Happy Thanksgiving Team Stitching Coach!
Thank you for being a follower, student and general supporter of my endeavors as The Stitching Coach. I couldn’t do any of this without you.
I’m also very thankful for all the librarians out there who have encouraged and given me the opportunity to share my love of fiber arts with their patrons. Librarians rock, so tell them how thankful you are this week.
Recently I taught a wonderful group at Wallingford Public Library. Wow, do they have an amazing “Library of Things” including a sewing machine, weaving loom and knitting kit that you can check out and take home! But the pièce de résistance is the Collabrotory that features a Baby Lock Crown Jewel III long arm quilter, six Brother sewing machines, serger and embroidery machine. It is a fiber enthusiasts dream library.
After teaching the class, I was able to get trained to use the long arm quilter and hope to blog about that experience another time.
I’m also thankful for living in a state that has wonderful fiber shops. It was one of my requirements for moving to Connecticut. No stitching stores, no fun!
Those shops will come in handy now that I am enrolled in The Knitting Guild Association’s teacher certification program. I wanted yarn to start working on class samples that I have to send along with lessons plans I have to write. However, my usual yarn shop, New England Yarn and Spindle is closed on Sunday and I really wanted to cast on and work on the first assignment – a child’s sweater- over the Thanksgiving holiday. Luckily, Knit & Pearls in Avon, CT has Sunday hours and I have wanted to stop in there for years but never seemed to make the time. Boy was I missing out! This adorable shop was warm and cozy with a small area for classes or knitting groups. Plus it’s next door to a donut shop! I will definitely be returning.
For my first TKGA certification assignment I choose Phoebe’s sweater from Joanna Johnson’s book Phoebe’s Sweater (I mention it in my Youtube video where I thank my subscribers). I’ve made it for one of my nieces and loved the seamless construction and easy slip-stitch pattern. The last time I knit this jacket I was a new knitter and Ravelry member so I was not good about taking notes and photos.
Now I know the benefits of taking notes on a project. You never know when you are going to make an item again and memory may not serve you well by the time you make it again. This time around I will be better at documenting the project’s progress. But luckily others took notes and noted how they modified their sweater.
Do you take notes on Ravelry or on paper? Do you have a library that rocks or a favorite fiber shop? Give them some love this week and shout out what you love most about them.
Thankfully yours,
Coach Dawn
