Finished My First Freeform Piece

Gosh I've been pathetic at blogging over this past year!

About twelve months ago I attended an all day Freeform workshop hosted by Prudence Mapstone. I'd been dabbling with a bit of freeform knitting and crochet on my own, but when I heard that THE MASTER was going to be in town, there was no way I could miss that!



So my dear friend Dawnie-Pants and I booked ourselves in at the earliest opportunity...

We equipped ourselves with a range of different sized hooks and needles, and lots and lots of different yarns. Excitement overload hit me... I felt like absolute rubbish by the time the day rolled around.. and I thought I was ill with nerves. With hindsight I can state that it was NOT nerves, but indeed the onset of Morning Sickness which had me feeling so unwell!!!



Despite the Morning Sickness, I had a fabulous day. Prudence herself was not at all the person I was expecting. I think that because her work is so bold and outspoken, that I expected her personality to be the same... but the opposite is true. Prudence is a tiny woman, with a quiet demeanour and a palpable serenity about her. Like a really delicate flower. And an excellent teacher, did I mention that? If you ever have the opportunity to learn from her DO NOT PASS IT UP.

Really, I can't believe that I didn't blog about this at the time!



The workshop was brilliant and I came home from it so inspired...

But it still took me a whole year to finish the piece I started there!



And here it is: My First Freeform Bag

from the front



and the back
(or vice versa)



The only reason I didn't finish it much earlier is because I lost motivation when it came to the lining and the handles. I didn't really know what I was going to do regarding them, and was kind of avoiding making a decision! I'm very good at that.

Enter my good friend Maree, who not only guided me into making a decision... but also sewed the lining and handles for me. Now I have a useful bag! Thanks Maree.

Freeform is amazingly fun and very addictive. If you're feeling like you'd be interested in giving it a go, then you should take a look at this guide from Prudence for getting started. I can't seem to get a direct link, so you'll need to click and enter her site, and then select the "what is freeform" option.

But be careful - I'm serious when I say it is HIGHLY addictive - you have been warned.