Reflecting on improvement

Posted on August 11, 2016 by honey

As regular readers to this blog may have worked out I have a touch of a type A personality – and as I get older it gets more obvious. In my crafting life I constantly strive to improve, searching out different ways of doing things, modifying materials, patterns and techniques to get the result I want.

But it’s not just crafting – Mr TuesdayFortnite will happily tell you of the time there were 32 different swatches of ‘grey’ on the front room wall as I took two weeks to decide exactly *which* grey to paint the whole room. I recently had to change channels when a make-over show hung pictures on the wall *crooked*! (shudder).

This perfectionism extends to my teaching as well – whether I’m teaching dance (my professional training), MS Word to work colleagues or my crafting classes. After every teaching session, designing a pattern, rearranging a room (or my stash!)…. I sit and reflect and review on what went well, what can be improved and how I can be better.

We did the Crochet Beginners class on Saturday last week, and it went really well – with everyone producing lovely work and starting on their individual crochet adventures.

Sometimes the best ideas start with ‘why?’ and sitting in the car on the way home I had one of those moments – I wrote the course way back in 2011 taking notes from other crochet teachers at the time on how to structure a class. Being new at teaching crochet I accepted the wisdom of my ‘elders and betters’ on the circuit – and didn’t question it. But why?

Here, 5 years on, I have the knowledge and the confidence to question that structure – and I’ve broken down what we do on the classes and am starting again from scratch – no assumptions on ‘that’s how it’s done’ or taking ‘because that’s how it is’ as an answer. Exciting times!

Overrun with Baby Cardigans

Posted on April 11, 2013 by honey

Easter holidays gave me a little bit of time to dash to the family seat ‘up north’ and visit the relatives.

My younger Sister is fabulous, glamorous and wonderful. All my life she has been very focused on what’s ‘in’ and designer labels and stuff like that – reading the magazines and following the trends. Me on the other hand, I get dressed and then wait for it to come back into fashion. It happens surprisingly frequently.

I know that knitting is currently the ‘big thing’, that it has now tapered out and diffused from the ever increasing knitting groups, and is becoming an ever increasing blip on the general populations’ radar. However I was still surprised when Sis asked me to teach her to knit while I was there.

A ball of DK (8ply for the non-UK readers) and 5.5mm bamboo needles later and I was *amazed* at how fast my sister processes information. In an hour we had done cast on, knit (which she confessed she kinda remembered from being a child), purl, garter stitch, stockingette stitch, how to tell which one you were doing and how to swap between them, slipping the first stitch of each row (and why) and casting off. 5 hours later she had a ‘Barbie Quilt’ of beautifully even stockingette stitches, and she had started another ‘test square’ with a few garter stitch rows so that it didn’t curl.

She has now set her sights on a baby cardigan. I might just have to send her a knit package! I’ve told her about Ravelry, but it’s all very new and daunting right now. I’m scrolling through loads of baby cardigan patterns looking for one that isn’t a basic bog garter stitch boredom fest, but also isn’t a top down, raglan, seamless “and now get your dpn’s out for the sleeves” thing which could terrify a beginner. Sure I’m on the other end of a skype call, but that’s not the point – any suggestions anybody?

There is a theory that the older you get the faster time seems to fly by. I think it’s all marketing myself (how can you possibly not think the year is going faster if you can buy Easter eggs on 26th December?) but I’m still surprised by how fast my first course of 2013 has rolled around. I’m all ready bar piling everything in the car – piles of samples, class notes, presentations, blocking equipment, secret goodies and the cutest little baby cardigan for a gender confused child..

See that little dotted pink line? That ladies and gentlemen is a short row pocket – worked at the same time as the garment. It gives a completely seamless pocket top and invisible joins and is so cute. I didn’t think of this myself, I got the inspiration from Franklin Habit and his love of vintage pattern (you can read his post here if you like).

Another example of short row shaping is done in the neck of this little cardigan to let it lie properly on the back of baby’s neck.

