Before I reached that point, though, it became obvious I wasn't going to have any blanket yarn left to add to the border - which would have been my preference. So I spent an inordinate amount of time sifting through every shade of pink, white and gray I had until I finally settled on a smidge of white with gray scallops:
I second-guessed the border the whole time I was making it, but in the end... I think it works. For something I figured out as I went, I was actually pleasantly surprised at how well it works.
~~~~~
Note: ESL = English as a Second Language.
On the "what's new?" front, I began meeting with a new ESL conversation partner this past week. After my last ESL partner got a job, I asked to hold off until after the holidays before being matched with someone new. Well, the holidays (and the entire winter) came and went without another match, and while I was kind of thankful because my work hours picked up, I found I missed this ESL thing very much.
Just as I was getting ready to contact the coordinator to see if she had anyone for me yet, she contacted me and told me she had TWO ladies for me to choose from! I was so excited I almost asked if I could have them both! 😃
But I decided that might be a little ambitious since I'm still kind of new at this, so I tempered my excitement and chose a young lady from Mexico who is attending adult classes in the evening. We met for the first time last Tuesday and I was dumbfounded to look up at the clock to find that 2 hours had passed where we were only expected to meet for 1 hour. 😮
She seemed as happy as I was with the match, so another adventure begins! If this type of thing sounds appealing, my encouragement is to just jump in and give it a try. There are so many opportunities - I do this as a volunteer through our county library system (through the library's adult learning center), but there are organizations, churches and schools that look for ESL tutors and conversation partners. I have a few friends and acquaintances who do this for pay, but honestly... at present, I prefer doing this on a volunteer basis. Bottom line, though... I wish I hadn't hesitated jumping into this when the idea presented itself a few years ago. There's truly no time like the present!
To see what other YOPers are up to
visit our group on Ravelry.
2019 Yarn Stash-Down progress: 34.13/100 skeins
Very pretty baby blanket! Do you take a course on how to teach English as a second language?
ReplyDeleteHi Susan! No, I did not take an official course for doing what I am doing. Though I enjoy researching ideas for how to help my conversation partner. Keep in mind, this isn't an accredited program to teach someone English, per se. It's a program (that is tailored between each "tutor" and "student" to give the non-native English speaker practice speaking English. I prefer calling myself a conversation partner, even though the program calls us tutors - not unlike public schools calling volunteers who work with children brushing up on their math and reading, tutors.
DeleteEach of the three partners I've had have had some amount of English instruction in their home country - likely in high school and/or college. My experience has not been in working with someone who truly knows no English (though that would be interesting), but rather in helping a person who knows a bit of English become more comfortable and capable in speaking it and being understood.
It took me a minute to work out that ESL is English Second Language. I’m embarrassed to say for a minute I thought of Yves Saint Laurent and then remembered that’s YSL. I’m not sleeping well and it’s before 6am so that’s my excuse. The blanket is just lovely, the grey detailing ilooks great.
ReplyDeletelol - I should have spelled it out. I'll go add that in. Thank you for the compliment, Liz!
DeleteThe blanket turned out splendidly Becki, I really like that border, what stitch did you use? I find it so hard to think of borders for C2C blankets.
ReplyDeleteWhat a really interesting program, one I hadn't known about so thanks for the further knowledge on it and how nice it must be for both of you.
Thank you, Ruth. I think a C2C really benefits from being finished off with some type of border. For this one I single crocheted all the way around, then did a crochet linen stitch starting with the second round (first in white, then in gray). I continued doing linen stitch rounds until I thought it was wide enough then added a round of scallops (which was created by doing 5 dcs in a chain space, skip a chain space, sc in next chain space - going around like this and making 5 dcs in each corner). Pretty easy, and adaptable as one goes around and around creating who knows how many stitches and chain spaces with each continuing round. I did not count these things, but just adapted the final round of scallops to whatever stitches and chain spaces there were in the round before the scallops. :)
DeleteA note to clarify... Ideally, when adding a border to any blanket one has enough yarn left over from the body to do a round of single crochet stitches. This provides a base from which to build a border. Because I didn't have enough pink left over to do this base round, I chose to do it in white, and because I didn't want the white to either be prominent or disappear, I did a second round in white - making that my first round of linen stitch. Crocheted linen stitch is also called Moss stitch. I don't know if that is technically correct, but I often see these terms being used interchangeably.
DeleteHi Becki :) Your blanket is adorable and the colours are great together, nice job!!! And good for you for volunteering ESL people in need! I think that's great. It's one thing to take language courses, but to have conversations with people is the best way to learn the nuances of the language! I hope you both have lots of fun!
ReplyDeleteIndeed! Being able to interact and ask questions, and have the time to work out nuances of language (both pronunciation and meaning) is huge. It is a lot of brain work and concentrating (for both parties), but it is also fun. I come away from a session a bit exhausted, but happy. I can't imagine being in their shoes, maneuvering a strange country and language and carrying on with their lives. I'm in awe of each of the women I've gotten to know doing this.
DeleteYour blanket is beautiful, and I think the addition of the light grey is fabulous. I also love that you volunteer with esl - it must be so rewarding.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lucy!
DeleteYou color choices for the blanket boarder are spot on. It really adds such a nice contrast to the pink. I have always liked pink and gray together. Your ESL student sounds like a great match. Do you pick up a bit of their language also?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marsha. Talking about their culture, where they're from, and even asking them what their word is for (fill in the blank) are natural directions that our conversations will go. They have also all had translator programs on their phone so they will revert to that if we're both stumped - and I'm always interested in seeing and trying out the correct pronunciation of a foreign word. But since the main focus is for them to practice speaking and deciphering English and our time together is so limited, I can't say foreign to me words really stick on my end. But an appreciation for differences in our languages has grown by leaps and bounds.
DeleteYour blanket is beautiful and the edging is perfect. Your volunteer work sounds so rewarding for both you and your partner.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary-Anne. :)
DeleteYour border color and stitch choice is perfect! I love the touch of white and the scallops are classic and feminine. (And congrats on winning yarn chicken. :) ) Kudos on the ESL volunteering -- that's a fantastic thing to do. I'm going to tuck that away for the future when I retire as a way to live my values.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Maria. :)
DeleteOh, I love how you finished the blanket off! It would not have been nearly as pretty if you hadn't added the extra pops of color. I want to do mine that way! I know, I'm such a copy cat!
ReplyDeleteBless you for your teaching ability. My children always told me...."Mom, don't ever go into teaching"! LOL! I would try to help them with their math as I love math but they would just look at me with blank stares....so needless to say I do not have that gift!
Thanks, Sam. Since you're a major source of inspiration for me, I'm flattered that you might want to copy something I have made. :)
DeleteGood for you for doing the ESL partnering - I'm sure you get as much out of is as your partner does. As for the blanket - it looks very modern with the grey edging so I think you made the right choice. Many parents now seem to be choosing grey as their colour scheme.
ReplyDeleteI may get more satisfaction for the effort involved. I cannot even imagine how hard it is to move to a new country and not be a fluent speaker of the language. My hat is off to anyone who does this.
DeleteI love how you're helping new, English learners with their learning English. You made some of the best blankets out there in the crafty world. I love the border of this one.
ReplyDeleteHow sweet, Stef. Thank you!
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