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!

Amanda is finished!

I've been working on the Amanda cardigan, on and off, since September, and I am delighted that it is now finished. The pattern is from A Fine Fleece by Lisa Lloyd, and it is just the first of several patterns I plan to make from the book. I used Louet Riverstone worsted in a rather sharp yellow green color (officially called Willow) that has not received the approval of my husband, but it is a nice change from the colors of most of my cardigans, and I think it will look good with jeans and black pants. When Webs first put Riverstone on sale, I went a bit crazy buying colors, so this is now the second sweater I've made of it. It seems to soften a good bit once washed, though I don't know if I'd wear it next to my skin.

One of the projects that kept me from the cardigan during part of the intervening months was a pair of cat mittens that absolutely captivated me! The pattern is very well written, though a knit and purl row seems to be reversed. The designer, Jorid Linvik, included red vertical grid lines in the chart that I'd not seen before, but that were a wonderful help in keeping my place. I made these out of Knit Picks Palette, in Garnet Heather and Tan. These will definitely be entered into the Altamont Fair this summer!

Right now I am working on a pair of Fair Isle socks from Nicky Epstein's Knitting on Top of the World. This book fascinates me--there are some lovely patterns, but also quite a few that are way beyond anything I'd consider wearing! The back of the Fair Isle capelet is gorgeous, but have you seen the front? Oh my! (If you haven't seen it, check out page 103 in the book.) The Tyorolean Leg Warmers are stunning! Not that I've ever worn leg warmers, but this would be the pair to start with. Anyway, back to the socks. They are made out of K1P2 Soxx Appeal, a lovely stretchy yarn, and I am hopeful they will fit! This is the first pair of socks I've made in some time, and I am quite enjoying it (well, I am only on the first sock, let's see what I say when I get to the second!). This picture is from a few days ago (I am now well along into the foot), but gives an idea.

What a find! Selbu gloves?

I walked into the local consignment/resale shop recently, hoping to find something that would catch my eye. And better yet, something I actually need. I've found a few things at this rather nice store over time--including a lovely quilted bedspread and some old knitting pattern booklets, not to mention a couple of sweaters from LL Bean. Sometimes they have yarn, but usually not of a very good quality. This time, they had quite a garish selection of eyelash yarn. But what did I care that the yarn was disappointing? Look what I found:

The tag was marked "late 19th century Swedish gloves." Swedish? And were they really that old? When I inquired, the owner said that the person selling them had said they were, and that the family had come to the US many years ago and settled in Kansas. They do feel very old. They are in pretty good condition. There is one hole, a few inexpert mending attempts, and some discoloration, particularly on the fingers, which you can see in the photo. (I wonder if it would be safe to gently wash them in one of my wool wash products?) But how fabulous a find!

I question the Swedish designation. I've read Selbuvotter by Terri Shea, and they sure look Norwegian to me. In fact, her Annemor #4 mittens have a very similar dog design on them. This pair has what looks like the number 8 under the dog's chin--I wonder what that signifies?

I thought it quite a coincidence that the only pair of gloves I've made using a pattern from Selbuvotter (Annemore #8) are green and cream--the same colors. And the patterning on the thumb and palms aren't that different from this old pair. The glove I made is on the right below.



It is intriguing to wonder where this old pair of gloves has been--it seems to be a very well traveled pair. And I am tickled pink with my find!

Twist Collective Trunk Show/Patterns by Robin Melanson

Last night a friend and I had the opportunity to go see Kate Gilbert, who'd brought a Twist Collective trunk show to Trumpet Hill yarns in Colonie (Albany), New York. She was delightful, and obviously very enthusiastic about Twist and the quality of the patterns that are being offered. Not only did Kate bring a selection of garments from the fall patterns, but some from the winter batch! This was quite a treat, getting to see them before they are made available on the site. She asked us not to post any pictures on blogs, etc., but since I didn't have my camera along, that is a moot point. I think I've found at least a couple of patterns from the winter selection that I'd like to buy--stranded items both. But I won't say any more than that. It turns out Kate's grandmother doesn't live at all far from the store, so perhaps she'll come again?

