Knitting Basics workshop, final day

By the end of Sunday morning most of the patches on the bags were finished and the ends sewn in, time for a lesson on pinning and blocking followed by a long leisurely lunch in the garden then back to knitting bases for the bags. A demo on picking up and knitting stitches and how to make a neat finish around the neck of a sweater, then the final leg of knitting the sides and strap for the bags.

Monday was the last day of the workshop and at lunch-time everyone had completed their bags except for  sewing up the side seams. Considering this was meant to be a workshop for beginner's I think the results were absolutely fantastic. The knitting basics workshop is mainly for encouragement and convincing students that they can go on to knit just about anything, as they all left clutching yarn and patterns, enthusiastically looking forward to the next project hopefully I have achieved just that (but will they sew up the final seams on the bags I wonder....?)

Culli and I drove Liz and Barbara back to Bordeaux airport with a quick detour into Ikea on the way back for light bulbs and a new rug for the sitting-room. Today it is back to catching up on emails, pattern checking and a  new window for the kitchen so currently every work surface is covered in junk, I should be painting window frames and doors but it is freezing cold and raining and there is a huge pile of laundry to be done....... Looking forward to the next knitting retreat already, but with just a week to go there is a lot to be done.