knit a small sphere extra
Well, the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace is well and truly over for another year. It is always a bit sad when it ends, and inevitably, I wish I had made more of the Show when it was open. As sure as buttons are buttons the following week I need… buttons.
The workshops were fun and hot on their heel I had to propose workshop ideas for the Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia at the end of February. Usually, I pride myself on offering only new ideas, but this time I have submitted some old ideas again. This may have been a mistake – we will see. Why did I do it? Well, partly because it is a busy time of year and I spent too much time working on one new workshop and partly because I thought the workshops I proposed for a second time are good workshops.
What makes a good workshop?
That is a difficult question to answer. I often know what won't make a good workshop. There are two sections to my Knit a Small Sphere workshop, and I thought the second part would make a good thumb drive case. My mind raced ahead: I could take my boxes of useful buttons, beads, fabric and eyes; the cases could be transformed into monsters. I know exactly how long it takes to knit a sphere, students could start with the garter stitch case or a stocking stitch case depending on their skill level, and I have a few tricks to share about short-rows. Doubt set in when I started to fit the zip. You know there is a problem when you start debating with yourself if it should be a 90-minute workshop and what added value you can offer to justify the more expensive ticket. The prospect of fitting (worst-case-scenario) 16 zips in 10 minutes into such a small gap made me feel ill. Yes, I could change the type of zip, and I may have a solution, but this is one proposal that didn't make it this time.
Pattern extra
If you came to my Knit a Small Sphere workshop, use the pattern for the eyelid, knit a firm fabric, attach a closed ring as you gather one of the edges and fit a zip between the cast-off and cast-on edges. You will need to trim the zip, but it will go in. I used a recycled zip which is softer than a new zip. That's it – easy –have fun and please post the results somewhere I can find them.
