08/11/2013 I had to come back and revisit this post. What happened to me at the MSKR 2010? What made this experience so bad? I will tell you everything about what happened, well almost everything. There was a
participant at the retreat that did not want his picture taken. I
asked who this person was so that I could avoid taking his picture, the
facilitator refused to tell me who the person was. There were two
occasions in which I tried to take pictures and the facilitator was
telling me, as he follow me around, that I could not take the picture , because
the individual was in the group I was aiming my camera at. Mind you that I asked that if anyone did not want their picture taken to let me know or to get out of the picture. No one said
anything. I could care less the reason why this person did not want his
picture taken, I was going to completely respect that. What bothered me
was that the facilitator was a real dick ,and in my opinion trying to
play a stupid mind game with me. I was ready to take a taxi and come back
home that very night. I was furious and decided to chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo all night. I avoided making a scene with lots of drama, and decided the hell with it and stayed in my room chanting. I boycotted the show and tell,
there was no way I could take any pictures this way. Another point was the place was dirty, no one cleaned the chest of drawers that we were supposed to use. There are no locks on the doors, and some of the staff were very unfriendly, but these were less of a problem than having someone playing a stupid mind game with me. Later on, after I boycotted the Show and Tell , he revealed to me who was the person that did not want their photo taken. I though it was too late, but appreciated his honesty, but I told him he was an idiot. How can you tell someone and guarantee that there will be no pictures taken. In the end, I told the facilitator that I really did not care why the person did not want their picture taken. Believe me, if you are in a public place and you don't want your picture taken, stay home, you are not Madonna or the Prince of Wales. In the end the responsibility of having a good time was mine, but the facilitator did not make it easy for me or the person with a privacy issue. He should have refused accepting that kind of responsibility which was hard to be enforced. I just wanted to revisit and share , clarify the story of this pink triangle and what I did not say before. One thing is for sure, I will never let something like this happen again. I think the facilitator made a big mistake. He put himself in a very tricky situation, I really did not feel comfortable taking pictures any more and to this day it bothers me how I overreacted for nothing. There were lots of people taking pictures, I felt singled out even though I was not really singled out, I was embarrassed and felt like I was being treated like a child. The facilitator has always been a friend,but he really disappointed me that weekend. The following paragraphs is what I wrote then and I have updated the posting as of 08/11/2013.
I went to the East Coast Men's Knitting Retreat 2010. I may be posting some pictures later on , but it s not going to be today I don't know if it is going to be sometime this week or never. I have posted some pictures on Flickr, feel free to look. If I had taken your picture and you did not want it taken and you did not speak up when I asked, twice mind you, you can still get your picture taken off the public sites, just sent me a personal e-mail. I do not need to know why you want it taken off, it is your choice and I will respect it. They say a picture is worth a thousands words, you got my picture I can not say a word.
The MSKR 2010 was the worst experience I have ever had in a retreat, that is for sure. Unless there are improvements on the venue I will not be visiting my brothers on the East Coast Any time soon. Don't let my experience, which is personal create a bad impression of the venue. I did not expect to have any of the issues I encountered , and I definitely did not know how to handle it. So if you have ever been in a situation like that there are two or three ways you can handle it, hopefully things will improve and they are improving from the feedback of my experience.
Thanks for stopping by.
I am hoping that this blog will help you and me experience the craft of crochet as well as knitting. During times of silence or turmoil, crochet and knitting continuously help me quiet my mind at my own pace, enabling me to find my center. I am also sharing my SECRET persona, Lt. DAX, my life in code while living in Bajor. Maybe fiction maybe not is up to you to decide. Peldor Joi!!!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Kobolian Newland
This pattern by Marlowe Crawford was given to us at the MSKR 2010. I liked the pattern a lot and I did not like to lose the pattern in the shaping of the arch and instep. Losing that shapin allowed me to expand the pattern on the top after I stopped the shaping at row 47 and continued in stockinette kind of, as there is a pattern for the instep. Still there is a bit of the shaping that shows if you know what Marlowe's Shapes look like. Thanks for stopping by.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
MSKR 2010 Video
This is the only video I was able to take and it was very early Thursday Morning . I wanted to take more videos , but this is it, I am grateful for that. Thanks for stopping by!
