Drawing: Realistic Techniques

Growing up I had taught myself how to draw basic and simple things, but I was never very good at drawing. I always had the desire to become a better artist and use more complex techniques in my drawings, but I had never really put the effort into learning how to draw pictures with more complexity. This quarter, however, I hope to change that. I have made a goal that through reading about drawing techniques and practicing my skills and techniques in drawing, by the end of the quarter I will have improved my drawing skills and be able to use more perspective and realistic techniques in my drawings. I don't necessarily hope to be an amazing artist by the end of the quarter, but I mainly hope that I will develop new skills that will help me improve as an artist.

The book You Can Draw in 30 Days by Mark Kistler teaches you not only the basic skills of drawing, but also the skills that are important in being able to draw more realistic pictures with more perspective. It gives step by step processes that use pictures along with written descriptions and explanations that are easy to follow and help you gain a better understanding of different drawing techniques.

For my first drawing, I chose to draw a human eye. Here is a picture of what my drawing looks like:

In this lesson in the book of how to draw the human eye, one of the main techniques that is used is shading. In this lesson, Kistler says "The next step is shading. This is the lesson step that really pops your eyeball right off the page! There are five specific areas to shade" (Kistler 231). He goes on to explain the different areas to shade and how to shade them. I have always struggled with shading when I would try to draw, but this lesson has helped me improve my skill of shading and has expanded my understanding of how to shade.

What do you think of this drawing? What areas should I focus on improving for my next drawing?


Kistler, Mark. You Can Draw in 30 Days. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2011. Print.

Drawing Simply

        Hello, my name is Alina Tarasevich, and welcome to my blog! My IRP blog posts theme will be drawing, and how to get better. I used the book Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner by Claire Watson Garcia. Though I am not a super skilled artist, I decided to do this because I figured that with some practice, and tips, I could get good, and possibly even get faster at drawing accurately.        

        In general, my drawings aren't the worst, when I really try. But the thing is, they always take me so extremely long to draw. For example, to draw maybe even just a cup would take me a good 20 minutes, maybe even more, because I'd try to get it perfect. But this book points out that it's okay to not have a perfect drawing, and it's okay if there are faults in your drawing, or your drawing looks kind of weird, or disproportional. While you're still drawing, it may look super weird and disproportional, but in the end, it doesn't look so bad, and you can barely tell (Garcia 26). I can say this from my own experience, even with this cup drawing here.

The original cup I was trying to draw.

It's kind of hard to get the same perspective on camera as I was looking at, and the camera kind of distorts the cup. But this is the general idea.

My finished drawing

Here is my final drawing of the cup. I really thought it was going to turn out worse, because it looked very disproportional as I was drawing it. Then, as I started drawing more, and in the end it didn't look so bad, and it kind of resembles the cup I was trying to draw. "Once you're finished, you'll be surprised how little a few mismarks will matter - what is seen at viewing distance is different from what you see at 'doing distance'" (Garcia 26). I never really thought about what this meant, until I experienced myself, then I totally understood it. Though I could see there's something wrong with it, my brain can't pinpoint it exactly. But still, in the long run, it doesn't look too bad, right? 

Let me know what you think in the comments! What should I draw next time? Are you an artist? How could I fix my drawing so it would look more realistic? 

Garcia, Claire Watson. Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner. New York,

     Watson-Guptill Publications, 2003.

Football Winning Defense: Proper Angle Of Pursuit

PROPER ANGLE OF PURSUIT

The most important part of defense is tackling, the defender has to be in position to make the tackle. That's why "angle of pursuit" is crucial, if the defender doesn't take the right angle the defender will not be able to make the tackle. Angle of pursuit is running at a angle where you meet the ballcarrier as quick as possible. The angle you take varies one how fast the defender is, and how fast the ballcarrier is."It is of paramount importance that no defenders get behind the ballcarrier by penetrating and end up having to chase the play." (Wilkinson 32). Next football season I will make sure I take the right angle to make the tackle as quick as possible, and not having to chase the play.

