Well, best laid plans always go astray (or something like that). Only one student and one staff member showed up for my first knitting class. With a flurry of e-mails, I managed to scratch up 3 students for the second (2 new and the lonely first class student). So, I spent the first and second class teaching the knit stitch. A few days after that we arranged to shop at Yard Goods -- that was really the highlight of the month. They were so much fun to let loose in the yarn store. Two of the three made it to the third class, and we didn't have a fourth class because all three were done with their Jan Plan class and were leaving campus the day of the knitting class. With any luck, the four of us will get together sometime after the semester starts as they all bought yarn to make a hat with and I promised to help get them started on it. So much for my lovely syllabus!
But, it was a good way to get my feet wet again in teaching knitting. The second class definitely went better than the first. To teach something, you have to be able to break it down into small parts and struggling through the first class got me to focus my attention on my own knitting more so that I could see all the parts. How does wrapping the yarn around your finger really control the tension? What role do each of the fingers play in the larger motion that is knitting? Since I'm usually more of a "big picture" person, it was a good reminder to pay attention to the underlying details -- not just in my knitting life.
I have a tendency to just "knit along" through life -- often concentrating on the next line of directions, the next section of the pattern, getting through a part of the project so I can move on to the next part -- and let some of the details slide. When I try to pay attention to the details, I often feel bogged down and distracted. Maybe I'm just trying to look at the details as separate entities and need to try to see the parts they play in the whole.
Speaking of knitting along, I'm doing the Ready, Set, Knit knit along. I discovered their podcasts last summer and have done two of their knit alongs long after everyone else was done with the project -- the Vermont Felted Bag is one and the other is the Tilted Duster which I've started but not made much progress on. This knit along is the Hemlock Ring Throw. Jared, of BrooklynTweed, has taken an old doilie pattern originally intended to be knit of crochet cotton and upsized it to a bulky yarn. I'm right on schedule with the podcast, which means I'm knitting along with lots of kindred spirits whose presence I can only sense, but not see. Kind of fun!
I need to be careful that I don't knit along in my usual way and miss out on all of the details of this next few months. I also can't allow myself to get drowned by the details and miss the big view. I need to look at life one motion, one stitch at a time, and savor the experience.
OFF MY NEEDLES
The Shrug is done and delivered! And it fits!
ON MY NEEDLES
I took the bind-off out on the one Fetching fingerless glove I'd finished. The pattern said to bind off loosely, but it was so loose that it just curled down into the palm. Not liking the way a project goes often results in it being put aside. Now that I've made a step toward fixing the problem, I hope to finish them up. I also found a male-appropriate pattern called "Dashing" on Knitty.com and will make a pair for my husband (sometime before next winter).
The Tilted Duster is on hold. I plan to do the fronts simultaneously and know I'll need to concentrate to manage the mirror image increases/decreases so haven't had a chance to work on it.
I've been knitting a few rows at night on my Lacy Yoga Mat bag. I'm about half-way up the body of the bag. I've been taking a yoga class at work every Tuesday this school year and there has just been one added at lunch on Fridays, so I could be going twice a week -- I'll need to get this bag done!
The Hemlock Ring Throw is the Ready, Set, Knit Knit Along project. I'm doing it out of the recommended yarn, Cascade's Eco Wool in a natural medium brown. It is knitting up quite quickly and is a lot of fun after working on other projects with fine yarn.
I also started the Norwegian Snail Mittens from the Knitter's Book of Yarn. I bought the Baby Ull yarn at Sakonnet Purls over Thanksgiving. Instead of kiwi green, I'm using yellow. The welts at the cuff were quite challenging, but now that I'm past them, it is going along nicely. I started out on dpns, but went and bought a 40" size 0 round needle and am loving the magic loop technique!
WHAT I'M READING
I've just gone through a quick "knitting novel" reading phase. I used interlibrary loan to get ahold of Knitting (Anne Bartlett), The Knitting Circle (Ann Hood), and Back on Blossom Street (Macomber). I've got Friday Night Knitting Club (Kate Jacobs) on order. They are all pretty light reading and kind of fun. The knitting store in The Knitting Circle is, I think, modeled on Sakonnet Purls, the shop I visited at Thanksgiving in Tiverton, RI.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Teaching Knitting
On Tuesday evening, I will meet with 14 people interested in learning to knit for our first class. Although I asked to limit the class to 10 people, somehow 14 are signed up so I'm sure the first class will be chaos -- hopefully they are 14 patient learners! Two are males -- my first male knitting students outside of teaching my sons to knit in the 5th grade.
