I must say how grateful I am that STITCHES was back in Atlanta this year after a five-year hiatus. Many of you know the last few months have had a lot of change in my personal life. Spending a weekend of teaching, learning, and just hanging out with my creative tribe was exactly what I needed. I didn't know how much I really needed it.
I also must thank my students. Both of my classes, "Brioche Rosetta Stone" and "Knit Faster with Combination Knitting" sold out during the early registration period. Thank you!
Of course, by now you all know that if I'm not teaching, I'm probably taking. For STITCHES I chose three classes.
Thursday was Xandy Peters' all-day "Fox Paws Technique" class. Yes, I could probably have figured out this pattern on my own. This was one of those I-want-this-on-my-résumé choices. Plus, I wanted to meet the creative genius behind Fox Paws. Xandy is an excellent teacher. She walked us through the technique, first with little pieces, then bigger pieces, then finally working the Fox Paws pattern. She used a video rig. I can't image effectively teaching this technique without one, since it requires unusual maneuvers more easily shown than described. What was most surprising was what Xandy said about color and design. For example, she mentioned that when you are looking for contrast, you can contrast based on hue, value, or intensity. When I discussed the class later with other people, they also mentioned the color and design elements in class. If Xandy ever teaches a color and design class, it will be high on my list of classes to take.
On Friday morning I took Marly Bird's "Interwoven Crochet" class. Marly is well-known for her upbeat and down-to-earth personality as the public face of Red Heart yarn. I like the interwoven crochet technique a lot. It is basically two pieces of filet crochet. The overall structure reminds me of double-weave. The technique produces grid patterns in two colors. Each color is worked all the way across as one row, then the other color is worked all the way across in one row. It is a three-dimensional technique, so definitely something you want someone to show you, rather than something you try to figure out from a flat, stationary picture in a book. In addition to being reversible, the fabric is also somewhat thick. And it is made entirely of double-crochet and chain, so fairly quick. I can definitely see myself using this for an afghan. And I've already added the foundational text, Interlocking Crochet by Tanis Galik, to my wish list. The zig-zag swatch shown above is a reversible pattern on both sides. Some of the patterns are reversible in the sense that both sides are good, but the patterns are different.
In addition to teaching us, Marly also gave us free yarn, which is what I've used in the zig-zag swatch. Marly has designed her own yarn, Red Heart Chic Sheep. It is 100% superwash wool. I am generally not a big fan of superwash wool. My experience with it has involved knitted items growing to unmanageable proportions when wet-blocked. Chic Sheep is four-ply, producing excellent stitch definition. And while I haven't yet tried it for knitting, it behaved well during the crochet class. It would be an excellent choice for crochet projects where you want the softness and warmth of wool, but need the easy-care qualities of superwash. Marly mentioned that yarn buyers for big box stores often are people who do not knit or crochet. This explains why yarn choices in national chains can be disappointing. All the more reason for us to support our friendly local yarn shops!
One last thing to mention about Marly's class — her handout is a Google document. There are pros and cons to this approach. On the one hand, lots of people are moving away from the dead tree approach toward environmentally-conscious communication. And the Google document link means all the students have access to future revisions. Those are definitely positives. But, if you take notes — and I do — where do you put them? Marly gave us the link at the end of class. I took notes on my phone during class. Now I have notes, but those notes aren't written on the handout, which is where I need them to be. I've printed the handout, so I can go back and annotate it. But that is adding an extra step. And Marly's pedagogy is text-focused not visual. Her handout is primarily words without any pictures of the complex crochet hook positions necessary to produce this fabric. She doesn't use a video rig to teach. If you are a strongly visual learner, be prepared to adapt if you take a class from Marly.
The third class I took was "You Want Me to Put My Hook Where?" on Sunday morning with Edie Eckman. I've taken classes with Edie before. Her work is always thorough. I trust that if Edie hasn't figured out how to do it, it very likely can't be done. I signed up for this class because I am seeing more and more amazing crochet. There are some fascinating high-relief and three-dimensional effects that are more easily produced in crochet than knitting. I figured this class would be an entrée. I was not disappointed. Using a video rig, Edie showed us a wide range of interesting ways to crochet. Her handout includes both the words and the charts. (If you are a crocheter and don't know how to read charted crochet, go learn now.) Again, this is exactly the sort of technique you want to learn in person. In addition to a printed handout, Edie gave us links to photographs of what the swatches should look like and video links. There's no reason I can't go back and revisit this information if I find a project years from now utilizing one of these clever maneuvers. Some of the terms she covered included crocheting in the front or the back of the loop, in front or back of the post, between stitches, crossed stitches, some stitches made from partial stitches, linked, dip stitches, and tuck stitches. As you can see, the swatch is long because there was lots of material to practice.
