Four ladies came to Needlecase last Saturday for our Beginners Knitting class. In reality, as is often the case, one of them wasn’t strictly a beginner but I think they all went away having learnt something new.
It’s always interesting to meet new people at our classes and to find out what their hopes and aspirations for their knitting are. Some people just want to see how they get on, one lady told me she really wants to knit a Christmas stocking (fuel for a future project for me there I think) and another was able to knit already but wanted to move on from the basics. We spent the morning going through those basics, starting with casting on, then learning knit and purl stitches. 
Everyone moved on at their own pace and there was lots of giggling at each others mistakes and excitement when someone felt that they’d really picked up a technique and could feel that they were making progress.
After a busy morning of learning we were ready for a rest so we headed down the road the The Granary for a delicious lunch.
After lunch I decided that we practised doing some rib stitches.
Ann had already produced a fantastic sample of different stitches, including moss stitch which was new for her, and refreshed her memory on how to cast off.
She spent the afternoon exploring the different increasing and decreasing techniques and everyone else started knitting a scarf in Hayfield Superchunky yarn.
I like this project as it allows people to practise combining knit and purl stitches, it is simple to do and, because it grows quickly it is very encouraging for new knitters.
This is me wearing a finished example – I’m told I look stern in this picture which is a shame but when I want a photo and I’m all alone here in the shop it’s the best I can manage!!
At the end of the day I for one was exhausted but really proud of the ladies who were well on the way to their first knitted project. Good look with it girls and I’m really looking forward to seeing your finished scarves.
