Knit Night!

First things first, we finally got our raspberry canes in the ground! Mark came over once again to help with some big time limb removal from the cedar tree that hangs over our north fence, and with that done, we had a ton more sunshine streaming into the area. Kevin leveled it all out, we loaded several bags of compost in, and voila! Raspberries! That was last weekend, and some of them are already starting to sprout some nice little blossoms! We'll have at least a few little berries this summer! :)
Onto this weekend: I have had several friends ask me to teach them to knit recently, and I thought I would just throw a party where I could pair up experienced knitters with beginners. At one point I was getting pretty overwhelmed because there were 12 women who wanted to learn, and no experienced knitters! Yikes! But as the day approached, many people had to bail for various reasons, and it ended up being a perfect size for me to teach, 3 wonderful women came to learn! I could probably fit one more, but anymore than that would have been complete chaos!

Here's the gorgeous bouquet my lovely friend Taylor brought as a housewarming gift. They smell soooooo good in my dining room, and go nicely with the other bouquets I put about the house yesterday!

My inner teacher came out in full force, and I made up little cards about different aspects of knitting along with examples sitting out for my pupils to take a look at as they got settled in. It was fun throwing together some of the information I have learned over the last few years of knitting and share it with such eager learners!

I wish I'd remembered to take a picture of everything all set up, but it was too exciting showing off my house to everyone to remember that! :)

After munching on some yummy snacks, we got down to the business of knitting! I was really nervous to teach everyone, I had no idea what I was going to say really, but I'd practiced my stitches and figured out ways of showing how to do it in an exaggerated way so they would be able to more easily see the stitches. It turned out really well! I showed everyone how to cast on, and then let them try it and gave them individual help as they had trouble. I had them try it several times in the hopes that when they get home they'll be able to remember how to do it!

Taylor and Heidi, hard at work!

Tiffany hopes to make a couple scarves for her little boys, in Cougar colors! I think she will be very successful!

The always adorable Heidi shows off her finished square!

The whole gang!

They learned all the basics, casting on, knit stitch, purl stitch, and how to cast off. I hadn't intended on teaching them how to purl, since it's pretty difficult to get the hang of as a beginner, but they were such eager learners, I couldn't fight them! I think it all turned out well, and I am proud of what everyone accomplished! We feasted on chicken enchiladas that I made, as well as deviled eggs Heidi made and yummy goat cheese and olive bread Taylor made. And dessert was so good, Tiffany brought homemade angel food cake with strawberries and real whipped cream! It was such a fun night! Thanks ladies for giving me the perfect first teaching experience! I hope to do it again with some more beginners, and to continue having knitting parties in the future! :)