Long-Tail Cast-On for Beginners

Long Tail Cast-On is usually reserved for knitters that have been knitting for a bit.
However, I teach it to my beginning knitting students even though some might argue that it is too fussy a cast-on to teach beginners. My 8-year-old niece and her best friend picked it up quickly. Much more quickly than I did when I learned it. Why do I teach it to beginners? Because the long-tail cast-on establishes your first row of knitting and starts you off with a good foundation that will contribute to your knitting looking better from the get-go.

It looks complex and it can take a bit of time to get the hang of. It may also be difficult to remember how to do when you are ready to cast on your next project. Take as much time as you need. You don't have to learn it quickly. Other methods of casting on may seem easier at first such as the Backwards Loop Cast-On or the Knitted Cast-On, but these cast-ons can leave a sloppy edge and, especially for beginners, they can be really tight to start out with. Nobody should have to struggle and strain to insert a needle into their cast-on stitches to knit their first row.

Don't get me started on the "hold two needles together and cast-on over both to avoid a too tight cast on" method. This leaves such a sloppy edge and makes it far too easy to add in extra stitches.

Some recommend starting students out by casting on for them and knitting the first few rows. Why would you do this? You are basically telling them, "This is too hard for you so I'm going to do it for you."

Instead, start out by being honest and telling them, "Okay, this may look complicated, but you can do it and we'll go through it as many times as you need to. And, once you get this cast-on down, the knitting is going to seem really easy." Starting beginners with a long-tail cast-on gives them a really neat edge so that right from the beginning their knitting can look good.

After more than 25 years of teaching, in my opinion, the teacher is responsible for finding a way to help each student to "get it." You may need to watch many different YouTube videos yourself and see how different people teach Long-Tail Cast-On so you can help students who learn in different ways from you to understand it.

Several things to remember:
* Demonstrate slowly.
* Use the same terminology each and every time.
* Let the students see from the right angle. Either sit and have them stand behind you to watch or actually reach around them and show them as they will see it on their own needles.
* Be patient. Some students may need more time than others. Don't get frustrated.

Tabitha Dorcas

One of my favorite women of the Bible has always been Tabitha Dorcas. Of course, I love the fact that she was a maker and sewed clothes for the poor and widow women in her community. But, I've always loved that when she died all those women brought the things she had made them to her funeral. 

My grandma died when I was 11. She'd taken a pillowcase she'd gotten on sale and used it to sew me a skirt when I was five. Then, she used the leftover piece from the top to teach me to sew a little bag. It must have taken me a long time to finish because when I was ready to show her the finished item, she was asleep in her green chair. At her funeral, there were so many people who said she was like a mother to them or had taken them under her wing and loved them. Even then, I thought, "That's what I want people to say at my funeral."

A friend of mine recently died and, as I walk around my house, I'm constantly reminded of her. The wall quilt that she helped me figure out how to put together. The menu planner on my fridge that I gave up on and gave her to use for fabric that, instead of cutting it up for parts, she finished it for me and returned it, the quilted bag she made for herself and then decided it was too big and asked if I wanted. It's perfect for holding crochet afghans in progress. 

2020 has been a crazy year. But, it's been a good year, too. A year for realizing that we never know when our time is up. A year for realizing that our time on earth is short. This is the time of year when I start planning and getting ready for the coming new year. I want to think about how to reach out to people more. I want to make some special things to give away to people I love. And I want to find more ways to show people I care.

Knitting: I Did It My Way!

Nineteen years ago when I was teaching myself to knit from a book on knitting socks, Youtube videos weren't an option. I found the whole front and back thing confusing and that's how I ended up knitting through the back loop instead of the front. I knit my first sock inside out because I thought the front should be what other people saw and the back was what I was looking at. I knit everything through the back loop for nine years until Ann, a Canadian colleague sat knitting with me one afternoon and mentioned, oh, so, casually, that the sock I was knitting was inside out because I was knitting with the needle farthest from me instead of the closest one, by the way, in case you'd like to try it sometime.

Before that, I'd had Chinese knitters snatch my knitting from me, tell me I was doing it wrong, knit at lightning speed and hand it back. I started stating that I knit American style. Later, at home, I'd rip out their knitting and re-knit it my way so it would look the same.

Patterns started working so much better after I got that whole front and back thing worked out. But, you can knit wrong and still knit. Your way of knitting may make following a pattern a bit problematic at times, but there are so many ways to knit. Different ways to hold the needles and guide the yarn. Trying different things is how wonderful new stitches and designs are born.

Keep learning about knitting and different ways to hold your needles or carry your yarn or make a stitch. And never stop trying new things to see what happens. You never know, you might invent something wonderful!

Planning: Seasonal Knitting Plans

It seems like this is the time of year when almost everyone starts making plans for the coming year. My Ravelry queue is loaded with patterns that I'd like to make in 2020. Way more patterns than I will probably be able to knit in one year. Plans change, though. Amazing new patterns come out. The cat unravels a sweater and I suddenly need to knit a new one. You know how it goes.

However, if I plan for only one month at a time, I forget things. How do you make it to December only to realize you have not even started one of the hats you planned for Christmas gifts last December? It happens.

I wanted a seasonal plan that would help me to plan ahead while working with a shorter time period that wouldn't be so overwhelming so that I could plan a little more practically.

I'm still trying to get my total number of WIPs a little smaller so at the top are places to write my beginning and ending number of WIPs to remind myself to keep the number smaller.

WIP Plans: I want to finish one or two items before starting another, but I have several really large projects on the needles that I want to make sure I'm making progress on throughout the season. Things like, add 15 mitered squares to scrap blanket.

Projects to Start and Projects to Finish: These are pretty self-explanatory, but again, I don't want to start five projects if I'm only going to finish one. Seeing it on paper is a good way to keep my plans in perspective.

Gift Items for This Season: This is the place to write any occasions you want to make gifts for this season. These items will probably need to be smaller items since there will be less time to finish them.

Gift Items for Next Season: Writing down the coming occasions you want to make gifts for helps you to think ahead. Do you need to start a larger project now so there will be time to finish it? Do you want to knit an item or two early to get a head start because next season will be especially busy?

Christmas Gifts to Make This Season: Think ahead to Christmas! Check your Christmas gift master list and make a few of the items from it each season. How many Christmas gifts do you need to finish each season or month? Start any larger projects early in the year and save the smaller, quick-to-knit items for closer to Christmas.

Yarn to Purchase: What yarn do you need for this season's knitting? Do you want to start buying yarn for next season? Is there sale yarn that you want to purchase now?

Items to Make for Next Season: This is probably the section that will change the most and that's okay. If you know you want a sweater to wear in the fall and you want to start knitting it in the summer, you may want to buy the yarn in the spring. Or, maybe a new pattern comes out, but you aren't ready to start it, yet. Add it to this list and you can use this section when you are planning for the next season.

If you want to start planning your knitting for the coming season. Click the link below to download my planning sheet:

Seasonal Knitting Planning Sheet

Published: Tiny Apron for Tiny Dolls

Tiny Apron for Tiny Dolls has just been published on Ravelry. Ann Wood's Tiny Rag Doll pattern is so much fun to make, but I thought she needed an apron. These knit up fast and the pattern is free. So, be sure to knit some up for your dolls.