Creating with Colour - Debbie's dyeing workshops

When Jo mentioned that she was setting up a Knitcamp blog, it was the perfect excuse for me to spend a couple of happy hours going through some of the fabulous work my students have produced on past courses and share it with you. (Ok, so I should have been doing the hoovering but nobody ever died wishing they'd done more housework, right?).

I've uploaded a couple of albums from the Association of Guilds Summer School last year, the faux Fairisle/self-striping yarns day and a beginner's workshop and sock blank dyeing session, so if you are a student who has already booked for one of my workshops,you can get a taster of what to look forward to. And if you're still undecided, perhaps I can persuade you to dip your toe in my metaphorical dyepots and spend some time playing with colour : )

And that's what my courses are about - exploration, creativity, but most of all having fun with colour.

Remember that feeling when you opened a brand new paintbox or when you got your first set of crayons as a child? The excitement, the anticipation, a bit of nervousness about which colours to use first? Well, that's the feeling I aim to recreate on my courses. As the student whose enthusiasm for art was stopped in its tracks by an art teacher who told me (at age 11!) that I was "not at all artistic", I totally understand that feeling of not being confident with colour. But I picked myself up, dusted myself off and eventually concluded that, rightly or wrongly, I didn't need to be "artistic" (whatever that means) to love, enjoy and celebrate colour in my work. And I hope I encourage my students not to get hung up on being artistic, but just to feel colourful : )

Gosh, that was a bit esoteric. Don't expect such flowery prose on the course. I'm not quite sure where all that came from!

(Ooh, nearly forgot - totally practical point that several people have asked about. I know lots of you are travelling light so don't worry about gloves and that kind of thing. I'll have a good supply of gloves, disposable aprons towels and plenty of soap! Maybe don't wear your best party outfit, but we really don't make as much mess as you might think!).

If you'd like to keep up with the latest news from me and my little company, you'll find my blog, Hue & Dye here, or tweet me at DTCrafts on Twitter and find me as Debbiet on Ravelry.

And I'll finish with one of my favourite colour quotes:

“The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love color the most.”--
John Ruskin