Ball Band Dishcloth

I'm still teaching at St. Louis Park Community Ed. Right now, our "Adventures in Knitting" class is going on. I like to let my students choose among a few projects so that they can have fun and learn at their own pace, instead of forcing everyone into doing the same thing, all of the time. 

I love the Ball Band Dishcloth for what I call a "second step" student. They should be confident knitting and purling, but maybe they don't have a lot of experience reading a pattern or following a pattern repeat. The dishcloth is just difficult enough so that they can learn those things, but not so difficult that it's discouraging. 

Plus, they're relatively cheap to knit and make great gifts. What's not to love?

Fall Means New Classes!

I love teaching! This Fall, I'm signed up to teach two classes for the St. Louis Park Community Center. There are more details here. Come one, come all!

Sip Study Knit Knitting Guild - June 18

See, I still knit. Although this isn't for class. Oops.

It's been quiet on the blog (and podcast), I know! There are two main reasons:

1) Sewing.
Yes, I know. I'm starting to calm down a little bit, but whenever I have a stretch of free time, I pounce on my sewing machine. Knitting will always be my first, and truest, love, but I'm really enjoying learning something from scratch.

2) Teaching.
I was chatting with a friend a few months ago and this phrase came out of my mouth:

"I love teaching. I really love it. More than almost anything."

You know how, sometimes, you realize, after you said something, that it's really, really true?

So, I've been building more teaching into my life. I know the podcast and, really, this blog, feed that need, too. But, there's no substitute for hands-on teaching.

I'm putting the finishing touches on two classes that I will present in the Chicago Area in a little over a month. Swatching and writing worksheets takes a lot of time! Here are the details, ripped off of the flyer the guild made:

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Coming To The Sip Study Knit Knitting Guild In Hoffman Estates, IL
Come join us Saturday June 18, 2016
Two 2 - three-hour workshops

9am - 12pm - Socks for SSK
Lara will inspire us into the world of knitting the most unique, wonderful, and awesome socks of your life. Lara will start our customized class with an overview of why certain heels and toes fit different feet. Then, we can go through each step of making a toe-up gusseted heel as time permits.  Bring your favorite needles for working in the round and yarn to match.$50 members / $75 non-members

1pm - 4pm - Color Work for the Cowardly
Do you want to add more color to your knitting, but are sick of seams and tired of puckers? Join Lara for an afternoon of tips, techniques and a few tricks up her sleeve to make you fall in love with multiple-strand knitting and even intarsia (really!) Bring an open mind, small amounts of worsted-weight yarn in at least two colors and your favorite needles for working in the round. $50 members / $75 non members

Contact Emma at SipStudyKnit (at) gmail.com    -    Or check out our Ravelry Group Sip Study Knit

Sip Study Knit is a Knitting Guild located in the Chicago Suburbs Focusing on providing an educational experience for the intermediate to advanced knitter.

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I'm pretty sure there are still open spots in both classes, so check it out if you are in the area!

New Apron!

Pardon the mess, I'm just excited about my apron! Check out the pretty cute pattern matching on the pockets. 

I love little three-pocket aprons for when I'm selling somewhere, teaching, or just knitting around the house. 

The three pockets are awesome for when you want to knit with multiple colors. Simply put each color in its own pocket, and you're way less likely to get all tangled up in yourself. 

When I'm teaching, my apron is great because I can shove my little sample piece of knitting into a pocket while I help a student. It reduces the amount of time I spend chasing down the yarn and needles I set down somewhere, usually across the room. 

And, also around the house, when I'm chatting on the phone with my sister as I knit, fold laundry, or whatever, it's great to have somewhere to hold my phone while I use an earbud headset!

The Start of the Season

September always seems like the start of the knitting season. It's exciting for me to suddenly be receiving more requests to teach! Check out my schedule, I'm going to some really fun yarn shops and locations this Fall/Winter!

My Spring Hat

The brim is flipped up, because I like to wear it that way.

Behold, my spring hat! I made it with my own handspun using the pattern I teach my beginning knitting students at community education. It's not too late to sign up!

If you're already familiar with casting on, knits, purls and decreases, but still want to come to class, I'll have a fingerless mitt pattern for you to try. Or, bring any project you want and I'll walk you through it!

Craftsy: My Little Table

Essentials for the little table behind the one everyone can see. My needle gauge, water, spare needles, random socks and weird little swatches!

P.S. - It's ALIVE!!!!!

Craftsy: Behind The Scenes

This is what it looks like. Two cameras and a lot of hot lights!

Craftsy Rocks, Exhibit Two: The Crew

I didn't get a photo of the whole crew, because I was kind of freaking out, but I did remember to snap a shot of the studio door. I ended up having two editors and three different camera operators, because I think there was a bit of a bug going around. I hope you all feel better, guys!

Craftsy Rocks, Exhibit 1: They Spelled My Name Right!

