Our 2017 Workshop List Is Live!

This is one of my favourite days of the year. The day when I get to share with you what we will be doing this September 8-10th at our Annual Retreat by releasing our list of workshops. I'm hoping that you love them, as much as I've loved putting them together for you.

So what have we got? Well this year I've brought back some of the classes I know you loved, like darning and colourwork, while also offering a new twist on some past classes like our natural dyeing classes.

Our handwork classes include Boro and a whole day of handquilting with Anna Farago and we have Elizabeth Barnett back to do her beautiful embroidery sampler. While she is with us we have also roped Elizabeth into doing her Intro to Watercolour class for us.

New teacher Adele Moon is doing a Spinning 101 where you will learn about fibre and get started with the basics using a drop spindle. This class has been much requested and we know you will love it.

What else.... we're thrilled to be offering you basket weaving for the first time with artist Phillipa Taylor. Not just any baskets either - go have a look at the class. These are something really special. Phillipa is also taking a jewellery making workshop where you will learn a small scale weaving technique, making a pair of gorgeous earrings.

We have a bunch of ace new knitting classes, including some advanced techniques like grafting, as well as shawl knitting. The shawl we are doing involves Mosaic knitting which I know will be new to many of you, with new teacher (to us) Ambah O'Brien. And we have some of your favourite teachers back this year - Georgie Hallam and Julia Billings will be joining us.

Garment sewing has stepped up a notch this year too. We have Sewing 101 for those of you who have just begun where you will make one of my favourite basic tops, learning to do beautiful bindings and neat hems. For those of you with a little more experience we are offering the gorgeous Sydney coat by Tessuti taught by the lovely Helen Duckham, along with two classes by pattern-maker extraordinaire Nita-Jane. She will be teaching garment fitting again (in a slightly different format to last year) as well as doing a full day on mastering knit sewing.

Finally we have a new class that I am very excited about, also taught by the lovely Anna Farago, called Colour Play. So much of our craft is successful (or not) based on our colour choices. This class aims to get you thinking about and playing with colour in new ways, which can't help but improve your knitting, sewing, quilting, weaving, .... you name it.

You can find a full list of workshops here and the workshop schedule here.

Remember that tickets go on sale Sunday April 30th at 5pm.

I'd love to hear what classes you are most excited about in the comments.

I really hope you like them.

Felicia x

Scholarships to our 5th Annual Retreat are Open!

We are pleased to announce that the applications for scholarships to our 5th annual retreat are now open!

Our annual retreat is an incredibly welcoming space, so please consider applying even if you don't know anyone else that is coming. Over half the participants come by themselves and many a friendship has been made at the retreat as everyone relaxes into a weekend surrounded by other people who understand the joy of making.

A couple of things to note!

- These scholarships are available to anyone facing ongoing financial stress who has a love of making.

- To really make coming to the event possible, the scholarship also includes a $500 stipend to be spent as you see fit.

- This year we are offering two full scholarships so please apply if you think you qualify.

Please note that scholarship applications close on Saturday April 29th at 5pm.

Felicia x

The Craft Sessions' Scholarship Go Live Monday

Just a reminder that the scholarships for this year's retreat will go live on Monday! If you pop back on Monday there will be a link in the menu above that will give you all you need to know.

Scholarships applications will be open from Monday April 17th until 5pm on Saturday April 29th so there will be plenty of time to get your applications in. 

If you want to have a look at our original post about why we run scholarships then please take a gander here. The details are the same as last year - however the dates are different! So come back and have a look on Monday.

Felicia x

Action v's Fear

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about how our thoughts are not the truth. One of the lovely women in the comments, Lizzie, told a story about her sister's fear of sewing. Her sister, Stephanie then popped in with her own comments about her fear. I've thought about them both for a few weeks now*, wondering how they went with their fear-tackling plan. They were going to face it as a team and act.

See you either sit in your fear, avoiding it, not looking at it, OR you ACT!

The sister that was scared of sewing, Stephanie, was so scared that she didn't even want to read my post. From the sound of it she has been sitting in her fear for some years.

Action is the only way to make the fear shift. You won't wake up one morning unafraid and ready. That just doesn't happen.

We all have fear. Fear is part of life and especially part of doing something new. That doesn't change. Sitting and waiting for the fear to pass is the problem. The fear won't just go away by itself.

Fear is a crafty little bugger too. It disguises itself as all sorts of crazy things. Fear as avoidance. Fear as disinterest. Fear as a lack of time. Fear lies to you and gives you excuse after excuse as to why you shouldn't/don't need to do the thing you are afraid of.

My fear often pops up at the start of the kind of craft project that involves a new skill. I don't start the project. And then I don't start it again. And then I don't start it some more. I use - seemingly valid - excuses, like that I don't have time to understand the new process. Or I don't have all the information and don't have the time to sit with the instructions. Or that there is another project that is much more appealing that needs to be done right now.

There is this ace quote by Derek Sivers who says “If [more] information was the answer, then we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs.”

We don't need more information. We need to deal with our fear and get started. Not by making the fear go away - it won't -  but instead by figuring out how to move through it. By figuring out how to choose courage and act.

