For so long, we've wanted to bring you a knitting class, but it had to be the right one. The difficulty with knitting is if we made it too simple, that's not enough to fill a three hour class, but if we made it too complex, then it's too difficult for the people who are just learning. The Instagram sensation Gary Ray Smith and us have come up with what we believe to be a great solution! If you can cast off and on, knit and purl you can join in! If you can't then watch the video we will send you before class and THEN join in!...

 

Introduction by Gary:-

Hi there, everyone! You may have seen me on my Instagram feed (@gary_ray_smith) with my wife, Jo, talking about our knitting adventures?!

 

I'm usually wearing a hat and jumping excitedly in front of the camera! But in all seriousness, I've been knitting for 50 years. I love it! I find it a very calming practice, but also a great way to be creative with colour and pattern and once you get the techniques right, it's amazing where those techniques will take you, which is why I was very eager to share my knowledge with you and CraftyMonkies! I design complex colourwork patterns using Fairisle and Intarsia techniques. If you're not sure what the terms mean I'll talk about them in the class but in the knitting world it's a huge bonus (it opens the world to you regarding knitting patterns) if you can knit in Fairisle. This workshop is designed to help participants to learn core Fairisle knitting skills and start the process of making a basic Fairisle knitted garment.

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What You Will Learn in this Online Interactive Workshop:-

During the workshop we'll begin to knit a Fairisle scarf (see the pictures - its a bit Missoni like...) The workshop will include instructional lessons and practical participation. Not only will I teach you, but I'll also be giving you some supporting video lessons so you can complete the project in your own time. If people felt the need for a follow up workshop we could discuss that in class. This workshop is designed to give you the basics of Fairisle knitting including:-

• Carrying two colours

• Knitting in the round

• Corrugated rib and steeking.

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You won't be surprised to hear that this is not a project that can be completed in one 3-hour workshop. The course is designed to give you the core skills and confidence to finish the project in your own time and at you own speed!

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Skill Level for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Intermediate - Participants will need to have basic knitting skills - casting on, knitting plain and purl stitches and casting off. Other skills will be taught during the workshop. In order for the workshop to get off to a flying start, you will be required to start the project ready to begin so you will have cast on and knitted a plain row of stitches. As mentioned, an introductory video will be emailed out to all who book their place, prior to the workshop.

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Material requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

The students will need:-

• 2 x Wee County Yarns Gradient kits (one pack for foreground, one pack for background) or 2 x 100grams of contrasting 4ply shetland yarn e.g. Jamiesons spindrift

• 3.5mm x 16" Chiaogoo Red Lace circular needles or similar

• PDF Pattern (supplied as a digital download) of Charlie Brown (free to participants)

 

Equipment requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

• 1.5mm crochet hook

• Darning needle

• Sharp scissors

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Pattern Information relevant to this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Gary Ray's PDF Pattern (digital download link) of Charlie Brown is free to participants and will be sent to all those who book their place!

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Tickets for this Online Interactive Workshop (via the Zoom platform) will be limited and allocated on a first-come/first-served basis! Any free pattern and other information, relevant to this course will be forwarded to you after booking and approximately 5 days before the course date.

The ticket price of £35.00 is based on ONE person attending this crafting class.

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This CraftyMonkies online interactive workshop is being broadcast from the United Kingdom and the class time given is based on British Summer Time (BST). We advise you check via Google Search (or similar) to see corresponding start-time in YOUR location!

Here's a great world time zone reference:-

https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/

 

Are you not able to attend this class due to living in a different time-zone? Are you otherwise engaged on the date of this workshop? Well, we have excellent news! This class is being recorded and a link will be sent to all classmates a few days after the class, so you can watch in your own time!

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Enjoy This Class/Workshop Again on YouTube!

A link to a recording of this workshop will be sent to all who buy a live ticket for the Zoom broadcast approximately 5 working days after the event; the video will be available to view for 30 days from the video release date.

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