Last week I was travelling. I hinted a little about it but I didn’t want to say too much about it before I went. Now that the work has been done I get to tell you a little about my amazing week!
I was in Denver for the week recording not one but TWO classes with Craftsy. I’m still pinching myself that this is really happening; the last few days have almost felt like an out of body experience :)
I’ll tell you a little bit about my travels, plus I think I’ve fallen for Denver in a big way!
This is the view from my hotel window; I was staying right in downtown Denver.

My first day was to myself so I got to wander around a little, and found myself some cowboys in the park….

At the other side of the park the Denver Art Museum had the Yves Saint Laurent retrospective which I spend a few hours wandering around.  Apart for getting to see all the clothes first hand I think my favourite part of it was just watching YSL sketching.  He had such fluidity and he was talking about the fact that he doesn’t start with an idea in his head, he just waits for the idea to appear on the paper as he was drawing.  From there he only worked on live models to see the movement and drape of the clothing so he could make changes.

After my initial play/adjustment day it was down to work.  When you’re not used to having hair and make-up done every day it’s quite a treat to start the morning being pampered!  I then also got a chance to peek on the set.  I sent a big box of knits and yarn over before me so all the mannequins were pre dressed with my garments.

As you can see the set up that craftsy have for their recording is pretty amazing.  Multiple cameras, lights everywhere and some fantastic dedicated staff.  I was pretty blown away (and terrified!!).  It took a day or two for me to settle into the recording routine.  Even though I’ve taught many classes doing it on camera is a whole different ball game!  By the time we finished the two classes I was really happy with how they  turned out and more relaxed about the whole process.  The platform that Craftsy use is a really great way of teaching online.  They use streaming video so even with poor broadband coverage you can watch it without trouble (like in our useless broadband area).  The videos are easy to mark for your own notes and you can comment/post photos/ talk with the instructor throughout the class.  Talking with knitters and helping them through patterns is very enjoyable for me so this set-up seems ideal.

So now to tell you a little about the classes.  The first class I designed a brand new cardigan for, it’s got many cables, waist shaping and is of course seamless.  In the class I run through how to measure yourself, how to work cables and read cables charts and each step of the cardigan is knit through.  So if you’ve been nervous about tackling your first big project (or cables) it might be a good class for you!  I’ll post a few photos of the cardigan in the next few days.

The second class is a free class on one of my favourite subjects; short rows.  I talk through several different methods of creating them and then show some different ways of using them (including a bust shaping worksheet).

So lots of knitting to come for you all!  I think the classes will be up in the next few weeks but I’ll post to let you know when exactly they’ll be up.

It was an amazing opportunity to work with craftsy, everyone I worked with was just superb and I am dying to see how the classes turn out (although cringe at the thought of seeing myself on film!).

To finish the week off with a bang I got to have a book signing on Friday night at Fancy Tiger Crafts.  I got to meet tons of great knitters over the course of the evening and really got to finish my week in style.  If you’re ever in Denver I’d highly recommend making a stop here, it’s an amazing shop with the loveliest shop owners :)

I couldn’t help taking this one last shot – in the airport they have signs for Tornado shelters….