The Make and Do Studio

I love the colour in these photos....

I have been taking many photos recently and downloading them into my Picasa files (in an attempt to keep them in some semblance of order!).  It occured to me that the negative to digital images is that you don't tend to keep them anywhere where you can look at them on a daily basis - I tend to look at them. go "wow, that is lovely" and then that is it. So I decided to take a very random selection from the last six weeks and post them  - just so I can see them once in a while!

Children's felt drying alfresco.

Addison catching the last dying rays of the autumn sun.

Canning and preserving stuff - ready for show.

Quilt strips on their way to being finished.

My daughter Sydney made a gorgeous Octonaut cake for Addison's birthday. 

The beginning stages of the Canning and Preserving workshop that just passed.  What a great workshop!

I hope you are all gearing up for the holidays - I know I am but this year I have decided to pace it out a bit. I have slowed down on workshops from the beginning of December and am concentrating on some other studio stuff - putting new stuff on Folksy, sorting out a monthly "Create" night at a local business, writing a business support section called This Crafty Business on the Crafty Network and of all things - hopefully being filmed by the BBC!

All the best and for those back in the States, here is to a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

 

 

 

Meet the Makers day three - Beryl Woodcroft of all things felt

First of all, I have to say, I really liked writing that title as we often pick on Beryl about being a master felter - and just think of what her business card would read!

Beryl has a very special place in the development of Make and Do.  About two years ago, I took an ad out in a little paper that gets pushed through people's doors.  At that point, I was only offering sewing workshops but wanted to offer more workshops - but needed other people to add to the list. I am a sewer really, even though I have dabbled in knitting and I remember when I was little crocheting. But I knew my expertise was in picking someone to share their knowledge in this area....not to teach it!

At the bottom of the ad, for some odd reason, I put "if you have tutor potential, please get contact the studio"  - I have only put that once and have never needed to put it again because Beryl replied, saying that she thought she had skills that I would be interested in and could me chat.  

Thought she had skills? - this lady is crazy talented!  She knits small villages on the weekends, has passed her City and Guilds Embroidery Part 1 and recently passed her City and Guilds Feltmaking Part 2 and 3. She is a Member of TX – a North Cheshire Textile Group and is the Regional Coordinator for the International Feltmakers Association.  She is so passionate about her crafts that when she comes around for a chat - she opens my eyes to new experiences (we recently made compostable felt bowls which you can use as an outdoor planter and when left outside to the elements, it will slowly decompose back to earth - and the colours are to die for!). I am 100% certain I would never had been exposed to this if Beryl hadn't politely asked, in that British way, whether we should meet to discuss her skills. 

If you would like to see some of Beryl's creations, please come by our stall at the Stockton Heath Festiva craft market. If you want just have a go at basic feltmaking skills, please come along to the Make and Take sessions in the craft tent - we have several sessions which are great for the curious and creative!

Three down, two more talented Makers to go!

 

 

Make and Take Sessions at Stockton Heath Festival

Calling all creative wanabees!  Stockton Heath Festival has been kind enough to make some room for us to have a Make and Take session on Saturday 9 July!  Make and Take allows for a quick "dip in and out" approach to crafting  - and you can take home your completed project! All registrations can be allotted and paid for on-line or by post.

First, look at our list of workshops and decide which one (or ones!) you would like to register for -

 
 2. If you would like to register on-line click on the following link(s) to the individual workshop(s) and this will take you directly to a payment page which also acts as a registration page.  NOTE: You do not need to have a PayPal account to do this - the payments taken are Visa, Mastercard or American Express - just click on the link  for payment using these payment cards.

Making Simple Bunting - AM or PM workshop

Simple Felt Flower Corsage 

Wrap Bracelet

Simple Felt Jewellery

Charmed Bracelet

Vintage Birdfeeder

Beaded Bag Charms

3. If you would like to register via post, please fill out this form, and post to the Studio address on the form. 

4.You will be e-mailed on the 7th of July to remind you that you have booked on your workshop and also to give you more detailed information about where you can find us within the Arts tent.

5.Your workshop fee is non-refundable. However, we are happy to have someone else attend in your place but we must be notified of any changes by 6 July.

If you have any questions or queries, please e-mail workshops@themakeanddostudio.co.uk.

Thank you for supporting this great local festival - and here is to being creative!

Houston- we have lift off (or at least a workshop listing for Spring!)

