Oh, My! I had such a fun time on Sunday, teaching Handwarmers/Wristwarmers at Little Red Schoolhouse. I love teaching more than anything else in the world, and we had such a good time!

I had just two students, so it was small and cozy, and they were the absolute right two people to be together. Bonnie did a soft worsted-weight yarn, multi-ply soft merino yarn in cream and soft blues (each ply a different color) that suited her perfectly. Christie used Noro Silk Garden in earthy tones, also a worsted weight (but single-ply) yarn. It was fascinating to see them make the same item, in the same gauge, even the same number of stitches, but have such different results.

Both ladies chose to make the ribbed version, in the round on Double Pointed Needles (DPNs). Bonnie had already made socks before, so she had used DPNs but she tried out a few different types and ended up with short birch Brittany, as did Christie (who had never knit in the round before).

Christie had taught herself to knit as a teen, but had never had a knitting class. Now, she makes a living using a sewing machine and embroidery machines (she has been a tailor/dressmaker for years and now does classes/demos of computerized embroidery sewing machines for Country Stitches). She is really good with her hands, to say the least, and her mind can really understand things once she has a little demo. So she took to the DPNs like a fish to water, learning how to identify and repair her mistakes as she went along.

They both learned how to pick up dropped stitches with a crochet hook, which was a big hit since both of them dropped at least one stitch each. We learned so many things besides just how to make a handwarmer! And we had a wonderful time. A wonderful time! Thanks to Bonnie and Christie for making my weekend so fine!

After class, I first did some grocery shopping (oh, my, can you spend a lot of money on food at Meijer if you have felt hungry for two days due to empty cupboards at home). Then I went home to put all that food away, and rather than cooking any of it, I called Tony. (Brian was playing banjo with his friend Dorsey and I realized I hadn’t seen Tony in so long I’d love his company for dinner.) We went to Taj, a local Indian restaurant, and had a WONDERFUL vegetarian meal. We really enjoyed that. How does the song go? “Food, glorious food…”

I’m in frantic-production mode here, trying to prepare for some upcoming classes *and* dye yarn for Bloomiefest which starts this coming Friday. After I had dinner with Tony, I finished my prototype tea cosy for the class I have scheduled at Threadbear on March 23 and 30. It will be tweaked a bit in the writing of the pattern, but I’m generally more than pleased with the result thus far. It fits my largest teapot that holds 6-8 cups, and it fits a smaller pot that holds 4-6 cups as well, but it looks very different on the different sized pots. I am thinking about perhaps two different sizes in the final pattern, we’ll see.

Off to make a living, as Brian says. I’m creating a publicity brochure for a computer student who has a business. Then I teach computer classes in Haslett until 8pm. No doubt I’ll be winding yarns when I get home again tonight.

Photos: 1) Christie’s wristwarmer in Silk Garden. Not bad for a first-time DPN user, huh? 2) Prototype tea cosy in large pot I bought in Montreal a few years ago.