Gauge swatches are something that students ask me about a lot – “Do I need to make a gauge swatch?” My general rule of thumb: If you are not making something that needs to fit, you can skip the gauge swatch. If you are making something you want to fit you (or someone specific), you …
One of my friends told me about an assignment she had in her negotiation class in college – to get 10 no’s. There were two main rules as I recall: She had some unexpected, but normal responses – like being able to significantly reduce her monthly phone bill. And some unexpected and weird responses – …
Knitting in public has often been an open invite for people to talk to me, so if you don’t want to interact with others it’s probably best to leave your project at home! I’ve heard all of the following (mostly on airplanes and public transportation): “How nice of you to make me a ____________ {hat, …
One of my long-term students joined me shortly after I started teaching virtually. She and I live on opposite coasts, so without this virtual option we wouldn’t have been able to connect, and I am so glad we did! She started knitting not too long after her father tragically passed away from COVID-19. There was …
What does it mean to be “knitworthy”? Generally I hear this term used when someone is deciding if someone they know ‘deserves’ a hand knit item. This is a fair consideration (I mean, there is even a reddit subthread looking to gain consensus on how to determine if someone is knitworthy!) – it takes a …
Which one is right for you? I went to a small liberal arts college, and loved it. When I say small, I mean my biggest class was orchestra with about 30 of us in it. My smallest class (upper division child development seminar) had 6. One of the things I did at the end of …
One of my students who I have been teaching for the past few years decided she wanted to pick up knitting after her mother passed away. While she was alive, her mother regularly talked about teaching her to knit. After she passed, this became a way to feel connected to her even though she wasn’t …
People often ask me what they should make as their first knitting project. I have heard from many people that making a scarf is a good first project. I disagree. It is true that once you know how to cast on and do the knit stitch you can make really anything that is …
It depends. Not your favorite answer? Well, I can understand that. I saw a post over a year ago asking if people could knit or crochet without looking. “Of course knitting!” I thought, then scrolled through the comments. It was 50/50 on which one people said they could do without looking (and …
I’ve been teaching knitting to students all over the US since 2020 and I have observed that most of us knit like we read. Are you a one book at a time kinda reader? You will most likely also be a one project at a time kinda knitter. Do you have several books that you …