Welcome to My World

Four new knitters were created this month at Wigglyville. I had five students, and one unfortunately, appeared to have dropped out. The project for this class was a pet sweater, as one student, Leah, was knitting for her cat. Leah and Betty are crocheters, and for Betty, this class was a refresher. Betty (top photo) finished her sweater, and Leah (middle photo) is very close. Can you tell from the photos that one set of hands is male? Bryant (bottom photo) didn't finish his sweater, but said that this is the farthest he's ever went after multiple attempts. He did get a lot of knitting done, and was able to recognize mistakes, and is planning to (fearlessly!) rip out his work and start again. I think that this sweater was an ideal beginner project. It has no shaping, is just two rectangles seamed together. The more advanced part is picking up stitches for the neck, and the option of doing the same for leg bands. I provided materials, and offered the students a choice of colors, and I'm thrilled that most of them went for the strong colors! I think that self striping yarns, like the Kureyon used here, are ideal for beginners, because long after the knitting task becomes repetitive and perhaps boring, it's still exciting to see the color changes taking place. Why not steer beginners to the lovely, high end yarns? Passing those fibers through your hands is part of what makes knitting fun. I must confess, except for the seven year old boy I taught decades ago while babysitting, this is the first class I have ever done, and it was so satisfying. Thanks to my students, it was so much fun to introduce you to my world!