MSKR 2010 Pt1
The MSKR 2010 was held as always at the Easton Mountain Retreat. This is where most of us were staying. My retreat experience was not the best for me personally, maybe because I found some challenges that were unexpected and my life experience has not prepared me to be able to handle them in a better way. I did what I normally do, which is I stayed away from people at night to be able to enjoy the day time with them as I was very upset about many things. Do not let my personal experience color the retreat, it is personal and that is all I will say. In the end I believe the experience made us better able to handle future situations. I am glad I did not leave when I wanted to and that I stayed until the end. It would have been very awkward, more than it has been.
You will not see as many pictures as you know I would take, because there were some issues about some people not wanting their picture taken. The main issue was they did not want to speak up either, I was crushed, I could not reconcile how to take pictures when someone did not tell me they objected, so I decided instead to take no people pictures after that. There is a video I will be posting it later this week. It takes a lot of effort to go through the pictures and videos and compose them, that is why is so important to have the information about who does not want their picture taken. Photographers understand that. As always if your picture is in my blog and you desire it to be taken off email me and I will definitely photoshop your head off and replace it with ALF's.
It was nice to get there early, because we got the chance to participate in the making of the packages for the guys that will be arriving later this afternoon.
These where the 45 goody bags that The Facilitators came up with , very clever and lots of fun stuff for knitters. Inside the bag was a skein of Ozark Mountain Hand Spun, a Calculator, some stitch markers with the MKR logo, and other cutesy stuff that people that knit appreciate. We got a pen as well woohoo! I like pens I guess everyone does, specially if they have the name of a Yarn Store. There was a Cat Toy Felting Kit, a knit kit and a spinning kit, oh and a kool-aid dye kit. I will come back with the information of the vendors that gave us stuff. I am making progress and healing I guess as I am posting. This is very difficult for me, but what the heck let's keep having fun.
There were 3 tables full of stuff for the guys last day which is when the guys get to pick their prizes, sneaky , but worked fantastic. I actually liked the idea, because we got to see the items day after day and had our favorites.
In the end this is what makes part of the retreat a great venue. The fantastic vendors and private business owners that donate to our Retreat, along with the guys that come to this place from different parts of the country and other countries, to gather with other men of like minded ways and knit , crochet, spin and card the whole weekend long. All in all I had a wonderful time and may go some other time in the future after certain things get addressed, some of them have been addressed already, everything is coming out in a very positive light and I am happy for that. I will make some other postings, maybe two more about the retreat, not many pictures, but enough that you get the idea of the beauty of the place and the fun the guys were having, even me. Thanks for stopping by.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Men Spring Knitting Retreat
I am so glad that I am part of this movement and of continuing the craft with my brothers in needles and hooks. Yep even though it says is a Men's Knitting retreat with do Crochet and Spin. If I was going to summarize what I get from these retreats, I will have to say is the fun of being with other guys in a different environment. We are a vast group of men from all walks of life that enjoy the craft of Knitting , Crocheting and Spinning, even some weaving has sneaked into the place. I will be teaching two classes, one of them is the Crochet For Knitters, which will be very basic crochet, but as fundamental as the stitches and how to use crochet if you want to in a piece. The other class is Portuguese Style Knitting using Andrea Wong's Techniques. Andrea was very kind and donated some yarn and DVDs to the Retreats, Yes there is some for the Men's Fall Knitting Retreat, to be on Dumas Bay Center, for more information visit the Mens Knitting Retreat Website and find out more. We are having Retreats all around the world and if you want to organize one, please go to the website and connect with us. I am hoping to share some pictures with you while at the Retreat and maybe even a video. Thanks for stopping by!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Athena A Goddess' Shawl
The Goddess Shawl is an inspiration from the Goddess Athena, yet all you Goddesses and Gods out there may wear this shawl. It is a very fast Knit as well and it blocks fantastic, depending on your desire of how big you want this shawl and how detail you want it to look.
I like rectangular shawls a lot, and this kind of gives it a prayer shawl look, but you can use it for anything that your heart desires, from strolling by the banks of the River, to sitting down by the fireplace in Your house.This is done in Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool with a gauge of 3 stitches an inch on seed stitch unblocked.
I like the way it wraps around, so it may be used as a scarf in a more denser version , by folding it upon itself lengthwise.
I enjoy sitting to read and keeping my shoulders warm. Made for the Goddess Athena, but allowed to be worn by mortal men and women, it will be up for sale on the side bar real soon.Thanks for stopping by.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Goddess Shawl
I never thought that lace would be such a fun challenge, yet it was and is. I decided to design this pattern for a Woman's Shawl, the Goddess none the less. It is coming out beautifully and it is thanks to the help of my friend Naomi and her almost infinite patience lol! I did a prior swatch and I blocked it , but I did not like the way it look. Sometimes when you are designing you get into the math and forget the aesthetics and vice versa. I have been able to create a pattern for a woman or a Goddess take your pick or is it the same?
