On being a Movie Star--or at least a Hand Model

One of the things that has always frustrated me about teaching knitting is that there has been no great way to reinforce or remind people about how to do what had been taught in the class in between lessons. For instance, when you begin to knit, it's hard to remember the cast on if you don't practice it over and over. And after you cast on to make your first scarf, you obviously don't practice the cast on for a while.

When was the last time you did a provisional cast on? Maybe last week, but maybe not for months before then. It's just hard to remember between times.

So for years I've been talking about making a series of videos that I could keep on my website, where I could send people. But it always seemed to be too overwhelming.

Finally, a few weeks ago, I decided on impulse to make one and see how it went. That day, I was able to make three. Well. This was easier than expected. I have apparently given these little speeches many times.

So every once in a while, I would go to work early and make a few more.

I am suddenly up to 23 videos. If you go to my Really Clear website, you can access them all from one place.

For the moment at least, I have them divided into four main categories:

(1) At the Beginning: Things such as casting on, knitting and purling (both English and Continental styles), binding off, weaving in ends.

(2) Techniques. You know the drill--increases, decreases, knitting and purling through the back loop, stretchy bind off, 3-needle bindoff, wrap and turn on short rows.

(3) How to Save Yourself. These videos show you how to fix various types of mistakes.

(4) Niceties. These videos show you ways to refine your knitting or make it more beautiful.  

I am particularly proud that they are all close-captioned, thanks to the wonderful MovieCaptioner software.

I have many more videos planned, but if there's a specific technique you would like to see, sing out in the comments or let me know!

"Completion"

I have been knitting an incredible amount lately. I'm working on a shawl pattern that should be ready in about a month or so. I've been testing it and have made 4 shawls--so far. Each one is a little--okay, a lot--different. That's what keeps it interesting. I love this shawl and started the 5th today--and, truth be told, there is also a 6th one around here somewhere already started. It will be fun to show you all the pictures when the pattern's done.

But that is not all that's going on. It is the time of the year when I go through my projects, pile them up, sort them, and then decide on priorities. Doing this has shown me that a busy winter has left me scattered. It's the same story every spring.

I have 4 half-done blocks for a block-class I'm teaching, a pair of fingerless gloves (gift) with just two thumbs left to knit, a couple of languishing hats, a steeked sweater with one buttonband half-knitted, many other sweaters (let us not count them) in various stages of "completion," a poor little wrap just a quarter of the way finished--and the list goes on.

On the writing side, I have about 6? 8? 10? professional photos of my own designs that need to have the patterns written up.

Let's not even mention the quilting.

There was only one thing I could think of to do when faced with all of this, the one place I knew to go for all the answers to all the challenges I face in life:

I typed the word "Completion" into Google.

After the dictionary definitions (yes, yes, I already know what completion is--or do I?), there was an app called "Completion." Its screen layout appealed to me. I downloaded it.

I now have a choice: I can work on the stuff I need to complete, or I can type my to-do list into Completion.

What would you do?

... And what would you do if you were me?

Health

For many years now, I've been working on health. This work came, as it almost always does, from being unhealthy.

Health isn't an instantaneous switch. It is a gradual understanding built over a lifetime. It is learning to adjust and heal your body as best you can when inevitable problems crop up. It's biology. Ultimately, it is taking care of yourself. Health-care providers of any type can go only so far.

And that's where the going gets rough. It often goes against the grain to take care of ourselves. Sometimes it means resting when we're not sick. It means feeling empowered to say no to sugar and cheesypoofs (when you never really wanted them anyway).

It means getting out and moving, which I still do not do.

I'm working on thinking about that.

The point is, anything you do takes a long, long time to develop. There's no endpoint. Expertise is always cultivated, and it shifts with your current knowledge and the knowledge of the people in the world around you.

In the end, however, when things work the right way, they just kind of click into place. Right now I'm eating better than I ever have--and the food is the best food I have ever eaten in my life. I look forward to meals and snacks. Brown rice with ghee and sea salt, fresh avocados, raspberries, and blueberries--what could be more delicious?

The same is true of crafting. It always starts out rocky, and you don't understand what you're doing. Gradually, you accumulate expertise: You know what the instructions in the patterns mean, and you can execute skills without a blink. "Slip, slip, knit"? Bring it on, baby.

In the meantime, however, as you learn, there is the struggle--going to the Local Yarn Shop again and again with questions, searching through technique books, surfing YouTube. It gets embarrassing sometimes.

Owning a LYS, I have watched the struggle many times--and that includes my own struggles with reading instructions. I have to say that I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the distressed knitter trying to figure out what the pattern is saying. From the very beginning, it drove me into writing patterns.

At this point, writing patterns is in my blood. I know how to explain knitting. And I love to explain it so that knitters understand. I want my patterns to make knitting feel healthy to the knitter--he or she might be learning new skills, but there is no struggle with things that need not be a struggle. No one wants to puzzle out decreases in rows; we all just want to knit.

