How did you all get started knitting

How do you read this newsgroup? I have been asked to teach blind people to knit. Do you have any suggestions?

Arlene

Ask David we also reads this group, he knits and crochets I think and is located in Vancouver

Els

Hi Anthony I've copied this post over to David I'm sure he will be able to help you out regarding any other groups for the blind. In the meantime welcome

hugs Cher in southwest UK

Hi Cher,

What is David's email address?

Arlene

Anthony,

Welcome to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn!

Others have said they will contact David for you. He's a very nice man and I'm sure he can give you a lot of advice and help.

I do know of a Yahoo group called Blindcraft that you may be interested in. Here's the blurb telling what they are all about:

"A place where blind and partially sighted people can share their love for crafts, share tips on crafting visually impaired, share accessible resources, and let the world know WE CAN DO IT TOO! Any craft or hobby welcome."

The webpage URL is

. If you want to subscribe without going to that web page, send an email to snipped-for-privacy@yahoogroups.com . If you want to write to the list owner to ask questions before you subscribe, send an email to snipped-for-privacy@yahoogroups.com .You can sign up to Blindcraft and have the messages delivered to your email inbox instead of having to access the messages through the web interface. The moderator should have the ability to set your membership preferences for individual emails for you. I don't know which technology you're using at the moment, so I don't know which delivery method would be best for you. Please let us know if there is any way we can help you. Some websites that people put patterns and lessons are aren't very accessible. It only takes the work of a few minutes for me to copy a page like that and put it into a text file that a screen reader can interpret for you. I'd be more than happy to help, if you supply me with the URL.

As an aside, I used to write computer role-playing games and text-based for the visually impaired. I took a short break when I fell pregnant with my first child, and the break seems to have extended some five or six years now. In a year or so I ought to be able to once again work on accessible games. I miss it very much, and now that I'm in a city with an excellent school for the blind (Austin, Texas), I want to take advantage of the ready-made beta testers. First, I'd need to completely update and refurbish screen readers and other technologies. Do you have any advice for someone who is updating her system?

--Threnody

Hi Anthony, and Welcome,

I can't answer the groups question, but I can tell you how I got started knitting. I learned to crochet when I was around 7 or 8 years old and kept it up off and on for years. When I became pregnant with my first son at 34, I got a book called "Teach Yourself How to Knit", because I wanted to make knitted baby clothes. Since then, I've been on a roll, and have knitted sweaters, socks, hats, mittens, blankets, scarves, etc. I switch between crochet & knitting, but I'm enjoying the learning process of knitting, at the moment.

Hesira

Welcome to our little corner of Usenet, Anthony!

Others have responded regarding appropriate groups for you, but I'll answer your question about how I got started. When I was in 3rd grade, back when girls weren't allowed to do woodworking and other "boy" stuff, the boys were doing a woodworking project that went along with our history lessons. They were taken out of class for about half an hour a day for a couple weeks to do this. The teachers didn't want to do any real teaching during that time, so my teacher decided to teach us girls to knit. She taught the basic loop cast-on, knit stitch, and binding off. I played around at this, making doll clothes for my sister, for a couple years. My aunt taught me to crochet 2 years after I learned basic knitting, and I focused on crochet for about 4 years. Then I got back into knitting sporadically over the next 5 years until I saw a sweater pattern I decided to make for my mom. I got back into knitting in a big way then, and that was about 25 years ago.

The Other Kim kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom

Here you go Anthony David mis read my mail so I am forwarding his reply to you here you go .. cheers Cher

Hi Anthony,

I'm blind too and have been crocheting on and off since I learned in elementary school more than thirty years ago.

There used to be a yahoo group for blind yarners vip-sheep-talk, but it's apparently gone now. there is another group still running through Topica but I don't have the information. I'll email you offlist with the email address of the woman who does know.

Cheers

David sky Vancouver, B.C., Canada

Hi Anthony,

I've already contacted you off-list about this. (I'm blind and crochet too.)

Thanks Cher for the "heads up".

David

Hi Arlene,

I'm blind and crochet too. There is at least one group for blind knitters and crocheters, if you contact me off-list I can put you in touch with the woman who runs the group.

As for my own reading this group - as with other blind computer users, I use software with/without hardware which reads what's in text on the screen, called a "screen reader". There is quite an extensive blind/visually-impaired community on the net, some of whom may (also) read braille displays of the text.

David

Thanks Els,

I forgot to mention - I don't knit any more, I drop stitches like crazy. However, I do enjoy crocheting, which I learned when I was sighted more than

30 years ago. It took me a couple weeks to re-learn (re-remember) how to crochet after I went bl> Ask David we also reads this group, he knits and crochets I think and is

Hi Threnody,

thanks for the yahoo group, I hadn't known about them, so it's the second group i now know of.

I'm not sure how to advise you about things like text-based games and updated computer technology, I haven't used a text-based game before. I tend to be someone who likes to create things when working on the computer - for instance, one of my hobbies is writing Nyquist code, which is based on a computer programming language XLISP, and which works with sound generation, processing and analysis.

You may want to enquire on the Yahoo group I think it's blind-tech, technology-related questions for blind and visually-impaired people.

David

Thanks Cher for notifying me offlist, I've been several days behind in reading this group. I've been in touch with Anthony.

David

Hi Arlene,

The email address I use for this group is one of my two email addies.

David

thanks hesira, that reminds me of the following website by a blind woman who provides crocheting and knitting patterns in braille and text files:

L>

X-no-archive:Yes

Hi Anthony and welcome!

I learned to knit at elementary school. It was compulsory, at that time, for girls to learn to knit, sew and cook. Some of us were happier than others at that notion! My grandfather was a tailor and I think I inherited those kind of genes. My aunt used to knit and crochet some beautiful things so I was used to people playing with needles! She taught me to crochet and embroider.

Where in Canada are you?

Eimear, on Vancouver Island

Uncouple the "e"s to reply

Oh boy , what a good Question. I learned from my mother many years ago. She taught all of us needle crafts so we would keep still. Now as an adult I swear I have ADD. I cannot sit without something going in my hands. At college it helps me to listen to the lecture and remember stuff easier than just notetaking will. Coggie

I learned as a child.

Higs, Katherine

skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@f6g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...

Hi Anthony! Glad to see you in the group, we "need" male members"!! We have the bad habit, writing: "Hi girls..." but we are happy to get more and more men here ;-) I live in Norway, at the West Coast, Have two grown up/adult children, and son and daughter in law. Learned to knit 5 years old, I think.

I am a teacher, and all our pupils learn knitting at school, 10- 11 years old. It is traditional handwork here, but I must say I was a bit afraid it would "die". But now it is modern again, and I hope some of our pupils will keep on knitting and teach it to neaxt generation!

Aud in Norway!