A Busy June

This past June, was the the busiest (to date) teaching month. And then in addition, I also had church meetings and family vacations squeezed in there as well. It meant that between June 3 and July 8 I was only home for 6 days! Thank heaven Arlis is great about doing laundry or I don't think I would have made it.

What I found most interesting, was that through it all, I never once regretted my choice to become a professional knitting instructor. If anything, it just affirmed that this is truly what I want to do. If I was ever going to change my mind, this was probably going to be the month. But I really enjoyed all of my various opportunities to teach and the students that they introduced me to.

And in some cases, there are pictures!

My first stop was TNNA. Some of my favorite classes to teach are what I call "train the trainer" which is what I offer at TNNA. TNNA is also a time to spend time with my knitting buddies. And this time I did not have a booth so I could wander the floor, see what was new and research yarns for my upcoming book.

The next stop on tour was the Knitters Connection. This is only their second year, but they have been doing a great job. Penny, one of my SSK participants blogged all about it and included pictures - including one me!

The last teaching gig for the month was Camp Stitches East in Hamilton, NY. Camp is always a lot of fun, but this location is particularly wonderful for their customer service and OUTSTANDING food. This is my class.


They were a ton of fun, really stretched in their own learning experiences and were a wonderful inspiration.

Sure it was a lot of traveling and a lot of time away from my husband, but it still was a lot of fun. My goal is to teach more next year, so I expect months like June will become more frequent. But as long as I am enjoying it and my students are getting a good class, then the Knitting Professor will continue!

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Online Classes

So with the prospect of the upcoming book, I had been posting about the book writing process. Of course, recently I haven't posted about anything! However, it seem appropriate to take an opportunity to actually post about knitting classes since, this is supposed to be the Knitting Professor.

During one of our many trips up to the local ski mountain this past ski season, Arlis and I started talking about what is the one product that Knitability should offer that we currently are not. Well, I wanted to be able to teach more classes to more people, but there is a limited market in my home town and it just isn't practical to be traveling all the time even if there was interest in having me booked all the time.

So in the next few weeks I am going to be offering the first of many, online knitting classes. Hop over to our new Online Knitting Class page to get yourself added to our e-mail list to be the first to hear about the class line up and receive discounts on your classes. Nothing is much more fun than taking knitting classes, and now you can do it within the comfort of your own home!

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More On Contracts

It is interesting, just as I have been involved in contract discussion recently (my first in a very long time), there have been several discussions about contracts occurring on several blogs of note!

The first one is more of a educational piece on things to think about and be aware of. It is on the Girl from Auntie blog. I always find her information very useful because although she specifically disclaims this is not legal advice, she is, in fact, an intellectual property attorney. So even though she is not offering legal advice, it comes from a much more reliable source than most.

The second post is on a more personal blog that many folks are familiar with, Annie Modesite's blog Modeknit / Knitting Heretic. Annie has taken the hand knit designer world by storm. She and I met just as we were both getting serious about our businesses. Her post is passionate and raises questions that all professional designers need to be considering.

If you have any interest in the designing side of the hand knit industry, I encourage you to take the time to read both posts and any comments. The information is good and should be shared by all!

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A Big Commitment

Well, it is done! I signed two copies of the contract today and sent them off to the publisher. Now, I just have to wait to get my copy back with their signature and the initial advance. This is one of the scariest things I have done in a long time. The commitment to writing and publicizing a book is longer than my first marriage.

At this point, our goal is to have the book released early in 2010. Doesn't that seem like forever? But the fact is, it is an achievable, yet aggressive schedule. And then there is a minimum 1 year commitment to publicize the book at various knitting events. Not that I won't be at most of them anyway, but it will be one more activity during what are already very busy weekends.

I guess what scares me as much as anything is that I have now committed to be in this industry, at least to some degree, for the next three years. Although I am starting my 7th year, each year I have evaluated the decision to continue on. But now, that decision has been made. Even if I want to do something else, I must maintain some level of activity in the world of knitting.

This may not seem that scary to most of you, but for me it is terrifying. I have always lived under the delusion that I could give up Knitability at any moment and go back to my "big income" career. But that now probably won't be possible, at least not for the next few years. And then there is the fear of falling flat on my face!!! What if I put in all this time and the book is a dud!

Well, for good or for bad, I am committed. So here is to a new year, a new opportunity, a new chapter in my life and a new reason to be committed!!

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Teaching is Teaching -- Right?!

As much as it might shock and amaze many of you, being a professional knitting instructor does not bring in the big bucks! There are a few out there actually making a living doing this, but as of yet, I am not one of them. If I did not have the world's greatest husband, I could not afford to do this. Yet, teaching is what I LOVE, it truly makes me happy and most of my students think I am a very good teacher.

So I have been thinking about some supplementary income to add to the family coffers. Not too long ago my mom suggested that I look into being a part-time instructor at the local junior college, ah but what subject? The fact is I am probably qualified to teach a variety of subjects but I am nervous about how well I will do.

When I left for college my goal was to become a math teacher. In fact, I became a computer geek, but I still have a "minor equivalent" in mathematics. Several of the knitting classes I teach are about the mathematics of knitting. And teaching is teaching -- right?!?!

So tomorrow I will make the call. See if the head of the department is still looking for a part-time instructor of mathematics. If so, apply for the position. And then hope beyond all hope that good teaching skills will cross subject boundaries. At least when the students ask when they will use this stuff -- I can tell them that they will need it for their knitting!!!

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