(a mentor's musings)

Spike.

I went on a let's-check-this-arty/crafty-shop-out trip today, with a plan of spending an enjoyable evening in the shop... or so I thought.

It was quite interesting, really. Spike first popped in at around 6:30PM looking for lace (this or that or what?) for his t-shirt project. Then, he popped back in at around 8:30PM, out of breath, and just stared at me and one of the shopkeepers - who also happened to sit on the couch - to teach him how to knit. Few facts about him: ten, wants to be a designer (!), has made the aforementioned t-shirt pursuant to his dream career, and mum happens to have an Urban Green meeting in a restaurant around the corner. Aaaaand... he wants to learn how to knit and make fingerless gloves, pronto. Right.

(I haven't even been able to muster enough courage to make mittens, let alone gloves! D8 )

I have taught people on a number of different subjects before, but I find this little man interesting. I tried to make him do some actual knitting instead of merely raving about how fiddly knitting can get. He also wants me to deal with him to make him fingerless gloves once his so-called 'scarf' (basically a long piece of rectangular-shaped cloth) is completed.

Seriously, I find him amazing in an amusing and exasperative manner, as it's a challenge already to get his knitting somewhere. If he did make it as a good fashion designer, I think my musings here would probably appear hilarious to his legions of devotees. Oh well :)) I'm gonna get super-chunky yarns and thick needles, so that he's got something easier to learn to knit with. That is, if he turns up still wanting to learn how to knit next week ^__^

Teaching him how to knit also reminded me of other 'non-academic teaching' ventures I've been through: dancing, sewing, knitting, pattern-drafting. The honour of having the most satisfying student would probably go to a friend of mine who made a quilt for her boyfriend: we set off to buy fabrics with her knowing nothing about sewing, and within less than a month she has completed the so-called quilt on time. I'm not sure whether she'd repeat such a feat in the foreseeable future, but seeing her achieving something perceived as impossible gives off a satisfying feeling on my end of the experience.

Also, there's this picture I posted on myesight. It was taken from an upper gallery at the British Museum. The words inscribed are befitting to this post - here they come:

and let thy feet millenniums hence be set in midst of knowledge

Oh, and by the way, this is the blog's post #200. Yippee! :D