La très chic Véronique identified a key player: "the soon to be knitted category... It's for the projects where you have the yarn, you have the pattern, you just have to actually sit down and make it...". Yup, check. Got more than my fair share of those.
K. noted a special sub-species that those who have reproduced have certainly encountered: "Haven't you forgotten the "started when I was pregnant" category? The things you started when your hormones were all whacked out and now you wonder WHY???? I can't be the only one who has done that....". No K., you are not alone.
Diana's category is somewhat spiritual in nature as it makes reference to the Divine: "I also have a JC category, as in Jesus Christ, I really thought I could knit that.... only with the help of God". Indeed.
It is refreshing to know that knitting frustration is a transnational phenom that knows no national boundaries, as Sophie notes "on my behalf you can add the "frogging hell" category. I have a couple of projects now in the form of half-way ripped bits and pieces and ridiculously curly skeins awaiting for soaking... Believe me, they can make you feel just as guilty as the "seemed like a good idea". Ah, knitting!". Yes, this French knitter knows all about frogging!;)
Nicole's category was especially fitting as it struck a raw nerve with this weary knitter: "How about the "high-maintenance relationship" projects. You know the ones that demand a level of attention, either because they're too complicated (traditional lace), too hard on the hands (thick aran weight with woody bits stuck in the yarn for good measure), too finicky (purl 3 tog through back loop), too many colours (Alice Starmore fair isle hell), too many ends to weave ($@& intarsia) or too much math involved (Zimmermania) etc...". Yes, I am all about the high-maintenance thing...
Carrie has alighted on a category that is perhaps the most familiar to knit bloggers, seeing as we spend so much time trolling around the web, peering over fellow knit bloggers's shoulders, looking to see how the other half lives and if the grass is greener over there: "you should have a "dreaming of knitting" category, since those are the ones that take up so much space in your mind ...". Yes!
Yesterday Babs and I had a special jaunt to Johnstown, PA. (home of the flood, you know, the town that was wiped away by a wall of debris and water when all the rich captains of industry financed the construction of a private lake that-oops!-flooded the town below and killed thousands of people. Not the Darling Resident Marxist Curmudgeon's favorite historical event.) We visited Knit 1 at the Blacksmith Exchange, a combo antiques/yarn shop new to the area. The store is cute as a button with an excellent selection of Cascade 220, Lamb's Pride, Wool in the Woods, Trekking as well as other yarns that types like me and Babs love. We both bought some Skacel Avanti to do these easy fingerless mittens (yes, we know it's Spring,we are insane):
I knit these up last night and love them to pieces! Something about the lack of frills (Fetching, you know I love you darling, but picot bind-off and cables? Isn't that a bit...much?) makes them especially appealing. The Avanti is a love as well. Skacel yarns can do no wrong in my book, love 'em all.
The owner of the shop is Margaret. Of course I am predisposed to liking her because she shares the same name as my mother, and everyone knows that Margarets all tend to be exceptionally solid, respectable people. As opposed to people named Tammy who will steal your boyfriend, run up your credit cards and generally chew you up and spit you out in a heartbeat. But I digress... Babs and I had a lovely chat with her as she told us all about her shop (it's about 18 months old) and her clientele (85% new knitters). And guess what? She invited both of us to choose any class and teach in her shop!! So what began as a visit to a new yarn shop ended with an interesting proposition...and now I ask you this: what 'open source' pattern or project would you propose? Think about the classes you took as new knitters, which techniques or projects really helped you turn a corner?
7 comments:
Heavens you've got a fun blog! Resident Marxist Curmudgeon -- gotta love it.
Time for another category? (Or was this already mentioned and I missed it?) The Ghosts of Christmases Past.
*You didn't finish it in time for Christmas, so you set it aside for next Christmas. Didn't work on it all year, of course, because Christmas was so far away.*
Repeat endlessly between * *s.
That LYS looks wonderful, and Margaret sounds like a doll. How fun to be invited to teach in the knitting classes. ARe you going to do it? Sorry, I didn't take any classes, but I think something like colour knitting techniques (like double-knitting, stranding, intarsia) or ideas for casting on/cast off and their uses would have interested me when I was a new knitter.
Oh my, you have typed up a very long post: This is such a quaint little looking yarn shop. I think that's great you were invited to teach! That would be great if she paid you will yarn:)
jejeje I have just knitted a pair of socks like the one you show in your previous post, the multi-coloured-striped one!
Mine are here: http://lolita-blahnik.blogspot.com/2007/03/at-last-hand-knitted-socks.html
and also I used to have the same background as you have right now, two casualities!
Many new knitters are afraid to knit a sweater; they seem to knit more and more scarves. I took a class and learned to knit the Wonderful Wallaby; it was a fun class and a fun pattern. And it left me fearless of sweaters. If I remember correctly, the class was once a week for four weeks. And if necessary knitters could extend it to six. But all of us had our sweaters done in four or less. Very little finishing with that pattern.
Excellent additions to the categories. The "grass is greener" projects struck way too strong a chord with me...those are definitely a real problem.
Congratulations on being elevated to knitting teacher! Will you be teaching super beginners, or intermediate beginners? I think Tubey from Knitty is a good, easy, confidence-building sweater project, though there aren't a lot of advanced techniques there. Good luck with whatever you choose!
I don't think I can be of much help for your knitting course. I taught myself with a little book that was about 20 years old at the time. I've never taken any kind of crafting class. Maybe you could teach a sock knitting class?
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