I don't know if this is just a quirk of the items Kate brought along, but sweaters and socks seemed to predominate--for both fall and winter. I've recently made two items designed by Robin Melanson, the Negative Space mitts from Knitting New Mittens and Gloves, and the fingerless stranded mitts she designed for Classic Elite. I've liked both patterns, so I am pretty sure I'll be getting her winter item from Twist. There is an interesting interview with Robin Melanson here. She mentions the Negative Space mitts a couple of times during the interview. I picked these because there were several techniques that were either new to me, or things I've not done much. They have a provisional cast-on, and since I'd just happened to watch a Lucy Neatby DVD, Knitting Essentials 2, a couple of days before, in which she explains a crochet cast-on technique around a knitting needle, I felt ok in that regard. Robin suggests crocheting a chain and then knitting into the loops, something I've not been very successful with in the past. The method Lucy demonstrated was much easier for me, particularly with mitt two, when I didn't switch the places of the first and last stitches for knitting in the round (it makes it much harder to unravel the chain if you do this!). The mitts also had an I-cord bind-off and applied I-cord. The mitts were a lot of fun to knit, and a great learning experience.

My friend and I went to another LYS, Wool 'n Word in West Sand Lake, in the afternoon. I've only been there a couple of times now, but the selections of yarns are most interesting. This time I bought some Jamieson's Spindrift for some stranded mittens, an orphan ball of Galway worsted for stranding projects, and a pretty moebius scarf pattern. I was hoping to be good, since the New York Sheep & Wool Festival is tomorrow in Rhinebeck, but no such luck. (Don't even ask about the yarn I bought at Trumpet Hill, or the box that came from KnitPicks today!)

Well, I expect I'll be reporting on all the tempations I succumbed to at Rhinebeck soon...

Olympic Challenge Project Finished!

I am not sure who is more pleased that my gloves are finished, my husband or I. I was so intent on finishing them in time that I was impossible to live with. But they are done, and I feel free! I think I did a pretty good job on them, but there are some, well, let's call them design elements. Like a few fingers without a column of plain white stitches on one edge on the palm side. However, there is a genuine design element on each thumb--a pretty band of alternating green and white stitches that carries up a similar design from the thumb gussets.

So what am I knitting now? A plain beret, all in stockinette stitch, made out of bulky yarn. It is for a class I hope to teach at The Spinning Room the weekend after Labor Day. At first there were no sign-ups, but now that two people are enrolled, I'd better have the hat ready. This is something of a trial balloon--a series of classes, all knitting hats, to teach a variety of skills. The first is to teach knitting in the round and decreases (it is the Rollin' Beret on the linked page), the second teaches cables (I love making this hat), and the third stranded knitting . I hope the classes all get enough sign-ups to run!

Knitting Olympics

My LYS, The Spinning Room, has a Knitting Olympics challenge on. Start during the opening ceremony, finish by the end of the Olympics. I like challenges. So I thought I would give it a try. The first project I picked was a cardigan. That's a challenge, yes? To get done during the time allotted. So I ran it by a friend (you know who you are!). She was dismissive. Very dismissive. Said the cardigan was rather small. And the yarn was big. Who was I trying to kid? Ok, back to the drawing board, a bit sad, because I'd really like to knit this cardigan, and having a deadline hanging over my head would be perfect. Well, how about stranded mittens? I've done a couple of pairs, but with worsted weight yarn. And one of the pairs was really simple. How about if I challenged myself by using fingering weight yarn and a complex pattern. I hate using tiny needles. This would be a challenge, indeed. Friend with high standards thought perhaps, but making stranded gloves with tiny yarn would be a better challenge. So guess what I am making?!?! And pulling my hair out over? Yup, you got it, gloves with fingering weight yarn and tiny needles. Here's the first one. This is Annemor #8 from the Selbuvotter book. The second one only has half of the pinkie done. It probably wasn't a bright idea to leave most of the fingers and both thumbs to the end, but on Saturday I needed something less challenging to knit than fingers, for some knitting with friends, and succumbed to starting the second hand.

Actually, I shouldn't be blogging, I have to get back to knitting fingers! There is less than a week before the Olympics end, and I am not sure if the fingers are going to drive me insane before then. There is a pretty good chance they will.

