KPC Module One: Unit 3

This week has been something of a challenge!  Coming up with a concept was easy, knitting was easy, but actually designing it was a bit mind-twisting!

Fortunately, I’ve found a great website, Stitch Fiddle, which I think will make future designs much more straightforward (now that I’ve figured out how to use it, that is…).

During my course this week, we had our first experience of the dreaded “triads”.  In this context a triad is a useful technique for allowing people to practise their counselling skills. It is formed by a group of three people, with each person taking on a role of either Speaker, Listener, or Observer.

Tonight, the Speaker (“client”) was asked to talk for ten minutes on “something important to me”. The Listener (“counsellor”) had to listen and demonstrate that to the Speaker that they understood what was being said.  However, the Listener was not allowed to ask any questions! Any questions had to be re-phrased as comments. Affirmation of what the Speaker was saying could be communicated via body language, and affirming noises, and occasional comments.  At the end of the alloted time, the Listener had to sum up what the Speaker had told them. All of which sounded pretty challenging!

The Observer was to observe what was happening, with a particular focus on the Listener.  At the end of the process, the Observer gave constructive verbal feedback to the Listener, and recorded their observations down in the Listener’s handbook.

At the end of this part of the process, we switched places (with the Speaker becoming the Observer, the Observer becoming the Listener, and the Listener becoming the Speaker) and then repeated the entire process again. And then again for the third time, so that we each had the opportunity of being in all three roles.

Somewhat to my surprise, I found the whole experience to be really enjoyable (even being the “Speaker”, which was the part I least looked forward to).  At the end of the evening, we were asked which role we preferred and I realised that I couldn’t make a choice. I had enjoyed being in all three roles, albeit for very different reasons.  That said, I was pretty exhausted by the time I got home 🙂 .

So, how to reflect this in this week’s knitting block? 

I chose to depict the triad scene: on one side, a triangle facing towards the other side (representing the Observer); and on the other side, two triangles facing each other (representing the Speaker and the Listener).

Below is the pattern design, and a picture of the actual knitting.

Looking forward to next week!

Save