I've actually put together a syllabus (go ahead and laugh!). I'll concentrate on casting on and the knit stitch the first night. We'll expand to the purl stitch and fixing common mistakes in the second class. Then we'll talk about scheduling a field trip to our local LYS, to talk about possible projects. In the third week we'll do increase and decrease and binding off. And week four we'll keep knitting and solving problems, but will also talk about color, fiber, spinning, Ravelry, Etsy, Fiber College, blogs, podcasts, newsletters, free pattern sites, books, knitting groups and other knitting community topics.
As lovely as my syllabus and plan is, I also know I have to be able to let it all go out the window as I learn how the group and individuals in the group approach learning to knit. This is important because I don't want any of them to walk away feeling that my agenda is more important than their opportunity to learn this wonderful skill. I especially hope to have a chance to get to know each student individually -- I do so enjoy the opportunity to get to know students when they are relaxed and enjoying themselves.
Wish me luck!
ON MY NEEDLES
OK, I caved and started another new project. The summer 2007 IK had a pattern for a yoga mat bag -- something I could definitely use! I'm using a soft sage green in Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece.
I got another couple of inches done on my sister's shrug yesterday while watching a cheering competition -- my first. One of my sons joined the cheering team at school this fall and is now captain of the winter competition team. Yesterday was a "mock" competition, meant to help prepare the teams participating for the real thing starting next week. It was a good intro for me, too, as I've never been a cheering Mom before -- and, of course, a wonderful opportunity to knit!
I've also made some progress on Zeben's socks by taking them to the last two swim meets. They are the only project I have at the moment which don't take too much concentration and allow me to knit and watch the races. I could work on the shrug yesterday because I only had to really concentrate for a few minutes at a time and it was easy to put down what I was doing and give my full attention to each performance.
The back is done for the Tilted Duster. I'm going to try to do the front pieces simultaneously, but that will require some concentration as the directions are different for each (they are mirror images). The yarn is beautiful to work with and it moves along very quickly -- especially in contrast to the lace and sock yarn projects I've been working on!
I've actually put together a syllabus (go ahead and laugh!). I'll concentrate on casting on and the knit stitch the first night. We'll expand to the purl stitch and fixing common mistakes in the second class. Then we'll talk about scheduling a field trip to our local LYS, to talk about possible projects. In the third week we'll do increase and decrease and binding off. And week four we'll keep knitting and solving problems, but will also talk about color, fiber, spinning, Ravelry, Etsy, Fiber College, blogs, podcasts, newsletters, free pattern sites, books, knitting groups and other knitting community topics.
As lovely as my syllabus and plan is, I also know I have to be able to let it all go out the window as I learn how the group and individuals in the group approach learning to knit. This is important because I don't want any of them to walk away feeling that my agenda is more important than their opportunity to learn this wonderful skill. I especially hope to have a chance to get to know each student individually -- I do so enjoy the opportunity to get to know students when they are relaxed and enjoying themselves.
Wish me luck!
ON MY NEEDLES
OK, I caved and started another new project. The summer 2007 IK had a pattern for a yoga mat bag -- something I could definitely use! I'm using a soft sage green in Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece.
I got another couple of inches done on my sister's shrug yesterday while watching a cheering competition -- my first. One of my sons joined the cheering team at school this fall and is now captain of the winter competition team. Yesterday was a "mock" competition, meant to help prepare the teams participating for the real thing starting next week. It was a good intro for me, too, as I've never been a cheering Mom before -- and, of course, a wonderful opportunity to knit!
I've also made some progress on Zeben's socks by taking them to the last two swim meets. They are the only project I have at the moment which don't take too much concentration and allow me to knit and watch the races. I could work on the shrug yesterday because I only had to really concentrate for a few minutes at a time and it was easy to put down what I was doing and give my full attention to each performance.
The back is done for the Tilted Duster. I'm going to try to do the front pieces simultaneously, but that will require some concentration as the directions are different for each (they are mirror images). The yarn is beautiful to work with and it moves along very quickly -- especially in contrast to the lace and sock yarn projects I've been working on!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
A New Knitting Year!
Happy New Year!
