Printmaking

Here are some statistics from Finishing School’s lesson in lino-cutting and fabric printing night that took place at our brand new venue the Island Queen on 26th October.

Teacher = 1.  East London printmaker Catherine Walsh was on hand to suggest block carving techniques and provide design inspiration for all.  Head over to her webpage for details of her upcoming classes if you want to hone your skills further.

Attendees = just the right number (to allow for elbow room and no arguments over paint rollers).

Injuries = 2.  There are many dangers in this world and it turns out that lino cutting is one of them.  For other crafting dangers click here (at your peril).

Plasters used = 8.  Gougers are sharp, kids.

Litres of fabric paint = 1.5.  The messiest session so far!

Successful nights = 1.  Everyone took home a tea towel and tote bag decorated with their own stamp (or a stamp nabbed from another student as everyone had such great ideas it was a shame not to share!).  Check out our flickr for more pictures of the evening.

Thanks to everyone who turned up and had a go at creating some really original prints.  I went out the following day and purchased my own set of tools from a lovely art shop in Clerkenwell and I know for a fact that Atlantis Arts does a good range of lino so that’s Christmas sorted then.

If you had as much fun as we did (or frustratingly missed out on space this time) do keep a keen eye on our facebook page and our events page for details of November’s session.  See you soon x

Tags: art, Craft, event, handmade, paint, textiles

First knots

I want to start with a massive thank you to everyone who came to our first Finishing School, and to everyone that said nice words and encouraged us to go ahead with it. Extra special thanks to Catherine for teaching 15 slightly tipsy women to crochet.

After an afternoon of last minute nerves it was incredible to see the event come together. The staff at the William IV were wonderful, getting us set up and then coming back to take food and drinks orders. As soon as Catherine took over I think we all knew we were in safe hands.

It’s fair to say that we were a group of pretty mixed abilities but whilst very few of us started the night knowing anything about crochet, most of us went away fairly confident we could give it a bash. We started with practicing the main simple stitches, and then the slightly more advanced group (which I definitely wasn’t part of) broke off for an intensive crochet flower making session whilst the rest of us finished our food and wine.

I had an incredible evening, with great company, and was able to take away a new skill (I have since even managed to crochet a slightly wonky flower).  I really hope everyone else who attended felt the same way and can definitely confirm that we have another evening up our sleeve for next month, so stick July 14th in your diary!

As always photos and news can also be found on our Facebook group and we’re ready for any and all suggestions about what to do next. (That’s another thank you, thank you for so many great suggestions and offers of help)

Tags: crochet, event