Monday Morning Class

Hi All,

Everyone knows that I think teaching is the most
fun and the most rewarding. I have been teaching
at The Yarn Box in Pawling N.Y. for about 10 years
now, maybe longer, and I love it.

Recently, one of my student's had her Mom visiting
from Florida. Caroline convinced her to come along
for classes. Well, she has taken off and in a very short
time has completed quite a few items.

Toyoko has made all the scarves that you see, the hat and the sweater that she is modeling. Great job Toyoko!

Another student, Susan, has finished the
Brave New Bra top, that was a design of mine in an early
Interweave Crochet. Susan bought an old issue and was surprised to
find the top. Susan is so proud of the top, she has
already started a second one. Great job Susan, hope your daughter loves
it!

Have a great weekend

Margaret

More from Squam Lake

Good Morning Everyone,

Do the faces look familiar? That's Casey and Jess from Ravelry at Squam Lake, smiling as always and having a ball.

My students are finishing up their projects and sending me photos. The latest bag from Ginny is a stunner. Ginny used all the natural colors, lots of texture and interest. The first photo is the front of the bag, second photo is the back. When I first started doing free form knitting and crochet, all of my projects were always in natural shades. I was a little afraid of using color in this way. I finally branched out a few years ago, and made a jacket in all shades of red. It was a huge success, now I use color all the time, but I still go back to my first love, all the natural shades.

Great job Ginny, hope everyone will keep the
photos coming.

Have a great day,

Margaret

I Love Teaching

Good evening everyone, I love teaching, especially when students send me photos of their finished projects and they are so beautiful.
The first photos are of my grand daughter, Nicole and her doll. My daughter Sharon, whipped up their outfits last week to wear to a family party. Nicole's dress bodice is knit with crochet trim, doll's is crocheted. Great job Sharon! Sharon learned to knit and crochet at a very young age and made her first afghan at age 7, it was a giant
great granny square. I believe that she still has it.


The beautiful bag was done by BarbAnn in my Free Form Knit/Crochet Combo class at the Squam Art Workshops. The first photo is the back of the bag, second photo is the front. Great job BarbAnn, your bag is stunning! BarbAnn's color combo is so striking, even more beautiful in person. Squam was so much fun, everyone had a ball and they were delighted with their bags.

Carol D made the beautiful reversible shell blanket for her grand daughter. Carol attended my class on Reversible Shell Stitch, at the Yarn Box in Pawling, NY. Great job Carol, please send me a photo of your grand daughter when you give her the blanket.
Carol has been turning out an impressive array of crochet items this year.

Thanks everyone for sharing your work with me and my blog viewers.

Have a great evening!

Margaret

Squam Lake Arts Workshops

Good Morning Everyone,

After an evening of just sitting with my feet up, pampering myself, I am ready
to face the day again. What an exciting few days I have had. Teaching at
SAW - Squam Art Workshops - was a wonderful experience. I was at a slight disadvantage,
having injured my knee the week before, but tried not to let it hamper my fun. The lake view from
my window was calming and serene. The weather was beautiful, but mornings and evenings very cool. The wonderful down comforters were very welcome :-).

My students were so enthusiastic, and as usual I was thrilled with their results.
The Free Form workshop was very inspiring. I always give homework for this
class, that seems a bit much, but if students do even a little pre-work, it makes
the class go much easier, and they get a lot accomplished.

My entrelac class got off to a little rocky start (my fault) as my homework
did not match the instructions that I had prepared, but thanks to Dory, we got
back on the right track and everyone learned the technique before the class was
over.

One thing that always amazes me, is that everyone gets the same homework, and
the diversity of the results are stunning.

I have not mastered putting captions on my photos, but you can see the happy
faces and all the work accomplished, words are not necessary.

I'd like to thank Elizabeth for inviting me to teach at SAW, all the staff who
helped me, Annie Modesitt, who drove me to opening ceremonies, and all my
students, Kathy G, Jane B, Barbann P, Tierney B, Joanne H, Carol D, Ginny H, Tanya D, Danette O, Lynn S, Linda S, Penelope C, Jane B, Elizabeth S. Annie M, Dory B. Alexia J, Deborah M.
Quite a few of them were with me the entire time. My students were from all over the
country and one student from the UK - amazing.

Hope that you all had a wonderful time, and I sincerely hope that we meet again.

Have a great day,

Margaret

SAW at Squam Lake etc

Good Afternoon Everyone.

I just returned home from a busy weekend. I taught at the Squam Lake Art Workshops in NH, then drove to MA to a grandson's Graduation. While there
I also got see and play with my little Great-Grandson, what a joy.

Squam was wonderful. Such a gorgeous setting, the weather was beautiful. but
really cool (for me anyway). The student's were so enthusiastic, a teacher's dream.
Everyone was having a grand time. Jess and Casey from Ravelry were there, and
they were taking classes like everyone else. I was not able to stay for the Saturday night festivities, but I am sure that they were great.
I'll tell all and post photos soon,

Still have to catch up on e-mails, unpack etc.

Have a great evening

Margaret

New Free Form Challenge Show

Happy Memorial Day,

May your weekend be sunny and fun.

I belong to an International Free Form group and for
the past few years we have come together in a
challenge to show our work.

If you have never seen one of our shows before, you are in for a
treat. Go to http://www.freeformcrochet.com/2009/Pages/main4seasons.html

over 50 participants from all over the world have come together for a
breath taking show. Our member, Myra Wood, coordinates everything,
collecting the photos, mounting the internet show, then getting it all into book
form. All proceeds from sale of the book go to Women for Women Global
Fund, a truly worthy charity http://www.womenforwomen.org/. Kudos and thanks to Myra for all her hard work and to all the participants for the gorgeous celebration of fiber art.


Have a great weekend everyone,

Margaret

Best Laid Plans

Good Morning Everyone,

I know that I promised to blog more often, but life has a way
of throwing monkey wrenches into the best laid plans.

I finished my Photo Guide to Crochet about a month ago and
immediately started another new book. I am now in the middle
of working with the tech editor on the crochet book. Juggling
my brain back and forth between tech editing the "finished" new book and working on the
"just started" new book, is making me slightly light headed.

Throw in some happy family celebrations, grand daughter's first
communion, 2 grandson's graduations and a 3rd coming up.
Nicole is my only grand daughter (8 grandsons), and she is truly a
princess among all the princes. My daughter, Sharon, made her dress,
which she designed herself,
and she has given me permission to share a photo with you.
The dress bodice and sleeves are knitted, the skirt is crocheted.

On another note, I received a lovely e-mail from a reader who
has taken one of my top patterns from PLUS SIZE CROCHET and
made it longer, turning it into a dress. Thanks for sharing the
photo Doris, I love hearing from readers and enjoy it when they
give a pattern their own touch.

Have a great day and a great holiday weekend everyone.

Margaret