In my patterns, I try to explain why you are doing what you are doing, so that when you get to a pattern that is a bit more ... shall we say ... pithy, you know what to do.

I want to show you why you might want to make certain choices. That way, when you get to a pattern without options, and the instructions aren't working, you know how to forge ahead on your own. And, in the end, if you don't follow my advice because you want to do something differently to make it work better for you, then fine. It's knitting.

Knitting should not be something that raises your blood pressure. You can go to work for that. If you are knitting with patterns that make knitting a pleasure, then the knitting is not frustrating and stressful, but healthy and fun, like eating a bowl of blueberries. And that's the whole point. Knitting: It's supposed to be fun.

Three New Patterns!

This is the time of the year when I am working hard knitting. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it. I have been working especially hard on a few new designs and have printed up 3 new ones. Let's take them one at a time, shall we?

The first is called "Alice Bee." It is named for my friend Alice, who loves stripes; and as I was putting the colors together, I was thinking of her as well. Alice Bee is shown in the photo as a cowl, but I've included instructions in the pattern for a scarf and a shawl.


The next one, "Kimmie," is named for my business partner, Kim. She was trying to figure out a way to use Zing String, a carry-along yarn, in some knitted item other than a scarf. Zing String has beads attached to a thin thread, which you hold with another, heavier yarn. Kim thought of a hat. I told her that the problem was that it was knitted in the round, all the beads would go to the back. So she suggested using reverse stockinette with some rows of stockinette, and sketched out what she was thinking. "You design it, work out all the numbers, and name it after me," she said. Okay then.


Kimmie uses slip stitches to make the stockinette rows pop. We have many kits available with this pattern at Stitch Your Art Out. It was fun matching the beads to the yarn!

And finally, it's a project I've been wanting to write up for years: The pattern for a beginner's Fair-Isle headband. I call it "First Fair Isle."

I spent a lot of time working on this one, not so much with the Fair-Isle pattern, but more with the fit. I was tired of headbands with ribbing that stuck out funny. So this one has those issues worked out. In the pattern, I also give suggestions for color combinations so that you're sure to have a headband that looks great every time, no matter which colors you use. I also give details on how and why to block Fair Isle. It's a great little stash buster--or even a way to accumulate more stash! (Did I mention that I own a yarn shop?)

All of these patterns are available on Ravelry or at Stitch Your Art Out. (I'm happy to wholesale via either Ravelry or directly with paper copies as well.) I have more designs in the works, which I hope to release over the next month or two. I'm trying to keep my writing caught up to my knitting, but somehow that isn't quite working. (It seems that it's more fun to knit than to write about what you knit. Who knew?)

Skill Levels

I have an ed. psych. background--which has nothing at all to do with counseling. It is all about how people learn skills. I try as much as I can to apply that knowledge when I write my patterns. I have never believed in "dumb" versus "smart." Sure, it might be out there--but who really cares? It doesn't buy you anything as an instructor to think about it.

But there is something else--something that does matter a great deal: People who are at different levels of knowledge need different levels of detail in their explanations. Simply put, as you gain knowledge, you know more.

A little bit of prior knowledge can go a long way--but you have to obtain that prior knowledge from somewhere first. My beginning patterns are designed to give knitters (and someday quilters and crocheters) that base of knowledge. Later, it's more a matter of pressing the Go Button.

This morning, with all of that in mind, I did something I've been meaning to do for a while. I devised a rating scale for my patterns.

Level 0:

You know how to cast on, bind off, knit, and possibly purl. You may have made a garter-stitch scarf or two. It is time for a first “real” project. An example of this would be my Quick-Knit Hat:

There is so much detail in this pattern at Level 0 that I also created the same pattern for Level 2 knitters who don't need to learn how to knit in the round without twisting stitches or how to use double-pointed needles--but who may want a little reminder for how many stitches to cast on for a hat.

Level 1:

You’re getting comfortable knitting and purling and probably knitting in the round. Now it’s time to learn a few new specialized skills, such as cabling, lace, etc. A great example of this is the No-Fail Lace Scarf pattern. It is an 8-page pattern that shows you how to do everything from knit 2 together, to SSK, to undoing your lace mistakes, to blocking.

Level 2:

You’re becoming fairly independent with knitting. You are comfortable with knitting, purling, and perhaps a few basic stitch patterns. You might need an explanation for a technique here and there rather than having the entire pattern being step-by-step.

I have a number of patterns that fit this bill. One of them is Lindsay's Perfect Mitts:

Another is my ruffled shawl:

For these patterns, I do help you out quite a bit, but only with techniques that might not be as familiar to even a knitter who has been at it for a few years.

