Lesson 8 - continuing

Once again, I am amazed at the diligence and ability in these classes.  We are well on our way to having a wonderful exhibition.  Counting down now - I am putting together a list of workshops to advertise for the daytimes during the exhibition, and we are all purposefully working towards our 'to do' list.
Keep those flowers coming - remember now, if you are making i-cord stems to have wire inserted so they can stand up in the 'garden' you need to cast on 5 stitches, so the opening is wide enough.
We are STILL waiting delivery of the bugs and insects book from Amazon, as is the library!  In the meantime, keep up the leaves, flowers and other things.  Sian's praying mantis is looking amazing, and we have ladybird, butterfly, caterpillar and bee patterns if you want them.
A couple of new photos today - we did a little bit of yarnbombing outside the education room.  A lovely scene, with the Estuary, the Tai Chi class and the 'dressed' trees - (just a pity about the ugly prefabs next door).

More connections discovered tonight - we all know someone...  scarey.  Lovely fun and laughter - keep it up.

Lesson 4 - crochet & Tunisian

What a fantastic lot you are!  We had some fun today - again.  Some people struggled, but the results have been brilliant!  Most of the people in all three classes chose to try the granny squares - despite the pattern being challenging!  I have rewritten the pattern and will post it here as well as including it with this week's email.

BASIC GRANNY SQUARE TO CROCHET

To start:    Ch4, join with a slip stitch to form a ring.

Round 1:   Ch3, 2dc in ring, ch2, (3dc in ring, ch2) 3times for corner. 

Join to top of starting chain with a sl st.

Cut yarn & tie off.

Round 2:   Join new colour at any ch2 space.

Ch3, in same space work 2dc, ch2, 3dc (this is your starting corner).

Ch1, (in next ch2 space work 3dc, ch2, 3dc, ch1) 3 times.

Join to top of starting ch with a sl st. 

Cut yarn, tie off.

Round 3:    Join new colour at any ch2 space. 

Work starting corner as before = Ch3, in same space work 2dc, ch2, 3dc .

Then *ch1, 3dc in next ch1 space, ch1. 

In next sp work 3dc, ch2, 3dc (corner). 

Repeat from * 2 times more. 

Ch1, 3dc in next ch1 space, ch1

Join to top of starting ch with a sl st. 

Cut yarn, tie off.

Round 4:   Join new colour at any ch2 sp,

Work starting corner as before = Ch3, in same space work 2dc, ch2, 3dc . 

Then *(ch1, 3dc in next ch1 sp) 2x. 

Ch1, work corner in next corner space = 3dc, 2ch, 3dc. 

Rep from * 2x more, (ch1, 3dc in next ch1 sp)2x, ch1.

Join to top of starting ch with a sl st. 

Cut yarn, fasten off.

  

For a larger square, continue to work around the piece in the established pattern, which is 3dc, 2ch, 3dc in each corner and 1ch, 3dc, in each space at the side of the square, with 1ch between the last 3dc group and the corner group.  Make one more 3dc group between corners in each round.

Some people tried the tunisian knitting - also known as tunisian crochet, afghan knitting or tricot.  It's so much fun - we must revisit it sometime.

Everyone is working away at the things for the exhibition with some great work happening - so exciting!!

The Course

Although each course is different as it is an organic thing - evolving and changing in response to the individual needs of the people who attend, this is the basic outline I have designed for term 1, 2011.

The main focus for each session is in bold. This is intended as a basic outline - session content may vary depending on individual needs of preferences.

Lesson 1: Welcome and introductions. Outline course and exhibition. Report on progress to date. Copyright. Video clips - knitting; yarnbombing; knitting as art. Floor plan of the Art Centre and overview of ideas to date for the June exhibition.

Lesson 2: Recycling. Using t-shirts, plarn (plastic yarn we will make using plastic shopping bags) and other reusable fibres. Sharing ideas for additions to the exhibition, we will fill in a table of who will do what, where and when. A guide only - this needs to be fun, not work!

Lesson 3: Intarsia & Fairisle. An explanation using examples of the difference. Making our own pictures - designs using graph paper. Trial samples, including gauge samples. Ideas for the future.

Lesson 4: Crochet & Tunisian Knitting. How to. Examples. 'Seagardens Aotearoa'. Review of progress to date. Using various tools, sizes and variations. Finding your comfort zone. Right and left-handed work.

Lesson 5: Flowers, stems, brooches. Other embellishments. i-cord. French knitting. size variations. A range of fibres and materials.

Lesson 6: Scarves. From easy to very complicated - crochet, circular needles, etc. Chevron, ribs, moebius, cables, entrelac.

Lesson 7: Joining pieces. UFOs - unfinished objects. (Everyone has them!) Various methods. Overview of progress towards exhibition. Finalised timeline.

Lesson 8: Double-up and other 'different' forms of knitting. A bit of fun. Also, yarn bombing/storming in the Western Reserve - an expedition. Also, start to record vignettes of finished work for the exhibition.

Lesson 9: Easter patterns. Because we can! Chicks, eggs, etc. Show and tell re exhibition pieces. Identify gaps.

Lesson 19: Final session for term 1. A wrap up and review of the past term's work. This session will be on 13th April.

What do you reckon? Are we having fun, or what?