One day workshops weren’t my plan. When I began this whole venture way back in 2013 I really wanted the togetherness of a multi-day retreat. I wanted to make sure that people had the time to get to know one another and really form friendships – and my theory was, that that happens over breakfast. Which it does! The friendships that have formed over the years are a big part of the magic of the retreat. Community has been created.
I think I thought that it wasn’t possible to create community in a single day but as is often the case I was wrong about a couple of things.
Firstly, I think what this series of one-day workshops I just ran with Anna Maltz taught me, was that I was selling one-day workshops short. We decided to run them because I was bringing Anna out from the UK, and I didn’t want to “waste” her by not sharing her knitting skills and styling more widely than at the retreat. And so we tried to make the one day-ers a little bit like the retreat. We started early, and we finished late, and we ate together, and there was space for chat.
But they were totally wonderful! Each one of them in a different space with different women. But women, who were of course, the same types of women. They were women who really care about making. And what I saw was, not that we were creating community in a day, BUT that we already were a community who kindof knew one another, maybe though passing one another on Instagram or Ravelry. These one day workshops meant that we got to connect in person. I got to meet people I only “knew” from online and I got to catch up with people I knew in person, for the first time in ages. This is totally obvious now I've seen it, but it was a subtle new joy that permeated all of these days for me as we travelled.
Chat was a big part of the day, and the interesting thing that I heard time and again was that you didn’t necessarily have the making community you would like, in your everday life. Either you didn’t know other knitters, or if you did they were a little old school, and were the kind of knitter who believed that there was a correct way to do things AND that it was OK to tell you that you were doing it all wrong. Which of course we all know is totally unacceptable crazy person behaviour. I don’t know why I was so surprised, but I was. Not about the crazy person behaviour but rather that so very many of you make in isolation.
So tell me about it. Do you know others in who knit/sew/quilt/dye? Do you know others who make in real life? Or are your making mates mainly online???
Felicia x
PS. If you have nothing to do this Saturday Oct 15th, I'm teaching full day of Hand Quilting in the same Barn these beautiful photos were taken and we are almost sold out! Food is supplied by the lovely Tash who restored this beautiful barn and much of it comes from their property. Last time we got to eat their pig! Can't get more local than that. You can find all details and the last ticket or two on Tash's website A Plot In Common.
PPS. All of these photos are from the first workshop we ran simply because they are all I have edited at this time AND I killed my camera as I often do when I am on the road. It is now in the shop.
PPPS. Two of The Craft Sessions At Home winners are yet to contact me with their addresses. So if you left a comment then go check out whether you were picked.
