Our classes did not meet last week because of Thanksgiving break, but it was fabulous to be back creating today!
These days and weeks are flying by so quickly! Here I find that we have completed our penultimate day of knitting/crochet camp and everyone has made such great progress, I am so proud of our students!
So many fun things being created in class!
We had a great time in knitting class!
Just wait until you see how it all turned out!
I'm always saying this, but I can't believe how much fun we have in knitting class! For class this week, this student brought an embroidery kit that she had at home and asked for help. Well...of course!! All forms of fiber arts are supported here in class.
As always, we start out our knitting class with...well...our knitting!
Then we have a small break for another yarn related activity.
Game time - these student LOVE game time!
Just another fun day at knitting class!
I am continually amazed at what our students can do - and WANT to do. I am so lucky to be able to teach to students who truly are engaged and excited about their art. We do so much knitting and crochet (that is what this class is all about!), but we also do so many other things.
Making a small wallet.
Learning to read patterns with notations like: K2tog and kfb - not an easy task!
It takes a long time to make a scarf.
I was inspired by an art teacher named Cassis Stephens. She taught this circle weaving class to her students. It looked like so much fun that I decided to bring it to our students.
Aren't the bases for our circle weaving beautiful! Just wait until they add the details and then some weaving to them.
These students really love to play hopscotch. It appears that this is an "old time" game because while they knew some of the basics, they really didn't know how to play. I happily taught them the rules and away they went.
Sometimes, they are having so much fun, it is hard to get them to stop playing and come back to knit or crochet.
We don't always knit with knitting needles. This student brought her knitting loom to class to work on.
Spool knitting continues to be a huge hit.
I made these weaving boards for noon art and held back a few for knitting class. They make perfect bookmarks after being taken off the board! The best part? These boards can be used over and over again and are made with recycled (cereal boxes) cardboard.
REALLY? A 10 year old knitting on circular needles?! Yes!
I can't wait until the bases are finished so that they can start the warping and weaving!
Last week we mixed things up a bit in knitting. I find that sometimes, especially on warm, sunny days, the kids get restless about half way through class and need a bit of a break. Knitting for an hour and a half is hard work!
Sorry for the blurry photo. Sometimes it's hard to photograph someone's finished project as it is waved in front of the camera - the kids are just so excited about their creations, they can't hold still! This student made a pom-pom last week and turned it into a smiley pom-pom this week, which promptly retained the name of "Mr. Smiley". So cute!
About half way through class time, the students were getting a little bit restless so we took a small break and played "The Marble Game".
First, I hand each student a paper towel tube that has been cut in half. Then I show them a marble and explain the rules of the game. The object of this game is to work together and keep the marble rolling from person to person without dropping it.
Once the marble has passed from your tube to the next person's tube, you run from the start of the line to the end and get ready to catch the marble again. These students had a great time and managed the all-time record of four rounds!
Then it was back to their knitting!
Sewing was a BLAST! We saw a huge Spot Dog come to completion.
Isn't he cute?!
Knitting classes continue to be a source of fun and entertainment for our students! We do so many things in addition to knitting in this class.
First up though is a pair of VERY cute slippers!!
We also made pom-poms and although they can be made by one person alone, it is much more fun to make them with a friend.
Pom-pom made using only her fingers and yarn :o)
The student who made these learned them in one lesson.
She decided she wanted to make another one. Isn't this lovely, the stitches and tension are all so even - I couldn't have done any better.
Pom-poms were the order of the day!
As you can see, even though this is a knitting class, we learn so much more during our time together - crochet, finger weaving, spool knitting, pom-pom making - really anything yarn related. The kids really have so much fun!
Our last class in November was a complete hoot! Everyone had so much fun!
We had lots of spool knitting. I remember enjoying this so much as a kid, but was unsure of how it would be received by my students. Well, I should not have been worried, they love it! I can't wait to show them some of the animals that I have created with spool knitted strings!