But before I go--you may want to know what my friend with high standards is knitting for the Olympic challenge. Or can you guess? NOTHING!!! (But I'm not really mad--she keeps me on my toes.)

TKGA Show in Manchester, NH

I've been terribly negligent in writing to this blog, I guess I have to chalk it up to summer laziness. It isn't that I haven't been knitting, or dreaming about yarn, or buying yarn...

Last week I attended The Knitting Guild Association (TKGA) show in Manchester, NH. I took an all-day and a half-day class, and learned an incredible amount. Knifty Knitted Kneckline Knowhow was taught by Joan Schrouder, who seems to know everything there is to know about sweater knitting, and more! She brought some fabulous sample garments to illustrate lots of different techniques, and I was impressed to find out that she knitted one of the garments in Poems of Color about Bohus knitting. We had made rather extensive swatches to work on in class, to try out a square neckline, a v-neck, and a shawl collor. We learned Kitchener (well, those of us who didn't already know it, and she demystified it for me, who is left-handed) and short rows (for the shawl collor) and I-cord edgings, and a fair amount more. The next day, I took Advanced Finishing with Margaret Fisher, who is one of the most organized knitting teachers I've ever learned under. We learned the tubular cast-on and bind-off, short rows for shoulder shaping, cutting your knitting to lengthen or shorten it (scary at first, but not at the end) and some other techniques that I did know, such as duplicate stitch.

The pace of these classes is so quick that having a chance to breathe and relax during the few things I already knew was much appreciated. I hope to attend more classes by both of these instructors, and I recommend them to you if you get a chance to learn from them.

Several of the vendors I had hoped to see at the Market at the show weren't there--I had heard from a couple that sales last year were less than hoped for. But there were some new ones, too, and plenty to look at.

I used my trips to and from NH to splurge a bit. On the way out, I stopped at Green Mountain Spinnery and Harrisville Design, as I did last year. I hadn't really planned to buy anything at the former, but saw some of their store models for the Stained Glass Hat, and had to buy the pattern. And since their Mountain Mohair yarn is so lovely and shimmery, I treated myself to three colors for the hat--I am afraid the other colors will have to be represented by more mundane yarns. The store samples were absolutely inspired in their color choices--and unfortunately, none of them are given on the pattern (not that those aren't pretty). So I hastily took notes and will see what I come up with. My very first stranded knitting project was their Painted Hat, and I felt like I'd just entered a fascinating new world, so I am looking forward to making this more complex hat.

At Harrisville, I found quite a few things, but the one definite on my shopping list was a skein of New England Shetland for the crochet border for my new sweater. The lace weight yarn called for in the pattern just wasn't showing up enough, but this seems to do the trick. This pattern is from Shear Spirit, and was a pleasure to knit up in Louet Riverstone (currently on sale at Webs).

Speaking of Webs, that is where I stopped on the way home, and I am quite proud that I only spent 75 minutes in the store. However, as readers will know, this is enough time to do serious damage to the budget. I came with a longish shopping list, including yarn for Loppem in Norah Gaughan's new pattern book (collection 3). And guess what--they had a sample of this and several other items right there. So I tried it on--and found it doesn't really look too good on me. But I'd far rather learn this with a garment someone else made, rather than one I made! So I tried on Eastlake, my second choice from the book, and loved it. So there were 11 skeins of Inca Gold in my shopping cart, amongst other things!

Currently on the needles: the Cozy V-Neck sweater from Stefanie Japel's Fitted Knits, in RYC Soft Tweed.

A Yarn Mystery and Travels in Search of Yarn

Earlier this year, I visited Amazing Threads, a yarn shop in Kingston NY. I was very impressed by some skeins of yarn that they labeled "Amazing Threads Special," with the yarn content, amount, washing directions, gauge and needle size. All the skeins had this store label. The price was great, $3 a skein. In fact, I wrote about this yarn and store visit back on January 13, and the mitts I was making. Imagine my surprise when I was in a Jo-Ann store in Glens Falls yesterday and I found the exact same yarn--Moda Dea's Cartwheel! Or at least, so I thought. I had to buy a skein to check. Guess what? Same thick and thin texture, same distinctive colorway, same amount of yarn, same fiber composition. In fact, it seems to indeed be the same yarn! I wonder what the story is behind this? Perhaps the mill created more yarn than Moda Dea wanted? Or...?

