave a comment on this post telling me how clever I am for pointing her out. Or not. Entirely up to you. 

See you next week when I will be back with some more regular posting. 

Felicia x

Craft, connection and everyday life

I've found writing this ramble a bit trickier than some of the other posts I've written. And I think that's because it's about something that is so ingrained in our everyday lives that it is hard to explain the meaning behind it. But to me it is THE most meaningful part of making. So bear with me....today I'm going to tell you a little story about our day to try to illustrate my point.

It's school holidays - I had three kids at home and not much planned, which made for a super cruisy day. Other than the screeching obviously. Over the weekend I made the kids get their whole wardrobes out, put everything in piles and figure out if they needed anything for the summer. Happily they are all pretty OK. My boy child needs shorts and the middle girl needs a couple of skirts/frocks to freshen things up. Always nice to have a new frock, isn't it?

And the "baby". Well she is a champion at "having her needs met". She chases me round with bits of fabric she has pulled off the shelf saying "You make me dress mama?". She uses the super cute smile and upwards inflection to really make her suggestion as appealing as possible. So she is totally covered. More frocks that one almost 3yo could ever use. Champion!

 "You make me pink flowery dress mama?"

Anyway back to the thoughts of today. So my 5yo asked first thing this morning if we could make her skirts today. She wanted to help. She is five and doing a bit of sewing is her idea of a good time. But she only wants to help until it gets boring - obviously! This works well for both of us. By the time it is boring for her, it is starting to get frustrating for me and so she leaves and I can take over and hoon through to the finish line.

She went to the cupboard and found some fabric she liked. And so we started and made one. Pretty simple pattern from Girly Style Wardrobe - Pattern D. Even with other kids, drinks, snacks, some washing, blah blah, we had it done and dusted by lunch. Super cute and she even let me take a photo - it involved a bit of complaining - totally worth it. 

Fast forward an hour or two, and we are about to head out. I had some stuff to do before an appointment and so was herding them out of the house about 1.5hrs early. She had her new skirt on and was ready to go......when she said "mama, I need  a bag to take out with me today. I have my wallet to put in my bag and some pencils. It needs to go over my shoulder and come back around." Me: "It's too late matey. We have to go." Her: "But mama you can do it really quick. You know you can." And because I remember being 5yo and desperately needing  something so badly I did.

Hacked out two rectangles, sewed them together, hacked off the corners, turned them inside out, sewed the sides up and then sew on a strap. Done. Took all of 15 minutes and resulted in a super happy child that has been proudly wearing that bag for the last week.  

Anyway so what was all this rambling about? I guess it just got me thinking of how much craft is part of our everyday. And how much making, and making together, gives us that is unseen.  Because it isn't the things we make that are the outcomes of our craft. It is the intention behind the craft that we get to carry around with us when we wear and use the things we make. 

The outcome of that 15 minutes is that each time she wears her bag she knows that I made it for her, even if it isn't something she consciously thinks about. She knows that I changed our plans to make time to stop and do something just for her. Just because she "needed"  it. 

Geranium Dress by Made by Rae - made by me.

I feel the need to say here that even though this post is talking around making with children, this applies more broadly than just our immediate families. I really believe that when we make for friends or family, or even a stranger, that we are putting that intention out into the world. 

Making is part of how we show love and connection to one another. It might be something as simple as a bag with dodgy seams and sewing. However, it is the process of taking the time to create with or for someone that is really special. And the impact of it lasts a lot longer than just the giving/recieving transaction. Every time it is worn or played with, it carries with it the love that went into making it; for the giver as well as the reciever. And that has to feel good - yes?

Felicia x

Registration is closing!

Wow - it is finally starting to feel a bit real - only three weeks until the inaugural Craft Sessions event. After years of crafty table talk about "wouldn't it be wonderful if we had an event like this in Australia" and the "imagine the kinds of great classes we could put on" and of course the "how amazing would it be to be able to start something where we can bring crafters together for a whole weekend"......we are finally almost there.

During the last few months I have had to explain over and over again what The Craft Sessions is and what makes it special. It has actually been a really useful process. Through doing it I have figured out what the point of what we are doing is...are you ready for it??? Here it is in a nutshell.

The Craft Sessions aims to bring together people who craft for joy and is all about fostering a love of hand making.

That's it - it's really simple. It is about connection, community and crafting for joy! 

We are about to have our final meeting with the venue where we will be figuring out which classes to put in what rooms, where the pastries will go and also finalising the menus. This week's project has been putting together your gift bags and they are looking lovely. As well as a handmade gift from us, we are lucky enough to have some wonderful sponsors who are contributing goodies. Excited doesn't really express it. 

So the time has come. We need to let you know that we are winding registration up on the 10th of October. This is so our teachers have time to plan and we have time to get organised before the event.

I want to say a massive thanks for all the emails, comments, joy and support over the last 3 months. We have been thrilled by the response you have all had to the idea of The Craft Sessions. We know it will be a really special weekend and we can't wait to meet you all. 

Felicia x