Learning all the time

I think we are all learning all the time! On Sunday I taught my friend, my Mum in Law  Lyn to follow a crochet pattern and begin her first proper crochet project and today I met a lovely lady who wanted to learn,  so we sat down together and I taught her to crochet too. Its not a one way process though, I’m learning all the time too; not only  improving my crochet skills but also learning how to teach each individual. (You may remember I only began to crochet in January after a life long passion for knitting, dare I say I’m hooked!)  I have realised that we all learn in different ways, I’m a read it, then trial and error type learner, Mum in Law is a listen and try, and my “pupil” today is an experiential learner, she just kept trying until it felt right. We also hear and understand words differently, so for the lady today, I tried explaining the movement and placement of the hook and yarn in various ways until a particular combination worked for her and she could “see” where the hook goes to make the stitches. For her, It’s “slide” (the hook through the loops) and move the yarn “towards” you over the hook. She’s got it!!! I’m seeing her again tomorrow to teach her treble crochets so she can make a blanket for her baby boy.

It also got me thinking about women over the millenia (and a few men) who have learned to knit and crochet, and then passed those skills on to others whilst still learning all the time themselves. Its quite reassuring that our crafts are not static, they move through the ages and generations and through designs and ideas. Warm woollies, lacy shawls, socks and hats and scarves, blankets and throws, all sorts have been made for us by loved ones, to enjoy and treasure. If you want a good read about knitting through the ages, and knitting as therapy, try to get hold of a copy of “The Knitting Goddess” by Deborah Bergman, pub. Hyperion.

I have recently designed a shawl with knitted and crochet sections. If you are a knitter, don’t worry, the crochet is easy, and if you crochet, don’t worry, the knitting is easy! Having said that its easy in both crafts, I hope it’s an enjoyable make and the feedback I’ve had is very positive about how nice it looks. What do you think? The pattern is now on our site and its called “Claire”.

A bit of advance news now, we are hoping to launch our own Gorgeous Yarn, called Purely….. I have the first samples ready to test for quality and gorgeous-ness! It is a natural cream colour merino blend yarn, and can be used just as it is, or you can dye it yourself in skeins or as a garment dip dye. If all goes well, we hope to have Purely Gorgeous Yarns ready in the autumn, and I will be developing a knitting pattern over the next few weeks to showcase the yarn. Watch this space…!

Hope you are enjoying the weather, and not having too much rain where you are.

Bye for now,

Caroline.

PS yes, that me, I’m trying contact lenses, hence no specs on in the photo!