We had the completion of a stuffed bear leg and also the start of the torso - this student is well on her way to having a finished project!
This student wanted to try something a little different - she chose to knit a scarf with sock yarn and US#1 needles. Boy is she brave!! I love knitting on the smaller needles with fine yarn, but it does take a bit longer than if larger needles and yarn were being used. It sure is pretty though!
We also had finger weaving.
My daughter showed up and was immediately put to work by this student. This student is making a finger weave scarf and wanted to know if it was long enough so she asked my daughter to model it to check length. Looks good to me!
This student is really good at knitting and wanted to learn crochet. You know her from her crocheted shoe laces from last time, well she is now making a hair tie to learn sc and practice the tension on her chain stitches. She is doing a great job!
The scarf in one of the previous pictures, can double as a jumprope!
Did you know you can finger weave off of both ends of the ball of yarn?? Neither did I!!
We are having a blast in knitting class! The kids are all working on different and exciting projects.
Teaching these students to knit is such a rewarding thing to do!
Our knitting classes are in full swing!
This third grader worked hard to finish her very first project!! Way to go!
Don't their projects look great?!
We have such a fun time in knitting class! Our students get so much done!
This student did such a great job on her hat. She cast on with circular needles, knit for 6 1/2", changed to double pointed needles, and then cast off and sewed the top closed. Isn't it such a cute hat?!!
What is just so wonderful about these knitting classes is the friendships that are being made. The students are all so supportive of each other. They help each other with challenges and celebrate finishes together!
This session of knitting is over but the next one starts right up next week!!
It's time for another class of sewing and knitting and I haven't even posted from last week!! So many good things to come from Let's Go Crafting. A Halloween Workshop is being offered - I can't wait to see what each student comes up with! American Girl Clothing workshops, Holiday Ornament workshops and more to come.But...let me get to the important stuff for now! What went on in last week's classes?
We had a great first day of classes last Wednesday. All the students came to class ready and excited to learn and explore!
We had a fabulous time and I can't wait until tomorrow for our second class!
Lots of finished projects today!!
Usually I try to have our students finish their projects before class ends for the week. In the case of these two, they had finished their first projects and since they are coming back for more camps and wanted to knit more, I had them pick yarn and start something new.
These third graders worked so hard to finish their wrist warmers today. Great job girls!
Knitting camp is done for this week - I am sad to see these campers leave - they are such great students and work so well together!
We had some very fun finishes today!
Look how creative this camper is - she used just a portion of fabric to create the mouth on her stuffie. Then she used fabric for the eyes and sewed on buttons for the pupils! LOVE IT!
After her wrist warmers were complete, she wants to make a hat. OK, time to cast on 84 stitches!
Both these campers have finished one wrist warmer and their second ones will be finished tomorrow.
We had such a blast today at camp!! First we started out with our knitting and made great progress on our projects.
This is what our work table looks like after a morning of hard work :o)
We took a small snack break at the half way point.
And of course the chicks had to come out to play! After our short break we went straight out to prepare our yarn for dyeing.
Should we gently set our yarn in the water, or should we just drop it in?
Making sure the yarn is completely wet.
Make sure the yarn is not dripping but just damp.
More students preparing their yarn for dyeing.
They carefully spoon dye onto the yarn in the places that they want it. Notice the ultra snazzy aprons they are wearing to protect their clothes!
After dyeing yarn, the campers worked more on their pin weaving and on their knitting. Tomorrow should see some completed projects!
As always, each day at camp proves to be fun filled. Today we did a lot of knitting.
And we learned something new...Pin Weaving!
We also played with the chicks during break time.
Holding and playing with the chicks is a huge enjoyment for our campers!
We started knitting camp today!
Yarn and projects were chosen.
And we got started right away.
Everyone had such great concentration!
We took our break about half way through the morning and then created these cute little fellows!!
This 9th grader had been working on a scarf prior to class and finished it in class this morning. Tomorrow will be another great day!