About Gaynor
Gaynor is a crochet-obsessed teacher and pattern designer from Wokingham in Berkshire.
She learned to knit and crochet as a child, trained and worked as a French teacher for over 10 years, and then picked up her hook again 10 years ago. Gaynor jokes that she is “lucky enough to call myself a full-time hooker…”
In 2012, Gaynor set up The Barkham Hookers crochet group with a few friends in her living room. They now run 4 group sessions a week as well as many regular private lessons with over 600 members on Facebook alone. You can find them on Facbook via The Barkham Hookers’ Charity Group, where many of their charity projects can be seen.
She is very proud of the fact that The Barkham Hookers raised over £60,000 for various national and international charities, £52,000 of that for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. Click here to watch Gaynor share a quick and easy method for crocheting a poppy.
Gaynor loves designing and making blankets, many of which can be found as free CALs (crochet-a-longs) on her blog: Confessions of a Barkham Hooker. During the pandemic, she designed the Coronavirus CAL, posting a new section daily then weekly with colourful pictures and detailed notes.
Signature Technique
Crochet Blankets incorporating a variety of patterns and colours
Top Tips
- Crochet is very forgiving. Don’t be afraid to adjust or change the pattern to suit your needs or likes. And remember, if in doubt pull it out!
- Use a larger hook to work a long foundation chain to avoid it curling up.
- If you work quite loosely choose a slightly smaller hook than advised and a larger hook if you work tightly.
- When working in rows do not forget to work into the last stitch – – which is probably the chain 2/3 made at the start of the previous row.
- Use military buttons as the centre in poppies to add something special.
- If you are working with several balls of yarn, chuck them on the floor and let gravity help you keep them untangled.
Videos
Patterns
Posts
More films for Justhands-on.tv
A great day was had on Monday filming new content for the site; we were joined by Myfanwy Hart https://www.myfanwyhart.co.uk/, textile artist and fabric dyer, who worked with her embellishing machine and a wonderful new product to texture fabric; Val Toombes of Silk Sacks www.silksacks.co.uk/ showed us how to make silk paper and also a delightful brooch, and Lynette Harris (our very own Stitch Witch) www.stitch-witch.org.uk did several small pieces to camera from folding tree decorations to designing your very own celtic pattern.
Guildford Quilters Exhibition – Clandon House
Due to be held 24th April onwards at Clandon House, an 18th-century Palladian mansion ( West Clandon, Guildford, GU4 7RQ)
spent a really lovely few hours doing a recci on the place for Dave and Matt as we will be there on 24th filming the event. The house is spectacular as are the grounds – it is now part of the National Trust so if you are a member of that you will be able to get into the exhibition for free.
Quilts for Momentum – Kingston upon Thames
The many and varied blocks made for the 'Be a Star' competition are now merging into quilts; here are the first two (as work in progress) Thank you to all who took part. Momentum is a registered charity established in 2004 which aims to help children (up to the age of 17) and the families of children, undergoing treatment for cancer in Surrey and South West London.