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I have been asked to teach at the upcoming Aquaterra Ithra. squee! I loves teaching and I loves teaching for Ithra especially. it satisfies my need for tidy order and clearly stated expectations. They asked for the short form "Food and Eating in the Current Middle Ages". basically I feed people tasty not scary medieval food and natter on a bit. Frankly, its my typical tasting class. y'all should take it. really! and if I know you're coming? I'll make sure there's something persona appropriate for you :). My sorrel is even back from the WinterOfOurDiscontent aka snowpocolypse so expect stuffed eggs :)

the sunshine is making me cranky. its PERFECT riding weather. and I have a pony. and I cant ride cuz I am working. Now, I'm grateful for a job that allows me to pay for said pony, dont get me wrong. But I keep trying to think how I can make the 2hr drive after work and still get in some time before it gets too dark....yeah. I havent figured out how to bend space and time yet. need to work on that.

in the meantime I'm daydreaming about all the places we can go (assuming we can hitch a ride with someone) and the things we can do (assuming he doesnt think the whole gig is LAME and lose his brain). I'm even toying with the idea of making one of my A/S entry options some kind of horse costume. mmcnealy  did a nice A/S entry some years back and it got me thinking.... (run away! run away!).

what colors look good on a shiney copper penny pony? can I make my own bells? how can I incorporate those spiffy horse pendants I took photos of in the Cluny last year? (mmm. enamels....would give me a reason to dust off the kiln....)  Raj's current bridle is pretty purple nylon. I would want to remake that in some kind of period appropriate material. yep, the brain fair reels with the possibilities.

but first? I need to get going on my giant day o'science. I brought lunch AND dinner and expecty to be here for the long haul today. whee!

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oo!

fragmentsofnim just asked me to work up a basic how to knitting class. fun!!

1. anyone want to TA?
2. what should we cover?
3. I know some of you have done this before...hwat worked in your format and what didnt?

my first thought is to show them BASIC cast on, knit, purl and bind off, provide them with cheapie kits of bamboo DPNs and cascade220 and a handout of where to go for more info including a pattern on a washcloth

if I could get my hands on Lucy Neatby videos, I'd even be able to have GIANT KNITTING HANDS on the screen behind me playing over and over.

while they fiddled, we'd natter on a bit about history of knitting in sCA period, but just a bit. mostly about where to go for more info.

experienced knitters could be bribed to be TAs so we could get as high a ratio of teacher:student as possible. by the end of the class, the student should have managed a simple cast on, knit and purl and maybe even a cast off for a little wooly rectangle. I know, the excitement is hard to bear sometimes.

I need to work up the class proposal in the next day or so, so input is appreciated!!!!!

fun stuff :)

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tentative class outline for a basic basic basic knitting class in the SCA
input appreciated!!

Introduction to Knitting for the SCA
edited 3/13 thanks to your suggestions! keep 'em coming!

1. history
a. early stuff Naalbinding? (get sample to show difference in fabric)
b. Coptic socks and other cool easterny things
c. Venerable company of cappers
d. The knitting virgin and other images of knitters
e. Gunnister, Mary Rose and other finds (mittens, hats, gloves, vests, bags, etc)
f. Elizabethan
i. Hand knits (sample of eleanore of toledo stockings, felted beret, etc)
ii. Knitting machine
g. ethnic traditions (not neccessarily applicable to the sca period but darn cool)
i. fair isle
ii. aran
iii. scandanavian
iv. eastern European
v. native americans

Every day items
Ecclesiastical
Import goods

2. fibers—depends on where you are and how much money you have
a. cotton
b. silk
c. wool

3. Tools
a. Metal (extant brass DPNs)
b. Wood?
c. Bone?

4. methods (some of these may or may not be period)
a. continental
b. English
c. Lever knitting
d. In the round vs flat
e. Colorwork (stranded vs slipstitch vs embroidered)

5. Resources for the Anachronist: a critical survey
a. Rutt, the first. a good place to start but outdated in places
b. Turnau, intriguingly cryptic, translation issues, hard to find
c. Ravelry and its forums (as always, take antecdotal stuff with a grain of salt)
d. Yahoo HistoricKnit group (ditto)
e. an assortment of webpages (theres info out there but its scattered to the winds)

The Process:
Casting on using a long tailed cast on (demo a couple methods and if they want to go for one over the other, great!)
The Knit stitch (right handed, left handed, picking and throwing)
The purl stitch (applicability in period)
Reading a pattern (examples)
Binding off (show them the basic one and demo a couple others so they can there's options)

We will make a potholder! out of wool, its fire resistant and if you wash it in the washing machine it will felt up nicely (tho it may be a smaller coaster then)

(if i end up with a 4 hr class, we might make a bag instead. I like the idea of starting them off in the round, ladders and all. my first project was socks after all...)

Other useful skills if we have time:
Increasing
Decreasing
Knitting in the round
Colorwork

I may only have 2hrs for this class and so want to make sure that they leave having gotten the basic skills. I really think a class on socks or bags or caps is a second one once they know how to hold the needles!