This year promises to hold a lot of adventure for me and my family. Both of our sons will, I believe, graduate from high school in 5 1/2 months and go off to college in 8 1/2 months. Fortunately, we are all pretty positive about those impending adventures. As one son replied when I said "2008 is here" at midnight on New Year's Eve: "Thank God it is finally here!" Of course, he's the one who was already accepted early decision to college and knows where he'll be next fall. The other three high school seniors in the room appeared to feel a bit less confident about the future -- looking forward to it, but not as certain about what it holds and where they'll be.
I didn't get my one knitted Christmas gift done by Christmas. 62" of lace is a lot more than I thought it would be, but I'm about 13" from finishing. Luckily the recipient liked the colors (my sons picked the color out of three possibilities) in the variegated wool, so I didn't have to offer to re-knit it in another colorway. I may use one of the other colors to make one for my mother, but it won't be for Mother's Day -- maybe her birthday next September.
Before Christmas, as I think I mentioned in another post, I ordered Peruvia for the Tilted Duster. I've resisted casting on while working on Christmas, but gave in yesterday after working on the lace shrug all of New Year's Eve. Peruvia is a lovely wool -- the color is an inky blue. I think the sweater will knit up pretty quickly, which will be nice. I was inspired to make the sweater after hearing a lot about it on Ready, Set, Knit -- they did it as their fall Knit-Along. I went back to the first podcast about the project last night -- in essence, I'll be a time traveler, knitting along with people who've already left that space and time.
Today I spent some time putting together my "syllabus" for the Inspirations Jan Plan class I'm teaching on knitting. We'll meet 4 evenings during the short term of January at the college where I work. I've done it in the past, but not for a couple of years. I'm still in touch with students I met in the first class, where I was helping the woman who had taught the class for years. She was going through chemo at the time and having a second person helped her out and I had the fun role of helper without the responsibility of making the class go. I learned a lot from her, but also had lots of time for chatting and getting to know the students. One just e-mailed me today to let me know she'd gotten her first acceptance to law school!
Anyway, I'm still not completely sure whether I'll teach everyone the continental method or the English method. I've heard pros and cons about both and have taught the English method in the past, resorting to the continental method for lefties. I need to do a bit of research about which may be better ergonomically for the wrists and hands. Personally, I love the continental method. I was a belly-button knitter, dropping my needle every time I threw the yarn in the English method my mother taught me. I'm a faster knitter in the continental method and can now knit in the dark or without looking (as long as it isn't too complicated)-- I distinctly remember knitting a mitten during a Harry Potter movie a couple of years ago.
I'll certainly be introducing them to the knitting community online, which will be a new component to the class. I'll also be relying on my Knitter's Book of Yarn to share information about different fiber choices. And, I think I'll try to organize a "shopping trip" to our LYS -- probably between the 2nd and 3rd classes, to help students pick out yarn and projects. It will be fun!!
ON MY NEEDLES
My cardigan sweater has lain fallow since November. I'll get back to it when I finish the shrug.
The shrug is close to being done. I just started on the 4th skein of yarn, which is the last skein. So, that means I've knit more than 1320 yards so far. The third skein had a couple of problems -- knots in the middle and one place where the order of the variegation was reversed at a knot. Strange. The colors are pink, fuschia, and purple, called "Sweet Peas," Gossamer lace yarn by Knit Picks.
Zeben's socks -- I'm past the heel and working on the leg and cuff. The heel is an "afterthought" heel, so I put in placeholder yarn and will go back and do the spiral heel once I finish the legs.
The Tilted Duster! I've got the first 4" of the upper back and am about to do the arm decreases. I reviewed the podcast about the back and am going to try the sloped cast off technique after carefully writing down the instructions.
And, the tea cozy from The Knitter's Book of Yarn -- look here for a photo of one that someone is working on: http://notplainjane.blogspot.com/2007/11/all-cozy.html Mine is a deep aqua blue and lovely pale camel in Malabrigo worsted.
WHAT I'M READING
Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters!! What a neat book! I've made my first test small sock and need to do the second one, but am particularly looking forward to doing a cool sock called "Spiraling Coriolis" which has a band that spirals up the foot and leg. A photo of a pair is at http://public.fotki.com/barneysue/knitting-1/52pairplunge/october011.html, knitted by a woman who appears to have knit a different pair of socks each week for 52 weeks -- and people think I'm obsessive about knitting!
