Teaching, a Noble Profession

I may have mentioned in a past post, I was not originally consciously destined to be a teacher. By way of interests and personality, I guess, I was drawn to the call.

The reason that I begin with this thought has been inspired by Saturday's Family Day and WWKip Day event at Cranbrook.

The opportunity arose to share our love of fiber with the general public, and all that I needed to do was ask. The Black Sheep Knitting Guild was ready and eager to participate in all different ways. We had graphic design input and physical products created. There were suggestions for ways to let others know what we do, who we are and how they could get started with their own fiber life (for those participating in the day who had not thought about it? or maybe thought about it but did not know how to start!) Such enablers! Better yet, such natural teachers.

The best teachers that I have ever had, and still remember, were those who had a passion for what they taught. They were not doing a job, they were sharing their enthusiasm. I witnessed and shared this common passion on Saturday when our guild came together and shared their time and excitement with one another, from set-up, all day long until take-down.

Sure, we have some teachers in the group, this helps with planning and organization. But we have other "teachers" in the group who are naturally drawn to sharing with others. This generous spirit kept our tent busy throughout the day. Young, old, boys and girls, you name it, they tried it.

Don't underestimate the power of your passion. Teach someone to knit, share your enthusiasm! Our yarn stores will stay in business, our hand made items will be appreciated and our circle of friends will grow from the effort.

If you missed the excitement on Saturday, and really wished you knit, or would like to meet with a great group of knitters, check us out!

WWKIPday!!!! It is almost here!

I am hoping to see many of your knitting projects and share in the excitement for WWKIP (World Wide Knitting in Public) Day at Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, MI! Our details are on the WWKIP Day website and it is part of such a great fun family day. Even your family will enjoy wandering the grounds, visiting the science institute (for FREE) and looking at the unique artistic pieces that the museum is sharing (also, FREE!!!)

So, stop in! The Black Sheep Knitting Guild will have two booths and some chairs so we can knit, spin, or just chat in a beautiful atmosphere.

We even have some great coupons to give-away from Ewe-nique Knits in Royal Oak, I know you need more stash....this is just a little nudge in the right direction!

Come knit with us, would you?

The Top 10 Reasons that I have been late with the blog….

If you have been wondering, “what is up with LindaLuFiber,” here is a partial list of my goings ons:

1) Getting ready for the Cranbrook Art Museum opening of the Craft in American exhibition on June 14. The Black Sheep Knitting Guild will be demonstrating knitting and spinning for the public and hosting a knit in for those who are interested, plus it is a family fun day so the museums have free entry that Saturday. This is World Wide Knitting in Public Day, and we are a registered site! (join us would you?) We are listed under Bloomfield Hills, MI and there is a map and everything you need to know posted! Look us up!

2) Working on the Hanami, not enough, but a bit…

3) Working on a triangular shawl in my own dyed wool…storm in the springtime, which reflected reason #4,



4) Visiting the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The sky was stormy grey and the trees bright spring green! This is where I like to take a knitting vacation while I bond with my patient husband and our adorable cat.

5) Applying for a cultural travel grant to visit Turkey….guess what? I got it! So the entries may get a bit skimpy during the summer, but I will try to get some good pictures and have already found a yarn market in Istanbul…hope it works out!

6) Visiting our cottage that has been neglected for the past 3 months! So a trip to Tobermory, Ontario gave me some good knitting time. I planned to make a market bag, grabbed the yarn and forgot a pattern! So I am making one up. I did the first trial version and used it to bring all of the barbecue picnic food and condiments and plates to the picnic table. This helped me decide to make the next one shorter. Thanks to my friends from the Black Sheep at the Beanery tonight, I have some good input on version #2 that is on its way to becoming my next posted pattern. It takes about 6 hours to get to the cottage, so I had plenty of time to work it out.

7) Spending countless hours securing flights for my husband and myself to visit Korea in August. We were invited to participate in a ceramic tour (we both do ceramic art) and two international exhibitions in Seoul. (Another skimpy month for blogging, but I am checking into Korean fiber.) Ravelry has been a good source for my travel fiber fix, I highly recommend finding locals before you travel and check out the fiber scene!

8) I am a teacher, meaning that the school year is ending and report cards are next on the big agenda.

9) I am taking an art doll class at Hollander’s in Ann Arbor. Another opportunity to make art and use fiber and found objects to their full potential. Here is the beginning of one of the pieces...more to come after tomorrow!

10) There just are not enough hours in the day, week or month. Gosh it is great to have such a full fiber life!