I was in Pennsylvania this past weekend for a weaving class and decided to maximize my time by taking a crochet lesson at the Speckled Sheep in Bird-in-Hand.

I had the idea after seeing that the Lancaster Yarn Shop in nearby Intercourse had free crochet lessons pretty frequently but not at times I was there. I had other yarn stores bookmarked in the area and looked to see if any others offered crochet.

I have thought about learning because I see crochet used as a method of joining and decorating weaving pretty frequently and we have enjoyed knitting. Unfortunately, I hadn’t had luck finding an adult beginner class near us.

The Speckled Sheep’s site looked a little dated which gave me pause since I had never been there in person but they offered two hour private beginner lessons for $50 so I signed up.

In the weeks between booking the class and Friday, it became clear the Speckled Sheep was closing for good! Luckily the store was still open (and will be until mid-April 2024) and they confirmed my appointment.

The store was very cute! I’m sad it’s closing. It’s not far from Landis Valley where I took my weaving class and we’ve gone to events and I had it on my list of places to visit in the area for a long time. I’m sorry we didn’t go sooner but we had missed the fall Landis Valley event when we had planned to go. It’s about 2 hrs away.

The Lancaster Yarn Shop was very bright and clean but didn’t have anywhere the selection and fun yarn the Speckled Sheep did.

I was pretty tired after the drive and the lesson was right in the middle of the shop with people all around us asking questions and shopping but I did learn how to cast on, make a foundation row stitching into the back bump and double and single crochet.

They didn’t sell any beginner kits and she showed me the campfire blanket which she said was a popular beginner project (and very cute) but looked a little big to me for a first try. Then she said she had a pattern and the yarn for their beginner cowl class they for people who completed the beginner class I took so I ended up getting that to bring home. It uses about five different stitches so I think it would be good practice.

Our local library system has been having a few crochet meet ups so I thought I might be able to get help there with some of the stitches I don’t know in the future.

I do like taking a class and figuring out the right way to do it and not pick up any bad habits. The trick about crocheting into the bump for the first row gave such a neat line and I don’t see that in a lot of beginner videos or books.