Do you think tackling is the most important part of defense? If not what is the most important?

Wilkinson, Bud. Sports Illustrated Football: Winning Defense. New York: Sports Illustrated, 1987. Print.

Getting Started: Knitting on Circle Looms

Knitting on Circle Looms!

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! My name is Sabica Nasar and here you will follow me through my journey of mastering the art of knitting on circle looms! 

I have always wanted to learn to knit because I love the comfort of fluffy scarfs and blankets, especially in the winter time, so I decided to take up knitting as my new hobby. 

Learn to Knit on Circle Looms by Denise Layman, teaches the benefits of knitting and of course, how to knit on circle looms! This was my first time knitting and I realized the patience and work it takes to master the art of this hobby. I decided to knit a comfy scarf which goes perfectly with the cold weather we are currently experiencing!

Getting Started

First, I had to get all of the supplies from Jo Ann Fabrics. They have enormous amounts of yarn, I didn't know where to start! But I finally decided on simple grey colored yarn.

You will also need a circle loom. Circle loom knitting is very different from normal needle knitting since it involves circle looms and no needles. Although, they create the same end results if you are creating something simple such as a scarf. Circle looms come in many different sizes and are perfect for beginners like me!

Layman emphasizes that knitting on looms is a fun and easy hobby to master and allows one to relax and alleviate the stresses of the day (Layman 15). This shows the importance and benefits loom knitting produces. In addition to being a practical and interesting hobby, knitting showed me a community I never knew existed!

The materials you will need to begin knitting on circle looms are:

• A circle loom (any size)
• Yarn
• Knitting loom hook

Circle Looms

After 30 minutes of knitting

After gathering all of your materials, the fun part begins! 

First, you have to make a basic knit on the loom. Then repeat that for the amount of pegs you have decided to start with. (I decided to go with 17 pegs). Next, you keep repeating this step until the last peg. Then go the opposite way, making a "purl stitch" for every other peg. This creates a fun and interesting texture. 

Almost finished!

Knitting involves lots and lots of repetition, "Work your piece repeatedly to get the desired length of your scarf" (Layman 7), but once you get the hang of it, you can knit practically anywhere! I have been knitting while watching TV, in the car and pretty much anywhere I have free time. I have also realized that you need to have patience and precision while knitting because if you mess up on one peg, it ruins the rest of you product!

Although knitting a scarf may seem like an insignificant achievement, once you finish your creation you can feel proud knowing that it was you who created a thing that will be used multiple times!

Now that you know a little bit about me and my new favorite hobby, would you take up knitting as a hobby and if you do or already have, then how do you think knitting will improve or maybe worsen your patience?

Citation: Layman, Denise. Learn to Knit on Circle Looms: 10 Easy Projects! Berne, IN: DRG Pub., 2006. Print.

Yoga for Emotional Balance

Emotional balance is seeing yourself as an equal part of life, mind and spirit.  and to maintain it, you have to choose wisely, eat well, exercise frequently and try to stay focused on the positive aspects of your life. one way you can exercise is do yoga, yoga is a very relaxing activity,
As it happens,  science is starting to provide some concrete clues as to how yoga works to improve and . Once you understand them, you’ll have even more motivation to step onto your mat, and you probably won’t feel so tongue-tied the next time you feel bad or sad.

One benefit of doing yoga is it relaxes your system Yoga encourages you to relax, slow your breath, and focus on the present, shifting the balance from the sympathetic nervous system (or the fight-or-flight response) to the parasympathetic nervous system. The latter is calming and restorative; it lowers breathing and heart rates, decreases blood pressure, and increases blood flow. anotether benifit is it gives you peace of mind,it  slows down the mental loops of frustration, regret, anger, fear, and desire that can cause stress. And since stress is implicated in so many health problems—from migraines and insomnia to lupus, MS, eczema, high blood pressure, and heart attacks—if you learn to quiet your mind, you’ll be likely to live longer and healthier. The purpose of yoga is to create strength, awareness and harmony in both the mind and body, and yoga for emotional balance focuses on having harmony in the mind, rather than the positions you can do, sand how well you do them, but rather on the breathing, and peace of mind.
What would be your main goal in trying yoga for emotional balance?