I also must thank my students. Both of my classes, "Brioche Rosetta Stone" and "Knit Faster with Combination Knitting" sold out during the early registration period. Thank you!
Of course, by now you all know that if I'm not teaching, I'm probably taking. For STITCHES I chose three classes.
Thursday was Xandy Peters' all-day "Fox Paws Technique" class. Yes, I could probably have figured out this pattern on my own. This was one of those I-want-this-on-my-résumé choices. Plus, I wanted to meet the creative genius behind Fox Paws. Xandy is an excellent teacher. She walked us through the technique, first with little pieces, then bigger pieces, then finally working the Fox Paws pattern. She used a video rig. I can't image effectively teaching this technique without one, since it requires unusual maneuvers more easily shown than described. What was most surprising was what Xandy said about color and design. For example, she mentioned that when you are looking for contrast, you can contrast based on hue, value, or intensity. When I discussed the class later with other people, they also mentioned the color and design elements in class. If Xandy ever teaches a color and design class, it will be high on my list of classes to take.
On Friday morning I took Marly Bird's "Interwoven Crochet" class. Marly is well-known for her upbeat and down-to-earth personality as the public face of Red Heart yarn. I like the interwoven crochet technique a lot. It is basically two pieces of filet crochet. The overall structure reminds me of double-weave. The technique produces grid patterns in two colors. Each color is worked all the way across as one row, then the other color is worked all the way across in one row. It is a three-dimensional technique, so definitely something you want someone to show you, rather than something you try to figure out from a flat, stationary picture in a book. In addition to being reversible, the fabric is also somewhat thick. And it is made entirely of double-crochet and chain, so fairly quick. I can definitely see myself using this for an afghan. And I've already added the foundational text, Interlocking Crochet by Tanis Galik, to my wish list. The zig-zag swatch shown above is a reversible pattern on both sides. Some of the patterns are reversible in the sense that both sides are good, but the patterns are different.
In addition to teaching us, Marly also gave us free yarn, which is what I've used in the zig-zag swatch. Marly has designed her own yarn, Red Heart Chic Sheep. It is 100% superwash wool. I am generally not a big fan of superwash wool. My experience with it has involved knitted items growing to unmanageable proportions when wet-blocked. Chic Sheep is four-ply, producing excellent stitch definition. And while I haven't yet tried it for knitting, it behaved well during the crochet class. It would be an excellent choice for crochet projects where you want the softness and warmth of wool, but need the easy-care qualities of superwash. Marly mentioned that yarn buyers for big box stores often are people who do not knit or crochet. This explains why yarn choices in national chains can be disappointing. All the more reason for us to support our friendly local yarn shops!
One last thing to mention about Marly's class — her handout is a Google document. There are pros and cons to this approach. On the one hand, lots of people are moving away from the dead tree approach toward environmentally-conscious communication. And the Google document link means all the students have access to future revisions. Those are definitely positives. But, if you take notes — and I do — where do you put them? Marly gave us the link at the end of class. I took notes on my phone during class. Now I have notes, but those notes aren't written on the handout, which is where I need them to be. I've printed the handout, so I can go back and annotate it. But that is adding an extra step. And Marly's pedagogy is text-focused not visual. Her handout is primarily words without any pictures of the complex crochet hook positions necessary to produce this fabric. She doesn't use a video rig to teach. If you are a strongly visual learner, be prepared to adapt if you take a class from Marly.
The third class I took was "You Want Me to Put My Hook Where?" on Sunday morning with Edie Eckman. I've taken classes with Edie before. Her work is always thorough. I trust that if Edie hasn't figured out how to do it, it very likely can't be done. I signed up for this class because I am seeing more and more amazing crochet. There are some fascinating high-relief and three-dimensional effects that are more easily produced in crochet than knitting. I figured this class would be an entrée. I was not disappointed. Using a video rig, Edie showed us a wide range of interesting ways to crochet. Her handout includes both the words and the charts. (If you are a crocheter and don't know how to read charted crochet, go learn now.) Again, this is exactly the sort of technique you want to learn in person. In addition to a printed handout, Edie gave us links to photographs of what the swatches should look like and video links. There's no reason I can't go back and revisit this information if I find a project years from now utilizing one of these clever maneuvers. Some of the terms she covered included crocheting in the front or the back of the loop, in front or back of the post, between stitches, crossed stitches, some stitches made from partial stitches, linked, dip stitches, and tuck stitches. As you can see, the swatch is long because there was lots of material to practice.
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