I've heard from some blog readers who also enjoy classes from the Teaching Company. I recommend that anyone who orders a class from them take all the online surveys they conduct. I also send in the little feedback forms that come with each class. As a result they sent me 3 free copies of the American Ideals course last year to help evaluate their new packaging. I'm hoping some day to get on their list to evaluate possible new lecturers. Also, only order the classes on sale. They all go on sale at some point every year so you shouldn't have to wait too long.
Here are some reviews of the classes we've purchased. So far we've only done the classes on audiotape to save money but our next class will be video or DVD.
Voltaire and the Triumph of the Enlightenment - This was the first class we tried and we loved it. My undergraduate degree is in French so I'd already read Candide but it inspired DH to do so also.
American Religious History - This course is absolutely fascinating and was our first class with Dr. Patrick Allitt. He is by far our favorite Teaching Company lecturer. He has an obsession with unearthing all sorts of strange little snippets and quotes. Although initially I thought it was weird that a Brit was teaching a class on American history, now I'd take any class with him on any subject any time.
The High Middle Ages - This course was DH's choice and honestly, neither of us were completely excited by the professor. Yes we know you went to Harvard because you mention it constantly! I did find some of it interesting though so I'd give it a lukewarm thumbs-up.
Victorian Britain - Another class by Dr. Allitt and so far my favorite Teaching Company class. He relies heavily on Queen Victoria's personal diary for the class. He also discusses a lot of literature from that period - Dickens, Gaskell, Trollope, etc. I actually went and bought most of the novels Dr. Allitt recommended.
Robert E Lee and His High Command - DH's choice and not my cup of tea at all. If you like Civil War military history and discussions, this one is for you. DH ended up listening to most of this class while driving to work although I did enjoy hearing just how loony tunes Stonewall Jackson was.
Thomas Jefferson: American Visionary - We had high hopes for this one but the affected accent the professor used whenever he quoted Jefferson just drove us nuts. This is the only class we didn't finish - fortunately it was one of the inexpensive ones. It doesn't seem to be offered for sale any more anyway.
Great Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt - Very well done and another one of my favorites. Honestly I wasn't even that interested in Egypt but Professor Brier proves that a really good teacher can make any subject fascinating. I really regretted not getting this one on video or DVD because I really wanted to see all the specific pyramids and monuments he was discussing. Some of his lectures like the one on discovering Tutankhamen's tomb were incredibly suspenseful and compelling. I believe Professor Brier did a tv show on the Discovery Channel. I plan to order another class on this subject with him, on video this time.
American Ideals: Founding a Republic of Virtue - We haven't started this one yet but we're looking forward to starting it this week.
Today is the three year anniversary of this blog so I thought I'd reprint my very first blog entry. Everything is the same except we now only have 2 cats and 1 enormous new pet rabbit. (Rest in Peace Pumpkin, Flip, and Snickerdoodle.) I've still haven't learned to weave tapestries but at least I finished all the projects mentioned.
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Welcome to my knitting blog! My name is Nanette, I live in a passive-solar house on 2 acres outside of Albuquerque, NM, with my husband Bruce, 2 spoiled house rabbits, and 3 cats. I'm the author of 'Tis the Season: A Vegetarian Christmas Cookbook (Simon & Schuster, 1995). I own a Ashford Traveler spinning wheel and many beautiful spindles and I want to learn how to weave tapestries this year. My main passion in life is knitting especially Norwegian designs.
My current works-in-progress are the Dale of Norway Sirdal cardigan (photo here at Allegro Yarns), the St. Enda sweater from Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore, and a traveling stitch vest.I'm waiting on some plum Richesse de Soie (cashmere/silk blend) to make some mittens for my friend Gracie. I've never worked with cashmere before and I can barely wait.
Here are some photos of my work - Landra's Gloves from Nancy Bush's Folk Knitting in Estonia knit in Stahl Baby Merino and the Selbu Star Gloves from Vibeke Lind's Knitting in the Nordic Tradition knit in Country Garden DK.
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Welcome to my knitting blog! My name is Nanette, I live in a passive-solar house on 2 acres outside of Albuquerque, NM, with my husband Bruce, 2 spoiled house rabbits, and 3 cats. I'm the author of 'Tis the Season: A Vegetarian Christmas Cookbook (Simon & Schuster, 1995). I own a Ashford Traveler spinning wheel and many beautiful spindles and I want to learn how to weave tapestries this year. My main passion in life is knitting especially Norwegian designs.
