Escape to a Creative Place
Now that the wetter and colder days are arriving it’s the perfect time to snuggle up and start creating!
There are so many creative activities that all the family can take part in, many of which require very little investment. e.g. drawing, watercolour painting, air-dried clay, embroidery, making friendship bracelets, sewing projects, not to mention being creative with cooking, gardening, or re-designing our homes.
For activities with younger children it’s easier to get everything you need assembled first. If space is limited cover the floor with old towels, use old shirts as cover for them. Don’t try to be over-ambitious with them;
Many household objects can be recycled, and used to create artwork or containers for seeds, articles of clothing can be turned into new designs.
Getting prepared doesn’t just apply to young children, whatever age you are, having creative projects that you are working on, can be a relaxing activity for everyone of all ages. We are always being made aware of the importance of clearing out clutter and for many people crafting materials can be seen as ‘clutter’, but with careful storage, crafting materials can become part of an uplifting and joyous space.
Very few of us have room to create a studio, but creating special areas for crafting can be very helpful. Think about the layout of your home and some of the unused spaces that can be repurposed and turned into a crafting area, e.g, under the stairs, particularly spare bedrooms, with careful designing these rooms can still be welcoming to visitors, but can also be used for sewing crafts and other non-messy activities.
If you create carefully organised storage boxes these can be transported to other areas in the home, or even outside if the weather is warm enough. If you already have lots of crafting materials it’s worth going through and organising the contents so that they can easily be found. Many of us have crafting materials spread all over the house, in garages and sheds and possibly crafting books somewhere else, sorting them through, cataloguing and organising them means that when you do feel creative it is all to hand ready to be used.
As adults we often stop ourselves from being creative because we have either been told by others, or believe it ourselves, that we may not be good enough. Often we admire the skills and talents of others and tell ourselves we can never be as good as them.
The most important thing to remember is being creative is not about perfection; if you think about very young children in nursery, or infant schools, they just enjoy experimenting with different materials, in their innocence they find delight in the textures, the colours and the fun of what they are doing.
There are also so many sources of inspiration for both adults and children, either online, or on television, many channels are repeating creative programmes. Watching others create can also be very relaxing, as well as inspiring. Seeing the skills demonstrated in The Repair Shop, or The Great Pottery Throwdown, The Great British Sewing Bee, The Great British Bake Off, All That Glitters: Britain’s Next Jewellery Star, or any of the gardening or home design programmes can encourage you to try yourself, many of these can still be watched via on demand, or catch-up television. There are also many other sources of online guidance to help you begin experimenting,
Another way of being creative is writing, more and more people are attracted to keeping a journal, these can be paper, or you can experiment with creating a fabric journal. As well as keeping a diary, making notes, or capturing creative thoughts, these can become a very rich and personal collection of photographs, embroidery samples, and other found objects.
When you do venture out, keep looking with a creative eye, autumn is the perfect time to capture wonderful sunsets, sunrises, cobwebs, raindrops shimmering on plants after a shower, and all the beautiful changes of colour in the leaves on the trees, Or perhaps visit craft and antique fairs finding unique pieces to be used in your home, or as inspiration for your own creative activities.
We have recently received a selection of delightful books to help you with this process, we will be sharing these over the next few weeks, but to begin, here is a delightful example of items that are both creative and practical.
Knit Hats with Woolly Wormhead – Woolly Wormhead
Styles for the whole family
Description
International hat-knitting icon Woolly Wormhead is known for her unique, innovative hat designs and is followed the world over by avid fans. This collection includes patterns for 22 of her designs: 12 patterns for women, five men’s designs, and five hats for kids. The special elements in her designs such as cables, textures, and colourwork mixed with the “how’d she do that” types of construction she is famous for, are what set her designs apart and make them extra-fun to knit.
In this book, Woolly also gives plenty of hat-knitting tips, as well as helpful hints on how to choose your most flattering hat style. Grab some gorgeous yarn, choose a favourite hat pattern, and cast on!
https://www.searchpress.com/book/9780811739672/knit-hats-with-woolly-wormhead
If you are looking for help beginning to Knit or Crochet, the two books below are a great place to start:
Crochet Learn It. Love It. – Tracey Todhunter
Techniques and projects to build a lifelong passion, for beginners up
Description: Aimed at the absolute beginner and assuming no prior knowledge, this skill-building book by experienced and highly respected crochet teacher, Tracey Todhunter, offers expert guidance as you hook away. Starting with the basic skills you need to crochet, Crochet Learn It. Love It will serve as a long-term reference guide to 40 essential crochet techniques.
Each chapter teaches basic skills in detail, with step-by-step guides, photographs and diagrams to ensure the reader knows exactly what to do and how to do it. In addition, 12 simple ‘Quick Start’ projects have been specially designed by Tracey to build confidence and help the reader progress.
Features:
• Galleries of inspirational projects made using the techniques learnt in that chapter.
• Guest designers and bloggers sharing some of their favourite patterns. Really useful “listicles” sprinkled throughout the pages, for readers who want to quickly understand the essentials.
• Crochet clinics: Insider tips and advice on spotting and avoiding common crochet mistakes.
• Charts and patterns working in tandem to explain crochet concepts.
Previously published as Woman’s Weekly Guide to Crochet.
https://www.searchpress.com/book/9781782217275/crochet-learn-it-love-it-
Knitting Learn It. Love It. – Debbie Tomkies
Techniques and projects to build a lifelong passion, for beginners up
Description: Knitting Learn It. Love It. is designed to serve as a long-term reference guide to all the essential knitting techniques. Each chapter teaches basic skills in detail, with step-by-step guides and carefully annotated photographs and diagrams to ensure the reader knows exactly what to do and how to do it.
There are simple ‘quick start’ projects to build confidence and help the reader progress; galleries of inspirational projects made using the techniques learned in that chapter; guest designers and bloggers share some of their favourite patterns. There are also really useful listicles sprinkled throughout the pages for readers who want to quickly understand the essentials, plus knitting clinics for insider tips and advice on spotting and avoiding common mistakes.
This comprehensive knitting reference guide is a valuable resource for beginners and more experienced knitters alike.
https://www.searchpress.com/book/9781782218531/knitting-learn-it-love-it-
Alternatively if you visit either of our sister websites you will find more sources of inspiration:
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