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Sunday, May 25, 2014

Math for Knitters



Week 21 = In-depth Class Reviews
Day 5 = May 25, 2014


     To continue the in-depth view of both Mom's and my classes and what we learned, here is what I have for you today.

Mom's Class

Candace Eisner Strick – Mobius Manipulated

 I’ve always felt knitting a mobius would be very complicated, but thanks to Candace, I have finally gotten the mystery taken out of doing just that.  This knowledge, however, doesn’t mean it’s any easier to knit…at least not yet.  The hardest part was casting on and knitting/purling the first several ‘rows.’  Wow, talk about tight knitting!  As a naturally loose knitter, I’ve never experienced something so hard to knit.  But now that I’ve successfully completed 3 of the double circles, each making up a ‘row,’ my confidence is building and the stitches are becoming easier to knit – both good things.

Thank you, Candace, for helping me overcome my anxiety about the mystery of knitting a mobius.  This has now been added to my likeable projects and I will most certainly be knitting more in the future.



Victoria's Class

     The Class: Math for Knitters
     The Instructor: Kate Atherley
     Class Size: 11
     Rating (1 Unhappy - 10 Ecstatic): 6
     Best thing about the class: Being able to do some of the math problems with the teacher right there to help.
     Needs improvement: The class moved towards more information about garments than I would have liked. I have personally only knit one item that I would consider a fitted garment... a sweater. I didn't do a swatch for gauge and it was the first thing that I ever knit from a written pattern. Also, there was no handout with the class. Kate did a Power Point presentation and I would have liked to been able to take notes on a companion handout instead of my notebook.
     The Review: This class was more helpful than I expected. We were given problems like this one:
  • Increase 5 stitches evenly over the 87 stitches.
  • Increase 6 stitches evenly over 42 stitches.
  • Decrease 5 stitches evenly over  60 stitches.
  • Decrease 11 stitches evenly over 75 stitches.
     Now on to pictures, since the class had nothing to do with actual knitting, here are some pretty socks. Kate, the instructor, is obsessed with socks and designed all of these.
Roasted Carrot Socks



Basic Ribbed Socks


Christmas sock

     I am content with the amount of material that I learned. Plus, I will be comfortable using many of the items learned on my own. The class size of 11 students made for a very personal experience. There wasn't a handout and the materials required for the class were all there. 


Knitting question of the day
Would you attempt a pattern if it required you to
do math like the problem given above? 
Knitting & Math,

Victoria
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