However the most concerning thing about this cardigan is not the fact that I have made a baby garment (those of you who know me may be surprised that I didn’t in fact spontaneously combust when presented with this little task) but that I (who never, ever, ever makes any baby blanket present in baby blue or baby pink). had two balls of baby pastels in my stash. What I want to know is “why do I have a 100g ball of baby blue acrylic, and 100g grams of baby pink acrylic in my stash?!” It would appear that the stash is prone to growing, with stuff you don’t want, if you don’t keep a careful eye on it.

Having said that the Crochet Shaping course is going to be a blast, I’m trying out several new ideas – I’ve even had my nails done in preparation! k- and I’m really looking forward to it.

Most of this week, and last week has been taken up with final minute non-productive flapping, but I did get to the end of the charts on the Honeymeade shawl (you have no idea how happy I was to complete that!) and I’ve done the first 5 rows of a slip stitch crochet rectangular shawl test about 20,000 times. More fool me for thinking it would be easy. More on that process next week I think!

Finally in other news, the doctors are now weaning me off the drugs to see what happens. Apparently what happens is that when I get to 1mg my hands object, so I’ve gone back up to 2mg till Saturday and will drop back to 1mg next week when it’s not so vitally important that I can use my hands. My next appointment is 22nd April so we’ll see what happens then.

Simple Pleasures

Posted on March 10, 2013 by honey

I know, I’m late. Apologies. This isn’t Friday, it’s Monday – but that just means less time until the next update right?

The past week has been a week of squeezing in simple pleasures. Those little events that give a momentary frisson of great joy.

First of all was picking up a project (my Honeymeade shawl), that has laid dormant for nearly 12 months and making a little bit of progress. Only 4 repeats of one of the charts, but given each chart repeat takes just under 30 minutes, that’s not bad going. During that process I rediscovered just how much I adore the yarn that finally agreed to be this wrapper (after 3 disasterous other, aborted, attempts) – the fyberspates 4ply is just gorgeous and the colouring is working up beautifully – I’ll try and take photos this week for you. Making any progress at all on any project is a minor win after being so unable to do anything for so long – but for some reason this one felt like a particular achievement. There’s still a long way to go on this project, but I just know that it’s going to stunning when it’s finished.

As you (probably) remember I had to frog the front of my Jan sweater completely to get the rib section the same length as the back. Over the weekend I finally caught up with where I had got to previously, the small victory of finally working with virgin, non crinkley, yarn warming the little cockles of my heart (and signifying the section where I have to concentrate on the armhole shaping, but the end of the front is in sight!). With a tail wind I might even have a back and a front of a sweater by the end of the week! Then of course there is the sleeves and the making up to do, but that’s not the end of the world.

I love teaching, and there is little that is as exciting as a completely new course or workshop. However, doing all the prep is not my favourite activity. Finally completing all 26 swatches (yes, I have an entire alphabet of swatches) for the Crochet Shaping workshop in April was a moment for a little happy dance. All the little samples are finished, labelled, blocked and pristine – ready for handling and pouring over by curious students.

Finally I felt like doing something I haven’t done in years, and the Hairpin Lace tunic in Crochet So Fine has been looking at me for about 2 years. Along with the ribbon yarn that I got for free just as I got back into crafting seriously. I had been waiting for an opportunity to use my Ed Jenkin’s hairpin loom (that I also picked up about 2 years ago), and picking up a skill that I haven’t touched for many years (and it coming back to smoothly and easily) gave a lovely glow of satisfaction to my Sunday evening. Again photo’s to follow. The loom is just gorgeous, and the art-silk ribbon so soft that it’s another project that you know from the outset is going to turn out better than you hoped.

Finally I saw a fabulous poster on Saturday that I wanted to share with you…

It will all be alright in the end. If it’s not alright, it’s not the end!

But I must make ALL the samples

Posted on February 1, 2013 by honey

I work best to a deadline. I’m not the world’s worst procrastinator, though I would probably rank in the top 10, but nothing focuses my mind like knowing I have to get something finished by a set date. I was one of those kids in school who did the homework when it was set so I didn’t have to write a 2,000 word essay the night before it was due in.

