Cabochon Class

When I posted yesterdays entry, I had forgotten that I was teaching a class last night. I remembered later in the morning, thankfully. This was going to be my first class on beading a cabochon. I used this piece as the model for the class:



I made it about 2 years ago. I call it Rootbeer Fun. It is the first 2-part class I'm doing for Gayle, and the first time I'm teaching an evening class. As a rule, I don't do that because I hate driving at night. I have almost no depth perception in the dark. So driving is pretty scary for me.

I was pretty worried about how this class would go. For one thing, the students needed to show up with their cab already glued to some interfacing. I was so worried they wouldn't get that message. I wrote up a handout to give each student when they registered, but I'm not sure they all got one. Well, I know they didn't. But Gayle was able to track 3 of the 4 down and get the message to them in time. I contacted the 4th one myself. But still--you never know.

I was greatly relieved when all 4 ladies showed up with glued cabs. Halfway through class we had to reglue one cos she used Elmers, but it worked out okay. A mistake on my part. I had been told this gal was one of the beading judges at the Spokane County Fair, so I assumed when I called her that she knew what kind of glues are used for beading. I shouldn't have assumed, which in some way I find oddly disturbing, but it is possible that the information given me about her was wrong to start with.

The class went very well. The ladies caught on very quickly, and we enjoyed spending 3 hours together in deep concentration. I worked on a round pink quartz cab. It speaks pink and blue to me, so that's what I'm using. I gave the students homework. They are to come to next weeks class with their cabs trimmed and glued to the pieces of leather I gave them. I am very confident all will have it done. They are all serious about learning, which is thrilling from the teachers perspective (hooray!). There are so many times when I've taught a class and the students don't really have their heart in it. (Why would anyone pay to take a class they don't really want to take?)

I am teaching them the techniques I learned from the book Beading With Cabochons by Jamie Cloud Eakin. It is, by far, the best book on the subject on the market. The instructions are clear, well illustrated, and there are so many wonderful pictures of finished cabs to inspire the creative juices.

Next month I will be teaching 3 classes. One on tubular peyote, one on a crystal tennis bracelet, and a class on making a simple netted ornament cover. It's time to start thinking about Christmas stuff now--if you're planning on making gifts.

I finished the back on the baby aran sweater. The directions require the shoulder stitches be bound off. I decided to put them on holders instead. So I had to do a bit of short rowing. I much prefer joining shoulders with the 3-needle bind off. It makes a much nicer seam. Actually, to be honest, I do the same thing with the last stitches of the toe when making socks. I don't like the grafted toe (kitchener stitch) for some reason, even though I'm perfectly capable of doing it. I cast on and did a few rows for the right front before going to bed.

48 hours without moose damage. I'm lovin' it!

Have a great day.