Friday, February 15, 2013

Yarn Challenges

I love crochet for lots of reasons, but it is time to broaden my horizons and get comfortable with knitting. I know how to knit and purl, cast on and cast off, but knitting makes me tense. I worry about making mistakes and not being able to fix them. I know some people take their mistakes to someone else to fix, but I need to be self sufficient.

To that end, I signed up for a class at my local yarn shop for a class this Sunday on fixing knitting mistakes. I love taking classes, which is pretty funny because I hated school as a kid. I realized today that I prefer being a student to being a teacher. It is so exciting to learn new things. And the idea that I could actually knit without worry is great.

I like the idea of meeting new yarn people, too. The only danger is being in that store with all that gorgeous yarn and a credit card.

My next challenge is going to be teaching myself how to spin yarn. I am working on the second book in the new series and the retreat Casey Feldstein is putting on goes from sheep to shawl with all stops in between, which means I’m going to be learning it too.

I have already figured out how to see a sheep get shorn. The local community college has an agricultural school and is having farm day at the end of April. Part of the program is a sheep shearing and yarn spinning.

I don’t think they are going to show the steps the wool goes through between coming off the sheep and being ready to be spun. Between books and YouTube, I have it pretty well figured out.

I have tried spinning on a wheel, but I need to know how to spin on a drop spindle if I’m going to have Casey doing it.

It reminds me of some advice I got from an art teacher. She was talking about drawing a tree from an image in your mind versus drawing the one outside your window. The one in drawn from a mental image was a generic tree, while the one drawn from life was a particular tree.

I want the experience with the drop spindle to be specific and there is nothing better than struggling with it myself. And the bonus is I will learn how to spin with it.

Meanwhile my editor went over my revision and was very happy with the manuscript. She warned me the copy edit will be sent to me in a couple of weeks. By then I hope I am well on my way with book two, which I’m calling Silence of the Lambs Wool.

Somewhere in all this, I’ll be getting back For Better or Worsted for revisions. And I’m already thinking about crochet mystery # 9, which I will start writing as soon as I turn in Silence of the Lambs Wool. Sounds confusing, doesn’t it? I hope characters don’t start wandering off from one series into the other.

10 comments:

Linda O. Johnston said...

Wow, Betty, I'm really impressed by your commitment to yarn in all its forms, even straight off the sheep!

Monica Ferris said...

I'm going to a spring festival of sheep and wool in early May in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. There will be lambs, clearly one of the most endearing creatures on earth.

My mother knit me an Irish Fisherman Sweater from wool "straight from the sheep," so full of natural lanolin it was waterproof in a light rain. I wore it horseback riding in Epping Forest in England. Someone, as a favor to me, washed it in hot water then tossed it in a drier and it came out suitable for a very small child. So sad . . .

Betty Hechtman said...

Linda, it's great when research and my interets intersect.

Betty Hechtman said...

Monica, I loved your sweater story, though sorry about the end.

Anonymous said...

wonderful wool is almost worse than wonderful yarn. check out Interweave Press for books, ebooks and spinning videos. Then take a look at goldings and KCL both have wonderful drop spindles. If there is a weaving store in your area, they will have classes. Have fun.

Planner said...

I love learning new things, too, and I share your interest in getting comfortable with knitting. There are so many competent knitters in the world that it has to be doable!

Maybe you should leave your credit card at home when you go to the knitting class. For safety reasons only, of course.

Michelle said...

Start with little projects -- that way if you do make a mistake and have to start over, you don't have as much work invested. Before you know it, you'll have learned how to "read" you stitches and do major surgery on your knits!

Betty Hechtman said...

Anonymous, thanks for the suggestions!

Betty Hechtman said...

Planner, I was a good girl and didn't buy any yarn - yet anyway, they're having a sale starting tomorrow.

Betty Hechtman said...

Michelle, that is great advice and I plan to take it.