I will be exhibiting at the Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair this year. (June 16-20 at Darling Harbour.) This is the first time I’ll be exhibiting with my business Vetty Creations, and to make it easier, I’ll be sharing a stand with Kirsten Edwards of The Gift of Stitching Magazine. I have previously been at the show as a teacher and demonstrator with my previous publishers, and as a teacher for Country Bumpkin.
I will be teaching a new class at 3:30pm in Craft Circle 2 each day, called “Embroidery for left-handers”. We will be covering basic embroidery stitches, and all you lefties will love having a left-handed teacher show you the LEFT way to do things! The class is an hour long, so we should be able to get through a few stitches.
The class is free, but there is a kit cost of $5. Come to Stand G32A to sign up, and pay for your kit, prior to the class. All attendees must pre-book and pre-pay. There is a maximum of about 15 students, so you’ll need to get in quick.
If you have left-handed friends who will be attending the show, you might like to let them know about this exciting new class, so that they can make sure they’re there for it.
If you can’t make it for the class, or you’re right-handed and have no need for a left-handed class (!), please come to Stand G32A and say hello. I’d love to meet you!
White Threads is the blog of Yvette Stanton, the author, designer, publisher behind Vetty Creations' quality needlework books and embroidery products.
What do you recommend for a left-handed very young grandaughter who shows interest? I’m right handed. Her dad is left-handed.
Hi Sara,
It depends on how young is very young. My youngest daughter started (who is left-handed, as am I) learning basic embroidery stitches at age 5. She asked, so I taught her running stitch, cross stitch (as a surface stitch), and chain stitch. She has since asked to learn some more. I could have started earlier if she was interested, but she wasn’t interested any younger than that.
My elder daughter (8 years at the time) is right handed. So I taught her the three stitches I taught my younger daughter, plus buttonhole stitch and one or two others I can’t remember. Perhaps fly stitch. She was able to retain more in one stitching session, so we covered more.
I did these “lessons” one on one with them.
For your grand-daughter, I’d get a copy of “The Left-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion” (purchase or from your local library if they have it!) as it has a right-handed diagram for each stitch also. That will show you what you normally do, so that you can compare it with how you’ll need to show your grand-daughter. Mostly, you’ll insert your needle from right to left, whereas she’ll do hers from left to right. The book is brightly coloured, and should appeal to young stitchers, so hopefully that will appeal to her as well.
You can work with her with the book in front of you both, so that it is your/her teacher, or if you feel confident switching your needle to your left hand, YOU can show her, using the book as reference.
It might mean you both have some disasters (laugh about them!!), but as long as you’re spending happy time together, that’s often what counts most with Grandmas and grand-daughters, isn’t it?!
How exciting for you Yvette! I’m not left-handed but I wish I could come and say hello. I don’t suppose you have any plans to come to Melbourne any time soon?
Hi Sharon,
No, sorry, no plans. I’d love to, but no plans.
Oh well, you never know, I may just make it up to Sydney one day.
🙂 And I might make it to Melbourne one day!