The First Strategy for Becoming a Better Soccer Player

Growing up, I was involved in many different sports and soccer was one of the biggest ones. In second grade I made the switch from soccer to football and kind of regretted it. That’s why I chose the book “Soccer Strategies,” by Ace McCloud. I have an athletic background so my footwork is good, but that’s only the basics that’s needed to become a successful soccer player. I’m not trying to be the next Cristiano Ronaldo, but being able to impress my family and friends who are soccer lovers would be pretty cool. The book “Soccer Strategies,” claims to have “The Top 100 Best Ways to Improve Your Soccer Game.” Having this on the cover really caught my eye and it seemed to be exactly what I needed.

               The first strategy the book lists is the endurance of the player. Page 13 tells us that it is highly recommended that players have an activity outside of soccer that keeps them in shape and conditioned (McCloud 13). Luckily for me, I play basketball at Kentridge. Coach Jamison doesn’t take conditioning lightly, and has us run for very long periods of time. This is a bonus for me because my endurance and stamina will most likely be higher than someone else that didn’t play a sport in the off season.

               Ace McCloud also offers helpful YouTube links that give a visual representation of great workouts that can be done to improve your endurance. One example of Ace’s helpful tips also comes from page 13, when he says “Here is a good YouTube video from MOVE-MENT you can check out called: Run Faster in one week! DO THIS!!!” (McCloud 13). I’ve only been doing these workouts for a few days but I’m already starting to see some results. I’ve become quicker on feet and have started coming in first during conditioning at basketball practice.

               So far, this book has taught me many things that are needed to become a better soccer player. It covers everything from what you eat, your mentality, physical abilities, and drills that will help you become better with dribbling and shooting. 

What do you guys do to stay in shape and maintain endurance? Is soccer one of the most popular sports at Kentridge? Slide your opinion in my comments👍

McCloud, Ace. Soccer Stategies. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

Soccer Penalty Kicks

Soccer is a something a had really disliked for quite a while. But recently, after watching big events such as the Euro Cup and World Cup, I have gained some interest in the sport. One of my most favorite parts of the games were when they went into extra time and eventually to a Penalty Kick Shootout. This is when each team switches off kicking 5 shots each from 12 yards out. Whenever a game is forced to this stage, the excitement and pressure is kicked up a notch. This is why I really enjoy watching it, PK’s get me fully immersed in the game and I can feel the excitement.

             

After getting inspired by these thrilling shootouts, I went out and tried it for myself. Now I have never played soccer in my life, so I definitely had some room for improvement. In my book I chose Soccer Strategies: The Top 100 Best Ways To Improve Your Soccer Game by Ace McCloud, it said “A big mistake strikers make is hitting the ball too hard and missing the goal entirely” (McCloud 14). As you can see in the video below, I did exactly that. I was too worried about kicking as hard as I possibly could to actually make sure the ball went into the net first.

So I went back to the book and tried to find some tips on improving my Penalty Kicks. "Shooting the ball in a good location is a vital skill that many people do not practice enough. Placing the ball in a strategic location is much more effective than trying to smash it into the goal with no real direction in mind" (McCloud14). This advice from the book was great. It showed me that PK's are all about strategy, you must think and place the ball in a good location. Just bashing the ball blindly will usually end up in a bad result. I took this knowledge, and learned from my own mistakes to improve my kicking prowess. I really focused on trying to keep my head down and place the ball in a spot.

In the video above I still kicked the ball pretty hard and nearly missed it altogether. Although I almost missed completely, the kick was actually really good because of how, 1. it actually went in the net, and 2. how difficult it would be for a goalie to reach, and block the kick from going in. I think overall, that kick was very effective, however the fact that I was so close to missing made it very unreliable to use in a real match. So for the next one, I concentrated extra hard on keeping the ball in the net, while still getting it past the goalie.