It's such a little thing, only 8 letters long. But, you'd be surprised how often it's spelled wrong!

Craftsy hangs adorable stars on the dressing rooms, where they chalk in your name so that you know which one is yours. 

On The Road Again!

Last week was wild! Tuesday, I taught at The Twisted Loop Yarn shop. Saturday, I taught two back-to-back workshops through the Minnesota Knitters' Guild. (More on those later, when I get a few minutes. But, THANK YOU to Little Gidding Suri, who donated a skein of yarn for every student.)

But, I've also confirmed two events that are coming up really soon, so I wanted to tell you about them:

When - Monday, 4/6/15, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Where - Tulsa, OK, Loops!

What - Book signing and meet-and-greet!!!!

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When - Saturday, 4/11/15, 10 a.m. to Noon

Where - Ewe Knit It, Yankton, SD

What - Lara's 3 Favorite Heels You May Not Know. Class where I get to show you quick, easy heels that are fun to make!

Price - $40

On the Road Again!

Last weekend, I got to teach a wonderful group of knitters at Darn. Knit. {Anyway} in Stillwater, MN!

It's one of many near-LYS places in Minnesota that have stolen my heart. It's great to find so many homes away from home!

My teaching gear:

- notes

- coffee

- regular knitting bag

- "class" knitting bag

- box-o-socks

- model foot (to keep me from taking my shoe off while talking about the structure of the foot)

- (under my notes) a few skeins of yarn from the shop, so that I can wave them around and talk about what makes a great sock yarn vs. what makes a good one. Some of these end up jumping into my knitting bag...

Beginning Knitting with St. Louis Park Community Education

Coming up in less than 2 weeks - I'm teaching a beginning knitting course! Space is limited, so sign up now if you want to be sure and have a spot.

I love teaching new knitters. There's nothing like watching someone go from "I could never do that!" to "look what I made!"

OK, off to work on my handouts...

Don't Fear the Needle

Yes, the humble darning needle. That, and its friend Kitchener Stitch (a.k.a. darning), strikes fear into the heart of many a knitter.

I'm trying to remove a bit of that fear by developing a class about the many ways this wonderful tool can enhance your knitting. I talk about it a little bit in my Beyond Basic Sock Skills class, but I feel it really needs its own class.

The topics are, in no particular order:

- Swiss darning (a.k.a. duplicate stitch)

- Kitchener stitch (a.k.a. darning or Why People Hate Finishing Top-Down Socks)

- darning to repair stockinette stitch

- darning to repair other types of knitting

Am I leaving anything out? 

Northfield Yarn

I had a great time teaching my 3 Sock Heels class at Northfield Yarn last weekend. Here's a tiny corner of this adorable shop:

...and the best part - my book on the shelf with other books. Squeeeee!!!!!

Watch the Time

A few years ago I heard someone say that watches were on the way out. Who needs a timepiece when you have a phone? 

Well...

If you're going to teach (or even speak to) people, it helps if you have a watch. If you look at your watch, people know you're checking the time. If you look at your phone, they might think you're checking to see if your dad is beating you at Words With Friends (again!!!!).

Come See Why My Nails Are This Short

I...might run out of books. I sold a lot last weekend! Either way, I'll be at the Fall Fiber Festival showing off my socks and talking with people all day on Saturday. I've learned a weird thing - if you have nails that break easily and you don't wear them short while unpacking boxes of books...they WILL break. 

So, the nail clippers have become a BIG part of my prep for just about any event.

Sunday, I'm headed back out to Northfield Yarn. I'll be teaching my class about 3 sock heels. I'm psyched!

Athena Fibers in Sioux Falls

It was so much fun going back to my old LYS last weekend - Athena Fibers was a real home-away-from-home to me when I lived in Sioux Falls. It's in a cool, old house that's not far from downtown.

There's a nice lounge area.

There's a cute bunny who loves to be petted.



(Last weekend, anyway) - There were knitters looking at my book. Marty, the lady on the right, was one of my major knitting mentors when I lived in Sioux Falls. It was so fun to get to talk with her about my book and share a few of the tips/tricks I've picked up!



I was sorry to go!

Teacher's Copy and Learning As Much As I Teach!

I forgot to take any photos at Linden Yarn & Textiles, but it was a fun class and I think most of the students liked it, too. I did learn that I need to refine how I teach grafting on-the-fly and one of the harder cast ons I know, so I'm brainstorming ideas to make it more friendly to less experienced knitters. 

I also made a "Teacher's Copy" of my book. I hate making people wait while I flip through, looking for charts/patterns/lists that I use a lot. So, post-it notes to the rescue!

Getting Ready for Class Tonight!

I think there may still be a spot or two open at Linden Yarn & Textiles tonight...and I know you can catch me on Saturday in Sioux Falls! I'm just testing out the techniques before I embarrass myself in front of a bunch of knitters.