I am also one of those people who thinks about all about the details. I tend to want to share *everything* I know, all at once. If I know 50 ways to cast on, and you ask me how to cast on, I find it very difficult to not tell you all 50 ways right then and there – even though I know that can be more than a little overwhelming for any student of mine.

It’s not wanting me to show off, its how my brain works and how I like to learn – once I’ve heard of something I can file it away and retrieve it at a later date. I prefer going on courses where I come away feeling that not only have I learnt something right now, but that I also have more I can go and find out myself. Now, that’s true of any course – but having the right key words to start my searches really helps. Practising my basic techniques/new knowledge for a couple of months and then thinking “ah yes, the teacher said something about twisted rib” means I might know nothing about twisted rib right now – but I do have the key phrase to help me Google it. I’d much rather work like this than master my basic skills and think ‘now what?’ and have to trawl through hours and hours of internet to work out what the next step is.

Now that the drugs are working I’ve been able to commit to several teaching dates (yay!), but this means that I want to produce a warehouse full of samples and swatches and patterns.

My problem is that I think of a technique I want to share, and my brain more or less implodes. Let’s take crochet cables as an example. I know that I want to have at least one finished project that is some form of useable item. Easily done. I also know that I own about 65 individual different cable patterns and the small, mad, uberlord-of-the-universe part of me wants to make a sample of each one as a demonstration swatch. Which is just insane right?

Cables would be part of a larger course. One that included texture stitches (now I know I have a couple hundred different stitch patterns for that), lace work (another couple hundred) and colour-work (joining colours – there’s at least 5 ways right there, vertical stripes, horizontal stripes, bias stripes, tapestry work, over embroidery and cross stitch, carrying the yarn, not carrying the yarn… and this is just me thinking off the top of my head).

Suddenly my 1 day texture course has at least 5 finished projects and over 500 swatches. Obviously the sensible thing to do is group these samples into over-reaching categories and make some swatches do multiple jobs (vertical stripes with carried yarn for example). Lots of these skills are the same across the principle – once you’ve done a 3 stitch cable it’s the same technique for a 4 stitch cable. My difficultly lies in deciding *which* stitch patterns to use and which to leave out!

Of course, my own personal headache (and I do understand that this is a monkey entirely of my own creation) is compounded by the fact that I am not preparing for just one course. Oh, no. I have to go for four different courses, in four different techniques that need completely different sets of swatches and samples.

I am aware that each of these has its own deadline, that sensibly I have to finish the swatches I need for the first of the courses first. However that doesn’t stop my brain being distracted from “I need to finish that lace swatch” to “but I could demonstrate cable techniques by crocheting a knee-length Arran sweater”.

Ah, yes. That’s the other issue. For some reason my crafting brain seems to believe there is no time between *imagining* a project and it being in existence. Therefore my brain things it’s perfectly reasonable to suggest crocheting a cable sampler queen sized blanket as a demonstration piece. I don’t even want a queen sized blanket! But it would be a cool demonstration piece wouldn’t it?!

Must focus on the smaller projects – I can see me having to design some hard-working, multiple technique garments in the near future!

Right now I’m going to block a project…

Well the Drugs DO work, and Workshops have been confirmed!

Posted on January 25, 2013 by honey

Well the drugs *definitely* work! I could have cried with joy today when I carried the shopping in without a second thought. Ah, the simple things that we take for granted. I missed you.

The drugs I am on are a bit of cocktail, and one of the ones I have to take is a massive dose of Vit D (I’m clinically deficient, who knew?!) once every 4 days. Combined with the steroids, this seems to have the effect of making me a bit, well, wooshy..