This last kick was my favorite out of them all. I made sure that the kick had enough force to get through the goalie, but this time, the accuracy of the kick was much better. The book definitely helped me to develop my Penalty Kick skills. The tip of kicking the ball softer was a major help with my accuracy of the kicks. I definitely progressed as I continued to practice my kicks. What do you guys think? Please let me know if you have any tips for me to improve my kicks!

Importance of Good Mindset

People believe soccer is more of a physical game and not a mental game, but after reading few pages of this book I have learned how important having a good and positive mindset is. Mindset is as important as your skills and it doesn’t matter how good you are as long as your mindset is bad you will not play to your full potential. I knew being mentally prepared is important but I ignored this since I have started playing soccer and after reading this book I started to concentrate on being more mentally prepared. Dan Abrahams said that soccer is a game of mindset and it will break you down by combing the design of the brain and the difficulty of the game (3 Abrahams). What this quote means is that you have to be confident in yourself and I am most of the time not confident in myself before the game which I think is affecting the way I am playing and I am basically causing myself to make more mistakes. “Every soccer player has a soccer image-an image housed in their mind related to how they see themselves as players. Is your mental movie one of possibility, progress and achievement or does your inner screen just display other footballers as bigger, better and stronger? This is a simple but important exercise to do every few weeks because it gives you an idea of your soccer image” (16,17). What this quote is saying is that you need to know your weakness and strengths and this helped me know both my weakness and strengths and also being more mentally prepared. In the picture below what I am doing is writing down what I think my soccer image is and trying to find things that I can improve in.

Do you agree with Dan Abrahams that having a good mindset is as importat as having good skills?

Abrahams, Dan. Soccer Tough: Simple Football Psychology Techniques to Improve Your Game. Birmingham, UK: Bennion Kearny, 2012. Print.                                                 

Art of the Knuckle Ball

Square-cut fingernail (allowing
more of your nail to be on the ball)

Normal fingernail

Most knuckle ball pitchers throw their knuckle ball of their fingernails, which they carefully cut into a square shape (Adair, 55). Having a square-shaped nail allows you to maximize the amount of surface area you can apply to the ball as you are throwing it. The most important thing a pitcher wants while he is pitching to a batter is control. Reconstructing their nails to have the maximum amount of control as possible can be a key difference between a successful knuckle ball and an easy target for the batter to swing at. Personally, I prefer to keep my fingernails at a fairly long length so I could flick the ball with more potential. But, this book believes maximizing your control is more important in pitching.

To counter my long-nailed tactic I use four
fingers to gain as much control as possible

When throwing a knuckle ball, the idea is that the ball spins only about 1-2 times from the moment it leaves the pitcher's hand to the time it hits the plate. This is one of the slowest types of pitches thrown in baseball but also one of the deadliest as well. Because of its lack of spin, the knuckle ball creates more drag on the seams and essentially generates more movement. In fact, it has so much movement that the catcher actually has difficulty catching this type of pitch. A catcher known to catch for knuckle ball pitchers states that "It was easy, I just wait until the ball stopped rolling and then I'd pick it up" (54). Ever since I was 6 years old, I played on some baseball team and practiced every year, making it my main hobby. But I haven't started to actually try to improve and become more competitive until the last few years or so. I practiced so much with my pitches, that I can successfully throw 7 different types of them, (Fastball, Change-Up, Slider, Knuckle, Knuckle Curve, Curve Ball, and Side-Arm) where professional pitchers have 2-3 pitches at the most. I've never been thrown a knuckle ball by someone who knows how to throw a good one, but I can see the catchers that struggle (even in the MLB) to catch one.

Eddie Cicotte was the great Chicago "Black Sox" pitcher, who threw his knuckle ball without using his fingertips/fingernails. On the other hand, the worst part about the knuckle ball is the lack of control while in the air. If it breaks sharply, it will be harder for the catcher to successfully catch the pitch and if it doesn't break, it will be no more than batting practice for the batter to easily hit it out of the park. These key differences make this pitch both amazing and risk-taking to use.

