Purling

I felt slightly unproductive at the meeting. I currently am not working on a project, but I do have a few that I will begin within the next few days. I ended up not actually doing any knitting or crocheting at all. I spent a good portion of the meeting wandering around taking pictures for our PowerPoint. I got some really funny ones. I made sure to get one with Mrs. Spycher in it since she is our supervisor. I didn't get any with our books so Emily and I will do that tomorrow during class. I got some good pictures of people working. I also have proof that Ian is finally learning how to knit!!!!!!!!! He's completed a few rows since last meeting so he had solid proof that he has finally learned what he is doing. He and Miriam still make mistakes, but over time they'll learn to recognize what it is they've done wrong and hopefully figure out how to fix it. They both made mistakes, but it's good because they were able to recognize that something was wrong, even if they didn't know what they had done or how to fix it. Even I wasn't quite sure how to fix it. As the saying goes, "practice makes perfect". They've gotten to the point now that they can keep going and the more they do, the more confident they'll be and they better they'll get. They are proof that I'm not as terrible a teacher as I thought I was. I don't really like giving others instructions or telling people what to do. I have the potential to be a good leader, I just don't like having others not like me for my decisions. Being a leader means making the hard decisions that others won't like you for and making people do things that they might not want to. Teaching someone how to knit isn't really life-changing, but I still don't feel comfortable telling others what to do, which includes giving instructions. I tend to just grasp how things are done, but I'm not confident that I can explain to others correctly in a way that they'll understand. I have a tendency to feel like if someone doesn't understand what I taught them than I didn't explain it adequately enough for them and the fault is mine so they will be annoyed with me. So, to sum up the meaning of that little tangent, it makes me feel good to know that I was able to do something for someone else and that I have succeeded in passing on the knowledge.

On a random note, Emily brought in a purple elephant that she crocheted and it starred in many of my pictures. Ben helped me pick out some colors to use for a graduation present for a friend. We only have two more meetings, one of which is an end-of-the-year party, which is when we will give Mrs. Spycher her giraffes. Emily and I are for sure making giraffes, Danielle will be making one, and we're hoping that Ben and Eva will also be contributing. Which reminds me that I need to make a googledoc with some possible giraffe patterns on it for anyone who wants to try making one. I would also like to make thank-you cards for the people who donated items. The year is winding up quickly. I'm just hoping we'll have someone willing and able to take up the mantle again next year.

(P.S.: Purling is another form of knitting. It is kind of backwards and puts the stitch on the opposite side of the needle. I chose that as the title because this entry is a little more complex than my others, which works because is slightly more complicated than straight knitting. Also, I couldn't think of a better title.)