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February 09, 2010
November 15, 2009
What resulted was our new blog that is currently under development. We realized that what we were talking about were two sides of the same stitch -- the knit and the purl! So, www.TheSameStitch.com is under development as the new forum for knitting thoughts, reviews, education and consideration.
What would you like to see discussed? To get started, we have decided on some themes based on the day of the week we are posting:
- Mathematical Mondays: Gauge, design, yardage, any mathematical type topic
- Tech Talk Tuesdays: Fully reveal our inner knitting geek
- WIP Wednesdays: Discuss what is currently on our needles
- Think Tank Thursdays: Focus on our thoughts and opinions; review books and products
- Fine Finishing Fridays: Cast on, bind off, seams and such that really make the difference
- Sundry Saturdays: For any of the miscellaneous stuff we want to share
- Simply Inspirational Sundays: For the visual stuff
May 07, 2009
Seriously, while I do like being able to give more individual attention, I do find that smaller classes at a big venue like Stitches seem to have less chatter and interaction from the students, so there is less peer learning going on. Peer learning and neighbors helping neighbors are things I really welcome and even encourage in my classes. I have no illusions that I have the only and best solution to every knitting problem. I love it when I go around the room to help and a student reports that the person next to them got them to their A-HA moment. I am just a facilitator-the energy and the dynamics of each group of students keep teaching fresh and exciting. For this reason, I usually never have any sensation of boredom or that I'm teaching the same things over and over again.
On the other hand, smaller classes allow me more time to cover things in greater depth. The whole pace of the class is slightly slowed and relaxed. If someone asks a tangential question, I feel comfortable going off in new and off-the-handout directions. That is really fun.
In the end, I am glad there is variety in the available venues for learning our craft: big conventions and small, intimate retreats all have their place. As Gwen said, I invite you to get investigate the options and take a class or just go to a fiber gathering. Meet your fellow knitters and enjoy the fact that you belong to a tribe of wonderful, intelligent, curious people who value learning and growth.
Some for you to consider, if not this year then next year or the year after that are:
Black Sheep Gathering
Sock Summit
The TKGA Knit and Crochet Shows
Michigan Fiber Festival
Stitches Midwest
Rhinebeck (the nickname for The New York State Sheep and Wool Festival)
Stitches East
Meg Swansen's Knitting Camps and Workshops
Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival
All sorts of Crafty Cruises
Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list, but it will get you started exploring the wonderful world of fiber learning. As those cruise commercials say, "GET OUT THERE!"
May 06, 2009
- Classes will generally have fewer students resulting in more personalized attention
- The market is less crowded making it easier to see what is available in EVERY booth
- Less folks at the big events thus increasing your chances at winning one of the door prizes
- The class list is significantly larger so there is a higher probability you can find the topic that you want at a time that is convenient
- More vendors in the market result in a wider variety of choice including vendors that may travel from some distance
- With more attendees walking around, the variety of garments (being worn) increases dramatically making every day a kind of a fashion show
March 20, 2009
I have taught a variety of classes on this trip and the thing that students seem to respond to more than anything else is I give them permission to have their own "right" answer. For my own knitting I often have "rules and guidelines" that I follow because they work for me, my style and my personality. When I share those in the classroom, I call them "Gwen's rules for Gwen". I will RARELY use "always" or "never" in a class, because so often there is more than one "right answer".
So this got me thinking.....do I have any universal rules in the world of knitting? This is what I came up with:
1. Be consistent, at least within each project. What ever choices you do make, use the same answer/process/technique throughout that project.
2. When someone compliments you on a project say "thank you" and possibly share that it was made by your own two hands. DO NOT try and point out every little mistake or imperfection.
3. Knitting should be fun. This doesn't mean that you will never have moments of frustration or confusion, but BY FAR, the fun, good, positive, relaxing moments should always outweigh any negatives.
There might be others, but this is all that I could come up with that I felt were TRULY universal. What are yours?