I'm very boring lately. No adventures, no exciting projects on the needles. I'm waiting for Interweave to send me yarn for a project I'm working on for next summer's issue, so I haven't started any new projects, and instead have been working on some for-hire knitting that has been hanging over my head for most of 2006. Fortunately - or maybe unfortunately - there was not really a deadline for this project.
In spare moments, I've been frittering away time on a new kind of puzzle I discovered. It's not exactly sweeping the nation yet; the only source for the puzzles that I've found is this book, deceptively subtitled "paint by sudoku." In reality, there is almost no resemblence to sudoku puzzles, but these are just as addictive, and somewhat more satisfying as you end up with a picture when you're finished.
My knitting classes continue to go well. I'm now doing an a la carte open project class every Tuesday night, where people can sign up for as many (or few) sessions as they wish to work on whatever they like. And last Saturday I taught a new (to me) workshop on fixing mistakes, which I've had many requests for over the years. There were several satisfying moments when students grasped something new about how to pick up dropped stitches, to rip out and get the stitches back on the needle seated properly, or other fine points, and shouted, "wow! that's amazing!" It was kind of fascinating how something that seems mundane to me could, to a less experienced knitter, seem completely novel. I'll definitely repeat this class in the future - and hopefully more people will participate, as I had only three (fine, dedicated, grateful) students this time around.
I've been trying to spend a decent amount of time at the piano, and have divided my time between brushing up pieces I played long ago when I took lessons, and learning a few new pieces. Re-learning the old is comparatively easy - as I've often observed with knitting students who had knit as children, muscle memory is a power thing indeed. But trying out new pieces can be frustrating for me, as I try to make my fingers do what my mind tells them to. This is probably a useful exercise for me in compassion for those who are brand new to knitting.
Yup, it all comes back to knitting.
Just wanted to let you know that Games Magazine used to run puzzles like that occasionally: http://www.amazon.com/Games-Magazine-Presents-Numbers-Other/dp/0812923847/
Posted by: Denise | October 31, 2006 at 07:18 PM
and you can play them online here: http://www.blindchicken.com/~ali/games/puzzles.html
Posted by: RJ | November 02, 2006 at 03:00 AM
love, love, love the paint by number puzzles. I'd get a lot more knitting done if I couldn't find them online. I can enable you some more. www.conceptistech.com has online and printable versions of sudoku and picture puzzles. Enjoy.
Kim
Posted by: Kim | November 02, 2006 at 11:55 AM
re: paint by sudoko-there is a pc game called Descartes Enigma developed by Everett Kaser software that does this exact kind of puzzle-it is awesome. I think you can download a demo from the website-I don't have the url handy but it should come up if you google Descartes Enigma.
Posted by: Donna | December 15, 2006 at 10:35 AM