Because the only way to learn the thing we want to learn, is to do it.

You can't learn to drive by sitting at home on the couch being fearful. The only way to learn to drive is to drive. You can't learn to sew a top by watching a youtube. The only way to learn to sew a top is to sew a top. You can't learn to do a welted pocket without trying to do a welted pocket.

Sitting in our fear is not the answer. Neither is using the excuse that you don't know enough to start. We can't out-information the fear. It will still tell us that we don't know enough.

The fear isn't going anywhere. And the only way through is to choose to act. In order to act we need to flex our courage muscle - which like any other muscle gets stronger with the exercise. The more times we choose little acts of courage, the more we practice courage, the easier it gets to choose courage the next time. You know where your courage lives and you know how to make that muscle fire.

And then moving through our fear gets easier and easier.

After years of working with my fear I know that my avoidance stage is part of the process. Eventually I figure out a way of forcing myself into starting the thing I'm afraid of. I ask a friend to sit with me or I take a workshop or I make up an imaginary deadline. I force myself into action. And through the action I often I find that the thing I was afraid of really wasn't that scary. It is often really very simple.

The only way we get to do the things we want to do in our lives, is to get conscious and aware of what we are avoiding doing, AND then act.

Flex your courage muscle and start before you are ready. Because you can never be ready by sitting in your fear.

I'd love to hear your stories about getting though your fear and avoidance.

Felicia x

*If you two lovely ladies are reading then please let me know how you went :)?

Important Dates For Our 5th Annual Retreat

Hello lovely crafters!

Well it is that time of year again, when we are gearing up to launch our very special annual retreat.

We can't believe we are here but this year is our 5th annual retreat, and we wouldn't be here without your unflagging and enthusiastic support - so thank you!

Over the next week or two we are putting the final touches on the classes we are bringing you and know you are going to love them! As always we have a mix of new teachers and (not-so-old) favourites, many new classes as well as some that sell out every year….

I can’t wait to share the program with you.

Today’s post is just to give you some important dates and a few details about scholarships etc.

Important Dates!

• Mon 17th April - Scholarship Applications open.
• Wed 19th April  - This year’s workshop list and schedule is posted.
• Sat 29th April 5pm – Scholarship Applications close
• Sunday 30th April 5pm – Registration goes live.
• Friday 5th May – Scholarship winners notified
• Our Annual Retreat! - Friday 8th - Sunday 10th of September 2017

Scholarships

This year we will have two full scholarship places available, as they were so successful last year.

The scholarship place includes a full residential place at The Craft Sessions annual retreat and a $500 stipend for anything you like - maybe travel, materials, babysitting for your kids....  

Details about these scholarships will be posted on Friday 14th of April. Applications open Monday 17th of April.

Non-residential places

2016 was the first year that we offered non-residential places and they were a wonderful addition! These worked really well for people who are happy to arrange their own accommodation, or those that live locally.  

Non-residential places include everything that the residential place includes except for breakfast on the Saturday and Sunday and twin-share accommodation.

Last year, quite a few people stayed at Devine Estate which is just down the road.

Costs

The cost for a full place at The Craft Sessions 2017 weekend retreat is $895. The weekend is an almost all inclusive price. Inclusions are detailed below.

The cost for a day place at The Craft Sessions 2017 weekend retreat is $675. The weekend is still an almost-all-inclusive price that is much the same as a full place however accommodation and breakfast are not included with a day place.

The initial deposit on registration day will be $200 with the balance due on July 7th 2017.

Retreat Inclusions

The retreat is an all-inclusive weekend, where you will enjoy;

• Two full days of workshops (over two and a half days!) with our very talented and super encouraging teachers.
• Two nights accommodation twin-share in the beautiful Yarra Valley, just outside of Melbourne, at the Yarra Valley Estate.
• All meals including
  • Friday drinks and dinner
  • Saturday breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner
  • Sunday breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea
• Morning yoga on Saturday and Sunday 
• Saturday afternoon there is the option of free time to spend with your new friends relaxing and crafting in the beautiful environment OR participating in optional extra workshops or restorative yoga
• A gorgeous arrival gift

Class allocations

The Craft Sessions retreat is all-inclusive event which offers workshops as part of the retreat, rather than offering a guaranteed place in an individual workshop. As part of the registration we collect three preferences for each workshop time slot in order to assign workshops to each person. While we try to give each person their first choice, this isn't always possible due to demand. We have always been able to give someone one of their top three choices.

Buying a ticket to The Craft Sessions means that you are happy to accept any of your three workshop preferences.

Apologies, we are unable to offer refunds based on class preferences.

Waiting List

Our events sell out crazy fast - last year’s annual retreat sold out in 5 minutes! However, we do often get to the end of the waiting list, closer to event time. So if you miss out but would like to jump on the waiting list then please email us at admin@thecraftsessions.com after registration has closed with the subject heading "waiting list".

Please email us at admin@thecraftsessions.com if you have any questions or ask in the comments.

So excited!

Felicia x