Not just any ruler, but a special ruler.
It's not special because it is green.
It's special, because one side is completely plain and unmarked.
Just what I need for talking to youngsters about ancient Greek maths.
(75p from Tescos. Bargain)
Friday, July 31, 2009
New Ruler
Today I bought a new ruler.
Not just any ruler, but a special ruler.
It's not special because it is green.
It's special, because one side is completely plain and unmarked.
Just what I need for talking to youngsters about ancient Greek maths.
(75p from Tescos. Bargain)
Not just any ruler, but a special ruler.
It's not special because it is green.
It's special, because one side is completely plain and unmarked.
Just what I need for talking to youngsters about ancient Greek maths.
(75p from Tescos. Bargain)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Scarf Progress
Thanks for the comments on the last post. I'm not the only slow-crafting Latin-reading blogger out there then.
When knitting a garter stitch scarf, progress should be smooth shouldn't it, and not require frogging much? The only complex bit of the Baktus scarf was that during the first half of the scarf, you increase on occasion, and for the second half, you decrease. However progress was in fact slow, and involved three lots of frogging.
It went like this
Unfortunately, I haven't got a good photo of the scarf at the moment. This picture was taken when I was trying to work out whether to change the rate of increases:
When knitting a garter stitch scarf, progress should be smooth shouldn't it, and not require frogging much? The only complex bit of the Baktus scarf was that during the first half of the scarf, you increase on occasion, and for the second half, you decrease. However progress was in fact slow, and involved three lots of frogging.
It went like this
- Tuesday: cast on a swatch to choose the right needle size
- Wednesday: frog swatch, start knitting
- Thursday: realise that yarn-over increases create holes, and there is no easy decrease which will make holes at the other end: frog knitting completely
- Friday: realise that the scarf is coming out quite triangular, rather then a crooked rectangle. Decide to change the increase frequency, hence frog half progress to date.
- Saturday: knit lots
- Sunday: knit a bit
- Monday: don't knit
- Tuesday: knit a bit
- Wednesday: knit a teeny bit, blog
Unfortunately, I haven't got a good photo of the scarf at the moment. This picture was taken when I was trying to work out whether to change the rate of increases:
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Confessions and Comparisons
I have a confession to make.
I am not a prolific crafter. I knit slowly, I sew slowly, I have too many WISPs. When I compare myself to other people on the 'net, they are all finishing stuff far faster then I do.
It's not even as if I have numerous commitments: other prolific crafters have far more the I do.
That's why I've been a bit quiet recently.
But comparisons are pointless, aren't they?
I haven't posted about all my successes, like the marks I got in my Latin TMAs - the first two were so high that I have passed the coursework component even before I submit the last two TMAs.
I haven't boasted about DH, or Kiddo's SATS results. I haven't talked much about the KS2 Ancient Greek maths sessions I've run.
So what if someone makes three quilts in a week, or churns out jumpers at a rate of knots! Let them be prolific, and I'll draw circles and knit direct from the hank. If I'm enjoying what I do, does it matter how long it takes? They might be about to spin a fleece fast, but I can say "I sheared a sheep today" in Latin.
However, in the light of this post, just why did I start knitting a laceweight scarf at the knitting group tonight?
--------------------------------
WISP == Work in Slow Progress
hodie ouem totondi == "I sheared a sheep today"
I am not a prolific crafter. I knit slowly, I sew slowly, I have too many WISPs. When I compare myself to other people on the 'net, they are all finishing stuff far faster then I do.
It's not even as if I have numerous commitments: other prolific crafters have far more the I do.
That's why I've been a bit quiet recently.
But comparisons are pointless, aren't they?
I haven't posted about all my successes, like the marks I got in my Latin TMAs - the first two were so high that I have passed the coursework component even before I submit the last two TMAs.
I haven't boasted about DH, or Kiddo's SATS results. I haven't talked much about the KS2 Ancient Greek maths sessions I've run.
So what if someone makes three quilts in a week, or churns out jumpers at a rate of knots! Let them be prolific, and I'll draw circles and knit direct from the hank. If I'm enjoying what I do, does it matter how long it takes? They might be about to spin a fleece fast, but I can say "I sheared a sheep today" in Latin.
However, in the light of this post, just why did I start knitting a laceweight scarf at the knitting group tonight?
--------------------------------
WISP == Work in Slow Progress
hodie ouem totondi == "I sheared a sheep today"
Monday, July 13, 2009
Ferret's Book - preorder now
Just a quick note to say that Ferret's book will be launched at the Festival of Quilts, but you can pre-order it now, via her website. She'll even sign it for you!
I've seen some of her student's quilts, made using the pattern, and they are really good. It is a world away from the sampler quilt I started as a beginner's project.
I've seen some of her student's quilts, made using the pattern, and they are really good. It is a world away from the sampler quilt I started as a beginner's project.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Ancient Greek Day - the Next Gen
I've got some news! But first you have to read the rest of the post :-).
The children seemed to enjoy the ancient Greek maths I talked about in the last post. I was a bit thrown by the boy whose dad had already shown him how to draw equilateral triangles. However, my book about maths showed you the next proposition from the Elements - how to copy the length of a line from one place to another, and the two of us worked through that together. He seemed to enjoy it.
What really impressed the children at the end was showing them how to draw a hexagon, using only ruler and compass.
There were several people helping and teacher organising the day mentioned that her mother (she is a young teacher) would be having a similar day at her school. So I muttered something about being willing to be run a similar session if the mother was interested.
And here is the news:
I had phone calls from people at two different schools.
One was from the aunt of one of the pupils. She was wondering if I'd be willing to a similar session for her school. (I was willing, but there has been no follow-up from there).
However the teacher's mother got in touch as well. It's all arranged: I will now be doing a similar session for a completely different age group at a completely different school.
This could be the start of something!
The children seemed to enjoy the ancient Greek maths I talked about in the last post. I was a bit thrown by the boy whose dad had already shown him how to draw equilateral triangles. However, my book about maths showed you the next proposition from the Elements - how to copy the length of a line from one place to another, and the two of us worked through that together. He seemed to enjoy it.
What really impressed the children at the end was showing them how to draw a hexagon, using only ruler and compass.
There were several people helping and teacher organising the day mentioned that her mother (she is a young teacher) would be having a similar day at her school. So I muttered something about being willing to be run a similar session if the mother was interested.
And here is the news:
I had phone calls from people at two different schools.
One was from the aunt of one of the pupils. She was wondering if I'd be willing to a similar session for her school. (I was willing, but there has been no follow-up from there).
However the teacher's mother got in touch as well. It's all arranged: I will now be doing a similar session for a completely different age group at a completely different school.
This could be the start of something!