Events


 

Our friends at A Yarn Story are hosting a special event at the Apex Hotel in Bath from 10am to 4pm, 11th May 2019. It is partly a goodbye party: a chance to spend a bit of time together before I move to Australia.

Come join us for a day of tea, cake and knitting. We will have a lovely sociable day and there will be the chance to meet and knit with other yarn lovers. There will be a marketplace with some of my very favourite indie dyers and crafty businesses full of delights.

An advance ticket of £10 will give you access to the marketplace and knit group, plus beverages and cake. Tickets will also be available on the door for £12. All are welcome!

Tickets are now available to purchase here.

There will also be a more intimate dinner event later that same evening: dinner tickets will be offered for sale later, to those who have already bought a ticket to the daytime event.

I hope to have a chance to see and chat with many of you in person!

Maker’s Market
Bath
9th of May 2018
3pm to 5pm

We are having a Maker’s Market as part of the Curious Handmade Bath Retreat, and you’re all invited!
Joji will be in attendance, signing copies of her most recent collaboration with Veera Välimäki, Interpretations 5 as well as previous collections . We’ll have the Interpretations books available to purchase on the day, and you’re also welcome to bring yours along to be signed if you already have a copy!
We will also have vendors offering lovely yarn, project bags, accessories and more. Some of the vendors you can expect to see:
– Curious Handmade: I’ll be bringing some special kits from La Bien Aimée for the still-top-secret first design in the upcoming Shawl Society Season III.
– A Yarn Story will have a scrumptious selection of Shibui yarns and other delights.
– Olann Yarns is coming from Ireland with their dazzling hand-dyed skeins.
– Maria Elena Bliss is bringing a stock of irresistible project bags
– Homespun Wonder is offering gorgeous hand-dyed yarn and sweet knitting accessories
– Uschitita – will bring their stunning hand dyed yarn
Location: Bailbrook House Hotel, Bath, UK
Date: Wednesday, 9th of May from 3 to 5pm
£5 Entry. You can purchase a ticket on the door (cash only)
We’d love to see you there, so please do drop by if you’re in the area for a cuppa and a bit of knitting!

Midwinter Stitching
London
24th February 2018
10am to 3pm

 

Every now and then it’s great to supplement knitting with some exploration of other crafts. The cross-pollination is so good for creativity: it gives us new ideas, new ways of looking at materials and colour, and new skills to play with. Fill that little lull after the holidays and before spring really gets started. To brighten up those often dull days, we have planned a little workshop with our friend Emma Whitehead.
For this workshop, we’ll be working on embroidery. On the 24th of February in London, we have a lovely day planned. Emma will share with you easy ideas to create interesting fabric backgrounds using fabric scraps, threads and fibre. You will have the chance to experiment with different materials to see how you can develop your own style using the technique, You can really let your imagination go wild with your colour choices! After a lovely lunch we will spend our afternoon hand stitching into the backgrounds we have created in the morning.
No previous experience is necessary and the workshop is suitable for all abilities.
The cost for the workshop is £60, and includes a delicious lunch. There will be materials available to use, but this is also a lovely way to use up some favourite bits and pieces from your stash and scrap bag. Here’s a list of things to bring along:

There are 8 spaces available. If you’d like to come along to Midwinter Stitching, you can purchase your place here:

About your Instructor

Emma Whitehead has been stitching for as long as she can remember but it was when she took and completed a City and Guilds course in embroidery that the exciting world of creative textiles really opened for her. She enjoys all aspects of stitching from quilt making, hand stitching and machine embroidery. Emma particularly enjoys making things from repurposed fabrics and giving them a new lease of life. Emma currently lives in Chester with her family and Alfie the chocolate Labrador and her ever-increasing array of fabrics and yarn.
 

The Curious Handmade Retreat

Bailbrook House Hotel

Bath, UK, May 2018

Knitting, learning and luxury.