On this same trip, I had a chance to visit a new yarn store, Yarn Angel on Glen Street. Very nice proprietor, a good selection of yarns (many Berroco), and I had a sneak peak at some of the new fall yarns. It seems many of the new pattern books are on back order, but I look forward to seeing them. Actually, previews of the patterns are on the Berroco site. I'm not much of a self-striping yarn fan, but several of the new patterns for Geode and Jasper are calling to me.

Last weekend, a friend and I headed south to visit some yarn shops on the east side of the Hudson. We started at the jam-packed Flying Fingers in Tarrytown, where we each found sample sweaters that called--strongly--to us. Strongly enough that we couldn't leave the store without buying the necessary yarn. Mine is Karabella's Travelling Cables Cardigan. The picture on the pattern doesn't look extraordinary, but the knit garment on does! I treated myself to Aurora 8 in a gold color--something very new for me. I've heard wonderful things about knitting with this yarn. Then we went on to Yarn Central in Hopewell Junction, which has a number of European pattern books and yarns, as well as books and yarns that are more commonly seen. I couldn't leave without scooping up some of the half-price Dale Falk skeins for colorwork. Our last stop was Country Wool outside of Hudson, where we bought several of Claudia's hat and scarf patterns, and a bit more yarn. What a lovely day's excursion!

Doorways to Enjoyment, Part II

Sorry to keep you waiting for the second two doorways. I wonder if you found the first two an interesting way to think about the books you gravitate to.

The third doorway leads to books that focus on setting. There are not as many books in this category, but if you are a fan of historical fiction, many of those books fall into this doorway, as they make a setting distant in time seem real. Fantasy novels also fall into this doorway for many readers. Books that situate the reader in a distant location in the present also qualify. Some works that fit here include the Tony Hillerman mysteries, Colleen McCullough's Master of Rome series, Donna Leon's Venetian-set mysteries, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and E. Annie Proulx's The Shipping News. When someone talks about a setting doorway book, they often talk about how real the place was for them.

Books in the language doorway comprise the smallest category. These are the books that often win the major awards, and are described as "well written." Many readers fell this type of book moves slowly. Authors whose books fall into this category include Edith Wharton, William Trevor, Wallace Stegner, Michael Cunningham and Joan Didion.

I would love to hear if these categories resonate with you. Personally, I tend to look for books that focus on setting (all those historical novels I read!) and story (I'm a big mystery fan). I do read my share of the language-doorway books, but character isn't a category I tend to search out. Right now I am reading The Little Book by Selden Edwards, which I'd place in "setting." It is set partially in 1897, partially in the second half of the 20th century. The early period action occurs in Vienna, which is vividly brought to life. The next book I plan to pick up is a historical fantasy by Mercedes Lackey--another setting book!

Doorways to Enjoyment

Today I'm not going to talk about knitting, or perhaps only tangentially. Last week I had the opportunity to hear Nancy Pearl, of Book Lust fame, speak. I'd heard her a few years ago, when she spoke at a lunch for library friends and staff at my university. I don't remember exactly what her topic was, though I know she spoke about reading when she was growing up, and some of her favorite books, and such. I have a very warm and cozy feeling thinking back on that talk. This time, she had a more directed focus--she was speaking about reader's advisory for adult services librarians. Reader's advisory happens in public libraries, mostly. I work at a university library. I don't get chances to suggest books to readers, or only once in a blue moon. But I was determined to hear her speak again, and once again, it was ever so enjoyable.

Thank you for staying with me this far. I know lots of knitters are readers. Many of us listen to books when we knit. So I hope what I can report from Nancy's session will be of interest. She suggested a very different way to go about suggesting books to readers, a way that you might find illuminating when you think about the kinds of books you tend to gravitate towards. She used a framework of "doorways." She talked about four doorways into which books, both fiction and non-fiction, fit. But first, she had us each list five of our favorite books, so that we could later go back and see which doorways attract us. Perhaps you might want to do this, too?

