By PDMACpayday loans
Git me some Learnin’
I am a visual learner. I CAN learn from a book, but it’s hit or miss and largely dependent on the kind of book (or website). I do best with diagrams unless I have a firm grasp of the language of the craft. Many of you learned to knit from a book. There is absolutely no frigging way I could have done this. I admire those who can, because there are fewer hurdles in your quest for knowledge. I learned from a teacher (a great teacher) in a formal classroom atmosphere. It was one of the best things that I have done for myself.
I have been craving knitting knowledge lately and thinking that a workshop or a class might do me some good. I really want to develop my skills, learn new techniques and tricks, and be challenged but also be given the tools to tackle that challenge. Because without the tools I’d just get frustrated.
Take, for example, cabling without a cable needle. I have read multiple tutorials on how to do it as well as watched videos and peaked at detailed illustrations on the web. I just didn’t like it or wasn’t doing it right or just found it frustrating. So, I kept on keeping on with my cable needle. Not a bad way to do things, for sure.
You may know by now that the television show Knitty Gritty has moved to HGTV, a channel that we get. Knitty Gritty and DVR combine to make a powerful knitting force. I can fast forward through the fun fur, teenie boppers, fake laughing, and other irritating aspects of the show and distill it down to bits of incredibly useful information. Ms. Annie Modesitt was on a few weeks/months ago (episode 210, first aired Spring 2005) and during her time on the camera she showed how to cable without a cable needle and – I got it! Instantly. Soon after I found myself in the car on our way to my parent’s house in Upstate NY for Christmas. I was making mittens for my mom and wanted to set a cable down the middle of the back of the mitten. Alas, I was unarmed with the traditional cable needle but I found I didn’t need it. I had instant recall of Annie’s technique and I was able to flawlessly execute it to a successful mitten finish. No hurdle, no frustration.
As a result I am on a quest for knitting knowledge. A google search didn’t really yield any opportunities. My LYS has a few but none that I am really interested in taking. I am in the process of searching through the archives of a few local listservs. In the meantime – how have you all found workshops, classes, or other non-traditional learning opportunities? I know wool festivals are great places for these types of things….but spring is a long way off and with the new babe I am not sure when or where I’ll be able to travel!
Maybe I should just take this class at my local community center – I sure don’t know how to pearl! 
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