The day I decided to wield a hook...

I have mentioned Craftsy before on here, I sell my patterns over there and they have loads of great resources, if you are crafty in an way at all you should get yourself over there!

Anyway, Craftsy got in touch and asked if I would like to try out one of their online courses and review it, I am all for learning something new so I jumped at the chance. Then I had to try and decide which course to take, that was the tough part! It was a close call between Sewing With Knits, Artisan Cheese Making Class or Crochet Class. I decided on crochet because although I have tried it a couple of times before, I have never had much success, same goes with knitting. I was also concerned that the measurements for sewing and cooking would be using American standards only. Although I have no problem working in imperial or metric I only have metric equipment, so that is something I would have to ask about before taking the class.

I figured that since I was a complete newbie I would be able to review the product better, I think if you already know a bit about the subject it is easy not to notice if the instructor skips important bits. 

As soon as you have signed up you can get started. There is an intro video telling you what you are going to make and what you need in your supplies to make it.

The lessons are graded so you can start off with something super simple and build up to the more difficult pattern. The videos are really clear and include lots of close up shots, one thing I really like is the 30 second repeat button and the video notes section.

You can also ask questions and either the instructor or another class member will help you out. As I was a complete newbie, I was asking, what felt like completely dumb questions but they all got answered - things like 'Are Japanese hooks graded by size in the same way as US ones?' and 'What is worsted weight?' 

It took me several attempts to get Birdy going, that was mainly because I kept losing count and then couldn't figure out where I was up to and ended up pulling it all out and starting again! This ended up being a great evening project. I like to sew or craft at the end of the day and watch a bit of TV, I was able to watch a section of the video on my iPhone then work on my bird. The instructor, (Stacey Trock in this case), goes through everything step-by-step so it is really easy to follow along. Plus once you sign up for the class you have unlimited access to it, so you can go back to it again and again.

So, three evenings after my hook wielding adventure started, I have this...

Not bad, even if I do say so myself! I didn't have any of the proper eyes so I just used buttons and one wing is a fair bit bigger than the other, but let's not get picky hey! I think that was because I hadn't figured out the counting properly when I did the first one.

So, I give Craftsy online classes a big thumbs up. Birdy is finished, and last night I started on Bear, I really want to make the reindeer but I need to learn to appropriate skills first! Oh yes, you get all 4 patterns as part of the class.

Disclaimer: The review is my honest option. I received the class free of charge and the links are affiliate links