So You Think You Can Knit!

About a year ago, I started the Master Knitter program through TKGA. I got about half way done, and then life took off and I haven't had a chance to get back to work on the program. But this week I decided that it is time to get Level I finished up. So I e-mailed the national guild and got updated instructions. I was very pleased that the instructions were emailed to me literally overnight. This revision doesn't look all that much different from the instructions I have been working off of, but I haven't had time yet to do a line by line comparison. Anyway, I am very excited to get back to this project. I have Wednesday mornings off each week, and I intend to use that block of time each week until I get Level I in the mail. I may not even post to the blog on Wednesdays for a while. We'll see how it goes. I should also note that there is another major revision due out on August 1st to all three levels of the program, so my goal is to have Level I completed before the next revisions come out.

For those of you who might not be familiar with it, the Master Knitter program is not a learn to knit program (although the guild offers a variety of correspondence courses that do teach knitting skills). It is a rigorous program for the evaluation of participants' knitting abilities, with the goal of making us into the best knitters we can become. Knitted swatches, written answers to questions, reports, book and magazine article reviews, knitted garments, and original patterns are all required in order to pass all three levels. Happily, not all of those things are required in Level I or I might not ever get it done!

For the crocheters out there, as far as I know, the CGOA does not offer a Master Crocheter program. However, the Craft Yarn Council does offer a Certified Instructor Program in both knitting and crocheting that is also rigorous and thorough. If I ever get through the Master Knitter program, I might try to work through the CIP in crocheting.

Well, I am off to live in the real world for the weekend. Tomorrow we are celebrating some family events, and Sunday is my crochet guild meeting. I'm sure when I post on Monday morning, I will be all fired up about crocheting. I always come home from guild meetings energized and enthused. That's maybe the best thing about belonging to a guild. You get to see what everyone else is working on and you get all kinds of ideas to improve your own projects. Have a great weekend!