What do you think is more important, having more control (causing less movement) or having more unpredictable movement (with less control)?

Adair, Robert Kemp. The Physics of Baseball. New York: Harper & Row, 1990. Print.

How to become a better shooter.

Solomon Kairu
Period 4
Hi. My name is Solomon Kairu and this is my first blog for the IRP Book for Quarter 2. What I chose as my book is "Basketball" by Clive Gifford. The main reason I chose this book is because basketball is sport that has been interesting me. I originally didn't like basketball much and I didn't start getting interested in it until the summer of 2015. I'm using this book to help improve my skills. To help improve my game. This book will help you improve your skills greatly, whether you are playing competitively on a AAU basketball team or just for fun with family and friends.

To start off this blog lets talk about shooting. Shooting is one way to score a point in basketball. Your shooting distance can determine how many points you get. For example if you shoot behind the 3 point line you will get 3 points. However, if you shoot inside the 3 point line you will only get 2 points. Since shooting is the main way to score points in basketball, besides layups, it's an essential and important skill for all players to have. "All players can contribute to a team with accurate shooting to score. The set shot is made with feet on the ground and chest square to the target" (Gifford 26). What this means is that all players on the court can greatly help the team win games with a good shooting accuracy to score 3 pointers. Scoring many 3 pointers and shots can lead to your team's victory. To have good shooting form, your chest area needs to be facing the hoop and your feet must be facing the hoop also. Your shooting hand should be underneath the ball while your weak hand stays to the side of the ball to guide it. After releasing the shot your shooting arm should look as if your wrist was being flicked.

This article has impacted me positively because I've improved my shooting accuracy more. I airballed less than I originally did and came closer to the rim than I did at the beginning. But remember this. Shooting isn't the only way to score. The other more easy way people can score points in basketball is layups. But that's a topic for next time. So now my question to you is this. Do you want to improve yourself and your game?

softball: Pregame motivation

For my Quarter 2 IRP project, i decided to expand my knowledge and skill of softball. I have been playing since i was a little girl, but as i'm getting older i'm beginning to play more and more of it. I know the game very well. But to get better I have to be open to new skill technique. This quarter i hope to improve my skill and knowledge of the game to better myself for the upcoming season. Reading this book will help me focus more on my needs and goals to become a better softball player.

For my first post, i thought i would start with pregame motivation. For me, getting motivated before the game with my team is a good way to have a good attitude and mind set before going out into the field. Because going out into the field with a negative attitude can effect how i play. "Make your players believe they are prepared... stay positive and in good spirits. It will keep your athletes loose" (190).

Having a good mind set and attitude helps me be mentally prepared and ready for whatever is going to happen on the field. To being on defense and being ready for the play, to being on offense and doing the best you can to score / getting on base even cheering on my teammates and make them feel supported.

In my opinion, i think having a pregame motivation or pep talk can be a great way to get in the right mind set before the game. Then you can move towards your goals and move towards the right direction, being open minded and in good spirits. With a negative mind set you're not moving towards your goal and can bring the team spirit down. Overall, with your teammates and working together towards a common goal and with a positive attitude you can go as far as you want.

Whats your way of getting prepared before a sports game? or an event?

3-D Geometric Origami

Nathan Cho
Geometric Origami

Origami is essentially the art of taking a 2-D object, a piece of paper, and creating a 3-D model like frogs, cranes, or even a rhombicuboctahedron.  In my life the closest thing I've done to origami was folding a paper in half, so when I choose my independent reading book, 3-D Geometric Origami: Modular Polyhedra by Rona Gurkewitz and Bennett Arnstein, I was a little overwhelmed by the intricate maneuvers. The book doesn't instruct you how to fold traditional origami but it teaches you how to create complex polyhedorns which, according to the book "A polyhedron is a three-dimensional figure made up of sides called faces, each being a polygon" (Gurkewitz, and Arnstein 4).  like a cube and the previously mentioned rhombicuboctahedron. Gurkewitz and Arnstein both instruct you through diagrams and symbols so it's be easier to follow the steps to create the shape. The book goes from easy to hard in the assembly of the module and as you go on many of the same folds and modules will be reused for the harder modules.