My current works-in-progress are the Dale of Norway Sirdal cardigan (photo here at Allegro Yarns), the St. Enda sweater from Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore, and a traveling stitch vest.I'm waiting on some plum Richesse de Soie (cashmere/silk blend) to make some mittens for my friend Gracie. I've never worked with cashmere before and I can barely wait.
Here are some photos of my work - Landra's Gloves from Nancy Bush's Folk Knitting in Estonia knit in Stahl Baby Merino and the Selbu Star Gloves from Vibeke Lind's Knitting in the Nordic Tradition knit in Country Garden DK.
Because I'm working on the Log Cabin socks from Handknit Holidays, I wanted to show how I do cables without a cable needle. I used to spend my life losing cable needles so this method is much faster. (I do occasionally use a cable needle for some really complex cables, a la Alice Starmore.)
There are four steps to cabling without a cable needle. This is a 6 stitch cable where the 3 stitches are held in front (a left-leaning cable).
1.Start by dropping the first 3 stitches off the needle. Just let them hang there for a brief moment - don't worry they won't go anywhere. Then gently transfer the next 3 stitches to the right needle. Here you see the three stitches hanging loose and the right needle is starting to pick up the next 3 stitches.
Now all three stitches have been transferred to the right needle and the three stitches to be cabled are still hanging loose.
2. Transfer the 3 stitches hanging loose to the left needle in sequence without twisting the stitches.
3. The scary part is over! All stitches are accounted for. Transfer the 3 stitches on the right needle to the left needle. Here you see all the stitches back on the left needle.
4. Knit across all 6 stitches normally and you're done.
To do a 6 stitch cable where the stitches are held in the back (right-leaning), you transfer the first 3 stitches to the right needle and let the next 3 stitches hang loose.
Gently transfer the 3 stitches moved to the right needle back to the left needle with the 3 loose stitches not on needles still hanging out in front of the work. Pick up the three loose stitches with the right needle (in sequence, untwisted) and put them back on the left needle. Knit normally across the 6 stitches.
There are four steps to cabling without a cable needle. This is a 6 stitch cable where the 3 stitches are held in front (a left-leaning cable).
1.Start by dropping the first 3 stitches off the needle. Just let them hang there for a brief moment - don't worry they won't go anywhere. Then gently transfer the next 3 stitches to the right needle. Here you see the three stitches hanging loose and the right needle is starting to pick up the next 3 stitches.
Now all three stitches have been transferred to the right needle and the three stitches to be cabled are still hanging loose.
2. Transfer the 3 stitches hanging loose to the left needle in sequence without twisting the stitches.
3. The scary part is over! All stitches are accounted for. Transfer the 3 stitches on the right needle to the left needle. Here you see all the stitches back on the left needle.
4. Knit across all 6 stitches normally and you're done.
To do a 6 stitch cable where the stitches are held in the back (right-leaning), you transfer the first 3 stitches to the right needle and let the next 3 stitches hang loose.
Gently transfer the 3 stitches moved to the right needle back to the left needle with the 3 loose stitches not on needles still hanging out in front of the work. Pick up the three loose stitches with the right needle (in sequence, untwisted) and put them back on the left needle. Knit normally across the 6 stitches.
I've been tending to a sick spouse for a few days. Today he went back to work but he may end up staying home again tomorrow. So far I've managed to resist getting sick by washing my hands 500,000 times a day and spraying down the house with my herbal antibacterial room spray (20 drops of lemon essential oil and 20 drops of lavender essential oil in about 1 cup of water in a spray bottle.)
I 'm going to start the cabled socks in Handknit Holidays. I need something that doesn't require too much thinking on my part because I have two magazine articles to write this week - one on herbal teas and a Cinco de Mayo menu article.
Peaches is planning to help me - she's quite a fan of paperwork.
I 'm going to start the cabled socks in Handknit Holidays. I need something that doesn't require too much thinking on my part because I have two magazine articles to write this week - one on herbal teas and a Cinco de Mayo menu article.
Peaches is planning to help me - she's quite a fan of paperwork.
