Sunday, October 11, 2009

Teaching TV Hosts to Knit

Don't laugh, but I'm going on TV tomorrow morning. It's the CH11 Hamilton breakfast show, "Morning Live", but it's still TV. 8:10am, I believe. (No, Mum, I don't know which channel that is on your TV, and yes, we'll be recording it...)

I'm there to talk about the Creativ Festival, and the all-Canadian needlecraft magazine, A Needle Pulling Thread. I have a 5 minute segment, and they've suggested I teach the hosts to knit.

I do have a partially knit scarf on the needles, and I figure if I can get someone to execute a single knit stitch properly, I'll be good.

I was working on the scarf yesterday, thinking about teaching. I don't often teach beginners, and so it really forced me to think about the process, and how I hold the needles. I knit English (that is, I throw the yarn with my right hand), and with the very large demo needles I'm using, it's pretty cumbersome. I have to hold the right needle with my left hand so that I can pick up and wrap the yarn.

So I decided to try Continental - with the yarn in my left hand. Although I'm clumsy at it myself, and my gauge wasn't wildly even, I think it might actually be easier to explain and demo.

Something to noodle on.

I am taking a whole load of knitwear for me and the hosts to wear, so if nothing else, people can see what cool stuff they can make. I'm hoping that N. cashmere toque is going to get its 5 minutes of fame on the head of a Hamilton morning show host.

1 comment:

TracyKM said...

Wish I had dropped by sooner so I could have watched you on TV!

When I taught my 6 year old to knit, I was sitting on her right. We started by me wrapping the yarn, and she's worked the needles. Once she got that down, she wrapped the yarn, and I held the needles. She quickly realized that it made much more sense to hold the yarn to the left! Now, she does both steps herself, and still holds the yarn in her left hand (although she drops it to manoever the needles). I'm concerned about teaching her the purl st though as it's not as easy that way (at least, it's not when I try it, LOL).