Knitting, stashing via remote acquisition, and workshops

Hello, today there is knitting, a sock, well two socks but only one photographed,and I have more stuff, acquired in a fun way. It's Sunday, after a weaving workshop Friday and Saturday, so I'm tired, and more knowledgeable at the same time as knowing I have a huge amount more to learn, before I can even begin to think I am in control of my weaving. Till then I feel like I'm careening around madly, enjoying myself, in true teen age style - I'm well past my teenage years, but there is a stage of any new hobby when one must be like a teenager, confident though lack of knowledge. And I'm reading, a newish book that makes me nod, and smile and go ahh!

Little cub and I continue to knit the pair of socks, she knits slightly slower than I and heads off to bed a few hours earlier so my progress is faster. She wanted me to point out the Tardis dress in the photo, with the right kind of blue. To even things out, she always picks up the longer sock, while I get to lengthen the shorter one. My plan was to work through the heel with her at my side, but the heel happened after her bedtime, so I knit both. She has done short rows before - it is a short row heel for speed and simplicity, so I am confident she could knit a heel if she had to. These are toe up, we are past the heels and onto the leg. We are only using the pattern for the tardish features, mostly the sock is FLK because it's easy and fits. The deadline is Friday - when school camp bags need to be dropped off at school and checked. The cubs don't leave till Monday so if we miss deadline one, we will aim at deadline two and she can wear them on the bus. It's lovely to see little cub knit a sock, I feel I've prepared her for the world.

 

This is the other shared project, last months knitters study group project was hyperbolic baby pants. I failed epic fail, the pattern calls for increases worked every 34 stitches or so and in such a way that markers can't be used, seems I can't reliably count to 34, having to stop and count again and again wore me out. I wanted my knitting to be more fun, so Zoomer took pity and offered to finish them for me. I totally took advantage of her offer, and last Thursday she delivered them back ready to work the waist and leg bands. These are quite fun, with a bulls eye (when worked in stripes) on the rear and horizontal stripes on the front. The pants used all of the 3x50g of yarn I'd put aside, so today I sorted a finer and coordinating grey green to work the bands in. I'm thinking a waist band with a fold over elastic channel, and leg cuffs as ribbing. If they are long they can fold up and be unfolded as the baby grows.

I wasn't able to get to KAN this year, that being Knit August Nights in Napier, small financial priority of elder cub being selected for an English and drama trip to NY and LA next year. We need to save, there is fundraising for the 'once landed costs' but we are to pay the airfare and accommodation so saving is in hand and that means no knitterly away trips for now. I realised that while I wasn't able to travel to KAN I could send my stash money with someone. M from Vintage Purls said she would happily shop for me, and home came with three skeins of merino alpaca fingering yarns, a tardish needle gauge, and this adorable owl kit. Love love love. Maybe I can find other knitters attending events I can't get to and give them spending $.

The weaving workshop went well, I apparently 'took on a lot' by warping my table loom in such fine thread, or so said many older and more experienced weavers in the class. I wanted to see detail and worried that by weaving with coarser thread the pattern would be scaled up and not in a good way. I guess I could have woven a narrower sample. I was the only one in the class who chose to warp up for monks belt - rosepath was the most popular. I had a slow start as being a complete beginner I hand misread the instructions and spent the first part of the class re threading. This was a day and a half of weaving, and five different lift plans - some which I love, others which I thought I would love - turned out meh when worked. I learned lots, about fixing broken warp yarns, weighting yarns, lashing on, and books that are now on my want list. Much of what I learned was from listening and talking, not what the class officially contained. There was a warping demonstration - which was good, as was the discussion around how others in the room did things and what was best for some types of yarn and want suited others. Underneath the drying sample is the spinning and plying from last week - also washed and drying. I'm still cold about the three ply with different shades of singles, preferring the cleaner look of the chain ply and wish I had chain plied it all - but I also know that knit (or woven) it will look very different.

Right now I'm reading this, after a review sparked my curiosity. I've always found people who are curious about their world the most interesting to be around. And further I've always been kind of bored by people who are not curious about anything at all. I really don't care what it is that people are curious about, mostly, but there is something about someone's curiosity that leads to excitement. I'm only part way through - but I love the way that curiousness and it's history, as well as how it is perceived has been explained. I teach in a design school - the students who's work is the most exciting seems to be fueled by curiosity - and I'd love to be able to foster more curiosity in my students. I also love the way he described a way of standing back and fostering curiosity as 'grandparent style', watching, keeping people safe, asking questions and saying mmm a lot, sort of acting like what is being learned is new and not already known, not demonstrating just letting learning happen in a set up environment.

Enough for now, it's Dr Who night here, so must go and join the other whovians, little cub tells me that is the official term for a Dr Who fan.

Stella

 

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