Thanet news Archives — Picking Up Stitches

December is here!

December 1, 2022 by Annie Leave a Comment

December Crochet Xmas tree garland with crochet hook

December rolls around again! Time for some new crocheted decorations, methinks!!!

Of course, the old favourites are back – Santa, the reindeer, the little Xmas dogs and cats. But this year I’ve added a few more – and they were a great success at the craft fair in Broadstairs that I took part in last week, so I hope you’ll like them too.

For this December, the decorations include a couple of new garlands, and a neon-bright version of the fairy lights, plus more cards too!

Crocheted Christmas Garlands

Here is the Christmas Tree Garland – sweet little trees topped with buttons!

December Xmas tree garland with 5 button-topped crocheted trees on a black string

And our good old reindeer is making his debut on the Reindeer Garland – three reindeer and two cute little red baubles that reminded me of Rudolph’s red nose!

crocheted garland featuring reindeer and red baubles

Here’s the neon-bright fairy lights with the tree garland – they definitely get themselves noticed!

neon-bright crocheted fairy-light garland with Christmas tree crocheted garland

Crocheted Christmas Decorations

The decorations for our December tree haven’t been forgotten either!

The mice are back again, but this time, they have joined the church choir and have sweet little white ruffs!

Little crocheted mice with choirboy ruff collars.

I’ve added a traditional poinsettia too – well, poinsettias scream Christmas, don’t they?!

crocheted Christmas poinsettia decoration

New cards for December

There are a few more Christmas card designs to choose from this December too! All feature detachable decorations.

As well as the traditional holly and mistletoe, there are also little Christmas trees, which match the garland.

Xmas cards with crocheted tree decorations attached.

And no Christmas is complete without the Xmas wreath and some brightly wrapped parcels, so they’ve made an appearance too! Which do you like best?

Xmas cards with detachable crocheted wreath and present decorations

I’m going to put the pattern up for the little mice soon, so keep a look out on my instagram for news!

New crochet courses coming…

And in other exciting news – From 2023, I’m going to be teaching some crochet courses at the Broadstairs Adult Education College here in Thanet (that’s the region of the county of Kent, where I live). If you’re in the area, please let me know if there’s anything you’d like to learn and if possible I’ll add in a course. And if you’d prefer a solo lesson and you live in the Thanet area check out details of lessons here. I also offer Zoom lessons if you live further away!

Broadstairs – yes, we’ve moved to the coast!

January 31, 2020 by Annie 2 Comments

Broadstairs by the sea!

I’ve moved – Broadstairs is now the place we call home. More precisely, the lovely village of St Peter’s on the edge of town…

Yes, after decades in North London, we’ve taken the plunge and moved to the Kent seaside. It’s a beautiful little seaside town, with stunning bays and cliffs and lots of shoreline walks.

My new village not only has a village green, complete with stocks for anyone who misbehaves, it also has a stunning Medieval church – St Peter-in-Thanet – and one of the longest churchyards in the country that leads out to fields!

The medieval church of St Peter-in-Thanet

Angel statue in st peters thanet graveyard

The graveyard is a peaceful place to visit

Fields at end of graveyard of St Peters Thanet

The view of the fields from the end of the graveyard

Cauliflowers growing in the field beyond the woods

Floral delights

You probably know that I love crocheting flowers (like my floral wreaths and Flora gloves) so I’m more than happy that I’ve now got my first ever garden. I’m currently swotting up on what to do when, and being surprised by all the lovely bulbs and flowers that are appearing all over.

Beautiful Christmas rose Hellebore

Gorgeously scented winter honeysuckle is blooming now and smells wonderful.

There’s also a bird feeding station just outside our living room window, and I’m also enjoying a spot of birdwatching from the warm – robins, magpies, collared doves, sparrows, blue tits, long-tailed tits, wood pigeons, blackbirds and starlings are all regular visitors (as well as the greedy squirrels).

Lily’s enjoying watching the birds too!

Dedicated craft room!

Best of all, I now have a dedicated craft room at the end of the garden, with the woods behind it, so, as soon as I finish unpacking, I’ll be organising my yarn and fabric and getting cracking on some brand new designs.

I can even use it at night!

Lessons in Thanet

My move, of course, means that I’ll no longer be available to teach in London all the time, though I will be returning on a regular basis (as long as enough people want to learn on the same day). So if you’d like to have a lesson, just join my mailing list, or drop me a line so that I can tell you when I’ll next be back.

It also means that I can now teach in the Broadstairs-Margate-Ramsgate area as well – I already have a few lovely places to teach, so I’m looking forward to meeting some Thanet crafters soon… (If you’re interested in a lesson, email me at pickingupstitches@gmail.com.)

PS Lily’s loving life in Broadstairs too!