Learning Skills

[helwen]

Some challenges for myself for this year (up to 365 days, not calendar year):

- Learning to sew better. I've been sewing off and on for years but have avoided some of the more complex things. Currently the vest is a challenge. Hoping to successfully fold space later today...

- Slaughtering/butchering chickens (the layers are getting pretty old, which means they aren't laying very much and we can't afford to keep them).

- Knitting a pair of socks (L knits well so I have an in-house tutor as well as some other friends who knit well). I'm using sport-weight wool, having no desire to go blind.

- Learning to crochet. I couldn’t figure out how to get to the third row years ago, just kept making a long skinny spiral. Thankfully, I have volunteers for that too. No, I can't learn from a book on crochet; that's how I ended up with the spiral.

- Learning the mysteries of operating a heating wood stove. First lesson is today. L completed installing it this week so we are doing test burns. He did the first one yesterday and the draft is fine.

Comments

[gardengirl6.livejournal.com]

I sew basically only for repairs/mending, or in straight lines (did some curtains, and a bodypillowcase or two). My Mom sews well, or used to, and I've been taught, but as you say, the nuances are the thing. Darts? Ha.

When you're ready to butcher the chickens, would you let me come learn too? Chickens are next on my list (already have the rabbits, been watching YouTube instructionals on how to clean/gut/prepare them for cooking. Still not sure how I'm going to kill them, though) and I learn best by watching.

I knit well. I haven't done socks, just out of lack of interest, but vests and sweaters and scarves and blankets... yes. I can't crochet for nothin', though.

I wish I had a wood stove, or even a fireplace! What bozo builds in New England without one? I've talked to contractors and short of adding on to the house, I can't put a woodstove in. *cries*

[helwen.livejournal.com]

I can do darts and can even suffer through zippers, but turned collars...

Okay, added you to the chicken list. We'll have to work something out soon I suspect, but that could be tough with Thanksgiving and then Yule... oy. Will talk it over with L.

On the wood stove, I guess it would still be construction, but can't you just run a chimney up the outside of the house? A mason friend of mine did that at his home. Didn't require an addition (I'm assuming the contractors meant another room).

[oakmouse]

Yay for folding space! I've been hoping that learning how to weave will help me figure out how cloth works; that's my Achilles heel when it comes to sewing. On the other hand, I find the slow process of warping the loom actually interesting, while the slow process of preparing fabric, pinning on the pattern, cutting, transferring marks, removing the pattern, basting the pieces together, and doing trial fittings before actually sewing to be a form of torture the Inquisition might have envied. So I may simply suck at sewing.

I wish I'd known what your crochet problem is --- I could have shown you the solution in about 5 minutes while we were out there, because I had the same problem as a beginner. It's a helluva hurdle until you figure it out, but once over it you'll find things easier. And yeah, books really sort of fail to help that one. I was told to try videos but had nothing to play them on. Took a live teacher to show me, and then all was well.

Yay sportweight yarn! I'm making the Gunnister purse out of sock-weight Shetland yarn on 00 needles and boy, is it challenging my middle-aged eyes. I'm on my 4th try right now because I screwed up the pattern the first three times. Then I realized that bright clear light is the key. Also, going slow and counting stitches to make sure I don't introduce yarn-overs when switching from one needle to the next. (Knitting in the round doesn't come naturally to me.) Try 4 is going better!

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Not sure if weaving will help, but glad you're enjoying the process :) On sewing, I'm not fond of patterns but do use them -- although for SCA stuff a lot of times I just have partial patterns for the important bits, like the bodice, and then just measure body parts and go from there. Some things I find incredibly easy to do and others... not so much.

Also, some patterns have better directions than others.

I wish we could have sat down for crocheting too, but it was a pretty full schedule most of the time. I think once I've sat down with someone it will all work out fine. It was interesting watching you at BTW last November... I could almost understand what you were doing. So I'm sure there's hope for me yet :)

I've only made one attempt at knitting in the round and then got busy with other things. So this will be attempt #2, with supervision. Left to my own devices I invent things that sort of work, but I'd like to try to actually replicate some of the things I've seen in the books we have :D Fortunately L is very good both with understanding books and with explaining things.

[oakmouse]

I'm hoping to develop some sort of knack for the patternless simple garments that I could sew without all the fuss. One of my sewing how-to books has a whole chapter on them.

You'll know you're there with knitting or crochet when you can both replicate what's in the book *and* invent things (that will work better than sort of). With your fiber arts skills, I'm sure you can do it.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

I was thinking more about the weaving as a way to sewing better, and I think it really does have some merit. The more comfortable you are with a material, the more you can focus on what you need to focus on, instead of being distracted by trying to figure out too many things at once. That's one of the reasons I focused on spinning with a drop spindle first for spinning, because I couldn't deal with the treadling at the same time. Knowing what your fabric will and won't do will help a lot. Also might help with things like making appropriate fabric choices -- something I don't always get quite right still, at least when it comes to lining fabrics (they should match in behavior to the outer layer of fabric or else life gets really.... interesting....)

and thanks for the vote of confidence :)

[oakmouse]

Weaving is already beginning to give me a clearer understanding of how fabric behaves, which is something I've never had much grasp of to begin with. I've got hopes! *g* Also, merely reading about hand-spinning has improved my grasp of why my yarn always twists and coils in on itself when I knit but never when I crochet.

I'm going to tackle hand-spinning before the end of the year. I've read both of the books I have from cover to cover twice, and I think I have enough of a grasp to give it a try. Now it's just a matter of finding a chunk of time where I know I needn't worry about interruption or other complications, which will probably be over T-day.

Did I tell you I found a nostepinne at Goodwill the other day for 50 cents?

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Cool! Glad that's working out. And a nostepinne for 50 cents?! Wow!

Just remember, there's a reason they call it a _drop_ spindle....

[oakmouse]

The nostepinne looks like somebody's woodshop project, and apparently the Goodwill people thought it was some sort of gavel handle with no head.

I've been warned about the drop issue. Kris at the yarn shop told me half a dozen drop spindle jokes while she helped me choose rovings and wool yarn for the starter. I'm a bit of a klutz with new skills anyway, so I expect to end up with colorful toes during my first few weeks of spinning. ;)

[helwen.livejournal.com]

LOL!

[harpnfiddle.livejournal.com]

My sewing skills suck, to put it bluntly, so no help there; but I am a fair hand with a crochet hook, have butchered chickens in the past (albeit 20 years ago), and heated our house in MD with our old Defiant (17 years ago)so can help you with any of the above. Just let me know

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the offer!