More thoughts on yarn and knitting (I know, it never gets old for me)
I go to a small stitch-n-bitch every Friday here on campus. There are anywhere from 5-10 of us that attend and some are newbie knitters like me, others are veteran experts. We had a conversation two weeks ago that seems to be stuck in my brain. We were discussing the history of learning this art, where it comes from and how it has evolved. Knitty.com has a really interesting article on the history of knitting and some great images of the oldest known knitted socks.
My interest was more along the lines of, "People knitted before the internet and not everyone has a mom who knows how... so how the heck did they learn?" Speaking of moms... mine recently gave me a second incredible stack of vintage knitting patterns. Among them was a "How to Knit/Crochet & Learn Tatting" pamphlet. The directions were pretty confusing, almost no images and the tatting instructions may have been written in Greek. The fact that someone in the 1940s was able to decipher enough of it and actually knit is amazing. The veteran knitter in the group chimed with her usual common sense brilliance, "Nobody learned like that! You were taught. By your mother, an aunt, a neighbor, a grandmother. Its something that is handed down."
So, the next question is: How do we learn now? Our way of accessing information and studying has changed drastically. Even though knitting is sort of a "thing" right now, not all of us know someone well enough to force them into a chair and beg a lesson from. Not all of us feel okay calling their family members at 1am begging them to explain what the heck a double decrease is and Oh My God! I dropped a stitch 12 rows ago? We turn here, to the internets.
Namely from these most wonderful instruction and help sites:
Knittinghelp.com
Youtube.com
Ravelry.com (membership is free!)
So, if you want to learn and you live a life that is filled with craziness (kids, animals, spouses, jobs, etc)... these will do the trick. Because no matter what life throws at you, everyone deserves one hour of peace and quiet and a couple of sharp, pointy sticks.
My interest was more along the lines of, "People knitted before the internet and not everyone has a mom who knows how... so how the heck did they learn?" Speaking of moms... mine recently gave me a second incredible stack of vintage knitting patterns. Among them was a "How to Knit/Crochet & Learn Tatting" pamphlet. The directions were pretty confusing, almost no images and the tatting instructions may have been written in Greek. The fact that someone in the 1940s was able to decipher enough of it and actually knit is amazing. The veteran knitter in the group chimed with her usual common sense brilliance, "Nobody learned like that! You were taught. By your mother, an aunt, a neighbor, a grandmother. Its something that is handed down."
So, the next question is: How do we learn now? Our way of accessing information and studying has changed drastically. Even though knitting is sort of a "thing" right now, not all of us know someone well enough to force them into a chair and beg a lesson from. Not all of us feel okay calling their family members at 1am begging them to explain what the heck a double decrease is and Oh My God! I dropped a stitch 12 rows ago? We turn here, to the internets.
Namely from these most wonderful instruction and help sites:
Knittinghelp.com
Youtube.com
Ravelry.com (membership is free!)
So, if you want to learn and you live a life that is filled with craziness (kids, animals, spouses, jobs, etc)... these will do the trick. Because no matter what life throws at you, everyone deserves one hour of peace and quiet and a couple of sharp, pointy sticks.
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