Paper Flower Making Workshop - Icelandic Poppies

  Back in May I went to the Makers Barn for a paper flower making class.

I had a lovely morning, and as we were finished we were told they would be running more classes later in the year, this time to make Icelandic poppies. I signed up as soon as the class went online!

So today I was back at the barn to have a go at making paper poppies.

 

It was a hot one today, but not too bad in the barn.  But by lunchtime even just sitting and cutting was making me sweat. I was very glad not to be on one of the basket making classes outside! 

I very cheekily asked if I could make two as I'd found in the last class that I was quicker than many people and thought I'd have time to make two rather than just stare out of the barn door.  (I also wanted two more flowers to go with the peony from last time, rather than just one). Lovely Rachel said I could, so I just paid for the extra materials.

 

And it worked well.  Having done one class I had an idea of how these flowers might go together so it was just a case of listening to instructions and doing everything twice.  I kept up easily and didn't feel I was wasting time, or slowing the group down.

I'd had a look before class to see what sort of colours Icelandic poppies normally are so went with a lovely apricot colour and a peach.  Both will sit well with the peony.

 

The poppy has less petals than the peony, but there were a little more fiddly to shape. 

But once everything was stuck together they looked great!  I think the peony is still my favourite, but I am really pleased with how the poppies came out.  The papers that Rachel hand dyes are stunning and just give that little extra detail that finish the flowers perfectly.

 

Sirdar Design No. 10838 In Jewelspun Ombre Aran

 

 For months last year, every time I went into the village and walked/ran past the wool shop, this beautiful pink/yellow jumper in the window would catch my eye!  The colour was amazing, even on an early morning December run in the dark.

In January I was in the village with 'im outdoors and so I made a point of showing him and he sent me inside to buy the wool and instructions!

So I came home with the Sirdar Design No. 10838 booklet and two balls of Jewelspun Ombre Aran yarn in Rainbow Glow. 

 

I wanted to start right away but I waited until I'd finished the Powdermill Cardy. (Typical that I finish an aran jumper in the middle of a heatwave so can't wear it!)

Finally the cardy was done and I could get started.  I was a bit sad to realise this pattern was knitted flat and had to be sewn up at the end.  (I hate sewing up!) The only good thing about this was I was working on reasonably small pieces during a heatwave, rather than a whole jumper. So I didn't let that stop me and got my needles out.

The yarn is very soft and an amazing colour going from candyfloss pink to custard yellow and back again in one very big ball - 400g in fact!  (They have a whole range of amazing colours and it was really hard to choose!)

 

But I could have done with a bit more help with the pattern.  The body wasn't too bad, but the detail in the arms - while it looks lovely, took a lot of work to get right.  I think the first arm took 3 attempts while the second was more like 5.  So this has taken a little longer than it really should have.

While the detail at the bottom of the arms was tricky, working out the increases was also tricky and I really would have liked the whole pattern written out.

Maybe I'm just showing my inexperience or maybe I was over thinking it but personally I'm not sure I would mark this as an 'easy' pattern. 

 

Well it's done now.  The colour really is amazing (These photos don't do it justice) and it fits too (although I had to make the arms a little longer than the pattern allowed for). I also decided to knit the collar in the round, so joined the shoulders at the same time to allow me to do this.  If I could have worked out how to, I would have done the whole thing in the round.

So note to self, in the future, check the pattern before buying it - don't just fall for the colour!