Immerse yourself in pure creativity and relaxation: 8th – 11th of May, 2018

 

 

Click here to read for more details!

SOLD OUT

 

Curious Handmade Christmas Party!

We’ll be gathering for another Curious Handmade Krimbo Party here in London very soon! Here are the details:
1-4pm
Sunday 11 Dec
The Paternoster
Pater Noster Square near St. Paul’s Cathedral.
RSVP to helen@curioushandmade.com
We’ll be doing an informal Secret Santa: if you want to participate bring a skein of yarn: £12 to £20 in value, wrapped as a gift. We’ll do somehting fun to swap them on the day. Maya from The Wool Barn has sent me the most beautiful sock kit for a door prize, so some lucky person will go home with that as well!
 

It’s that time again! We have had some wonderful times together in Cumbria at the last two retreats, and the next one is just around the corner. The Spring retreat is already almost sold out, with just two twin places still available. Please email me at helen@curioushandmade.com if you would like to attend. In the meantime, here’s what you need to know.

Spring 2017 Curious Handmade Country House Retreat

March 6 – 9 // Cumbria, UK

three cumbria Collage
Imagine nestling in by the fire in a big country house, surrounded by friends, for an entire weekend of knitting. Deep in the English countryside, you’re surrounded by fresh air, natural beauty, and (of course) a lovely country pub. This dedicated time for drawing closer to the natural world and your own creativity is a tremendous gift to yourself. This time we’re holding the retreat on a weekend, which should make it a little easier for some of you to escape to the country with us!

The knitty-gritty details:

This price includes all meals – not included is:

We are finalising details of our workshops and special sessions: more info soon!
We will also have have informal talks on popular topics and a mini-market again. I hope to see you there!

Past Events

Our first Curious Handmade Country House Retreat was absolute dream, and I’ve been thinking about the next one ever since. I’m happy to say that we now have not one but two lovely Cumbria retreats planned! One for the Autumn and one for next spring. Our Autumn Country House Retreat is NOW open for registration, with a very limited amount of spaces available. Please email me at helen@curioushandmade.com if you would like to attend. In the meantime, here’s what you need to know.

Autumn 2016 Curious Handmade Country House Retreat

Oct 20 – 23 // Cumbria, UK

 
three cumbria Collage
Imagine nestling in by the fire in a big country house, surrounded by friends, for an entire weekend of knitting. Deep in the English countryside, you’re surrounded by fresh air, natural beauty, and (of course) a lovely country pub. This dedicated time for drawing closer to the natural world and your own creativity is a tremendous gift to yourself. This time we’re holding the retreat on a weekend, which should make it a little easier for some of you to escape to the country with us!

The knitty-gritty details:

This price includes all meals – not included is:

The really exciting news is this time we are including two workshops in the price of the retreat — they will be held on Friday and Saturday morning:
Leaves, Bark and Roots
Natural Dying Workshop with Mette Lindahl-Wise
– Using plants grown locally in the UK
– Learning techniques to dye silk fabric and other samples using natural dyes
(Note: There will be a small materials fee to participate -TBC)
Playing with Colour and Texture
Brioche Basics with Renée Callahan of East London Knit
– Brioche stitch terminology
– How to knit plain brioche stitch and work 2-colour brioche rib stitch
We will also have have informal talks on popular topics and a mini-market again.
paulacumbria6

What to expect:

This is a very laid back retreat where the emphasis is on relaxation, knitting, laughing and many cups of tea. There is lots of free time to take walks (or naps!). It’s a small group so whether you come with old knitting buddies or not knowing a soul, you’ll leave with new friends and a lot of hilarious memories. A few of the first attendees wrote and also recorded podcasts about their experience. It’s a good way to get a flavour of the whole adventure.
Paula from The Snail Garden wrote a wonderful blog post about the retreat with many beautiful photos, including the ones above!
Mina from The Knitting Expat and Dani from Little Bobbins made a wonderful joint video podcast episode all about the retreat!
Paula from The Knitting Pipeline also did a lovely video podcast episode which features highlights of her time at the retreat.
And there’s also my own Retreat Recap Episode! You can also scroll down a little bit right here and read more details about Cumbria and the last retreat.

