Stitching, Sewing and Hobbycrafts Workshop

This weekend I was invited to a Bloggers workshop at the second summer Stitching, Sewing and Hobbycrafts Show was held at the NEC in Birmingham. For those who haven’t heard of the venue, it’s the National Exhibition Centre and one of the largest exhibition spaces in the UK. The last time I was here on Plutonium Muffins business was for CHSI Stitches. I was delighted to be invited back to enjoy the retail equivalent this weekend.

At the Stitching, Sewing and Hobbycrafts Show with my gorgeous friend Ricky.
At the Stitching, Sewing and Hobbycrafts Show with my gorgeous friend Ricky.

Bloggers Workshop

On Saturday morning, a Bloggers Workshop was held for those of us in the blogging world who like to talk about their crafting online. I was honoured to be included in the guest list, along with people including Jenni of #SewingRevolution, the lovely Hayley from Craftaholique, Julie from Sum of their Stories, among others. The workshop showcased two different crafts with a couple of guest tutors, and was an hour and a half of sociable crafting with muffins, tea and coffee galore.

Ricky in the workshop, about to get started on cutting paper.
Ricky in the workshop, about to get started on cutting paper.

Sociable crafting around a table on a Saturday morning is something that can be hard to find in everyday life. Although I do have a few friends who craft, few of them are as over the top about it as I am! We also all have those pesky lives that get in the way of creating, so the chance to engage in some making while talking about topics ranging from how hard it is to cut in a straight line, to winning the Australian Lotto, was utterly delightful.

Gift boxes with Crafty Devils

The first of the two activities was papercrafting. We were supplied with a template, some paper, glue and pens. We then set to work assembling a little paper gift box. Running the session was Crafty Devils, with a couple of samples, an excellent variety of decorated papers, and hair to make anyone jealous! I assembled my little box, and gave it to my friend Beth that night.

Ricky concentrating on cutting out harder than he's ever concentrated on ANYTHING.
Ricky concentrating on cutting out harder than he’s ever concentrated on ANYTHING.

 

Sample gift boxes during the workshop.
Sample gift boxes during the workshop.
And my effort on the gift box workshop.
And my effort on the gift box workshop.

It was fun doing a workshop in something I would never normally choose to do!

Tapestry with Tina Francis

The second activity was tapestry, run by Tina Francis. Having done a lot of cross stitch recently, this was much more in my comfort zone, and something I hadn’t tried out before. The canvas is very different to Aida or linen, and using yarn instead of embroidery floss was definitely novel!

My initial attempt at tapestry with Tina Francis.
My initial attempt at tapestry with Tina Francis.

My first attempt ended up so wonky that I couldn’t even fit it into the brooch we were provided with. More practice is required! The second attempt was much better, and I’ve got a brooch to be remind me of a lovely day. As a bonus, I’ve got plenty of ideas of what to do with all my excess yarn. 

The difference between my tapestry brooches...left done in the workshop, right done afterwards!
The difference between my tapestry brooches…left done in the workshop, right done afterwards!

Exploration time!

We were then let loose on the show. I’d taken along my lovely friend Ricky, of Wonderwool and felting fame, and we enjoyed walking around looking at everything on offer. His blog is here. We both have a problem when we spend time together at crafting events, or even just with the wonderful world of Internet shopping available to us. We encourage each other to shop, shop, shop!

Ricky, me and our stashes from Wonderwool (I'll be honest, half of mine was already in the car)
Ricky, me and our stashes from Wonderwool (I’ll be honest, half of mine was already in the car)

Luckily we both recognise that fact, and we were relatively restrained! I did come away with a small collection of items. At least I didn’t get a spinning wheel this time… These stashquisitions, as well as the gifts I got at the workshop, can be found on YouTube here.

I’ll post all of that another time. I think it’s time to actually do some craft rather than just talking about it!

Much love,

Corrie xx

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