Teaching Crochet

I had the opportunity yesterday to help teach crochet at a workshop hosted by the library. My friend, Lissa, was in charge of the class and had asked me awhile back if I’d like to help. She had a table set up for me to put some of my crocheted items on display, which was cool. Then we just went around to the different people and taught them a few at a time.

The first class, which was in the afternoon, only had a handful of people so it was pretty easy to get around and talk to everyone. A couple of women already knew how to crochet and were just there for the fellowship. The evening class had about twenty people, which proved to be a task even for two people, but we managed just fine. I taught one how to do a granny square. She could knit but was just learning to crochet; she seemed to catch on quickly. But I think she just wanted to jump right in to a project without really learning the basics, which just might prove to be a challenge for her. Still, I was happy to help her with the square. I also helped a mom and her pre-teen daughter. We had a good time talking and learning. And I helped another with a baby blanket she was wanting to make. I overheard her talking to the woman beside her: “Let’s just ask the expert.” Me. An expert. I was beaming, although I’m by no means an expert…yet. Still, it was good to be able to share my skills and knowledge.

This is the first time I’ve ever tried to teach someone else to crochet, and it was actually fun. I realized that I was probably not the norm with my rolling yarn tote and all the yarn I have at home, but hey, we all have to be obsessed with something, right? I was able to discuss my plans for the newly starting crochet chapter in the area, as well as strike up some interest for them to take some classes from me to further what they were learning and to help me achieve my student teaching goals for the teaching course I’m taking. I figure about a third weren’t interested in much anything beyond that one attempt at crochet, and about two thirds was interested in the group and/or classes. All in all, that’s not too bad, and now, at least I have something to work from in order to get all of my teaching hours in and get this crochet group up and off the ground.

I’m really glad I was able to help with this. It gave me a chance to meet other women who, if they didn’t already have an admiration for crochet, wanted it, and it helped get interest in the group and lessons. I was so in my realm, and I have to say it felt pretty darn good.

Yay for crochet!

WOW: Free Kraft Magazine

Once again I’m a day late, but better late than never, right? My Word Out Wednesday topic is the free Food & Family Magazine offered by Kraft Foods. Just for signing up on their site, you can get the magazine sent to your mailbox with a zero cost to you, and it’s always full of ideas for the kitchen. Of course, they promote their products, but they’re easily substituted. I’ve been getting this magazine for several years, and I’ve made several of their recipes over time. I’m not disappointed with it, and for the price, it’s really not a bad food magazine.

Meme: How fast are you?

I saw this on yarns and musings blog and decided I just had to give it a go:

72 words

Speed test

This was actually my third try. The first one I got 55 with a couple of errors but I hit “enter” at first instead of “space” and it messed up my screen. Then the second try gave me 71 words with two errors. Third try: as seen above with no errors. Woot.

How fast are you?

Thank you, Red Heart

Dear Red Heart,

I love your soft yarn. It glides so easily through my fingers as I crochet, and it feels so soft next to the skin. I’m sure that my mother-in-law is going to love the prayer shawl I’m making her for Mother’s Day using this yarn of you.

However, she doesn’t ever have to find out that when I was just six rows from the end, I raised the shawl up for my daughter to admire. She questioned what “that dark spot” was on my nearly finished shawl. When I looked closer, I noticed that your no dye lot yarn just created a headache for me. Half of the shawl was noticeably darker (and uglier) than the other half. Can you say, “RIP-IT!”? And rip it, I did–all the way back to the 29th row, which was more than half of it; I believe the correct calculation was 36 rows. Then, with the aid of my husband, the yarn was all rewound into balls to be stitched once again. Yes, I kept the darker yarn-of-the-very-same-friggin-color away from the others so it wouldn’t get mixed up again. And no, I’m not mad at you –even if I did unravel about 5 hours worth of work in a matter of minutes and spent at least one hour, if not two, rewinding it into neat balls–even if the shawl is now going to take me an additional five hours just to get back to where I was before all that frogging.

Perhaps next time I’m working on a prayer shawl using this no dye lot yarn of the same shade, I should pray that all of the skeins are actually the same color.

Thank you for your time. But no thanks for all the time you cost me.
Sincerely,
~Me

Plus Size Crochet

I recently borrowed Plus Size Crochet: Fashions That Fit & Flatter by Margaret Hubert from the library, and I must say I’m impressed with it. There’s some great choices for patterns for the “fluffier” woman, and I’ve already got several picked out that I would like to crochet. My only problem is that the sizing is a tad larger than my measurements; with other books and magazines, I usually have the opposite problem. (I guess that means I’m somewhere in between what is thought to be plus-sized and just XL…) But I still think I can make some of these patterns work for me.

Among the patterns are several jackets and cardigans, as well as a fun ruffle bag and a colorful poncho. There’s a couple of tunics and pullovers as well. Some patterns use yarns I’m not familiar with, while others use names like Lion Brand, Plymouth, Patons, and Senso. The skill levels range from easy to more intermediate. Something else I like besides the patterns is the spiral binding, which aids in keeping the book open to the page you are working from. There’s also a section on “personalizing the fit”, with suggestions for making the patterns work for you and your body shape.

I plan to make this book a place in my personal crochet library as soon as I order books again. And once I get some of my other things in order, I’m going to start on a few of these patterns for myself. Since I haven’t worked any of the patterns as yet, I don’t know how easy they’ll be to follow, but I’m hoping for some great projects. Guess we’ll see.

