My mentor for my In-Depth project this year is my grandmother, Sheila Lapierre. My grandma is a near expert and professional in the field of knitting and has been doing it, along with sewing and crocheting, for nearly fifty years. She started knitting when my dad was born, wanting a calm and relaxing hobby that would be useful in her own life. She originally learned some basic skills from her own mother and family, but after that, she picked up information and skill both from her own practice and from different friends she has made. She has made many different pieces throughout her life, including a variety of baby clothes, hats, socks, towels, cloths, sweaters, scarves, gloves, and more. In more recent years she has knit thick red and cream-coloured Santa hats for the holiday season and has sold them around her community for a small profit. In her time knitting, she has taught a few other people including her sisters and a few friends. This is one of her main hobbies and it is a genuine joy of hers to do. She loves giving gifts, so having this cheap yet bountiful skill has proven very helpful and an outlet for creativity and kindness. She’s told me that she’s very glad she originally picked it up.

So far with my mentor, we have talked about our plan for this project and what I hope to cover in the coming months. We’ve also talked a bit about supplies and the different things I might need. I already have 0.3 mm regular knitting needles, but there are also a ton of different sizes, and types of needles that connect with wires on the end. There are many categories and types of yarn, with different brands, thicknesses, colours, and textures. I haven’t learned too much in terms of skills yet, but that’s one of the topics we talked about and that I learned a bit about.

Since my grandma has taught others before, she has some experience mentoring and knows a bit about how to go about it. As I said, we started by talking about our plan. Some topics she wanted to cover included getting proper supplies, getting a bit of a background, knitting some basic stitches and pieces, and more. Starting with a plan is a great way to start the project and certainly something I would start with if I were to become a mentor at some point. One piece of wisdom I picked up was something she said about when we were planning. She talked about how we all learn in different ways. Not all the people she taught worked out, some people just didn’t click with the activity. However, she told me about how when she taught her sister how to crochet, her sister fell in love with it and became better at crocheting than my grandma ever was. My grandma just really wants to mentor me in a way that works for me and that will lead me to the best results.