Friday, March 29, 2013

Yay for YouTube

I am writing the second book in my new series that features a dessert chef who puts on yarn retreats. In Yarn to Go, she puts on a simple one with a small group and they work on knitting. Between my knowledge of knitting and the books I have, it wasn’t hard to describe their projects or their processes.

Ah, but in book two Casey Feldstein has taken on a much more involved retreat. She’s calling it from Sheep to Shawl. I thought it was a wonderful idea. They would start with a sheep fleece, spin the wool into yarn and then knit a shawl with it.

I had tried a spinning yarn on a spinning wheel at one of the yarn conferences I’d gone to, so I felt pretty confident I could write about the process. The synopsis I wrote was mostly devoted to the mystery plot and I described the whole sheep to shawl thing in a vague sentence or two.

But now that I’ve begun writing the book, I suddenly realized I needed details. It wouldn’t be enough to say “and then they prepared the wool.” Now, I am going to a an event at the local community college at the end of April that is going to have sheep shearing and a spinning demonstration, but there is a lot that happens to the fibers between coming off the sheep and be ready to turn into yarn.

Enter YouTube. You want to see something demonstrated, chances are there is a video on YouTube. In the fourth crochet mystery, A Stitch in Time, I wondered how an epi pen worked. Sure enough, I found a video of a woman demonstrating how to jab yourself in the leg with one. Not only that, but she explained how it worked and showed a close up of one.


I knew some of the terms used in preparing wool to be spun, but wasn’t sure what they meant or more important how to do them. All I had to do was type in a description of what I was looking for and links to videos appeared. It was like having my own personal demonstrations that I could repeat as many times as I wanted.

I know it isn’t quite the same as doing it myself and I am going to order a drop spindle and an instructional DVD. I am considering seeing if I can get some raw wool and the tools used to stretch the fibers for two reasons. It is easier to write about something I’ve done, and now that I’ve watched the videos, I’m curious about working with the wool.

But still, being able to watch a demonstration of whatever you want to know is fabulous and so accessible. It is hard to imagine what it was like without all this information at our fingertips.

Have you ever learned something using YouTube?

12 comments:

Michelle said...

I've learned a few quilting tricks and my husband is always using You Tube to learn how to do things with his trucks or his bees.

Betty Hechtman said...

Michelle, YouTube is great for learning craft techniques.

Bren said...

I've learned a lot of crochet and knitting techniques. Some were easy and some I just couldn't grasp. Guess that's life. glad to know you're working on another series. That's more for us to read.

Planner said...

It truly is wonderful that our computers are entire research libraries to satisfy our thirst for knowledge. I often use YouTube to understand something tricky or forgotten in crochet or knitting. Yesterday I watched videos of chefs and "regular" people demonstrating their fennel preparation techniques to learn what to do with the fennel I bought on a whim.

I love it that ordinary people I don't even know and will never meet took the time to show me how to do something.

Betty Hechtman said...

Bren, not all the videos are as good at teaching as others are. I guess it is just like people. Some are better teachers than others.

Betty Hechtman said...

Planner, what did you decide to do with the fennel?

Linda O. Johnston said...

I've seen posts on YouTube, Betty, but I've never used it as a research tool. I will now, though. Thanks for the tip!

Planner said...

Regarding my fennel purchase: I made a vegetable dish with it. I chopped the fennel bulb and added chopped leeks, Brussels sprouts (thank you for turning me onto Brussels sprouts!), mushrooms, carrots, and celery root. Just whatever I had. I sauteed them in water and put them over pasta. I made something else for my husband in case the fennel taste was too strong. We both ate it, and neither one of us could really taste the fennel--the flavors all blended together nicely.

I also chopped up a small amount of the fennel stem and put it in my dinner salad. I could taste the licorice flavor, but it was very mild and kind of fun. Sort of like I put a tiny bit of candy in the salad!

One of my goals this year is to become acquainted with vegetables I haven't paid much attention to before or have shunned in the past.

Chrystle Fiedler said...

You Tube is amazing! Thanks for the reminder!

Christine Thresh said...

Spinning help is on the way. I just mailed off the booklet to you today. Warning: spinning is such fun and is so relaxing you might get addicted.

Betty Hechtman said...

Planner, it sounds like you had a fennel fiesta.

Betty Hechtman said...

Christine; I am looking forward to the booklet and I hope you are right. I tried spinning once on a wheel at the Knit and Crochet Show and immediately loved it.