Stitches East
Nov. 9th, 2008 06:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fauxkloreIt's pretty pathetic when I leave the house as early on the weekend as I do during the week. In this case, I drove to Baltimore to attend Stitches East.
I was very clever and signed up for three classes because: 1) I'm at a point where I really want to learn new skills and 2) classes fill in time which would otherwise be spent in the market area, unsuccessfully resisting temptation. That philosophy worked for the Fall Fiber Festival and it worked this time out, too.
Saturday's morning class was "Round Up." I've avoided knitting in the round, largely because I find double pointed needles so awkward. The class did nothing to make me comfortable with double points, but I did learn the two-circular needle method and the magic loop (which is, essentially, the same, but uses a single needle with a longer cable). I can't say that I came away comfortable with knitting in the round, but I have some hope and a starting point for practice. I'd bought the magic loop booklet (and appropriate needle and sock yarn) some time ago, but felt too intimidated to attempt it. At least now I'm willing. However, I was disappointed in the class. My complaint is that the instructor geared everything to the fastest knitters in the class. So she kept talking about various things while I was still working my way through the previous step(s).
Saturday afternoon was more satisfying. I took Margaret Fisher's "Intro to Entrelac" and it was wonderful. I've wanted to learn entrelac for ages, partly because it looks cool and partly because the first pattern I saw for it was incredibly mystifying. I'm good at following patterns and I couldn't make heads or tails out of it. I'm happy to say that it now makes complete sense. It's really not difficult and it's tremendous fun. I even sat down and finished the swatch we started in class. My swatch doesn't look great since I cast on too tightly, but it's decent for a first effort. (I may get around to taking a photo in the next day or two.)
Finally, I took a class this morning on hairpin lace. Again, this is something I've wanted to learn for a while. I'm better at crocheting than I am at knitting and I'm always happy for there to be new tricks to learn. I can't even remember how long I've had a hairpin lace fork without having even opened the package. The instructor was not great, largely because she just told us what to do, instead of demonstrating. But she did go around and help each of us. It clicked with me pretty quickly, which made it particularly frustrating that I sometimes had long waits for her to get to me when I did have minor questions. (She also left out critical information, e.g. that she wanted us to crochet into the front loop, versus the back or under both loops, and she told me to do three single crochets at one point, instead of the one single crochet and chain 3 the pattern actually called for.) Still, I did feel like I learned what I needed to.
There was still some time for stash accrual. Let's just say that I see a possum fur sweater in my future. I did manage not to buy the gorgeous but outrageously expensive qiviut. (Have I ever mentioned that I have a thing for exotic fibers? I bought alpaca in Chile, for example. And my stash includes things like bamboo and soy silk. I'm less impressed with the corn yarn I've seen and I don't understand milk yarn at all. I may not actually know what sea cell is, but that didn't stop me from buying some.) My other purchases were, in general, more prosaic, though they did still manage to fill about half the trunk of the car.
That should keep me going for a few months, especially given how little time I actually manage to spend doing anything with my stash besides drooling over it and lamenting how much room it takes up.
I was very clever and signed up for three classes because: 1) I'm at a point where I really want to learn new skills and 2) classes fill in time which would otherwise be spent in the market area, unsuccessfully resisting temptation. That philosophy worked for the Fall Fiber Festival and it worked this time out, too.
Saturday's morning class was "Round Up." I've avoided knitting in the round, largely because I find double pointed needles so awkward. The class did nothing to make me comfortable with double points, but I did learn the two-circular needle method and the magic loop (which is, essentially, the same, but uses a single needle with a longer cable). I can't say that I came away comfortable with knitting in the round, but I have some hope and a starting point for practice. I'd bought the magic loop booklet (and appropriate needle and sock yarn) some time ago, but felt too intimidated to attempt it. At least now I'm willing. However, I was disappointed in the class. My complaint is that the instructor geared everything to the fastest knitters in the class. So she kept talking about various things while I was still working my way through the previous step(s).
