Classes and yarn stores

I am so excited--I just listened to episode 110 of the Ready Set Knits podcast from Webs, and found out that Lucy Neatby will be teaching there this spring. I've long wanted to take one of her classes, so I dashed off to the computer, to find out exactly what she would be teaching (though, to be honest, she probably could have been teaching bricklaying and I would have signed up). She's teaching a full day class on circular knitting and steeking, and two half-day classes, one on buttonholes and one on grafting (called "Hallelujah Grafting"). I know, from Lucy's DVDs (I am the proud owner of 7 of them), that I can learn even from what would seem to be basic lessons. Indeed, in her recent interview on the Knit Picks podcast (#77), she makes this very same point. I've only steeked one garment, but I have done lots of circular knitting. I've also done a fair number of button holes, but I'm not sure I've ever been completely happy with them. As for grafting, I thought I was severely Kitchener stitch-challenged until, in a class with Joan Schrouder this past July at TKGA, I found out that left-handed people can start the grafting on the left! Eureka! I can now graft. But I haven't done much of it, so of course there is a ton for me to learn. So I ended up signing up for the two half-day classes. I am just keeping my fingers crossed that there won't be a massive snow storm to keep me from getting to Webs on April 1--given the date, I am almost expecting this to happen! And since my route takes me over the Berkshire Mountains...

Speaking of classes, I am working on the Ski Lodge Scoop vest from Twelve Months of Knitting, and the shoulders are worked with traditional stair-step bind-offs. In a class taught by Margaret Fisher, we were taught the use of short rows for shoulders, and I thought I'd give it a try. I've just finished the back, and it looks fine. We'll see when I get to doing the three needle bind-off on the shoulders (another benefit of the short rows--live stitches so I can do this). I normally never give myself deadlines for projects, but since Ravelry prompted me when I put this in my queue, I entered Dec. 31. So I am working hard on it to get it done.

On the day after Christmas, my husband and I took a day trip, aiming for used bookstores, yarn stores, and a favorite restaurant. One of the yarn shops was new to me, Needleworks in Greenwich, NY. It is housed in a lovely space, and was filled with delights. I saw a yarn from Norway that I'm not familiar with, what seemed to be an older yarn from Reynolds, and there was quite a variety of nice yarns from Rowan, Jo Sharp, Dale, and others. I picked up three colors of a Brown Sheep yarn that I'd never seen before, Lanaloft sports weight. It is to make the pretty stranded Inga hat. Luckily, my husband had scored a number of purchases in the first bookstore, so he was happy to sit and read while I browsed. And browsed. And browsed.

Other than working hard on the vest, I finished up the Faux Fair Isle Fairy Socks from Nicky Epstien's Knitting on Top of the World.

Gotta run--my vest is calling!