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I am trying to switch from English to Continental. That is, I want to be a picker, not a thrower. In the middle of a project, I have gone from holding the yarn in my right hand to holding it in my left. Yeah, that's right, the middle of a project. Pretty crazy, huh? My hands hurt.I have an undergraduate working in my lab this summer. I'm mentoring him through a nationwide program. He works very hard. Unfortunately, he doesn't understand a word I'm saying. It doesn't matter how I say it. Even in pictures, he doesn't understand. He writes down the phrases that come out of my mouth, hoping that if he writes down enough of them it will somehow make sense. I can see his frustration and I feel bad for him; at the same time I am hoping that he is coming to see that graduate school is not in his future.
10 comments:
Not to be the Knitting Voice of Doom, but that's likely to play hell with your gauge, leading to an untoward outcome. I'd make the switch between projects, not during. Or, stop what you're doing and do a nice simple scarf to get the hang of Continental, and then go back to the "real" project.
Pelican, it has changed my gauge, but it's a lace project so I'm not too concerned. That's the nice thing about lace.
Ah, well then, enjoy (and stretch your hands)! And, if you want to move away from lace, I might recommend Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan, a number of designs inspired by common mathematical patterns.
RE: Undergrad
Have you tried speaking SLOWLY... AND... LOUDLY?
Or maybe in meter and rhyme.
That works only some of the time.
Oddly enough, I switched knitting styles in 'mid-lace-project' too -- and found it most successful. You'll find that you'll adjust your techniques to come in line with your previous gauge shortly. Do not fret --
I have never been able to "pick" knitting lace. The skill evades me, as much as I try.
As to the grad student, Rabbi Menachem Schneersohn, z"l, said "In a conversation between an adult and a child, if the child does not understand, it is always the adult's fault." Not to criticize, just to prod.
Keep it angry.
As a continental guy, I wish to welcome you to the Other Side. It's nice here. I hope you will decide to stay.
Also, the situation you describe? I'm having exactly the same experience.
With my new boss.
I'm hoping she is coming to see that managing me is not her future.
And this guy's a native English speaker? Uh-oh.
Oh, yes, I remember that switch-over. I didn't do it in the middle of a project, tho.
I did it on a pair of socks, I think. Not smart. Should have been a scarf or washcloth or something similar.
Hang in there, It gets easier and easier, then suddenly you can't throw any more.
Love your blog.
The undergrad who works hard but does not understand the material, that is tough. I used to teach at a tech school, call it Bone Head Tech, and had a couple of students like that. They were motivated and hard working but were just not smart enough to do the work. That always upset me because there was no way they would make it, no matter how hard they worked. I was the guy stuck with giving them the bad grade.
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