This is the Goddess Shawl and there is a Scarf alongside it, but I have not tested the pattern yet. This Shawl Pattern is fun and has a very creative stitch definition. It is to be blocked lightly, and it comes from few stitches grows up and comes down again to the the start. Anyway this is my newest creation and it is definitely a Shawl that any woman can wear with pride, but don't let my words stop you, any male can wear this shawl even I will be making one for myself. Thanks for stopping by.
This is the Goddess Shawl and there is a Scarf alongside it, but I have not tested the pattern yet. This Shawl Pattern is fun and has a very creative stitch definition. It is to be blocked lightly, and it comes from few stitches grows up and comes down again to the the start. Anyway this is my newest creation and it is definitely a Shawl that any woman can wear with pride, but don't let my words stop you, any male can wear this shawl even I will be making one for myself. Thanks for stopping by.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Apollo A Man's Shawl
When inspiration strikes you go for the gold, because you don't know when the muses are going to go home. I present you Apollo A Man's Shawl. What makes it a Man's Shawl, well nothing really, I made it with a man in mind, a woman may certainly wear it with pride and without hesitation of being discriminated against. It is Lace after all. One of the particular things that people don't realize in lace is that lace is a reverse craft, kind of. I make the design to be deformed or blocked , thus when you knit the design it looks very different than when you block it.
It may be called a Prayer Shawl
I love the way it drapes on 100 % Fisherman's Wool
Well Back to my reading, but before I do. I want to thank Naomi once more for her invaluable help. I also want to thank my Ravelry Group and the Men Knitting Retreats for their inspiration. I want to thank the Muses for their kind visit and while they are here I shall continue to design . I have two more patterns in mind, but this time is for women. The Patterns are for sale if you are interested, look for them on the sidebar, Thanks for your support and for stopping by.
Man Shawl Blocking
So it is done and now is being blocked. One of the things that you need to learn when making a lace project is that the knit up garment is not what you are going to end up with. Therefore when I designed this pattern I was thinking of the end product, after being blocked. This Shawl has some interesting designs that when you block it makes all the sense in the world, A friend asked me why did 'nt I do this or that or follow the same ribbing at the areas where I have the seed stitch. I told my friend that is not what I wanted to do. I did not want to tell her that my designed would have looked different when blocked if I did the garment in the way she suggested, yet if I was going to leave this garment unblocked, I would have followed the suggestion from my friend. you can see the difference between it being blocked and not when you compare both these pictures. Thanks for stopping by.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
A Man's Shawl
So here you have what I call a man's Shawl. I believe this Shawl is going to be perfect when I block it some time tomorrow. I used my Lion Brand Fisherman's wool and I like the texture and the look it is taking. I hope to create a Ladies' Shawl and a Ladies Scarf in the next week or so as well. I am getting ready for the Men SPring Knitting Retreat and very excited. Andrea Wong was very kind and donated some of her DVDs and some yarn to both retreats. I hope you like the picture and I am going back to finish this guy up. Thanks for stopping by.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
A ManShawl WIP
One of the most difficult things I find on the crafty side of things, is to find men stuff. Women enjoy a lot of designers that cater to them and I am just glad I don't have to deal with the many possibilities that women cronfront every day when it comes to fashion. Men on the other side have a bit less demanding fashion. In the meantime as I work on this new pattern I wanted to show you some of the progress. I am hoping to have it done by Monday let's see if the Gods help me this weekend or the Ambrosia kicks in lol. Thanks for stopping by!
Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off
One of the options to bind off a project is doing it the way Jeny described it. JSSBO is a wonderful way to give your project a great termination that has some elasticity and is different. Like Elizabeth Zimmerman would say, it will not make your bind off sleazy, but just loose enough . A video demonstration from me to also include in my patterns is what you get here and a view of some secret project I am swatching. Thanks for stopping by!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Almost two years without blogging August 2020
Life can be a bowl of strawberries when cheries are not available. It has been almost two years since I have been in this blog. I have s...
-
An easy to make Circular Needle Organizer, Thanks for stopping by!
-
The Prisoner of Azkaban Hogwarts scarves are very different from the old scarves where egalitarian stripes where the norm. I have created a...
-
Well I am doing this in a public way , because I found at least four people that have been hit with this. The headline was "Credit Card...