london’s handmade festival spring 2011 workshops

The spring 2011 lineup for London’s Handmade Festival Workshops has been announced! So exciting! Leia has organized lots of inspiring, free and almost free classes:

• Winter Vegan Gluten Free Cooking
• Tiffany Stained Glass
• Needle Felting
• Wet Felting
• Beginner Sewing
• DIY Worm Composting for the Urban Gardener
• Beginner Quilting
• From Seed to Salve

This is the second year and third round of Handmade Festival workshops, the first set of classes were held last spring at the Central Library, with a second session last fall at both the Library and the Practice Loft. The Handmade Festival is not-for-profit and began as a way to teach people to use their hands to create a sustainable living through art. In past generations sewing, quilting, darning, knitting, and canning were a part of everyday life, whereas now these skills have fallen by the wayside. These workshops offer people the opportunity to reconnect with these activities, bettering their lives because of it.

The best part is that these workshops are open to anyone, for the most part once you’ve registered you just need to show up – no special tools or materials required, everything you need will be provided.

Isn’t it great?! With each iteration the Handmade Festival is getting a little bit bigger. I’m thinking about signing up for the sewing and quilting workshops. I’ve recently committed to making a small patchwork duvet cover so this is great timing!

Last spring I was the official Handmade Festival photographer so I got to sit in on some really fun classes: quilting, felting, canning, and fired glass pendant making. It’s such a great feeling to see a bunch of strangers of all ages, from all walks of life, get together and learn a new, valuable skill. And the pride they took in their finished pieces, amazing!

If you’ d like more workshop details and registration information hop on over to the Handmade Festival Blog. And as Leia says, “love your hands”.

{Editorial Photography by Jennifer Squires Ross}