70-20-10 and Me

I am a Learning Professional. Not a lot of people know this. Ten years ago it would have been Training instead of learning but we don't train people any more. We enable them to learn. It sounds ghastly but it is actually quite sensible. Research shows that 70% of what you learn comes from what you pick up on the job and from problem solving. A further 20% is from feedback from others and seeing good and bad examples of a topic an the last 10% comes from conventional courses and reading.

Now having said that people still have different ways they prefer to learn. Personally I favour the Kolb model which suggests people have one or a combination of two preferred styles from:

• Trial and Error (Active Experimentation)
• Getting stuck in (Concrete Experimentation)
• Watching others and copying (Reflective Observation)
• Thinking about it (Active Conceptualisation)

There is a free questionnaire here to help you work out your preference but usually it leaps to the eye. Think about what kind of knitter you are. For instance, if you never swatch and cast on straight away you're getting stuck in. I tend to be a combination of that and thinking about it - doodling charts and pondering decreases before just throwing those over my shoulder and casting on. For example:

My reasons for thinking about this are two-fold. Firstly work orientated: I have been to two events this week - Learning Technology at Olympia and Learning at Work at Excel - and attended several free seminars. I also read this article on Harvard Business Review called "Is It Time To Quit Your Job?". Secondly knitting orientated: I got an email suggesting I sign up for an online course on Norwegian Purling.

The work stuff made me realise it's time to move on. The knitting stuff made me realise I've been wanting to learn to knit continental style for years and that SkipNorth is coming up. I learnt Magic Loop in about 5 minutes when Nickerjac showed me how. Never looked back. I'm not assuming it'll be that quick to start continental knitting but hopefully there will be a chance for me to get started. 

Favourites

I am loving all these things at the moment.

In rows, from left to right...
1. top finished, 2. GreyQuiltHME, 3. Time to start sewing..., 4. 927 1" Hexies, 5. Sew Sew Modern Swap finished!, 6. quiltausstellung-schildow01, 7. sewing case, 8. New Year, Mixed Media "Slow it down", 9. Nope, 10. Advances, 11. Prendedor bordado/ embroidered pin, 12. Embroidered Necklace Pendants, 13. siblings, 14. Orange Trails, 15. Too funny . . ., 16. It's a girl

Dare to Dresden Bloghop! Day Four

Good day sunshine!This is my first appliqued circle, mentioned in yesterday's post. Not too shabby huh? I cut the circle and then tacked a 3mm hem before whip stitching it down and removing the tacking thread. And it is just the centre of my first ever dresden patchwork piece.

Yes - I dared to Dresden! Having been so subdued with my colour choices on the front I let loose on the back. I've had these buttons in stash for years. So cute!

They remind me of that line from The Mikado "three little maids are we..."

One last look at how my sofa now looks...

I was feeling pretty chuffed with my dresden but not particularly inspired to do any more when I saw this one from Quilting Lodge Blog from yesterday's day of the Hop.

Source: quiltinglodgeblog.com via Alex on Pinterest

Isn't it lovely? It's paper pieced and I adore the effect. I have pinned it to my Patchwork Board on Pinterest.

Last time I participated in a hop I was planning a Rainbow Charm Square Swap for the New Year but...only 12 people signed up. Not enough to make it worthwhile. So...how about a New Year RCSS in February?!

Guidance and sign up form here. If I get enough sign ups within the next week I'll go ahead with it.

Now please please please go and visit the others taking part in today's part of the Hop.

A Peach in Stitches

Nancy W @ “that Other Blog”

L3 Designs

Bungalow Bay Quilts

Quilted Delights

Quilt Crossing

A Quilting Sheep

Charlotte's Creations

Quilt-n-Queen
Domesticity and Other Ponderous Things

Sew Much 2 Luv

A Quilt and a Prayer

Amanda Murphy Design

Little Mushroom Cap
Kathy's Quilts

Sandra Kaye Design

I Appliqued a Circle and I Liked It

I didn't think I would enjoy applique, but I did. But, I'm not going to show you until tomorrow, when I take place in the Dresden bloghop! Until then the final preview of my Nancy Drew quilt before that bloghop takes place in March.

I'm really pleased with how it is coming out although I have suffered a set back. I ordered samples of an ideal flannel backing fabric on the 15th. They arrived on Friday. I went online to order a few metres of one last night and they're not on the website any more. The whole range has gone! I anxiously await a reply from them to my "Concerned of Mudchute" email.

I've put the finishing touches to two baby cardigans for my niece-in-progress. This one is a free pattern and keeps reminding me of the people in Pigeon Street.

Sister requested no pink but these buttons seem to go perfectly.

The next is sock yarn and I had intended to i-cord some frogging type buttonholes but then when I looked at it I thought cords would do nicely.

I've also finished casting off the blanket, so now that just needs blocking.

I'm going to write it up as a recipe type pattern as it really is the easiest thing to knit with whatever yarn you have handy to whatever size you desire. Apart from that, work continues on my cloud jumper which is now about halfway down the yolk.

Progress is slow but then I have been knitting either chunky or baby sized things for a while now and 4-ply does make a big difference.

I am trying not to buy any more yarn or fabric (flannel excepted) until SkipNorth (which is now full and about 7 weeks away). My last hoorah was half a metre of this.

I just couldn't resist. Gorgeous huh? In my opinion definitely the nicest from the Sew Retro collection. The lady at Liberty asked me what I was going to make with it.... How are you supposed to answer that kind of question?