• All about me
  • Blog
  • Favourite links to blogs, places and people
  • Features and Interviews
    • An interview with Dee Hardwicke
    • Knitwear designer Martin Storey – an interview
    • Louisa Harding, knitwear designer talks to Annie Windley
  • How to guides
    • 1 Making a slip knot
    • 2 Cast on – a step-by-step guide
    • 3 Knit stitch – a step-by-step guide
    • 4 Purl stitch – a step-by-step guide
    • 5 Cast off – a step-by-step guide
    • 6 Making a chain stitch
    • 7 Making a double crochet stitch
    • 8 Making a treble crochet stitch
    • How to make a Basic Granny Square
    • Joining granny squares
  • Lessons in Thanet and North London
    • Crochet projects
    • Now We’re Knitting! (beginners)
  • Patterns
    • Annie’s Advent Calendar: Christmas CAL 2018
    • Carrot & pea bunting pattern
    • Fallen Leaves Autumn Cowl
    • Floral granny squares & little flowers pattern
    • Little crochet heart pattern
    • Little Tea Cosy pattern
    • Waffle Blanket
  • Shop
  • Spring Granny-Square Bag CAL pattern
Picking Up Stitches

Knitting, crochet, cross stitch and more - the wonderful world of working with wool

lessons

What they’ve made!

September 10, 2026 by Annie Leave a Comment

Just look what they’ve made! I’m always delighted to hear from people I’ve taught and over the years, I’ve taught so many people how to knit and crochet –from 6-year-olds to 80-year-olds! The students have been both beginners, and also those wanting to learn more. I’ve also helped those who’ve got stuck on a personal project, who just needed a bit of advice!

And it’s always such a pleasure to see them and especially when they show me what they’ve made!

I thought I’d share a few pictures to give you a glimpse at just some of the wonderful projects. You’ll see why they’re so proud of their makes… (and if they inspire you to have a go, check out my links at the bottom of the post)

Granny squares – what they’ve made with them

First up we have the gorgeous dog blanket that Michelle made after just having just one lesson to learn how to crochet granny squares. I went to her house and saw all her lovely patchwork, so knew that once she got the hang of crocheting the squares she’d come up with something colourful. Just a week after I’d taught her, she sent me this pic of her dog, who obviously loved the new blanket so much that the blanket was in use even before Michelle had sewn in all the ends!

I taught Cat and her mum in Margate – in a lovely cafe in the International Food Centre. Although they could knit, they said they’d never got to grips with crochet. However, a couple of months after their two-hour lesson, Cat sent me this picture of a beautiful blanket that she’d made…

Tricky patterns

Some people just want help to follow a more tricky pattern. Sarah got in touch in North London to say she had a shawl pattern that she needed advice on. I was so pleased she did as I loved the pattern and actually made one myself afterwards. Here’s Sarah’s finished shawl – doesn’t it look fab?!

What they’ve made – knitting!

I’ve taught people to knit from scratch on many an occasion. Usually people have a few lessons over a number of weeks, and that was the case with Marsha, who wanted to knit a jumper for herself. Quite an ambitious project for a beginner, you’d think. But we found a pattern that was fairly straightforward and over a series of lessons at a little coffee shop in North London, Marsha perfected all the steps required. And not long afterwards she sent me this (headless!) picture of the fantastic finished article!

A class to suit you!

I’ve taught classes all over – in London, in Thanet and, over Zoom during the lockdown, all over the country! Sometimes I teach in cafes, sometimes in colleges, sometimes in wool shops, sometimes in people’s home. I’ve even taught a workshop in a holiday rental for a group of ladies celebrating their friend’s 50th birthday at the seaside!

So if you want to learn to knit or crochet, just get in touch with me. You can send a message to me at info @ pickingupstitches.com and check out here for prices etc for an individual or group lesson. Or else check out the Coastal Community Learning website for the midweek beginners, intermediate and knitting courses I teach at their college in Broadstairs, or Bayside Yarn wool shop in Broadstairs High Street where I teach on some Saturdays.

And soon I’ll be posting a picture of what YOU’VE made here too!!!

Posted in: classes, Uncategorized Tagged: courses, knitting, lessons

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

January 31, 2020 by Annie 4 Comments
Broadstairs beach

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…

Broadstairs St Peters village sign

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.

Broadstairs beach in winter

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!

St Peters Thanet and graveyard

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

Field of cauliflowers

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.

Christmas rose hellebore

Beautiful Christmas rose Hellebore

Bulbs appearing in the garden

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).

robin on the fence

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.

Broadstairs craft room in garden by day

I can even use it at night!

garden with lights 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!

Lily on the prom

Posted in: classes, inspiration, Thanet news, Uncategorized Tagged: Broadstairs, crochet, knitting, lessons, Thanet

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  • Blog
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  • Features and Interviews
    • An interview with Dee Hardwicke
    • Knitwear designer Martin Storey – an interview
    • Louisa Harding, knitwear designer talks to Annie Windley
  • How to guides
    • 1 Making a slip knot
    • 2 Cast on – a step-by-step guide
    • 3 Knit stitch – a step-by-step guide
    • 4 Purl stitch – a step-by-step guide
    • 5 Cast off – a step-by-step guide
    • 6 Making a chain stitch
    • 7 Making a double crochet stitch
    • 8 Making a treble crochet stitch
    • How to make a Basic Granny Square
    • Joining granny squares
  • Lessons in Thanet and North London
    • Crochet projects
    • Now We’re Knitting! (beginners)
  • Patterns
    • Annie’s Advent Calendar: Christmas CAL 2018
    • Carrot & pea bunting pattern
    • Fallen Leaves Autumn Cowl
    • Floral granny squares & little flowers pattern
    • Little crochet heart pattern
    • Little Tea Cosy pattern
    • Waffle Blanket
  • Shop
  • Spring Granny-Square Bag CAL pattern

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