Spotlight the teacher - Blog post - The Power of 'yes I can!' by Jacqui Speed
Every month we spotlight one of our fabulous members! This month we have been getting to know more about Jacqui Speed from Purlwise! See our previous blog post for a written interview with Jacqui. Jacqui runs Purlwise in Brampton, Cambridgeshire. You can find out more about Purlwise on her Knitting For All teacher page and on her own website. We are delighted to share this blog post written by Jacqui about her thoughts on the power of 'yes I can!' What could you do if you changed 'no I can't' to 'yes I can!'?
The Power of 'yes I can!' by Jacqui Speed
Isn’t it funny how we can always see things in other people more easily than we can ourselves. At one time I had a wool shop and I noticed how many times I heard “oh, I couldn’t do that” often from people who were really experienced makers. I thought about this for a while and not only realised that I say it myself (of course!) but that I think it means one of two things:...
One Ball Beanie
Using just one ball of Rowan Big Wool, this easy garter stitch beanie style hat is a real stunner!
Materials: 100g Rowan Big Wool
Needles: 8mm single point needles
Notions: Tapestry needle for sewing up
Abbreviations: k2tog: Decrease by knitting 2 together
Tension: 8mm needles and in Garter Stitch: 10cm = 10 stitches and 24 rows
PATTERN
Cast on 48 stitches. Knit 30 rows.
Decrease for the crown of the hat
Row 31: *K4, k2tog, repeat from * to end (40 stitches) Row 32: Knit
Row 33: * K3, k2tog, repeat from * to end (32 stitches) Row 34: Knit
Row 35: * K2, k2tog, repeat from * to end (24 stitches) Row 36: Knit
Row 37: * K1, k2tog, repeat from * to end (16 stitches) Row 38: Knit
Row 39: * k2tog, repeat from * to end (8 stitches)
Cut the yarn leaving a long end to sew up. Then thread the end through all the remaining stitches. Pull up tight and secure with some sewing. Sew the sides of your hat together.
Decorate with a...
Six well known benefits of knitting
Every knitter knows the joy that knitting brings. Just squidging some lovely hand dyed alpaca yarn and giving it a sniff relaxes us and makes us feel good! But just in case you need a reminder – here are just six of the many great benefits knitting brings us.
- It helps relieve feelings of stress, worry and depression
- It helps prevent arthritis and tendinitis
- It’s a great way to escape the chaos of everyday life
- It improves maths skills and spacial recognition
- It might delay the onset of dementia
- It provides opportunities to meet with like-minded people
And that’s just the beginning!
