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
War Horse Memorial Purple Poppy Appeal
We want to create Britain’s Biggest Knitted Purple Poppy to help us launch our 2019 Purple Poppy Appeal in support of animal and military charities – and we need your help…If you can’t knit but want to get involved then you can make poppies out of purple felt or fabric. All contributions welcome! We have reintroduced the purple poppy emblem to recognise and remember all animals – in war or in peace - that give service, support and companionship to people all over the UK and beyond. What we will do is sew them altogether to make a giant cloak and we plan to have a very special celebrity or two wear it for us ahead of our national day on August 23, 2019. There is a simple pattern which should make a good number of poppies from one ball of wool or yarn, Please send your poppies by Friday 19 July 2019 to The War Horse Memorial, 18, Ascot Towers, Windsor Road, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7LG.
Quilt Now Readers’ Makes Competition Winner – Issue 63
Quilt Now magazine love to see what their readers have been making. This months Star Make winner for ssue 63, was Anna. She created this stunning long-tailed tit design using the exclusive pattern included inside Quilt Now’s RSPB Garden Birds Blocks book with issue 61. Doesn't it look stunning on the grey cushion!
justhands-on.tv website launch featured in Craft Focus
Our new website launch is highlighted in Craft Focus magazine. We are excited as they talk about the improvements we have made to the site. For example we have a new filter section that makes it easier to find videos. We have many new tutors on the site and they are in the article as well. You'll also find a quote from our CEO, Steve Barton.