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Tweak says, "If I had a million dollars..."

sewcreative (sewcreative) wrote in 20somethings,
@ 2022-01-11 14:54:00

Entry tags:

c: caleb o'leary, c: katarina handforth-graham, c: victoire weasley, d: 2028 01, ~ complete, Ω: rp

RP: First Craft Collab Night
Who: Caleb O'Leary, Katarina Handforth-Graham & OPEN (tag your chars please)
What: First Meeting of Craft Collab
When: Tuesday 11th Jan 6.30-8.30pm
Where: Upstairs @ The Creative Collection
Warnings: Please put in headers
Completion Status: Complete

Despite being far the more relaxed of the two Caleb had been mostly in charge of the moving things around, as usual. But at least he'd had Katarina's list of jobs to work from so he didn't get distracted midway through setup. She, meanwhile, had been in charge of making a variety of labels and placing orders for cakes and snack buying. It meant the aim of having a cosy and welcoming atmosphere to the big upstairs space with its exposed brickwork, shades of gradient-painted wooden storage cabinets, the large windows covered by heavy-looking stone-coloured velvet curtains, and warm toned lights was a joint endeavour.

By the time upstairs was ready to open up to whoever might take a chance on the idea they'd had it looked good. At least in his opinion. There were several big tables set out, mostly round, but one big rectangular one towards a corner which could double as a cutting table. On top of the lower storage cabinet there was an array of tea, coffee and water set out. Mostly tea, and Trina had had to check their coffee options were actually not terrible. Everything came with brewing suggestions on labels which would read them aloud if tapped with a wand. The cakes, crisps and cookies were set out with attached allergy labels (again audio enabled by Katarina). There were some hand wipes too, for those who were more careful with their crafts and weren't able to use magic near projects.

The chairs set out were folding, but cushioned with both a thin pad and additional cushioning charms. Some even had wheels. Plus Katarina's usual stool and chair had been transferred upstairs so she could be comfortable. The chairs had been spaced around the tables to give space to work, but be close enough to chat.

In the centre of each circular crafting table there was a pot containing a variety of basic supplies: two sets of scissors, one for thread and fabric, one for paper and other items complete with colour and shape distinct labels; a handful of pens and pencils, a few basic needles stuck to a magnet on the side, and a few sheets of plain paper.

Downstairs, the rope which sometimes was used to block off the access to upstairs during the day had been set to its extended length and blocked off the majority of the shop aside from access to the lift and stairs. If someone walked into it or tried to cross it it would chime, vibrate, and set off a warning flash. The store wasn't open, although there were a few simple kits, and colouring pages on hand just in case someone came along without something to do.

"Okay, we're good to go," Caleb said, nodding to Katarina who was already installed in her chair with a stack of practice paper and a clutch of new brooches and hair pieces to charm.

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Caleb & Open (minor blood mention)

sewcreative
2022-01-11 07:32 pm UTC (link)

Being on greeting duty meant Caleb had perched himself about half way between the lift and the stairs and wasn't working on anything complicated, just working on pinning together one of the more common stuffed animal designs from his project bag.

He sucked in a breath as he accidentally jabbed himself with a pin pretty hard and sighed. Being stabbed by all manner of sharp things was something of a professional hazard, but it was often not all that bad. He examined his finger and sighed when it did actually bloom slightly red. He put his work down and stuck his finger in his mouth. Just then he heard footsteps coming up the stairs and he jumped up, jabbing himself slightly in the mouth with his finger.

"Ow!" he exclaimed. "Hi!" he said, shaking out the offending finger. "Don't mind me, just a stray pin. Welcome to Craft Collab." He tried to keep his face bright, despite the slight throb in his finger.

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Re: Caleb & Open (minor blood mention)

leseul_victoire
2022-01-12 02:04 am UTC (link)

"Oh honey, your natural smile is so much more attractive." Victoire pulled a tissue from her bag and dabbed at Caleb's hand. "You don't need stitches thank Rowena." She smiled greeting him properly now that his injury had been taken care of.

Victoire knew Caleb had worked so hard to get these nights up and running that there was no way she would miss it. The appliqué top wore was sky blue with a stylized cat and dog on it with three dimensional ears. Perfect for the occasion she thought.

