Saturday, January 06, 2007

Knitting Videos

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If you're like me, you're a visual learner.

Actually, I think I'm a combination audio/visual/tactile learner, in that I learn best when I'm seeing, hearing, and doing, all within the same lesson. That's why, during college, I was known for being the mad note-taker. During lectures, I wrote very fast and took verbatum notes, in order to try and capture every nuance of the professor's lesson. Who hasn't been burned by getting a question wrong on a test because they wrote something down wrong in class and then studied & learned that wrong information for the exam? In college, I was obsessed with avoiding that trap, which explains the crazy note-scribbling.

I can't even imagine what college lectures are like nowadays, what with all the kids carrying laptops to class. Do they still handwrite their lecture notes? Or do they type them into their laptops as the professor talks? Or, do they combine the two actions and handwrite their notes with a stylus on the screen of their tablet PC, if they have one? I think I'd miss the old-fashioned paper & ink method, myself, if I found myself back as an undergrad. I guess I've just dated myself as quite ancient.

And, as is my way, I have significantly digressed.

So, back to the topic at hand, which is online knitting videos. There is nothing like being able to watch someone else's hands as they demostrate a complicated technique, and then, be able to rewind and watch it again, as often as you need, until you master that technique. With the advent and maturation of the internet, there is now a plethora of online knitting videos one can watch, in order to learn intimidating techniques in the privacy of one's own home.

Most knitters are well aware of KnittingHelp.com, that priceless in-depth resource of amazingly helpful online knitting videos. It's the first place I tell all new knitters to go, after they've had their first lesson. And it's the first place I go when I need to learn a new technique or need a refresher on an old one.

But there are other online knitting video resources, including:

Recently, I've found some great amateur knitting videos out on YouTube, and have started to compile them into a playlist for myself, so I can go back and watch them when the mood strikes.

Want to knit My So-Called Scarf, but you're unsure of that stitch technique? There's now a video demonstration of it.

Want to know how to knit backwards off of your right needle, to avoid purling and turning your work? There's a video for it.

Want to know how to weave in your ends while knitting, to avoid that loathsome task later on? Yep -- there's a video.

One of the best videos I've found thus far is an excellent 10-minute tutorial on Continental Knitting created by the CraftSanity podcasters, and I will embed it here for your edification:
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(Feedblitz subscribers click here to watch embedded video)
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Enjoy!
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3 comments:

Robin said...

Yeah...I've been scouring YouTube for knitting, spinning & weaving videos! Pretty interesting! Are you going to Robin's Retreat? I was hoping to make it but it doesn't look promising!

Jeanne said...

On college note-taking: as a recent and returning student (dear God, classes start Monday), I can say that at my university, kids—er, students—are still taking notes the "old-fashioned" way. I don't recall even seeing a student flip open a laptop or PDA in class. This is a big university, too, with cutting edge computer facilities and a large-scale on-going computer promotion (every student gets good discounts, Mac or PC) so you'd think it would happen here. I bought a laptop thinking that very thought! But low-tech note-taking seems to be the norm. I do, however, see a lot of ki—er, students (OK, I'm 43, all right?) in the Union and coffeehouses working away on laptops.

Oh, how funny. My word verification was "isapc".

Anonymous said...

I learned to knit continental from a video. I learned to do two-handed stranded knitting from a video. It's the next best thing to having a friend by your side showing you every step. (Maybe better, because of the ability to review it a 2 in the morning when you can't sleep trying to remember a certain technique!)