For my first module I created the Puzzle Cube which was constructed by Bob Neale. Since the book makes little use of words I'll be describing them alongside pictures of the instructions and how I did it.

So for the first step the book instructs you to take a square piece of paper and fold each corner to the opposite corner and then unfold it back into a square. Take a corners and the corner opposite to it and fold it into the middle to make a diamond shape.

In the second step it tells you to turn the figure around and fold the long top and bottom of the paper into the middle which should cause you to end up with a skinny diamond shape with two triangles sticking out on the top and bottom

You're then going to want to fold the tip of the two triangles into the center of the diamond

Then turn the diamond around so you see the smooth flat side and fold the paper in half and unfold it. Then using the fold line in the middle of the paper fold the end tips of the paper into the middle

You're going to want repeat these steps til you have three of these folded pieces and you'll want to fold them into each other.

 Overall the cube came out better than i thought but it still seems a little rough around the edges. One of the few problems that i'm struggling with is trying to fold evenly and i want to know from everyone who does origami, how do you make sure that can keep you folds straight and even?

The Beginnings of my Argument(ation) - Post #1

The Beginnings of my Argument - Post #1

Austin Freeman

Period 4 - Honors English

Independent Reading Project - Quarter 2

For my Quarter 2 IRP, I will be reading "A Rulebook for Arguments," and developing a short (no longer than three paragraphs), argument on my personal passion for some ideas on Education habits and ideas on how to be successful. As I read my book, I will tie in the rules of argumentation and the content of my book into my Argument, which will be developed over my 5+ blog posts.

A lot of people do not understand arguing and how it can be helpful. Arguing (argumentation), is a way of finding out which views are better than others, is a form of inquiry, and helps people develop different conclusions and to use different pathways and forms to develop a claim. Plus, arguing helps people develop good speaking skills and expand their critical thinking.

As I develop my short argument, one of my first things to do is to develop a claim/premise. A piece of text evidence from the IRP Book is:

"Identify Premises and conclusion

The very first step in making an argument is to ask yourself what are you trying to prove. What is your conclusion? Remember that the conclusion is the statement for which you are giving and why you are giving reasons. The statements that give your reasons are your premises." (Weston, 1).

As I read the book, I realized the differences between a premise and a conclusion in the subject of argumentation and had developed my premise: In High School, your study habits and actions really do matter and skills such as good time management, studying in new locations, and identifying how you learn all will enable you to be successful. 

Also, in my premise, and my argument, I used different reasons and examples. In "A Rulebook for Arguments," it says that you should use consistent terms. Short arguments, such as the one that I am doing use a single consistent idea, repeated words, and it flows throughout the argument  (Weston 6 -7). In my argument, my idea of being "successful," and that these study habits will help you as an individual, are consistent terms throughout my argument. 

Question:

Has there been a moment in the past year where you could have done some better arguing? What were you arguing/debating about? 

MLA Citation:

Weston, Anthony. A Rulebook for Arguments. 4th ed. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 2009. Print.

Cooking spaghetti

I made spaghetti with red sauce. Some ingredients that I used, which I got from the book was: tomatoes, garlic salt, vegetable oil, pepper, chipotle seasoning, and lemon pepper seasoning for the red sauce (Williams 74). So, I put all these ingredients in for the sauce. Then, for the spaghetti, the book said, "Get water with salt and let the noodles boil for approximately 10-15 minutes" (Williams 74). So, I boiled the noodles for about 13 minutes and it came out well. After that, I put the red sauce over the noodles, and it was delicious. This article helped me improve my skill of cooking spaghetti, which I didn't know how to do at first. However, it was easier than I expected. Overall, the spaghetti was very good, but a bit bland. What other ingredients do you think I should add to give a bit more flavor to the dish?

