The rainy weekend in Boise has been a nice transition into the first day of October.
Autumn is a beautiful time of year, and I feel a sense of collective appreciation towards this season. After a long line-up of weekend festivals bustling in Boise, most people stayed in today and yesterday. Few cars roamed the streets as the rain fell. I stayed home too and made a pan of oatmeal date cookies, two roasted chickens, and four batches of the lemony and delicious, kale and basil pesto.
I bet many of you are thinking about picking up the knitting needles again. Others are already three skeins deep into a project. After several months away from my own needles and absent from teaching, I'm starting a new row and picking up some dropped stitches. This summer was busy—backpacking up steep Idaho mountains, paddle-boarding down cold rivers, writing in many journals.
Sitting down to knit feels like one big exhale.
The dropped stitch I've been afraid to approach is this website—Knit Boise.
And, the class offerings I proposed back in the spring.
And, the fact that I fell short of what I had planned at the time...
To the folks who followed me down this exciting vision, I apologize for hyping up new knitting classes, then dropping the stitch.
But as I tell students, making mistakes is a big part of learning how to knit. Having grace and gentleness with yourself is important too.
I've been a knitting teacher for years. I was lucky to find a love for teaching and knitting early in life! After Boise's old local yarn shop, the Twisted Ewe, closed in the spring, I struggled with class planning. The logistics were complicated. This experience reminded me that having a local yarn shop is an invaluable resource for sharing the education of knitting.
Fortunately, this has all changed now that 'I Yarn For Ewe' (the new yarn shop in Boise) is open! Thanks to the grit of Kerrie Nicholson, the shop owner, Boise now has an abundance of yarn again from a local source. I had the pleasure of speaking with Kerrie earlier this summer; you can read the interview with her in my last blog post. If you haven't visited I Yarn for Ewe yet, drop your projects (put a cap on those needle tips first), and boogie over there.
Natalia's Knitting Classes at 'I Yarn for Ewe'
Big update here for Knit Boise: I have classes on the schedule! In October, November, and December, I will teach intro to knitting, a beanie class, scarves, cowls, and felted soaps.
I know many of you have been looking for more advanced knitting classes. Planning these has posed a mental challenge. I like to be very intentional about designing classes, and thinking about successfully teaching a group how to knit sweaters in a few 2-hours classes is tricky. However, a new class model is in the works that will allow for a more flexible "drop in" style of learning, accommodating the nuances of more challenging projects.
Please hang in there with me while my brain tinkers on this one... If you would like to to learn skills beyond what I'm currently offering, please reach out via email for a private lesson! I love working with knitters one-on-one. In a private lesson there is more flexibility with what I can teach you.
Group classes: my current classes on the schedule are geared towards Beginners and Confident Beginners.
Perhaps you've taken an introduction to knitting class with me before and need a refresher on the knit, purl, cast-on, or bind-off. Maybe you want to learn beanies in time for holiday gift-giving. Maybe you want to practice with a group and have me as a guide during the tough spots. Maybe you are brand new to the beautiful, rewarding, peaceful craft of knitting!
Take a look at the open classes below. You can sign up online at I Yarn for Ewe website, or by giving them a call. I look forward to seeing new faces and familiar ones in class :)
Knit Purl Cowl for Beginners
Two class days. Thursday October 26th AND November 2nd from 6-8pm.
Call the shop to schedule! (208) 835-9114
Knitted Hat Class for Adventurous Beginners
Two class days. December 2nd and December 9th, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Knit Scarf for Beginners
or
Cabled Headband for Adventurous Knitters
Felted Soap Classes
Basic Felted Soap Class:
Felted Soap with Designs:
or
Last note: I finished the Ixchel Sweater! I saw this pattern at the Twisted Ewe in 2018, and I told myself then—one day I will make that sweater. All of my knitted sweaters have nicknames. This one I call my Harry Potter sweater, because it's quite sparkly and magical...
Thanks for reading! Enjoy your fall knitting time
-Natalia
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