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Re: Caleb & Open (minor blood mention)

sewcreative
2022-01-12 04:45 pm UTC (link)

When he realised it was Victoire coming up the stairs Caleb's smile did become a little more real, although her comment made him shake his head slightly. "Salut!" he said brightly. "Stabbing myself often doesn't mean they don't sometimes hurt a surprising amount," he said wryly. It would be fine in a few minutes, but the immediate aftermath was painful.

"Thank you for coming. Can I tempt you with tea, or indeed other drinks and snacks," he said, gesturing to the appropriate display. There was also a donations basket and a collection of write-your-own name and pronoun badges available in case people wanted them. "Your top is lovely," he said, amused by the flapping ears. It was far more exciting than his own choice of grey jeans and a loose salmon sweatshirt over a white t-shirt.

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Re: Caleb & Open (minor blood mention)

leseul_victoire
2022-01-12 06:43 pm UTC (link)

"Tea would be lovely." She looked over the selections and pulled a cardamom and black currant tea and beginning the brew artfully suggested on the outside of the tea bag. "I was thinking since our last visit that I would dip my toes into crafts." She admitted. While she enjoyed the time to catch up with friends and family alike it had been horribly dull. Most of her days were spent lounging about the apartment reading fashion magazines and it did nothing but make her miss the world. "My grandmother had taught me some quilting and needlework growing up, but I haven't had much use for it. Any suggestions for a novice?"

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Re: Caleb & Victoire

sewcreative
2022-01-12 08:31 pm UTC (link)

While he had been surprised to see Victoire he hadn't ruled out the possibility she had just come to be supportive, or that she partook in some craft that he didn't know about. Although that seemed unlikely based on what he knew of her. He smiled wider at the prospect of getting someone into crafting.

"Okay, I have some basic things just in case someone got dragged along by a friend. If you know a little sewing we could go with that, but since you're a friend I don't mind running you through something other than the stuff we have out," he said with enthusiasm. It was one of the few topics where you might actually expect him to be voluble from time to time.

He ushered her towards where he'd set himself up. "So do you want to use your bit of sewing knowledge, or do you want to try something with wool and yarn, paper, jewellery, paints or something else? Hmm, or maybe what sort of thing do you want to be producing at the end?"

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Re: Caleb & Victoire

leseul_victoire
2022-01-13 02:31 am UTC (link)

Victoire wanted to laugh. Caleb had been so serious recently that it was nice to see him brighten when she proposed relearning some of Grandma Delacour's technique. "It's been ages since I've done it." She repeated. "I'd like to see what I remember if that's okay?" For all she knew she didn't even remember how to thread a needle, but she wanted to try.

She loved Caleb, but this was his big night and she didn't want to be a distraction. "If I remember correctly, there were different thicknesses Grandma used depending on what she was quilting? Do you happen to know which I should start with?"

She knew the numbers looked much like a fraction but thinking back her grandmother had containers full of needles that looked the same when looking at the pile.

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Re: Caleb & Victoire

sewcreative
2022-01-13 04:48 pm UTC (link)

"Sure that's fine. I don't usually hand-sew my quilts these days, but you absolutely can. Give me a minute I'll go grab some triangles. I've got a load of leftovers from different patterns as long as you don't mind being super mix and match." His brain was whirling at several miles a minute to try and get her set up as quickly as possible. He jumped back up and thundered rapidly down the stairs without really waiting for her to answer.

He arrived back a minute later with a stack of cut pieces from one of his leftover fabric stashes. "Okay this will be massively mix and match, but there are a load of different extra pieces here. Make whatever pattern you like and I can help you out. This is as much for chatting as it is for crafting," he said. "Even if I am on hosting duty."

He automatically also started to sort her out some pins, a needle and thread she could use into a little stack. "That should be a decent start for you."

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Katarina & Open

katarinacreates
2022-01-11 11:15 pm UTC (link)

A communal crafting event was something like a dream for the loud and extroverted Katarina and she had been enjoying chatting at least a little with everyone who had arrived. She was trying to make them feel welcome and was honestly fascinated to hear about everyone else's crafting endeavours.

But she realised she had been sitting for a while and should probably do a little gentle stretching. Her hip was healed enough that she could manoeuvre easier now, but she was still largely using her wheelchair. She put her work down and smiled at her neighbour. "I'm going to do a little stretching, I'll try to keep out of your space," she said. "But I'll seize up tomorrow if I'm not careful."

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