The latest schedule seems to have taken much longer than usual to get organised and, in a self reflective moment, I was asking myself "why?".  But then I Iooked at the schedule and we now have 15 unique workshops - with four highly qualified and creative tutors - and I realised how much we had grown in the last year. So I am okay with the workshop schedule being a bit later to press than usual - we hope you think it is worth the wait!  

• We now have a "refer a friend" scheme as it appears you all want to come in pairs!  If you refer someone who books on to a workshop, you get either £5 off an existing workshop that you may already be booked on to or £5 credit towards any future workshops you may want to take.
• We now have evening courses for the Beginning Quiltmaking workshop as well as the All You Need to Know to Sew workshop.
• Our newest workshops include: Making Beaded Necklaces, Creating Felt Jewellery, Making Simple Roman Blinds, Making Simple Lined Curtains and just in time for Mothers Day - Creative Wrapping!
• We are so passionate about what we do - and are so sure we do it well! - that we back each workshop up with a 100% satisfied customer experience.  If you were not happy with any aspect of your workshop, we will refund your money - no questions asked.
• We have added a few February half term workshops for anyone that would like to have their child learn the basics of sewing!  We only have eight places so book early to ensure you get a place.
• If you want to keep on top of what is going at the Studio, we are now on Facebook! Feel free to "like" us!
• To register for any of the courses - or if you want more information on any of the courses- send an e-mail to maeri@themakeanddostudio.co.uk. 

I will be updating other sections of our website over the next week or so but the course listing link above is the most up to date place for information on the workshops until then!

Another morning of colour and creativity!

Our Felt Fantastic workshop was full of ladies who were so keen to learn that as one pointed out when arriving "I am so excited I don't need any caffeine!" whilst she hopped up and down.

When I watch Beryl teach I realise how open and generous she is with her experience and knowledge - not only does she show you the techniques from the ground up, she judges the capabilities of each person and helps them make what they are keen to make - not force everyone to work at the same speed. She laughs with people when they make a mistake (Beryl and I agree that really, when it comes to creating there are no mistakes but even feltmaking has guidelines to follow!) and works with them to get the best out of them.  So here is to Beryl,worth her weight in felt!

  

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And when I look at the last few posts it appears as if Beryl has been doing all the work! ! And just to show I am not a slacker, this evening is the All You Need To Know to Sew workshop!

Beaded Jewellery and Cob Web Scarf making - what a colourful week!

I love, love, love colours. I think once you start being creative you stop being afraid that certain colours are a "no-go" area and start to realise the potential that all colours may have.  This week was are real colour surge for me and with autumn slowly draining the colour out of the landscape, it was fantastic to have all these colours on display in the studio. Here are some of the photos from the Cob Web Scarf workshop - a bit of before and a bit of after:

And this week saw the addition of a new workshop Making Beaded Jewellery which came about by accident.  Jen Harris, the tutor, contacted the studio a few months ago wanting to take the Felt Fantastic workshop with the idea being to learn how to make felt balls for her jewellery making business - OffBeat Beads.  We ended up having a chat about a variety of things and from the discussion, a workshop was born.  To say it was enthusiastically received is an understatement - Jen did a great job and I have had a stream of compliments coming in.   

Colours, colours and more colours....

A woman and her weapons of choice....

And some lovely finished items...

What a great week to be creative!  And if you want to see and print out our ever changing list of workshops - we've even listed courses scheduled for the Spring! - click here.

 

Thank you to everyone who came to the open night!

Our open night was such great fun - why didn't we do this sooner?  Everyone that came was so lovely, complimentary and enthusiastic - I guess when you are making and doing all the time, you lose sight of the thrill that people can get when seeing the possibility of making a dress, or working with felt or knitting that sweater.  So I was glad to see all these people excited at the possibility!

A few things I personally have taken from the night:

1. Sarah B has told me that I need to get a Facebook group. Guess what I will be working on this weekend?
2. You don't need the heat on inside (even if it November) when it is 16 degrees outside.  I turned it on by habit and we all started to sweat within 15 minutes. I cannot get over how warm it is outside - even at this time of night!
3. Nothing beats a bit of face to face with folks - Facebook, Twitter, texting is great - but you get so much more out of having a conversation with someone.
4. Folks want a quick printable schedule so they can print out and show their friends.  You asked and I have produced -  Download Workshop_schedule_10_November. Print away!
5. And speaking of friends, we now have a refer a friend scheme because friends like to craft with other friends (that was obvious by the number of you that came in twos!).  If you register for a course, and you refer a friend who books on a workshop , you receive a £5 reduction on the course you have registered for or a £5 credit towards any future courses.  

