Teaching Knit & Crochet

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Starting Thursday, April 4th I will be teaching knit and crochet classes at the craft store where I used to work.  In April, we are starting off with the basic stitches (Knit & Purl stitches for the knitters; and single, double, half-double, and treble for the crocheters) and I hope to add more classes like double-point needles (knit) and chevron shell stitches (crochet) to the class list for May.

I'm thinking knit wrist warmers & baby hats would be great starting projects for double-point needles and crochet baby blankets in the chevron shell pattern.  What do you think?

As for the basic classes, I think crocheted phone cozies and knit dishcloths will be the quick & easy projects to wet one's appetite for useful and fun projects.  Thoughts?  Pattern suggestions?

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Please let me know if anyone here is interested in taking a class as I am trying to get a feel for dates/times that work best for everyone as well as what stitches/ patterns spark interest.  Any suggestions or advice when it comes to teaching?  This will be my first time formally teaching a class that isn't at a high school club meeting among peers so any advice is welcome! :)

After the Show

I remembered pictures! :]  And I'm happy to report it was a great learning experience.  Now that my first show is "out of the way" and I have all this new "knowledge," I hope I can make my next show ten times better.  If anyone sees anything worth improving, changing, etc, please please please let me know in the comment section.  I am a collaborative person so it helps to have others whom I can bounce ideas off of.

I love how my clothesline display of dishcloths turned out.

My husband helped me set up the table and he surprised me with his cute (don't tell him I said that) ways to display the different items.

He made circles with the earwarmers and laid out the coasters in different "square" patterns.  I really liked the ear warmer circles.  Anyone else have a preference?

The whole spread

I need to find a good way to display the beanie hats, the scarves & the baby blankets.  I used an old suitcase to hold them this time; plus it doubles for carrying things in ;)

Dishwasher magnets & pricing

Even though it wasn't what I had in mind, I'm very proud that I was able to free-hand "knittedhome" on the board the same way it is printed on my business cards.

Notes for future shows:

• smaller magnet board for magnets with table-top easel
• display prices with items on table (?)
• display scarves hanging?
• need to find a creative way to display hats & blankets

Taxes

I know this isn't the prettiest of hobby-selling aspects, but I just wondered how others handle this?  I read somewhere (and I need to track it down) that Paypal will be reporting income statements to the IRS per person with an account of what funds they've acquired?  Has anyone else heard this rumor?  This (rumor) is what has gotten my butt into gear to look at reporting income for this tiny hobby of mine.

I would like to see Knitted Home become sustainable, yes, but I don't feel ready or knowledgeable enough to take on income tax reporting, LLC, etc.  Does anyone out there have any experience with this?  Please feel free to take up as much space as you like in the comment section or email me (knittedhome[at]gmail[dot]com).  With it being the end of the year, this has started to surface on my mind since the beginning of the year (when I was doing my own personal taxes).  Perhaps I will talk to a tax specialist and get their opinion, but I was hoping for some advice from those who are already selling on etsy or as a hobby.

Thanks, friends :)