Knitting Club 2016-2017

Knitting Club is on again!

There was so much learning from last year that this year's club has already gotten off to a great start!
One of the first things we did was number the needles so that we could ensure a better sign in/sign out process.

Last spring, I sewed a pouch for my knitting partner and we both had the crazy idea to make sewing pouches for knitting club instead of using ziploc bags.   

This was my prototype.  Because my partner in crime and I are kinda like the same person, neither one of us realized how long this would take.

Hence, we had to revisit the idea of a box pouch and make flat pouches.  Both have advantages but either way, it's still better than a ziploc bag!

Fast forward to the start of school.  And a job opportunity fell into my lap.  Suddenly the idea of making all of the bags became overwhelming.  It wasn't really the bags, it was the whole thing... going back to a traditional work environment and not being the stay at home Mom who bakes and sews.  Time for an identity crisis!

Thankfully L pulled through and once I showed her how I made the bags, she pretty much took over, sewed them all, and even stenciled them!

And here's where I appreciate her even more... she designed the new blanket and came up with a much better way to sew together the squares.  (More on that when the blanket is done!)

While I am (at this point) finally used to being back at work, I do miss the girls from knitting club.  There was no way to be able to work from home and help run the club.  So I am taking a big step back this year and doing lots behind the scenes.  I gotta say, it's not as rewarding being behind the scenes.  I loved talking to the girls while we knitted.

There are parts of me that really miss being at home and running the house.  However, my brain is so happy to be challenged in a different way and turns out the whole family has survived my return to work.   

Going forward you may start seeing "different" types of projects as my brain shifts back to work-related things...

Knitting Club Update

Wow, I cannot believe that we are at the end of May and I haven't yet given an update on knitting club.  If the picture above is any indication, I'd say we did a pretty good job!

If you remember, we started knitting club at school towards the end of March.  We met every Monday and Wednesday and the kids picked up knitting the garter stitch so fast!   Our knitting project was pretty ambitious considering a half hour two days a week isn't really that much time.  Overall, this blanket has 81 squares - mostly done in garter stitch and a couple of heart squares for detail.

I got really excited about the finished product as well and was so happy when we finally finished stitching up all those squares (so many squares....).

But the job wasn't done until I crocheted a border.  As we all knit with slightly different tension, I had to crochet a single chain around the whole blanket first.  I tried to keep an even count on all sides.

Then it was a half double crochet around the whole blanket to finish it off.

The blanket ended up being bigger than 36" x 36" due to stretch and the border.  Next time, I think we'll try 8 squares x 8 squares.   Other lessons we learned:  1) Divide the yarn amongst the kids vs giving them a whole skein  2) Work on one blanket at a time  3) Use neutral colours.  4) Consider an all-white blanket with a coloured trim.  

I really enjoyed teaching the kids and learning from them.   The kids were amazing to watch and are asking for a club again next year :o)

I designed a label because it makes the project so much more professional looking.  It also lets the new parents know what's in the bag, the care instructions, and who made it.   Once we have washed all of the knitted items, they will be packaged in clear ziploc bags and the labels will be placed outside the bag to keep the items clean.

Here's a last look before we package it up and deliver it to the hospital(s).   This picture makes the blanket look a little wonky on the sides but it reality, it isn't!   It's hard taking a photo of such a big item.

I am so glad we finished the blanket.  I love the portability of knitting as I can do it anywhere!  But I am a sewist at heart and it's time to go back to the machine before school lets out.   

xoxo

Knitting Club for Kids

I'm so excited!  Today is the first day of knitting club at school. I am co-teaching a class of about 20 kids who want to learn how to knit.

 
The school wanted us to teach the children to knit so that our creations could then be donated to two local hospitals:  The Toronto Sick Kids Woolies Program and to the Scarborough Hospital.

We bought some Red Heart Soft Baby Steps Yarn in white, pink, blue and green.   We wanted other colours but Michaels had a limited supply.  We also drove ourselves nuts driving to every Walmart within a 50km radius to find enough 10" Size 8 needles.

Our first project will be a baby blanket made of garter squares.  By the end, we should hopefully have enough squares to make several 36" x 36" baby blankets.

The next project will be little hats and booties.  They are so teeny tiny.  I can't believe my little guys used to be this small.

I have to admit that I was really enjoying making prototypes.

I got to play around with intarsia style knitting vs swiss darning.  I think swiss darning looks a little neater.  (Hint:  It's the one on the right).

I also used Photoshop to make little booklets to help them learn how to knit. 

I packed up my portion of the kits that we were giving to the kids.  Each bag had a set of needles, yarn, and knitting poem. 

I cannot wait to see how this turns out!!!!

p.s.  I also learned continental style knitting for knit and purl because we have a lefty in the group.