Wednesday, January 19, 2011

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that the New Year will be full of wool, fibre and fun!

It's been a while since the last Once A Sheep Blog post and what a busy time it has been.  It seems that everyone wanted something woolly for Christmas this year and the shop was packed with knitters, weavers and spinners in the weeks leading up to the holidays. I hope that you had some time to relax with your favourite project.

Now that we are in the New Year it's time to think about learning new skills or polishing up on old ones. I have decided to introduce some new courses for the first three months this year and I hope there will be something that inspires you.


Workshops

Saturday 29th January
Make a crocheted scarf or shawl with beads – the magic of chain stitch

This workshop is suitable for beginners as we will use simple techniques
It will also be of interest to those who have done some crochet but are not very experienced or expert crocheters
Chain stitch is the beginning of nearly all crochet but can also be used to make lovely lacy shawls and string bags

In this workshop we will use Rowan Kidsilk  Haze and beads to create a lovely shawl using chain stitch and simple edging techniques
There will be chance to work on technique in an individual way and to have a shawl or scarf to finish at home

Saturday 26th February
Colour blending for spinners

A course to learn how to create your own unique fibre blends for spinning
We will look at how to combine different colours and textures in carded batts and learn to spin them in different ways to see the effects they produce

The workshop will include how to combine colours to create complimentary and contrasting shades for knitting and weaving projects and we will add silk, alpaca  and other fibres to our blends
This workshop is a lot of fun and involves quite a bit of plunging in and being creative
Suitable for all abilities of spinners from those who have just learned  to those who are more experienced

Saturday 5th March
Learn to weave

Learn how to weave on a rigid heddle loom
Rigid heddle looms are easy to use and great for creative weaving

This course is for people who want to learn to weave from scratch or those who have been doing a bit of weaving on their own but need some guidance
We will use a range of plain, fancy and textured yarns to weave a sample and give you ideas to work on at home
We will also have a go at warping up a loom

All workshops run from 10:30 to 3:30 and cost £45.00
All materials and equipment are provided
Coffee, tea and biscuits are provided, lunch can be obtained from one of the many coffee shops, bakeries, bars or restaurants close by.

To reserve a place on any workshop please email karen@onceasheep.com or call Karen on 01475 648089
A deposit of £10 will secure your place.