The Making Framework

Hi Everyone

Today, I'm reporting on a new Making Workshop : Gift of Pearls  which took place yesterday in a local Care Home. The class was a group of lovely ladies who live in a local Care Home. 

We had a great time and a planned hour long session turned into two hours ! The time flew by and everyone seemed so engrossed in the making experience that they didn't realise how much time had gone by. All the ladies were quite elderly and some had difficulties in concentration and or dexterity. However, we (the group/helpers) all managed to produce a brilliant range of Pearl bracelets. Each bracelet was beautifully packaged in a floral Gift Pocket and ready to be presented as a gift. Most of the ladies decided to give their makes to a grand daughter and took great pride in telling me about their relatives.

The project was a new take on the well used stretchy bracelet technique but the lovely coloured pearls, mixed with some shiney rondelle beads made a very attractive bracelet. The project kits contained a range of sizes and colour combinations of pearl beads and each bead was considered with great care before stringing and tieing. All bracelets were then wrapped in tissue and placed inside a Gift Pocket. The Gift Pockets were also part of the workshop and all the ladies managed to produce a beautifully finished Pocket along with a co ordinated gift tag.

                                    

                                    

This workshop was a tester for the group - the idea was to check if they could manage the tasks in the timescale and have a nice time. The workshop experience was about having an active (mental) session alongside an opportunity for social interaction. I also wanted to create a project(s) which would challenge the ladies (slightly) but would also allow them to feel a sense of pride in their 'creations'. I think, we succeeded on all fronts and the ladies were asking if I would be coming back with more workshops.

The challenge for me is to devise more stimulating projects which this type of group can manage. The physical and mental limitations of the group (at the moment) are unknown. However, I'm confident if I can present exciting/attractive ideas alongside simple tasks we can surprise ourselves and improve the self confidence and aspirations of this group of ladies. I need to find the right balance and it's quite daunting. However, I'm up for the challenge and feel I've moved on my thinking re The Making Framework (read back on Tuesday's for more background on the Framework ideas). I feel even more committed to the project as a result of the Gift of Pearls Workshop. 

Thanks for reading.