I saw a brief segment on color knitting on the Knitty Gritty tv show. They talked about slip stitch color knitting, intarsia, and Fair Isle knitting (used to mean all stranded color knitting I guess). I only use the term Fair Isle knitting for traditional, only 2 colors per row, no long floats, geometric designs using Shetland wool. There are differences between Fair Isle knitting and the traditional stranded color knitting of Scandinavia, Latvia, Estonia, Turkey, the Andes, etc. I haven't done many Fair Isle projects but here is a tam I designed a while ago. I was going for a water theme with the wavy pattern and the colors.
The 2-color knitting shown on tv was done by picking up and dropping each yarn as it was needed; they didn't show any of the various methods for holding both yarns. Then the host of the show said (I videotaped it and watched it again to get the quote right) "I think another thing that we don't really talk about is that a lot of, I know a lot of people also don't do color knitting because they think it tends to be ugly." They went on to reassure viewers that you could use whatever colors you like for color knitting and use color knitting as a form of artistic self-expression. I honestly had no clue that some knitters thought two-color knitting was ugly.
The ruffled mitten has turned into a sock. I'm not sure if I'm going to use this second chart pattern either. sigh My knitting is so much faster and more productive when I use other people's patterns rather than always having to invent something on my own. I am waiting anxiously for my copy of Handknit Holidays so I can make the cabled socks. If the book doesn't come tomorrow maybe I'll go through my huge pile of Dale of Norway patterns and pick something.
The 2-color knitting shown on tv was done by picking up and dropping each yarn as it was needed; they didn't show any of the various methods for holding both yarns. Then the host of the show said (I videotaped it and watched it again to get the quote right) "I think another thing that we don't really talk about is that a lot of, I know a lot of people also don't do color knitting because they think it tends to be ugly." They went on to reassure viewers that you could use whatever colors you like for color knitting and use color knitting as a form of artistic self-expression. I honestly had no clue that some knitters thought two-color knitting was ugly.
The ruffled mitten has turned into a sock. I'm not sure if I'm going to use this second chart pattern either. sigh My knitting is so much faster and more productive when I use other people's patterns rather than always having to invent something on my own. I am waiting anxiously for my copy of Handknit Holidays so I can make the cabled socks. If the book doesn't come tomorrow maybe I'll go through my huge pile of Dale of Norway patterns and pick something.
I think Nicky Epstein is the most underrated knitwear designer working today. I currently have four of her books out from the library and am going to save up to buy three of them (Knitted Embellishments, Knitting On The Edge, and my favorite - Knitting Over The Edge.) Maybe she isn't given enough credit because of *what* she knits. Sure, most of us don't have a great need for a 3-dimensional round pillow shaped like a golf ball (with dimples just like a golf ball has) but she had to have a lot of knitting knowledge to figure out how to do it.
I think intarsia is currently even less popular today than stranded color knitting (if such a thing is possible!) but she's never afraid to do huge intarsia projects like the incredible Regal Tapestry Afghan in Knitting For Your Home. Here in my house I've officially declared it "Nicky Epstein Appreciation Week."
Anyway, I was looking through her books and thinking about knitted ruffles. I wanted some on the cuff of a mitten I'm knitting. Most knitted ruffles are done at the end of a knitted item, not when you cast on. They essentially are just a lot of fabric rapidly decreased so I cast on double the stitches I was planning on using. I knit a few rows, then cut the stitches in half by decreasing (K2TOG across row). I ended up getting a basic ruffle as seen here.
I hate the design I charted though so that part is being ripped out as soon as I finish typing this.
I think intarsia is currently even less popular today than stranded color knitting (if such a thing is possible!) but she's never afraid to do huge intarsia projects like the incredible Regal Tapestry Afghan in Knitting For Your Home. Here in my house I've officially declared it "Nicky Epstein Appreciation Week."
Anyway, I was looking through her books and thinking about knitted ruffles. I wanted some on the cuff of a mitten I'm knitting. Most knitted ruffles are done at the end of a knitted item, not when you cast on. They essentially are just a lot of fabric rapidly decreased so I cast on double the stitches I was planning on using. I knit a few rows, then cut the stitches in half by decreasing (K2TOG across row). I ended up getting a basic ruffle as seen here.
I hate the design I charted though so that part is being ripped out as soon as I finish typing this.
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