Wednesday Wonders #14: The Knitting Students

I wish I had exciting knitting content for you (all projects are moving along), but at least I have a Wednesday Wonder to share. I’ve just been talking to coworkers (soon to be former coworkers, as my last day at this job is tomorrow) about how much I love to teach knitting, so I will declare this week’s Wednesday Wonders to be all my past and present knitting students! The photo (which I may have shared before) is of my student Nancy A. (hi Nancy) and her red scarf with hearts on it, one of the first projects we worked on together. She represents many other students, though I must admit, she's the most loyal--we have a great time together.

But, all the students have been "wonder"-ful in their own ways. There are so many reasons to love knitting students! Here are just a few:

1. Teaching someone a lifelong skill makes me feel good. I enjoy passing along a tradition and giving someone a way to stave off boredom for the rest of their lives.
   
   
2. You always learn something about knitting when you teach it. By having to pay careful attention to how I so things, I have learned a lot about knitting. Seeing how people make mistakes also is really educational. You can figure out what they were thinking, and then learn to anticipate those errors in others later. And mindfully performing knitting tasks teaches me how to do a better job—not to mention all the pattern reading and dissecting practice I’ve gotten!
   
   
3. When teaching knitting you learn lots of other stuff. A benefit of teaching people something they are required to sit there and practice for a while is that you get to chat with them and get to know them. Nearly everyone I have taught has shared something interesting with me, given me an insight into human nature, or simply been a pleasant conversational companion. I get so much non-knitting knowledge from my conversations with all the interesting people I run into, from the youngest child to the oldest senior citizen!
   
   
4. By teaching others I get to vicariously work with lots more yarn than I could if I only was working with my own projects, and I also get to learn about patterns I never would have otherwise given a try. I’m very happy with the shrug I made because I was teaching someone else how to do it, and the scarves I’ve done along with students! I’ve found out not all pattern writers are created equal, that’s for sure!
   
   
5. And the BEST part is that some of my students have become my friends! It’s been a wonderful way to meet some very kind, compassionate and interesting people. I don’t know what I’d do without them in my life. I am so glad I have this skill to share!

To all my former students: thank you for what you brought me when you took your classes. I hope I’ve given back even a portion of what I’ve received! And thanks to Pat at Bluebonnet Yarn Shoppe for letting me teach there the past few years!