George Bernard Shaw wrote in his “Maxims for Revolutionists” that “He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.” For some reason, that particular maxim has been repeated throughout the years as if it were fact. It bothers me. For the record, Shaw also wrote that “The vilest abortionist is he who attempts to mould a child’s character,” which for obvious reasons, hasn’t become a quotable quote. If it helps to understand such a misguided statement, it should be noted that Shaw didn’t have children and “Lord of the Flies” wasn’t written in his lifetime.

Teachers and teaching play a, if not the, key role in all aspects of modern life. You can just look at images of cave paintings and paintings by Rembrandt and know that the Dutch master was helped along by good instruction. It’s also clear that the path from the wheel to the lunar lander was paved by legions of engineering professors. And if painting masters and professors don’t convince you, think of all of those wonderful YouTubers who have saved you hundreds of dollars by teaching you DIY car and appliance repair.

I was reminded of the effort required to teach something well when I sat down to write out the pattern for the Give a Dog a Bone Dog Bowl Mat. It was one thing to crochet the mat for myself, and it was another to make it a second time carefully counting every stitch and documenting the step-by-step path that I took to make the finished product.

I got the idea for the bowl mat when I went online looking for a cute rug to put under my dog’s bowls and couldn’t really find anything that I liked. I already had a microfiber bone shaped mat, but after all of the washing required during the great flea infestation of 2022, I realized that a second mat would be really useful, so I decided to try and crochet one for myself. Developing the foundation for the bone shape was pretty easy, but figuring out how to make the four oval bone ends lay flat was more difficult.

As I completed the final edging on the mat and realized that I had developed my first pattern, I felt like I was crocheting an Olympic victory lap. Now I have an adorable mat for my dog’s bowls and the Give a Dog a Bone Dog Bowl Mat pattern that I’ve shared on Ravelry. I sincerely hope that anyone who uses the pattern to make one for their best friend thinks that I am a good teacher too.

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