I’m really excited to announce something I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. If there’s one thing I hear over and over again from creative people it’s that there’s never enough time to just make things. Juggling “real life” responsibilities often means by the end of the day you’re lucky to scrape a precious few minute for your projects. I’ve been thinking hard about how we can make room for more knitting, and this is the result.

The First Curious Handmade Country House Retreat

March 14 – 17 // Cumbria, UK

cumbria

Why Cumbria?

I chose Cumbria, a part of the country I know and love, because it’s only 3 hours from London by train but it’s another world. Exactly what you need when you’re taking a break from your everyday life. The village we’ll be staying in the Eden Valley is nestled in the foothills of the Pennine mountains. Not far from the Lake District, this is one of the most beautiful places in England. It’s quiet and peaceful, and the air is crisp and fresh. You can stroll along lanes next to old moss covered stone fences and sheep grazing in green fields. March will still be chilly, so after a bracing walk it will be heaven to sit down with your knitting next to an open fire.

Bonus: the retreat venue is just 1 hour and 40 minutes from Edinburgh for anyone continuing on to more fibre fun at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival Friday 18 – Saturday 19 March.

Why go on a retreat?

We always resolve to make more time for creative pursuits, but it turns out time is the one thing that even crafty people can’t make! The next best thing is to take time. Just take it! Being in the company of so many fellow makers is intoxicating and learning new skills is brilliant but sometimes it feels like the most important part of the whole experience is just taking that time, claiming it, and reaffirming that creative life is “real life.”

What to expect:

We’ll be a small group of knitters tucked away in a gorgeous manor house in the country (think Downton Abbey + yarn!) There will be knitting by the fire, gentle strolls through the wooded estate or a hike up the fell for a more vigorous walk, delicious meals and plenty of time to just relax and knit. The vibe is calm, cosy, and casual. There won’t be a busy schedule or timetable to keep. Instead of official classes and workshops, we’ll have informal talks, discussions and skill sharing (if there’s a technique you’ve been dying to try, let me know!) Most of all, there will be oodles of peace, quiet, and chilled out time with old and new friends, where you can devote yourself to making.

Where we’re staying:

The retreat will be held at a stunning listed mansion, set in a beautiful country estate with gardens and 40 acres of woodland. It’s remote enough to give you a real sense of being away from it all, but within walking distance of a sweet little village with a tea room, antique shop, bakery and pub. The house has hundreds of years of history: it’s decorated in Regency style but has all the luxury comforts of a small hotel.

Included in registration:

Not included:

The knitty-gritty details:

How to register:

There are a very limited number of spaces available

Please email me at helen@curioushandmade.com if you would like to attend.

So, are you ready to run away with your creativity for a dreamy few days of knitting in the countryside?

* * * * *

 
Curious Handmade Krimbo Party
 SOLD OUT
The Curious Handmade Krimbo Party is an afternoon of knitting and nattering, festive sips and snacks and an optional secret santa swap (for a bit of fun and an icebreaker).
Your ticket price of £9.50 (+Eventbrite fee)  includes food and beverages (snacks, softdrinks, wine, beer) as well as door prizes and a small gift from Curious Handmade.
Secret Santa Gift Exchange (optional)
If you would like to be matched up with a secret santa partner sign up here after you purchase your ticket
Sign up by Saturday 14 November so we can let you know on Saturday who your giftee is and give you a week to get a little something for them.
Details are as follows:
Sunday 22 November 2015
2:30pm – 6pm
The Paternoster
2-4 Paternoster Row,
London EC4M 7DZ
http://www.thepaternoster.com/
Looking forward to catching up with you!

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