CourseHorse - Knitting Tree LA

FACT: I do not live in Los Angeles. It may seem like I do because I've been there every other weekend for the past couple of months, but I officially reside in the San Luis Obispo/Pismo Beach area. My sister, brother in law, and niece live in Northridge and I like going over there and annoying them every chance I get.

I was recently contacted by CourseHorse, a company I was unfamiliar with, but super stoked on when I lurked their website. Let's say I'm looking for knitting classes in Los Angeles while I am bugging my family in Northridge. I can search to see what classes are available and even narrow it down by days/times available, price, location, and skill level. I view different classes from different businesses all in one place, sign up online, and go to the business to take the class in person. Rad, huh? It is such a cool idea, especially for someone who loves to learn, which is probably most people reading this right now. There aren't just knitting classes offered, you can sign up for cooking, photography, sewing, language, and a bunch of other categories. The only bummer about it is that it isn't offered in all places, just bigger cities for now. I'm crossing my fingers that it will soon be available everywhere because I want to learn how to make homemade pasta and macaroons and I would like to do it in San Luis Obispo with my friends 😜


CourseHorse offered me a class of my choice in the Los Angeles area in exchange for a blog post*. You have no idea how hard it was to decide! In the end I chose the class on Short Rows, a knitting technique I struggle with. Yes, I have watched tutorials online and read instructions on awesome websites, but I don't feel confident when I do them. For some reason picking up the wrap is hard for me and I mess it up half the time, don't ask me why, touchy subject 😉.


The class was last Saturday in Inglewood at The Knitting Tree LA. First off, WOW. Their business location was amazing. It's in a huge industrial style building with a ton of room. When you walk in the front door you see that the left side of the building is all retail with beautiful yarns everywhere. The right side of the building is a giant open room with yarn art on the walls. It quickly became less open as tables and chairs were set up to accommodate the three different classes going on. THREE classes in one room! Four classes total! The Knitting Tree is bumping, without question the busiest yarn store I have ever been to.



Despite the fact that they were busy, the class sizes were not too big and I got plenty of attention in the Short Rows group. There were two other women in the class taught by Andy, who was so sweet, helpful, and patient even though I managed to mess up my short row swatch by picking up an extra stitch or dropping one, idk. In the small group I felt comfortable speaking up and asking questions, something I don't always do when in larger gatherings. The two hours flew by so quickly and I now officially think I have short rows AND Japanese short rows down thanks to Andy! The way I had done Japanese short rows previously was dumb and cumbersome and Andy's technique is wayyyy easier and required less thinking. Not mad about that!


What about you, are short rows your friend or foe? I think Japanese short rows are my fav now and I am looking for a pattern to put my new skills to use! I'm thinking of doing another West Knits shawl, but I'm not going to start another project until I knock out a few WIPs.

*I did receive this class for free from CourseHorse, but would have gladly paid the $30. 100% worth the experience and I plan on signing up for other classes in the future.