I started making things as a child. One grandma tried teaching me to knit and the other one to crochet. Both skills became useful later in life so I am grateful that they had the time and patience to try. Then I learned the basics of dressmaking at school and learned to cook in the early days of being a homemaker.
I have been developing my creative skills in a number of fields ever since. This has included working in a number of different formats. I have used used yarn to hand knit, machine knit and crochet. I have used fabric to create banners and make my own clothes.
What these skills have been used for
I have come up with some unusual solutions to problems and have been known to mix various techniques i.e. used computer skills to produce patterns for appliqué. I made a banner for the March for Jesus through Durham which in addition to the words \”March for Jesus\” had an Olympic style torch on it. The design involved cutting up small pieces of fabric and sewing it onto a background (i.e. appliqué) and the patterns for these pieces of fabric were created using Word 6 with the help of the WordArt function. Using Word 6 dates that story doesn\’t it as that was the word processor of choice in the mid 1990s.
One of my early web sites was www.worshiptools.co.uk This came about after I went to a conference and came back frustrated as I could not share all I knew about using flags. The answer to my problem was to create a web site. This again is a mix of my creative talents including web site design. I wrote all the text, made things and produced instructions to help others make them as well, complete with pictures I took myself. Of course, the whole thing would not have been possible if I had not started to use such things in context myself.
Computer skills have also been mixed with crochet over the years. One of the easiest ways to find crochet patterns is to look on the Internet. I have crocheted things to wear and to decorate my home. Many of these online patterns are written with American audiences in mind so you need some thought to be able to recreate these items using different yarns, different hook sizes and different stitch names.
Starting Heavenly Crafts
This is the crafts project that my friend and I started at church. The idea was to open the doors and invited people in with learning difficulties. It grew into something that both surprised and amazed us. We have a small group of people with a variety of special needs. Only one has never come in a wheelchair. Some have limited mobility in other ways. Some of them are non-verbal. We love them and help them make things. They bring their support workers with them.
We were going to do knitting and crochet as part of the Heavenly Craft gatherings but then we decided to change it to yarncraft. The original idea was that it looked better on the poster. When we looked at the people who came along regularly to our group we realised that we could never have had a go at knitting or crochet.
We still had to find something to do with yarn and then we discovered peg weaving. It is real weaving with yarn but made so simple anyone can do it. Once the peg loom has been set up with the first set of threads all you need to do is weave the yarn around the pegs. Move the pegs at the right time in the right way and you end up with woven fabric that could become a scarf.
Guess what that computer still comes in handy. So many of the instructions are on YouTube. I have not seen a peg loom on sale in the shops although you can buy them online. You can even find instructions on how to make a peg loom online as well. All of that from being able to use a computer at home. It is amazing how did we live without them!