Teaching Again
This time it’s to a group of 12 guys at a Men’s Knitting Retreat. And actually, right now, it’s preparations for teaching again.
What is QueerJoe Teaching Now?
Unless you’ve been to the Men’s Spring Fiber Retreat in upstate NY, you’d really have no idea how the workshops run.
Each year, once registration is full, we ask the guys scheduled to attend two things:
- Is there some fiber-related workshop you’d like to have presented?
- Is there a fiber-related workshop that you’d be willing to present?
Once we get a list of desired workshops and a handful of offered workshops, we try to get guys to volunteer to lead the workshops with no leader.
As in most years, this year we were able to get amazingly generous volunteers to lead workshops on most of the desired topics. But no one to lead the Two-Handed Stranded Knitting workshop that was requested.
I figured…how hard could it be?
So now I’m in the process of creating handouts, resource lists, hands-on exercises, charts, etc.
Twelve guys signed up for the 3-hour workshop. They’ll have a little bit of pre-work to bring and then they’ll learn how to use both hands to create a Winter-y cowl/gaitor.
As I noted in my latest teaching blog entry, it’s always amazing how much I learn when I teach.
Current Crochet/Knitting
I got my shit back together quickly after Wednesday’s blog entry and got some items finished.
First of all, I finished the demo piece for the workshop.
This simple tube will be both the demo/practice piece for the workshop as well as the comparison piece for a similar one done with different color dominance. I hope.
I also finished another Thermal Stitch Hat.
This one is rather special. It’s from the designers draft pattern for the hat. Yes, he let me test-crochet it for him. I learned two very important things from the pattern. First off, I learned how to make a more uniform increase. But more importantly, I learned that this crochet stitch is similar to double-knitting.
Yes, I knew the hat was reversible. But what I didn’t realize is that it can look completely different on both sides! All those photos are the same hat!
I can’t wait until Tony publishes the pattern. I’ll let you all know as soon as it’s available.
Love the pattern you’ve designed for the workshop, Joe. Really looking forward to it. Is your sample knit with a DK yarn or a worsted weight? I’ve had trouble getting cowls to sit right and am thinking about using DK or fingering weight. Cheers and gratitude, Tom
Thanks Tom…it’s worsted weight (Yellow is Patons Classic Wool Worsted – https://amzn.to/3m2A6Q7, Green is KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Worsted).
Like you, I’ve found that the top of gaiters/cowls flop down below my chin in weird ways…this one has a few rows of variegated ribbing (alternating colors in K1, P1) and it seems to be a bit more snug and form-fitting to my neck.
I thought that’s what was happening! Will your friend be publishing his pattern soon? All of this is looking amazing!
Tony was considering not publishing because it didn’t seem different enough of a design, but I told him it definitely was. His first-draft of the pattern was quite amazing as he’s only been crocheting for a little over a year. I will definitely announce it far and wide when the pattern is published.