Making Progress

Today I completed CIP Lesson 1 of the CYCA’s correspondence course…FINALLY. I’ve had my materials for about a month now, and I immediately dove right in on the reading part of it. I also made some lesson swatches before yielding to figure out how I want to set up my pages for my lessons notebook. I was stumped, not to mention constantly interrupted. I’m not sure what it is about me being upstairs in my craft space that makes me a target for conversations, but it seems I can never be in my space alone for any amount of time needed to accomplish something. I’m the type of person that once something finally gets my attention, I get intently involved, and when that concentration is broken, I have to try to find it again. Still, it feels good to get that one lesson done. Now three more to go for part one, as well as my teaching, that I’ll be trying to figure out this next week.

I decided to make my mother-in-law a prayer shawl for Mother’s Day and have been working on it for a couple of weeks. I’m glad to announce that I’m nearly finished with it, so that’s moving right along. I then plan to start a project for my own Mom for that day, as well as a shawl for myself, and I still need to make some amigurumi items so I can test out Suncatcher Eyes. I also need to complete a pair of court side booties for the latest addition to the family, born on April 2nd.

I’ve also accomplished some things concerning the first ever meeting of a local soon-to-be-official chapter of the CGOA in my area held next weekend. Once I get this thing going, I plan to do an article of information for others who want to start a group in their area.

Not only am I trying to get all of my gifts completed (and the one item for myself), keep my course on track, and get a crochet group up and running, but my crafty friends and I have decided to get a booth at the Cider Days Festival held in September of this year, so I’m going to be crocheting and crafting like a mad woman for that as well. Busy, busy, busy, but at least I enjoy what I do. I just hope I can get enough items made between now and September to make enough money to pay for my portion of the booth. Lots of crafting to do! Wish me luck.

I just wish I was better at time management…

CreativeKJ’s Loom Blog

I’ve played around with the knitting looms off and on for a few months now, and I just ran across this blog that has some free patterns,  for sale patterns, and other fun stuff for loom knitting: Creative KJ’s Patterns. Karen, the owner of the blog, currently has a contest going on to help get the word out about her site. “Blog about my new pattern’s blog and you could win a Dell P-Ditty MP3 Player!” she writes. For more information, see her post: Freebee Friday and a Contest!. Looks like it’s going to be a cool place for the loom knitters to get some info, ideas, and patterns. And that’s not a bad prize for helping get the word out about a knifty blog.

Once I get some of my crochet-related things wrapped up in the next several months (remembering that I’m working on starting a group and on the teaching course), I plan to get the looms out again and see what I can do with them. So much yarn, so little time. Hmm, I say that alot. Maybe it should be my new motto.

WOW: Plastic Bottles

I didn’t forget about Word Out Wednesday; I just didn’t get a chance to post.

Plastics are all around us, and on one of the morning shows yesterday (I can’t recall which and a search didn’t tell me), but it was mentioned that we shouldn’t drink out of plastic bottles with a 3, 6, or 7 in the little recycling triangle. They have too many toxins that seep into the beverage. Too, the 1s are okay according to the interview, but it was suggested they be used only the one time (sodas, water, Gatorade, etc) because washing them with detergent breaks down the chemicals.

Something to think about. Makes me wonder sometimes what we’re really doing to our bodies that the government isn’t willing to tell us just yet.

While on the subject: RECYCLE those bottles to keep them out of our landfills.

BTT: Writing Challenge

• Pick up the nearest book. (I’m sure you must have one nearby.)
• Turn to page 123.
• What is the first sentence on the page?
• The last sentence on the page? *
• Now . . . connect them together…
  (And no, you may not transcribe the entire page of the book–that’s cheating!)

From Passion: A Novel of the Romantic Poets by Jude Morgan, with my connecting writing in between.

“He is kind and loves us all,” Franny put in quietly, “and I think that’s all that matters.”

I nodded in agreement. It was true. Even if he didn’t believe in God, he did believe in us. That had to count for something. I faded into my thoughts of this man and how he could be so wonderful, yet have no belief system beyond the stars. Then, as if my mind was being read, I was brought back to reality with the continuing conversation.

Fanny, her heavy cheeks glowing, said tentatively, “It’s a pity about the atheism.”

I have been accused!

I’ve been accused of having a psychological problem that may have stemmed from somewhere in my childhood. Am I trying to compensate for the lack of things around me when I was growing up? I think not, although my husband asked me that when he saw one of my yarn bins overflowing with skeins of yarn — so much so that the lid won’t fit on it any longer. If he can’t see it, he doesn’t realize how much is there, but when it’s exposed to the point that the lid is beside the bin instead of on it, he wonders if I have a stashing problem. The issue has never even come up before today. Who would have ever thought that I’d have a yarn addiction in my adult life? I can quit at anytime. Really. I can. Ahem.

It’s probably a good thing he couldn’t see the new yarn I received recently in the mail, even if he is aware that I ordered it and saw it when it first came in. Right now, I have no place to put it in storage, so it’s resting in my rolling yarn tote at the moment. I’m going to have to figure something else out soon, though, since I have my first crochet chapter meeting coming up, as well as potential teaching opportunities that go along with my correspondence crochet teacher course, which is what the tote was bought for in the first place. I really don’t think another plastic bin is going to fit in my little craft studio, but I may not have a choice.

Believe it or not, there was a time when I really thought stashing this stuff was a silly thing to do. Why buy yarn that you don’t have any immediate plans for? Yes, I’ve seen the error of my thought process on that one. It’s really silly not to keep it on hand, as one never knows when (s)he may have a yarn emergency.

Sigh. So much yarn, so little time.

Of course, my husband was just making light of the fact that I have so much yarn. He’s actually very supportive of my habit craft, both emotionally and monetarily. Thank goodness.