Spring is Here!

Greetings,

We've been having some beautiful Spring/Summer weather here in the NY/NJ metro area. The trees are blossoming and the flowers are blooming. One of my favorites, forsythias, are in full bloom already.  I just love the little yellow flowers of the forsythia bush! This is my favorite season of the year. I have been so excited to get outdoors and soak it all in, but work has been getting in the way. Oh well. 

So what does this have to do with knitting and crochet?  Spring is a time for new beginnings.  I think of weddings (my wedding was in April) and babies (baby showers and little chicks for Easter).  Last evening, I taught the Baby Blossom Hat crochet class at JoAnn's Arts & Crafts Store in Paramus, NJ.  What a great class it was too!  Take a look at the finished projects.



My Baby Blossom Crocheted Hat

 

Baby Blossom Hat flower view



I crocheted the green hat.  As you can see, the hat calls for Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice Baby Yarn.  This is a quick project. With all the teaching and chatting going on with the student and other passersby, we finished this hat in 1.5 of the 3 hours time allotted for the class.The time just flew by. The hat only requires a few crochet stitches.  I guess that's why it is a 202 class.  It's more an intermediate beginner class.  Basic stitches like single crochet and chain stitches were used, but we added on the half double crochet and double crochet stitch as well as crocheting in the round with this project.  We were tempted to make another hat too since there was enough time and yarn left over from the one ball the pattern specifies but, we  left it at just one hat each.  Of course, these hats have not yet been blocked and when they are completely blocked they will look and photograph so much cuter.   Excuse the lighting, I photographed them in the store.  You can see the shelves full of yarn in the background.  Here's the students hat.



Student's Hat

If you're interested in taking this class with me there will be another class April 16th from 6p-9p since the published date of April 20 is incorrect.  If you're interested in learning other knit and crochet techniques, please see the Michael's March calendar from my previous post. I will be posting my April calendar next week.  If you can't wait until then go to http://www.michaels.com/and http://www.joann.com/  for classes in April. Both are in Paramus, NJ. 

Happy Stitching!



March Knit & Crochet Classes at Michael’s

SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
All Classes are 25% off on March 3rd. Sign up & Save!	Classes are 2 ½ hrs. and $25 each! Supplies are an additional cost. Sign up at Michael's			1	2	3 Open House 1-3p Discover Garter Stitched Baby Blankets 3-4p Discover Single Crochet 5-7p
4	5 Discover the Knit Stitch 3-5:30p	6	7	8	9 Discover the Tall Stitches 6-9p	10 Discover the Purl Stitch 5-7:30p
11	12 Discover Time for Crochet 3:30p – 6:00p	13	14	15	16	17 Discover Time for Knit 3-5:30p
18	19	20	21	22	23	24 Discover Pattern Stitches 3-5:30p
25	26 Discover Textured Stitches 3-5:30p	27	28	29	30	31

Goal Accomplished!

Greetings!  I have been thinking about blogging for about two years now and finally made the decision to start the blog this year.  I stopped making new year's resolutions a long time age as I didn't seem to be able to stick to the long list of resolutions I had in the past. Now, I make a mental list and those that stick become reality.  Just like this blog is now reality.

This blog will be about my knitting, crochet and other crafts which usually relate to either craft.  I love to knit, crochet and bead. Last year, I took a year long course called Sheep to Shawl in Rockland, NY.  The name is appropriate as I learned to clean, card, and spin yarn once shorn from the sheep.  Recently, I have not been able to do much of any of the crafts I love for myself. It's mainly samples for my classes in between my regular work schedule.  Soon I should be caught up and back to my thing.

You may be thinking, "How did you get here"? That's a long story. I'll give the short version. I have been knitting since I was a teenager on and off.  My mom taught me back then. Almost 10 years ago, I started again with the goal of making my projects look good enough to get the question,  "Where did you get that?" not, "Did you make that"?  I have almost accomplished this goal.  I'm still working on making sweaters fit me perfectly. Perfection is a lofty goal. I plan to get close.

Five years ago I took a knitting instructor class to learn how to teach knitting, which I had been doing anyway, but I made it official.  Last year, I did a crochet instructor class.  A few more teaching hours and I'm done with the official certification. Yeah! Another goal accomplished!

I'll be posting about where to find my classes so you can learn with me if you like.  I'll attempt to post my finished projects as they come up to whet your appetite. Anyway, I'm so happy to have a place to share. I hope you'll be joining me from time to time. 

Until we meet again,
Elise