Off to bed!

Give me three days in York and I come back a well rested woman!

First, a felt making class last Thursday which was good fun to serve tea at.  As Beryl is the instructor, I am just the dipping in and out lady - "more coffee?" - which I really enjoy.  Below is Anne, under the guidance of Beryls finger, getting to grips with all the apparatus needed to felt...

And then the next day we had a weekend away without any children - some call it a late honeymoon.  We had a fantastic three days away  - did I mention no children - and while we were wondering around, I discovered a few places worth mentioning:

• Grace and Jacob is a lovely little shop that combines felt making and sewing. The quirky felt slippers in the window caught my eye and then the shelf of Amy Butler fabrics pulled me inside. Fiona owns the shop and was knee deep in moving boxes but she took time out to have a chat with me when I am sure she could have been unpacking a box or two.
• Duttons for Buttons - it is still a bit of a wonder to me that this shop, which does what it says on the tin (though they have expanded a bit).  I recently bought a gorgeous Karen Millen wool winter coat at a local charity shop but it was missing buttons. One trip to Duttons and my Karen Millen is about to get a button makeover!
• York Quilting Museum - I know I keep saying I am not a proper quilter but I did want to have a look at what was on offer. Smaller than I thought but well laid out.  And behind the museum...
• The New School House Gallery -  Very light and open - their displays (we both loved the ceramic artwork by Fenella Elms but unfortunately, our wallets did not!). Well worth a browse, because behind the gallery was..
• The most serene public park I have been to in recent memory. It was designed by Annette Parkes and goes back to the city walls.  And it is a council owned park - that really blew me away.
• And it is worth one last mention about the Italian restaurant that sits the front of the gallery, Le Langhe - the deli alone is worth a visit. It had a bit of the same feel as Valvona and Crolla in Edinburgh.  The food was authentic and the wine went down a treat!

Where have you been?

I have been sooooo bad about posting the last six weeks!  It is not because I haven't been busy - I am getting married in two weeks and when the plans were first banded around about where to have it, I decided that since we lived on such a pretty street (especially in the summer) why not have it here!  So between the planning of that as well as having more workshops than expected, posting seems to have fallen to the wayside. 

We have had a few more firsts here at Make and Do - my first mother/daughter students (that does not sound right at all but that is the only word I can think of) who came to our Everything You Need to Know to Learn How to Sew workshop (the last one before we slow down for summer!)    

 

"Jasmine and I really enjoyed the sewing lesson. It was lovely to do a class together and we are now able to support each other... Your method of teaching was great and we felt very comfortable in such a relaxed but professional atmosphere. The muffin was lovely and as a coffee connoisseur I really enjoyed the coffee too. We now feel energised and motivated to start sewing, our cushions are amazing.  You will be seeing us again and thank you so much for a lovely morning.  Susanne and Jasmine

Back in June we had another first which was two classes held in one morning!  Our Fit to Knit workshop was in our front parlour (that sounds so posh, doesn't it!) and we had the second session of our Quiltmaking for Beginners workshop in the actual Studio. We met up in the kitchen for coffee and nibbles at half time, had a bit of a gab and then went back to our respective workshops.  

Other firsts included the first workshop on Cob Web scarf making - which I was lucky enough to attend due to a last minute cancellation.  I know that might sound odd but I don't often get to go to courses that Beryl teaches as either they are full or I am busy on other work related items.I had great fun and my scarf was so soft and lovely, I have added it to my wedding outfit - I might even post a photo of it on the day.

That is my cob web scarf, before it was a scarf (if you know what I mean).

Well, we are winding down for summer but the autumn schedule is all but done ( I am tweaking a few last minute dates) so I hope to add that in the next day or so.  I will post over the summer as I am looking forward to posting about some new topics - and new photos!

The creative stick pin....or how you too can be creative!

 

I love this photo - it is from our Felt Fantastic class (better known as the Beginning Feltmaking course). The table we use for the felt making is covered with all different kinds and colours of wool and felt - for those that have never really been involved with making felt, the choice is almost overwhelming. 

And what happens as you work your way through the three and a half hours of soaking, rolling, pressing....
...this is what happens!

One of the ladies that came today said that she wasn't creative and that she was coming along to keep her friend company. And at the end of it, this was her stick pin and you know what, she was creative!