Gardening

Doing more work on my neighbours' gardens.

Bev's having to spend a lot of time visiting her mother who is very and frail, so she's busy doing her mother's garden and has no time to do her own.

I'm gradually developing the front border into a blue and pink theme. It already had lavender and false cornflower - the latter donated from my garden many years ago before Bev moved in. It's a survivor plant.

 

There's several clumps of pretty pink mallow which probably came from a packet of wildflower seeds at some point.

So, I'm leaving most of that in situ.

 

Visualising negative numbers

 I have a math pupil who came to me because she'd slipped through the net at school.  She isn't stupid, but she locks down into virtual silence if she can't understand something and stops paying attention or making any real effort.

I've made quite good progress with her in several areas, but negative numbers are a major stumbling block.

Her basic approach to maths is to learn a METHOD and ruthlessly apply it to everything.  But she doesn't try to understand what she's doing or why.
 

When she thinks about things, she can actually do them, but as soon as she's worked out a METHOD she stops trying to think about what she's doing.

Her written arithmetic is great, because she has rules to follow. Her mental arithmetic is terrible - she will default to counting on fingers  (we are gaining, but she's very resistant to new techniques and she missed out on learning how to use number bonds to ten to aid in adding numbers like 17+6  - you take three from the six to get you to 20 and then add the remaining three to get to 23 ).

But she has decided that 'minus' means 'take away' and therefore -16 - 4 has to be -12... And similarly with other related problems. In spite of all my efforts to get her to focus on a numberline and the direction of movement for positive and negative, she will work out a METHOD, say 'find the difference between the two numbers and slap a minus sign on the result' and apply it to any question with a minus sign.

 

She doesn't try to visualise anything - which means I really have to work with her as soon as a problem begins 'Abigail has six rabbits and each rabbit has 600 grams of straw' etc.  (she's improving in this area, but will still randomly multiply/divide the numbers in the question unless forced to slow down and read it carefully)

 

How can I get he to visualise negative numbers in some form that will make sense to her?  (She's just turned 10, and she loves wildlife in every form.  Stubborn but not stupid)

 

Temperature doesn't work very well.  She can accept that temperatures go negative, but if I say the temperature is -6 degrees and it drops by 3 degrees, you can't guarantee that she'll see that as -9...

We discussed negative heights below sea level, and money owed to banks, but neither seemed a model she was happy with.

The basic problem is that she cannot accept that 'minus 3' is a number in it's own right.

 

I'd appreciate any ideas that people have.

 

3/1 twill tablet weaving

 I've recently moved on from the basic and double-faced tablet weaving patterns that I've been doing for the last few years, along with inkle woven patterns, to the fiendishly difficult 3/1 twill tablet woven patterns.

I've finally got to the point where I can weave them with a reasonably degree of accuracy..

That took many weeks of swearing, undoing (where possible) starting all over again,etc.  But I've now got the technique and my ability to read the patterns and check each row as I do it at a reasonable speed.  ie. Slow, but not nearly as slow as when I started!

In this kind of weaving, you're effectively setting every thread individually on every line.

But, the results do look very nice.  

If you look at this video, you can get a rough idea of what is possible.

 

Watch on YouTube

I've only tried weaving images 15 pixels across so far, some use 30 cards or more, but I'd really love an excuse to weave some of the larger and even more complex images.

The catch is finding someone who needs such a thing!

One of the best known historical items is the stole of St Donat

I suspect this replica took an awful lot of work!

Hence, do you know anyone who has a use for a really complex and wide woven band?

Narrow bands - less than 20 cards if the warp is fine, or less than that if the warp is thicker make good belts and straps as they are very strong.  narrow bands can also be used to decorate clothing on the end of sleeves, or on hems, or round necklines, etc.

My test twill band will become another hairband for Oswin.

But wide bands with patterns that don't repeat are essentially decorative items, unless you're creating something to be worn for ceremonial purposes.

So, does anyone need a stole or similar for such a purpose?  (Normally, I give away everything I weave, but for something this complex and time-consuming I would actually want some payment)


(If you want a simple belt woven, just ask!)