It may seem early to make predictions for the new year, but I can see that 2009 will be a very good year for traditional knitting and serious knitters. Perhaps you have discovered that you love knitting and that you enjoy learning about the techniques, fibers and history. Make this the year you join The Knitting Guild Association.
Membership in TKGA offers support for further education while encouraging knitters to socialize with their local member guilds. You will receive the Cast On magazine as part of your membership. For more information visit www.tkga.com.
Take a look at the courses TKGA offers for advancement in knitting. You can enroll in a basics, basics, basics class for some supervised instruction and review of your work by professional knitting masters. This self-guided series of three classes will allow you to increase your knowledge of the most important fundamental knitting techniques. If you learn the basics the "right" way, you will become a confident knitter who can then choose to do a stitch another way. The reviews of your stitches will be critiqued and you can rework the swatches until you have the skills firmly down.
The serious knitters eventually push themselves to learn more and more about their art, and TKGA offers the only standardized advanced courses for knitting instruction, a program begun in 1987 that will run you about $1,000 to complete. These noncompetitive programs are highly respected by all knitters and completion of all three levels culminates in being awarded the coveted TKGA master knitter title and pin. Currently there are only 200 master knitters, including three in Alaska, but there are more than 1,000 serious knitters working through the program at this time.
The three levels of self-guided course work are not for the faint of heart. In fact, those who have begun the training will tell you that this is probably some of most difficult and challenging schoolwork they have done. Master knitters, such as Toni McDermott and Kathleen Meggitt, both members of The Knitters of the North Guild, have said that this is one of their most rewarding accomplishments and is well worth the effort it took to complete it.
All course work is self-guided and you may take as long as you need, although each level is designed to be finished within one year. Each portion of your work will be reviewed and carefully critiqued and returned to you. You may then reknit the swatches, learning from your mistakes, and submit them once more until you have successfully finished that level. Level I must be completed before you can enroll in Level II and then Level III.
I recently spoke to master knitter Kathleen Meggitt, owner of the Valley School of Creative Knitting in Wasilla, about her experiences working for her title, and I asked her why she did it. Meggitt said she was challenged to seek her highest skills for personal accomplishment, and she liked the certification program as a means to push herself to learn more about knitting. It took her about four years to complete the Masters Program.
Meggitt stressed that this course forces knitters to step out of their comfort zone, stretch their skills and learn much more about the history of the craft. She also said you learn that you know more than you realize you knew. Once you learn to accept the critique of the knitting police, Meggitt assures us that you can put your ego out of the way and let them assist you in becoming the best at what you love ... a real master of traditional knitting.
Catherine Hollingsworth is a professional knitwear designer, past president of knitters of the North and The Alaska State Yarn Council. You can reach her at twosticks@ymail.com.
By CATHERINE HOLLINGSWORTH
Daily News correspondent