Saturday afternoon was more satisfying. I took Margaret Fisher's "Intro to Entrelac" and it was wonderful. I've wanted to learn entrelac for ages, partly because it looks cool and partly because the first pattern I saw for it was incredibly mystifying. I'm good at following patterns and I couldn't make heads or tails out of it. I'm happy to say that it now makes complete sense. It's really not difficult and it's tremendous fun. I even sat down and finished the swatch we started in class. My swatch doesn't look great since I cast on too tightly, but it's decent for a first effort. (I may get around to taking a photo in the next day or two.)
Finally, I took a class this morning on hairpin lace. Again, this is something I've wanted to learn for a while. I'm better at crocheting than I am at knitting and I'm always happy for there to be new tricks to learn. I can't even remember how long I've had a hairpin lace fork without having even opened the package. The instructor was not great, largely because she just told us what to do, instead of demonstrating. But she did go around and help each of us. It clicked with me pretty quickly, which made it particularly frustrating that I sometimes had long waits for her to get to me when I did have minor questions. (She also left out critical information, e.g. that she wanted us to crochet into the front loop, versus the back or under both loops, and she told me to do three single crochets at one point, instead of the one single crochet and chain 3 the pattern actually called for.) Still, I did feel like I learned what I needed to.
There was still some time for stash accrual. Let's just say that I see a possum fur sweater in my future. I did manage not to buy the gorgeous but outrageously expensive qiviut. (Have I ever mentioned that I have a thing for exotic fibers? I bought alpaca in Chile, for example. And my stash includes things like bamboo and soy silk. I'm less impressed with the corn yarn I've seen and I don't understand milk yarn at all. I may not actually know what sea cell is, but that didn't stop me from buying some.) My other purchases were, in general, more prosaic, though they did still manage to fill about half the trunk of the car.
That should keep me going for a few months, especially given how little time I actually manage to spend doing anything with my stash besides drooling over it and lamenting how much room it takes up.
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no subject
Date: 2008-11-10 05:00 am (UTC)If I'd been going for more than one day, I definitely would have done the entrelac class, that's the technique that most interested me. It seems like an expansion of short rows, is that right? (or on the right track?)
no subject
Date: 2008-11-10 10:30 am (UTC)I am very curious about the square needles. I was tempted to buy some square straight needles the last time I was in one of the better local yarn stores. The advantage i just stability (things not slipping off), right? Or do they actually affect the look of the finished knitting?
As for entrelac, what it basically involves is picking up stitches on one triangle and rectangle and using an ssk (or, depending on the direction, a k2 together or p2 together) to attach to the next element. The real trick is the starting set of triangles, which you just need to take on faith. That aspect is similar to short rows, but you don't have wrap stitches before turning since you fill in the holes when you pick up stitches.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-10 11:09 pm (UTC)The square needles are supposed to also be ergonomically better, since you're not constantly straining to hold the needles in place, as per needles that are cylinders, aka the stability leads to less hand/wrist strain. I was more sold on the circs, because the cable comes out of the box untwisted, which is a great feature regardless of square needles or otherwise.
I think I'll definitely pick up an entrelac class the next time I have the chance, it sounds like something that will click if I'm shown in person. Fair isle and knitting with both hands was like that.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-11 02:49 am (UTC)The ergonomics of knitting are very different for me since I knit Eastern crossed, not American / English (or western Continental). There is some mental strain in adjusting patterns for the way the stitch slants, but it's easy on the hands most of the time. One woman in my knitting group who usually knits Continental does Eastern crossed for seed stitch because it's so much easier for that.
I could definitely see the advantage of untwisted cables, though. But would they stay untwisted if you did magic loop?
Fair Isle still intimidates me. Actually, most color knitting intimidates me, though I have been known to do mosaic. (Which is easy but I don't do it often because it takes too much concentration to follow a pattern, making it hard to do while carrying on a conversation. And a lot of my needlework of all sorts is social needlework. I rarely find time to knit alone.)
What do you mean by knitting with both hands? If you can knit backwards (right to left, as well as left to right), entrelac would be even easier for you, since you wouldn't have to keep turning it. That's something else I haven't learned because everybody I know who does it knits American.