[Nfb-krafters-korner] Last Monday 8/2 Night Special ChatInterview Davey Hulse, author, A Touch of Yarn

Wed Aug 11 22:37:05 UTC 2010

Carol, 
   Thank you for the thank you.  I really would like to do more but it never seems that I have enough time in the day.  I'm sure you all know what that's like. 
   Stay tuned, 
   Audrey

--- On Wed, 8/11/10, Carol Osmar <osmarc at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

From: Carol Osmar <osmarc at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Last Monday 8/2 Night Special ChatInterview Davey Hulse, author, A Touch of Yarn
To: "List for blind crafters and artists" <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
Date: Wednesday, August 11, 2010, 8:21 AM

Audrey, thanks so much for taking the time to write this.  I was not able to attend the chat.

Carol
----- Original Message ----- From: "AUDREY WELLNER" <rencraft at snet.net>
To: "List for blind crafters and artists" <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 4:07 AM
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Last Monday 8/2 Night Special ChatInterview Davey Hulse, author, A Touch of Yarn

> Davey Hulse, Guest Speaker, author of “The Touch of Yarn” discussion
> 
> On last Monday night, August 2nd, our special telephone chat was attended by approximately 20 people to hear our special guest, Davey Hulse, author of a great book called “The Touch of Yarn” discuss this great primer for all knitters. His book teaches his personal techniques and viewpoints on how to master the art of knitting blind.
> Mr. Hulse started his knitting obsession approximately three years ago to help keep his hands busy and out of the potato chip bag while listening to his many downloaded books on Jaws. As he noticed the expansion of his girth getting out of “hand” he decided to curtail his wandering hands by taking up a hobby.
> He started exploring his new hobby quest by doing latch hook work, but he needed the assistance of his wife to read the grid patterns for him. This curtailed his wife’s activities also, and he desired to work a bit more independently on his own hobbies. Ten years prior to this he had accompanied his mom on a trip to the yarn shop where they purchased long needles for him to practice with. Their length seemed to frustrate the learning process even further. Along with this frustration came the lack of printed Braille instructions not clearly defining the pattern information to follow or precise instructions for the intricate hand positions and stitches to be taken. He had more split yarns, holes and dropped stitches than he wanted to deal with. So out of this frustration grew an idea that there need to be a better manual written to help with step by step instructions written in succinct detail.
> His other business as CEO of “Braille Plus” in the state of Washington was doing well at the time so he toyed with the opportunity to bring his book to life. Finally while sorting through a sack of unfinished forgotten masterpieces of hope (uneven pieces of slippery acrylic yarn projects with holes everywhere), he felt sorry the person they belonged to never had the opportunity to find a proper coach to assist them with finishing their precious garments to pass on to the loved ones. Out of this inspiration sprang his 130-140 printed page instruction manual with 16 or 17 chapters explaining in detail such things as, how to tell the difference between a skein and ball of yarn, how to fix dropped stitches and how to properly label your Goodwill sack of yarn.
> Mr. Hulse also changes standard stock patterns so they challenge his interest by incorporating new stitches into mundane standard patterns to hold his interest while working.
> Joyce Kane our president asked a question for a member (Terrence) that could not be at our chat.
> “How are you as a male knitter perceived?” Mr. Hulse answered that he hoped that people seen him more as a blind knitter than a guy who knits. They seem to be more amazed by the “blind” than the “guy”. He gave an analogy of the difference between how a woman shops for yarn than a man. A woman needs to touch and feel the yarn, then they just have to purchase that “feel good” yarn for a project in the future, but then come back the following day to scarf up the rest “just in case” or perhaps find another “feel good” skein to match that future project. When a guy goes to the yarn shop he purchases a huge quantity of yarn, takes it home never to resurface again until his stash is completely depleted. A guy is not a stash saver, nor does he pet or fondle the yarn. He only keeps enough on hand to complete one or two projects at a time.
> Next question asked was – What method does he use to label his yarn, Braille? He used to use Braille labels on zip lock bags but now uses his “I” phone with an audio labeling system. You can hear more about this system on, www.digit-eyes.com. This system was compared as a Pen friend on steroids. Mr. Hulse stated that the Digiteyes works with Avery labels and they are developing “washable and reusable” labels soon. The new ID summit (his competition) scans bar code labels that tell exactly what the item is, whereas Smart Phone is used with Digiteyes. With his Smart Phone and Digiteyes he now puts on his own audio label indicating, color, fabric content, etc., that can be recited back to him.
> The next question asked – When do you give up on a project? Mr. Hulse answers that the learning curve is agonizingly slow. It took him a long time to get comfortable with the feel of his knitting. This depends on how stubborn an individual is. There are drawbacks with physical problems like diabetic neuropathy making it harder to feel your mistakes, but switch to thicker larger needles and yarn and just “Go Big”. He also enlightened his audience to the use of squared needles that are the same gauge as the round needles to compensate for this lack of nerve ending feeling and be more comfortable in your hands.
> Eileen asked – Were you self taught or did you have help? He said he was self taught.
> Joyce asked – You talked about establishing a website in the near future, please explain.
> He said that it should be ready next month, but in the meantime he could be reached at: davey at brailleplus.net
> He will be developing a series of smaller pamphlets like “How to Modify a Pattern to keep yourself entertained” costing only $3-$10.00. He wanted to have something to breakaway from the massive size of his 200-300 page Braille manual that would be more convenient to carry.
> Jewel asked – How do you weave in two different colors when knitting. His response – very carefully! Along the edge of a seam, and in a situation of narrow strips - carry the yarn to the next corresponding row and knit it into the next row of the same corresponding color.
> Eileen explains a different technique of knitting in a counterclockwise manner over the next twelve or thirteen stitches then tails track back with a tapestry needle. Mr. Hulse refers to this method as the “candy  cane” method.
> The next question asked – Does he use a gauge swatch? He claims he uses larger than 4x4 swatches. He gave us a helpful hint of carrying a 4 x 6 index card in your pocket for instant measuring. It can be folded several ways to obtain proper measurement without having to carry a ruler. By making larger samples you can see the drag of your yarn swatch when it’s knitted. And always measure repeatedly to keep a check on your tension gage problems.
> You can purchase Mr. Hulse’s book, “A Touch of Yarn”, from the Lion Brand website in a down loadable large print or Braille format for $19.95.
> Respectfully submitted,
> Audrey Wellner, Secretary
> NFB Krafters Korner division
> 
> --- On Mon, 8/9/10, Blindhands at aol.com <Blindhands at aol.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> From: Blindhands at aol.com <Blindhands at aol.com>
> Subject: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Monday Night Chat
> To: nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org
> Date: Monday, August 9, 2010, 5:38 PM
> 
> 
> This week it will be an open discussion for our Chat. So drop in and see
> what is going on at Krafters Korner.
> 
> 218 862 3242 Dawn's Den, hit #1 twice and then enter code # 50 and you are
> there!
> 
> August 23 we will have Fun Making Paper Flowers. More information on that
> will be coming.
> 
> 
> Joyce Kane
> www.KraftersKorner.org (http://www.krafterskorner.org/)
> Blindhands at AOL.com
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