Williams, Carolyn Land., and Rachel Quinlivan. The Ultimate Kid-approved Cookbook: Delicious Food Kids Will Eat, Nutritious Meals Mom Will Love. New York, NY: Oxmoor House, 2011.

You Can Knit: SWATCH ME KNIT!

I’ve been introduced to knitting at a fairly young age. My aunt taught me how to knit when I was about 6 or 7 years old. She only taught me the really basic things, like how to cast-on and the knit stitch, but she didn’t teach me how to bind off so all of my scarves were unfinished. I like knitting because I like to learn how to do new things, or re-learn to do things and also because it’s relaxing. It gives me a sense of accomplishment especially after making a scarf. In the book You Can Knit! written by Stephanie White, I finally learned how to bind off, and other really cool knitting techniques.

 

Gauge Swatch: Super Bulky Garter Stitch

The garter stitch is the “Simplest of all stitch patterns” (White 12). 

Materials: 
-         Super Bulky Yarn

-         Size US 10 needles, or size needed to obtain gauge

-         Measuring tape

-         Scissors

-         Yarn needle 

Gauge:

11 stitches x 26 rows= 4” 

STEP 1:

The first step to making this swatch, and any other knitting project, is to cast-on. This cast on method is called the long-tail method, but it doesn’t matter what method you use. Repeat this cast-on method until you have 11 stitches, but in my case, I only made 8 stitches. 

To start casting-on, you start with a single slip knot.

I made 8 stitches for my swatch.

STEP 2:

Now for the actual knitting! Hold the needle with the stitches in your left hand and an empty needle in your right. Take the empty needle and slip it through the loop of the first stitch, making sure the empty needle is behind the left one. “The two knitting needles will form and X” (White 15).

Using just your left hand to hole both of the knitting needles, take your right hand and grab the ball side of the yarn (the string of yarn that is directly connected to the ball of yarn) and wrap it around the empty needle from behind (wrap it counterclockwise).

Now that the yarn is wrapped around the empty needle, slip it out of the loop. Make sure the yarn wrapped around the empty needle still on wrapped around it after you take it out of the first loop. So now you should have a single stitch on the right needle and 10 on the left needle, but in my case I had 7. 

You can see the two knitting needles form an X.

STEP 3:

Repeat step 2 until there are no more loops on the left needle, and they’re all on your right one. Take the right needle and place it into your left hand, and put the empty needle into your right. Now it should be how we started, all of the stitches on your left and the empty needle on your right, the needle with the stitches should always be in your left hand (White 15).  Now you’re ready to start the next row.

As you continue to creating each row, your swatch gets longer.

STEP 4:

Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the length of the swatch is 4”, but my swatch is only 2.5”.

STEP 5:

To bind off, start a new row, but only knit 2 stitches. With the left needle, slip it through the first loop on the right needle. Then take that loop, go over the second one, and off of the right needle. Now there should be 1 stitch on the right needle and 9 on the left (or 1 and 6). Next, knit another stitch so that there are 2 stitches on the right needle again. And repeat slipping the left needle through the first loop and pulling it out until there are no more stitches on the left needle and 1 on the right needle. 

Cut a short tail on the yarn that is connected to the right needle. Using the right needle pull it straight up, this pulls the yarn through the stitch.

The swatch, before I pulled the yarn through the stitch.

Now you should have 2 tails on either side of your swatch. To tuck those in, use a yarn needle and thread the ends through the stitches of the scarf. 

Cut the excess yarn off the ends, and you’re done!
 

My finished swatch! (those are my knitting needles not chopsticks)

What activities do you do to get a sense of accomplishment?

White, Stephanie. You Can Knit!: Knit and Purl Your Way through 12 Fun and Easy Projects. Cincinnati, OH: Fons & Porter, 2015. Print.