This year promises to hold a lot of adventure for me and my family. Both of our sons will, I believe, graduate from high school in 5 1/2 months and go off to college in 8 1/2 months. Fortunately, we are all pretty positive about those impending adventures. As one son replied when I said "2008 is here" at midnight on New Year's Eve: "Thank God it is finally here!" Of course, he's the one who was already accepted early decision to college and knows where he'll be next fall. The other three high school seniors in the room appeared to feel a bit less confident about the future -- looking forward to it, but not as certain about what it holds and where they'll be.
I didn't get my one knitted Christmas gift done by Christmas. 62" of lace is a lot more than I thought it would be, but I'm about 13" from finishing. Luckily the recipient liked the colors (my sons picked the color out of three possibilities) in the variegated wool, so I didn't have to offer to re-knit it in another colorway. I may use one of the other colors to make one for my mother, but it won't be for Mother's Day -- maybe her birthday next September.
Before Christmas, as I think I mentioned in another post, I ordered Peruvia for the Tilted Duster. I've resisted casting on while working on Christmas, but gave in yesterday after working on the lace shrug all of New Year's Eve. Peruvia is a lovely wool -- the color is an inky blue. I think the sweater will knit up pretty quickly, which will be nice. I was inspired to make the sweater after hearing a lot about it on Ready, Set, Knit -- they did it as their fall Knit-Along. I went back to the first podcast about the project last night -- in essence, I'll be a time traveler, knitting along with people who've already left that space and time.
Today I spent some time putting together my "syllabus" for the Inspirations Jan Plan class I'm teaching on knitting. We'll meet 4 evenings during the short term of January at the college where I work. I've done it in the past, but not for a couple of years. I'm still in touch with students I met in the first class, where I was helping the woman who had taught the class for years. She was going through chemo at the time and having a second person helped her out and I had the fun role of helper without the responsibility of making the class go. I learned a lot from her, but also had lots of time for chatting and getting to know the students. One just e-mailed me today to let me know she'd gotten her first acceptance to law school!
Anyway, I'm still not completely sure whether I'll teach everyone the continental method or the English method. I've heard pros and cons about both and have taught the English method in the past, resorting to the continental method for lefties. I need to do a bit of research about which may be better ergonomically for the wrists and hands. Personally, I love the continental method. I was a belly-button knitter, dropping my needle every time I threw the yarn in the English method my mother taught me. I'm a faster knitter in the continental method and can now knit in the dark or without looking (as long as it isn't too complicated)-- I distinctly remember knitting a mitten during a Harry Potter movie a couple of years ago.
I'll certainly be introducing them to the knitting community online, which will be a new component to the class. I'll also be relying on my Knitter's Book of Yarn to share information about different fiber choices. And, I think I'll try to organize a "shopping trip" to our LYS -- probably between the 2nd and 3rd classes, to help students pick out yarn and projects. It will be fun!!
ON MY NEEDLES
My cardigan sweater has lain fallow since November. I'll get back to it when I finish the shrug.
The shrug is close to being done. I just started on the 4th skein of yarn, which is the last skein. So, that means I've knit more than 1320 yards so far. The third skein had a couple of problems -- knots in the middle and one place where the order of the variegation was reversed at a knot. Strange. The colors are pink, fuschia, and purple, called "Sweet Peas," Gossamer lace yarn by Knit Picks.
Zeben's socks -- I'm past the heel and working on the leg and cuff. The heel is an "afterthought" heel, so I put in placeholder yarn and will go back and do the spiral heel once I finish the legs.
The Tilted Duster! I've got the first 4" of the upper back and am about to do the arm decreases. I reviewed the podcast about the back and am going to try the sloped cast off technique after carefully writing down the instructions.
And, the tea cozy from The Knitter's Book of Yarn -- look here for a photo of one that someone is working on: http://notplainjane.blogspot.com/2007/11/all-cozy.html Mine is a deep aqua blue and lovely pale camel in Malabrigo worsted.
WHAT I'M READING
Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters!! What a neat book! I've made my first test small sock and need to do the second one, but am particularly looking forward to doing a cool sock called "Spiraling Coriolis" which has a band that spirals up the foot and leg. A photo of a pair is at http://public.fotki.com/barneysue/knitting-1/52pairplunge/october011.html, knitted by a woman who appears to have knit a different pair of socks each week for 52 weeks -- and people think I'm obsessive about knitting!
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