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We are here at the YouTube Space LA, and I'm going to give another mini knitting lesson,
this time with my friend Reb from Pancake Manor.
Her YouTube channel is Pancake Manor.
Before we do anything else, tell us about your channel.
Reb: well, our channel is videos for kids and their awesome parents, we call it fraggle
rock meets alt rock.
so, it's songs that all ages can enjoy together.
Staci: it is great. I love it. I don't have kids, i was still really enjoying the channel.
and we got a picture, i'm a fan. I got a picture with the puppets today!
[staci laughs]
i posted it on facebook. i really like it.
um, so what do you do for the channel?
Reb: well, i'm a conceptual collaborator, so myself and my partner, Billy Reid, come
up with all the ideas.
and then i do a lot of the videography, and i also appear as the mother.
Staci: yeah, i heard you say that in the workshop the other day!
that sometimes you're the mom. do you actually operate puppets ever?
Reb: occasionally i do a bit of extra puppet work, but Billy's the puppet master.
Staci: he is, okay.
and we're working on some stuff, we might be doing some collaborating together, coming
up here soon.
let's find out what your history of knitting is.
Reb: i'd say my history goes back, uh, three months or so.
Staci: Oh! you actually know how to knit!
Reb: I've just gotten into it. I met some really cool girls in Victoria, BC, where I'm
from, and they are amazing knitters.
really inspiring.
so i've taken up the needles, and i've given it a shot with a few swatches, but i'm definitely,
definitely in the beginner zone.
Staci: yeah! well, three months, that's great! you actually have knit before. I didn't know
that.
because i just grabbed you to come in here and shoot a video!
[reb laughs]
so do you want me - you know how to do the knit stitch?
Reb: yeah.
Staci: do you know how to do the purl stitch?
Reb: yes.
On camera, i'm not sure! I'm might just forget absolutely everything!
Staci: okay, we'll go over both of them.
so you're right handed?
Reb: i'm left handed, but I've been told do not try to knit left handed.
Staci: no! you don't want to mirror knit, but you can hold the - hold the empty needle
in your right hand.
do you hold the working yarn over here in your left hand?
Reb: no.
Staci: you are a right handed left handed knitter!
Reb: yeah.
[both laugh]
Reb: i started doing it all backwards, and then someone said you're going to hate yourself.
Staci: there are successful mirror knitters out there, who knit this way.
but, for the most part, they have to rewrite every pattern.
most left handed people i know just hold the yarn over here. that's the only difference.
you might actually find that you like it.
you know what? that's what your lesson's going to be!
okay, go ahead and knit a stitch the way you normally do.
and i'll watch this.
Reb: i'll just get that tension.
okay, i want to go -
Staci: yep.
yep.
yep.
okay, do one more so stitches don't fall off.
you're doing great. obviously, she's done this before, she's an old hat at this.
so now we're going to shake things up, and make her do something she hasn't done before!
throw your working yarn over to the left side.
do what you'd want to do to get some tension here.
beautiful! nice!
now watch what happens.
because what you were doing is throwing.
this left handed way of continental knitting is called picking.
the hardest part is getting the tension.
but watch the economy of of movement.
instead of throwing, you just grab it and pull it through.
Reb: wow.
Staci: you're going to be better at it than i am, because you're more coordinated with
your left hand.
and i'll give you a link here to show continental knitting versus american knitting.
Reb: okay.
i've got it under, now what do i do?
i go around like that?
Staci: yep, it's the same thing.
and then pull it through.
it's called picking.
Reb: this one's for the lefties!
[staci laughs}
Reb: for the underdogs!
Staci: okay, let's try it again.
Reb: okay, so under there.
Staci: the hardest part is getting the tension.
i'm doing a lot of wrapping. really good continental knitters don't need to wrap as much.
you're doing great!
Reb: it definitely is a tinier movement, for sure!
Staci: if you ever get tension in your hands or wrists from knitting, the less you move
to make stitches, the less fatigue you'll experience.
Reb: right. and speed, i assume?
Staci: oh, you do. you can knit twice as quickly with continental knitting as with regular
american.
anyway, are you going to practice that?
Reb: yes, definitely!
Staci: we're going to continue this knitting lesson off camera.
in the meantime, you want to check out their YouTube channel, Pancake Manor, i'll give
you a link here on screen as well as the video description below.
and thank you, Reb!
Reb: thank you, Staci!
[whooshing sounds]
[music]