Thank you, Deborah McFarland!

Thank you so much for traveling to the mountains! We had such a great time!!!

I was nervous, not scared nervous, but excited nervous. I knew that we had people sign up for the class, but still. What if no one shows up, what if I have way too many people, what if.

Silly girl! Of course everything will be fine!

​I started my day off early, running errands, Young’s market for sandwiches, Hanson’s Homemade for a peach and apricot crumble, and back to the house. 

I had picked up fresh fruit from the Mill Valley farmers market, the day before the class! Peaches, plums, grapes, blueberries, and strawberries. I made the salad the day before, and it had been chilling in the refrigerator all night. There's nothing like a good cold fruit salad!
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I also picked up the salad fixings at the same farmers market. fresh lettuce mix harvested that morning, green onions, homemade feta from a West Marin Farmer, two of the biggest tomatoes I’ve ever seen. Oh boy this will be good!

There was a flurry in the kitchen. I quickly put the green salad together, while Judy dished out the fruit salad. Then we all packed the lunch boxes, water, plates, silverware, napkins, salads, we are set!

​Young's market wrapped the sandwiches whole, so Judy helped me split the sandwiches, re-wrap and mark on the outside of the plastic wrap what was inside. Roast Beef on whole wheat with cheddar cheese, turkey on white with all the fixings, salami and cheddar on sliced sourdough, and two veggie sandwiches, one with pesto mayo. Oh my goodness they were good! I brought my new, green fish platter that my friend Holly gave me this past winter, to display the sandwiches. It was perfect. 

At 11:30 we were off!
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It took me three trips to unload my car. Bags of food, a crate full of the boxed lunches, my regular knitting bag just in case I needed something in there, a bag of handout packets and colored pencils to use as knitting needles, and a basket full of little balls of yarn.
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Why in the world did I bring so much, I kept thinking, but you just never know!

By 12:15 the three of us, Judy, Deborah and myself, were sitting around the table knitting. Aahh, this is familiar, just like knit night. 

I started knitting swatches using the colored pencils with rubber bands on the bottom. I wasn’t sure if everyone had been able to knit their swatches, and I also wanted to have a knitting project they could go home with.

​I kept giggling as I was knitting with pencils, but it was the way I re-learned to knit. In 1981,  I used to work at a toy store in Sausalito, and one of my co-workers Kathy, reminded me how to knit, using pencils and wrapping twine! 

See, I was knitting with weird stuff waaay back then!
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And then the students started to arrive, Val, Bobbi and Karen.

"This sandwich is so good!” “Wow, what a great lunch!” I heard them say as we all ate our lunch together. The conversations were easy at first, when did you learn to knit, how long have you been knitting, you know, the general, getting to know you type of conversations.. 

But once I started passing out the colored pencil swatches, and everyone started knitting, that’s when the conversation really started flowing! What are the best knitting needles for beginners, what are the multiple ways we could cast on, how do you fix dropped stitches, how not to have the giant loop at the end of your row, and which way the working yarn should go. 

Deborah is amazing! Each time I sit with Deborah I learn something new.

​​Before we knew it, it was 2:15! Time sure slips by quickly when you are in the midst of a good conversation!

Now was a good time for a break! I brought out the pie I picked up this morning from Lorraine at Hanson’s Homemade. It was still warm and delicious!!!

And then we got right back into the middle of another good conversation. Dropped stitches! I’m always dropping stitches while working in seed stitch. That’s because I’m usually not looking at what I’m doing. It’s the hardest one for me to fix. But then Deborah pulled out a double crochet hook.​

Knitpicks.com has everything, including double crochet hooks!

Wait…woah…what!!!
“See, its easy” she said, as she showed us how to fix the dropped stitch!
You can order double crochet needles at Knitpicks, (bit.ly/2vgVmFC) 

See the tan double crochet hook on the table? This weekend, I learned it's an invaluable tool!

Everyone went home with a mind full of knitting tips and a full tummy! “I loved it!” “This was great, thank you” they all said.

On the drive home Deborah, Judy and I talked thru all the different classes we could host next, a yarn crawl thru Plumas County, a “Part 2” of knitting tips, tricks & shortcuts, free form knitting. See, the class list is endless!

​So if you missed this past weekend's class, don’t worry, we will definitely hold another class with Deborah!