Amy Herzog of Stash Knit Repeat and Fit to Flatter fame is giving a class at the North Attleboro Library today – I’ve been signed up since February or so. One slightly ‘gulp’ aspect of this class if that I have to wear fitted clothes to allow for easier figure analysis – so I dragged out a pair of capris that had been in the give away pile, and a camisol, threw a tunic over it and declared myself dressed. I was going to wear my bathing suit, and regular clothes, but I really, really need to sew a new bathing suit, the edging elastic is shot, and the fabric’s elastic is gone too.
Swimming regularly … it’s been a while, like before I started blogging.
But this is not meant to be an Eyore post! I’m pulling out of the doldrums, K only got me up twice last night, M is calmer on his teeth, I mopped the kitchen floor and felt uplifted by the shine when I got up this morning, besides, Dan brought me coffee in bed. K and I went grocery shopping at Shaw’s, where the carts have little cars for kids in the front and she got to beep the horn at shoppers. If I can get my Sunday School Lesson prepped before I go to the class, I’ll be caught up more or less.
I’m hoping to learn how to categorise sweaters to market them using Amy’s terminology- if knitters have a realistic understanding of themselves and their shapes, they will be happier with the end product, and make good decisions about what alterations to make in a sweater. There was a discussion on How to become a Professional Knitter about designers taking classes from designers – and how they should never steal the material to teach from. Since I haven’t gotten any patterns self published yet, and my sweater won’t be out until December, that feels a bit weird, but I’ll blunder along as best I can, “Hi, I’m a knitting/crochet designer that hasn’t published anything yet, but I’m an ethical one who doesn’t intend to steal your materials!”
I’d also like to see how she organises the class in general: I’ve tutored one on one extensively ( but not in crafts: math, homeschool, and Christian Ed) and taught classes at co-op and VBS, but I’ve only taught a few knitting and crochet techniques, and always one on one. How DO you teach a class when folks can’t all see your hands? Though this class is more focused on identifying our shapes, so we can knit for them confidently, not so much hand knitting technique, although she may get into vertical darts.
I’ve seen on interviews that many knitting designers suppliment their income with teaching. I wonder if I’d be good at that, I’d usually rather read a book than take a technique class, but there must be many knitters who would rather take a class. Chatting with knitters is great fun too – hope I don’t get in trouble for that during class!
I had thought reading Amy’s tutorials would leave nothing else for her to cover in her class. So glad I was wrong, what a worthwhile afternoon.