Tonight was the inaugural cable knitting class. By way of reminder, this is what the cabled project looked like, a headband that I hope to get up on Ravelry soon:
This was my first time teaching a skills class, All my previous teaching experience has been with project classes, focused on the production of a specific project by the end of the class. All of the projects have resulted in the students learning a skill or two, but this time was slightly different because I needed a handout.
Thank goodnesss for Stitch Mastery, a program that produces beautiful knitting charts with minimal effort. I made the investment last year and it paid off in spades when it came to this class. I can't compare it to any other charting program but it wins head and shoulders above the excel spreadsheets I was struggling with before that. Stitch Mastery has an impressive array of knitting symbols; so far, I haven't found one that I have needed and it hasn't had in its library. It is as easy as point and drop the symbol onto the chart. As you add each symbol, it automatically creates a key of each symbol used, along with line-by-line written instructions.
So after all that work and preparation, guess how many students? If you guessed one, you would be correct! I blame the brutal cold we are experiencing but I am not complaining. It was the perfect size to test the handout and class timing. With one person, it worked just fine, if not a little fast because, well, one person. She was very pleased with her ability to cable by the end and I bet she'll have a headband to wear this weekend. Cables are the perfect advanced beginner skill, because their effect is all out of proportion to their difficulty. Hopefully next time a few more will turn up so the class can be tested in a bigger group. But on the whole: success!
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