Teaching Crochet

I had another great class yesterday at FibreSpace with three wonderful ladies!  Teaching crochet is fun, and I really enjoy that look of accomplishment and enjoyment that the students get at some point in the lesson.  I keep saying that it's easy to learn how to knit but hard to make anything besides a simple scarf; with crochet, it can be harder to learn, but once you do, you can make anything!

I think the hardest thing for new crocheters seems to be how to hold the yarn. The hand holding the hook should be doing nothing else but wielding the hook; it's the other hand that has to feed the yarn while holding on to and guiding the crocheted material as it's created.  I often suggest holding on to the work itself with your thumb and middle finger and let the yarn come up and over your index finger.  I'm not sure how else to describe it, and I keep experimenting with ways to demonstrate and explain it.  Leave comments if you've got any suggestions!

Oh, and I've got a new free Santa ornament crochet pattern listed on my Ravelry designer's page!  I think he turned out pretty cute --  he's also available on FaveCrafts: 
http://www.favecrafts.com/Ornaments/Crochet-Santa-Ornament

Today's Thought:  I found a great website with free puzzles on it!  It's fun trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle on the computer, and they've got lots of other types of puzzles too, it's a great break, but don't let it become a time suck!  http://www.mypuzzle.org/