Level 3:

There's always something to learn, isn't there? You have become a little more patient when you knit. You are comfortable knitting and reading patterns and don’t need much in the way of explanation, although if there is a particularly clever way to do something, it would be fun to learn.

I try to make it so that if my patterns are at this level, the knitter is still not frustrated--but at the same time, these are not the patterns that one should start with. You probably need more experience.

My favorite pattern here, since I am an intarsia freak, is my Diamond Head hat. It is fun to knit and even more fun to wear:

Where are you in these levels? Is there a chance that you are further along than you think? I believe that the real problem is sometimes not a lack of skills, but a lack of confidence--and maybe just a little more patience needed!

From the Beginning

Over the past year, I have been working hard to get my patterns up to speed--beautifully photographed and carefully (I hope!) edited. I just looked, and I suddenly have 22 patterns up on Ravelry. Over the next few weeks, months, or maybe even for years and years, I'm going to talk about some of them--what I was thinking when I designed them, and what they will do for you, my fearless-knitter friend.

I want to start with one of the first things I designed, probably 10 years ago. It's not a big deal. It's just a simple hat. This hat is great for not only a beginner, but for anyone who wants a quick hat. Thus the name: Quick-Knit Hat.

It started out as a simple rolled-brim hat pattern.

But over the years, knitters started asking for a simple hat that had ribbing at the brim...


....or that was ribbed the entire way up:

Honestly, even with modifications, a simple hat is a simple hat. I decided to combine all of these into one pattern. It is the all-purpose hat.

This is the one pattern I have that comes in 2 versions: learning or more experienced.

The more experienced version just gives the usual--number of stitches to cast on, how much yarn to buy, different sizes, etc.

The learning pattern has a little more. I put in pictures to show beginners how to knit in the round without twisting, how to knit 2 stitches together, how to use double-pointed needles. This is where my patterns are different from most. I like having little tutorials that I think will help knitters. Even if you've already made the hat in a knitting class, having a review of the concepts in the pattern will come in handy when you're trying to make another.

Here, for example, is one of the pictures from the pattern. It shows how to knit 2 stitches together.


Now, if you've been knitting for a long time, you can safely ignore this instruction (or buy the "quick" version of the quick hat). But if you're not taking a class and have never done anything beyond knitting a simple stitch, a picture is helpful. The phrase "knit 2 together" is rather self-explanatory, but when you begin anything, you need a little extra security that you are doing what you're supposed to be doing.

That's what I try to do with all my patterns--help the knitter, and take him or her to the next level. Not every pattern will show you how to knit 2 together, of course. (In fact, this is the only one that does.) But where I think you might need the nudge or the help or the humor in my patterns, I give it to you. It keeps the knitting fun and successful!

A New Start

As most of you who are reading this know, I've been working on my patterns for years, but recently I've started getting them together in earnest. I found a professional photographer who is fantastic: Thank you, Tamar London! And I have a wonderful editor, whom we shall call Anonymous Tina. Thank you, AT! I appreciate both of you more than I can say.

My blog has been quiet because I have had my head down, writing. I hate those blog entries where the writers say that they are working on "secret projects" that they can't show you. I wasn't working on anything that was a secret, but I like to go at my own pace when I write. I didn't want to feel pressure to finish the patterns before their time: "Isn't this cute! You can make it in 2 or 3 or 6 months from now--if I'm done by then!" (I was sure I'd have a bunch of my patterns ready by June. Notice that it's October.)

So I'm going to start by talking about my latest patterns that are available on Ravelry for sale, or through the local yarn/quilting shop that I co-own, Stitch Your Art Out. If you are a Local Yarn Shop owner and would like any of them to sell at your store, please feel free to contact me via Ravelry.

The first pattern I'll talk about is the Little Striped Neck Warmer. Maybe I feel like talking about it first because I'm teaching it tomorrow night. Or maybe it's just because I love this pattern. I was looking for something that would incorporate the stripes that are so popular in shawls at the moment. And I wanted something fast, something that would make a great little gift. And I've been on kind of a cowl kick lately. So I came up with this:

As you can see, it's great for using up little scraps of worsted-weight yarn (about 75 yards per color, plus a few more yards for the front bands). The thing I love about it is that it hugs the neck. It will keep you warm in the winter but won't get in your way. I made one version that pulls over the neck and another that buttons. Take your pick.

You should know that when I write patterns, I never forget about the poor knitter at the other end. I spent 20 years in the classroom, and instructing runs deep. I always write patterns that have teaching in them, and I try my best to explain the skills.... well, really clearly. These neck warmers have several skills: picking up stitches, 3-needle bind-off (the neck warmer on the right), and buttonholes (the neck warmer on the left).

The pattern explains step-by-step how to do all of these things, with photos. It even explains how to sew on buttons. I'm always amazed at the number of good knitters who don't know how.

If you would like to purchase this pattern, feel free to stop by the store, or go to my page on Ravelry.