Making in Company - means not yelling when it goes wrong!

​You know when you have almost finished a project, and then realise you made a poor choice and have to undo it all? Well when that happened to me last Thursday I was able to laugh it off, thanks to a vat of hot chocolate and being surrounded by other makers and crafters!

After talking a few weeks ago about meeting makers, I then somewhat ironically went very introverted for a couple of weeks, quietly enjoying my own space.

​With Super & Super’s monthly Stitch and Bitch meet up coming up at Nottingham’s Malt Cross, I decided to push myself out and make an effort, figuring at the very least I'd get a good hot chocolate out of it.

​The craft meet up sounded great, but I was unsure if I'd find a group of established mates and feel like the new student in a slightly rubbish kids movie… Turns out that crafting is such a common language, I think someone with two heads could have walked in and the first question still would have been “Hi, are you working on anything tonight or just here for a chat?”

About 15 folks were gathered upstairs at Malt Cross, and straight away it felt welcoming rather than cliquey, with knitting, embroidery, card making, sewing and lots of chatter going on. A lovely lass called Eve (with a wicked giggle) asked me what I was up to, and we nattered on and off through the meet up.

What surprised me was the breadth of conversation through the groups, as it bounced from “naff” handicrafts now back in trend (hello macrame) to teaching, to letting kids near your sewing stuff, to card games, to rubbish birthday cards, crafting and mental health… Craft was the trend, but everything was open for discussion.

​There was something wonderfully reassuring about being among like minds, knowing crafty questions, observations and “is it just me, or…?” Would be welcomed and understood as everyone had similar thoughts and experiences.

That’s probably what stopped me flinging my travelling craft project across the room when it went wrong. Foolishly I hadn't tested the beads I was using, and I realised almost as I finished that they had been cracking as I'd been tightening the wire they were on. If I'd been at home alone at that point, I'd have been a taaaaad frustrated at the wasted time. As it was, I’d enjoyed the evening, so I just stripped the project down, joked about it with the others, and took out my sketch book instead.
 
There may not be a similar open crafty meet up near you, but if you can find something like it, perhaps dedicated to your chosen creative pursuit or to one you want to learn, hopefully you'll find people just as open and conversation just as diverse. Go on, get out there!

Find out when Malt Cross are hosting Super & Super's next Stitch and Bitch here.
 
Why not look for events near you titled:
Stitch and bitch
Drink and draw
Dr Sketchy - Is there a local meet near you?