My thought are on a bit of ‘go fast’, which has resulted in my braining spinning on project ideas, teaching ideas, design ideas all day. Unfortunately most of them fly across my head that fast that I haven’t been able to note them down, but some of them I have, and they are real zingers! More to come on those at a later date – but one of them involved some serious maths

The physiotherapist on Monday was, erm, interesting. I now have to submerge my arms up-to the elbow in water as hot as I can stand and do a series of stretches three times a day. For six weeks. I’ve been going a week and I’m already bored of it. However I also get to play with Play-Doh three times a day so it’s not all bad. I also now ‘have to’ swim once a week, and I’ve been given permission to go back to using light weights in my gym workouts, so hopefully that will help combat the slight ‘balloon animal caricature’ that’s happening to me. More interestingly she also gave me permission to ‘return to normal usage as much as possible’ including my crafting – so I am now trying to fit in at least a little every night upto an hour when I have time. You can’t see it from where you are, but I have a very happy face!

This comes just in time as we have confirmation of at two teaching dates with Purlescence:

13th April – Beyond Scarves and Granny Squares – Crochet 102 (Shaping)

Beyond Scarves and Granny Squares will take you from ‘beginner’ to ‘confident’. Teaching loads of techniques to expand your repertoire, increase your confidence and improve your skills, we’ll be talking about those little secret ‘tricks of the trade’ along with the more conventional wisdom gained from my 30 years of practical experience. We’ll be covering

Starting – how to get a pretty cast on edge and how to do away with foundation chain
Couture Touches – such as how to get rid of “that” gap at the edge of your work, useful stitches to know and how to change yarn
Shaping – how to do shapes other than squares, rectangles and circles, lots of increases and decreases
Short rows – what they are
Gauge – *why* it’s important and when we can ignore it
Blocking – how to do it and why it matters

You will need:

to be comfortable in the basics of crochet – holding the hook & yarn, chain, Single Crochet, Double Crochet (American terminology)
a crochet hook of type and size of your choosing (we recommend a 4 – 5mm)
about 50g of light coloured yarn with a nice twist (so it doesn’t come apart too easily or split) of a weight to match your hook (we recommend a 4ply or DK weight).
A pencil/pen and notepad

We won’t be making anything specific in this class, just having a play with techniques in an informal, fun, environment. If you have any questions or want any advice, please feel free to contact us.

15th June – Tunisian Crochet 101 – Complete Beginners

Also called Tricot, Shepherds or Afghan, even Queen Victoria was smitten with this fascinating form of crochet. Tunisian combines crochet and knitting ideas to create a unique fabric which can be dense and warm (perfect for mittens!) or light and lacy. You can easily combine crochet or knitting with Tunisian to get stunning effects, but you don’t need to know either to be able to do Tunisian!
This one day workshop will give you a solid grounding in the basics of Tunisian in a fun and informal environment with a teacher who first picked up a Tunisian hook in 1985.
We’ll be covering..

Getting started – what is this strange tool and what do I do with it?
The Basic Stitches – including tunisian simple, tunisian knit and tunisian purl stitches
Combination stitches
3 Colour Tunisian
Casting off

We will be producing a beautiful stitch sampler during the day, which you will be able to take away to show off your new skills.

Depending on time we may also look at two projects you can start in class and finish at home.

You will need:

no previous experience at all
a pen/pencil and notepad for notes
a mid sized crochet hook if you have one (I’ll have lots of spares if you don’t)
You will be provided with all tools and yarn needed for this course.

If you have any questions or want any advice, please feel free to contact us.

Places on these courses are strictly limited, to make sure I give you all the time you deserve, so book early to avoid disappointment.

With the addition of at least three more workshops in 2013 – Crochet 102 (textures) , a half-day hairpin lace and a half day broomstick lace later in the year, it’s going to be a busy year. I am super excited, and churning out swatches as fast as I can. I can’t tell you how happy I am to not only be teaching the more advanced crochet techniques that so many courses neglect, but also to have to opportunity to bring the lesser known crafts of Tunisian, Hairpin and Broomstick to everyone. Tunisian is tipped to be the big ‘in thing’ for 2013, so now is a great time to learn with lots of exciting designs coming out from the big designers!

It’s going to be lots of work over the next couple of months getting ready, but I’m *really* looking forward to it.

Tuesday Fortnite

unraveling the yarn

Tag Archives: teaching