The doorways she enumerated were:

1. Books with story as the attraction. She mentioned that this is the largest category of books. Many mysteries fit into this category, as do lots of children's books. Dialogue is big in these books, and they tend to be books we think of as page-turners. A number of these books may have a second big doorway. Authors who fit into this category for most readers (some readers may be attracted by other qualities of books in any of these categories, so they aren't hard and fast): John Grisham, Jeffrey Archer, Patricia Cornwell, Clive Cussler, Stephen King. The DaVinci Code fits into this category.

2. The second doorway, and the next biggest, is character. The characters in these books change and develop internally. One good way to find these books is through their titles, which often are the names of characters or describe characters. Think The Time Traveller's Wife, Fortune's Daughter and others by Alice Hoffman, books by Anne Tyler, Richard Russo and Kaye Gibbons.

I am afraid I have to leave you hanging for the moment--it is getting late. I'll detail the other two doorways next time. In the meantime, if you are an avid reader, you might want to think about other authors or books that fit into these two categories. And check your list of favorite books--do they fit into these two categories? Or are your categories yet to come?

Very impressed with Louisa Harding, plus a report on another class

Some may have noticed that Louisa Harding commented on my last blog post, following up on my comments about her workshop. She was interested in what fueled my dissatisfaction with it, and I wrote back to her and explained a bit more. One of my big concerns was that I thought the workshop would discuss more about combining yarns more generally, not just experimenting with some from her line. She then responded with a very nice message that discussed yarn combinations and substitutions, and also recommended The Knitters Guide to Combining Yarns by Kathleen and Nick Greco. I am very impressed by her wish to be helpful. I know my reaction to a negative comment about a class would have been very different, and much less of a credit to me! Thank you, Louisa!

This past Sunday I took a 6-hour Norwegian Mittens class with Beth Brown-Reinsel at Webs. Yes, this was the day of the Yarn Harlot's visit there, and the store was a madhouse most of the day. (Those of us in the class dashed out when they all went off to the theater and did our shopping then.) I had heard the Beth's classes are very good and well worth seeking out, and I have to concur. There were just 6 of us in class, so she was able to give us lots of individual attention when needed. I have now learned the Norwegian Purl technique, which I think will be extremely helpful to me as a Continental knitter (whenever possible I just knit back backwards and try to avoid purling altogether). My tension goes all wonky with regular purling. We also learned how to carry both strands of yarn in one hand (the left, in my case) when doing stranded work, and I have fallen in love with the simplicity of it. Once I get my technique honed, I think I'll be much faster. She also shared some other really helpful information, including dominant yarn in stranded knitting, and showed us how to recognize it knitting in a variety of different styles. My first mitten from the class is just half done and desperately needs blocking to look attractive, so I'll hold off putting up a picture.

I finished the Taconic V-Neck Pullover yesterday, with about 3 yards of yarn to spare. The sleeves are very wide, and in looking at the small picture on the pattern (yoo-hoo Webs, could you include larger pictures both on your website and on the patterns themselves?), I see this is the way it is designed. I don't think I really like this look, but the sweater is ultra-comfy and I love the way the body portion looks (I added some waist shaping to the back), so on the whole I am quite pleased.

Louisa Harding Workshop and Musings about Podcasts

Today was the second workshop I'd signed up for at Colorful Stitches in Lenox. Louisa Harding had planned a session to show us how various yarns, all from her line, work together. The pattern was a simple one for a bag with fringe. While it was fun to pick out the needed five little balls of yarn, there really wasn't much teaching going on, just an opportunity to see how your creation and those of others worked out. Louisa did spend some time telling us about how she came to be where she is today, and talked a tiny bit about women's fashions. I am afraid I was terribly disappointed, as the workshop and the materials weren't inexpensive. The bag isn't one I'd ever use (and I can't think who amongst my friends might), and I wonder if I'll even finish it. It was a pleasant enough few hours, but nothing near as charged as the session with Kristin Nicholas two weeks ago. I actually had dithered about signing up, seeing what the bag looked like, but hoped there would be lots more practical information about combining yarns. I also did want to have the chance to meet her, and that I did. I wonder how others who attended felt?

I usually listen to podcasts while knitting, and lately I've noticed that most of my favorite ones are by guys (or blokes, as David Reidy would say). I really wonder why this is? Sticks and String is one of my absolute favorites, and I am really glad that there are many for me to catch up on. I also really enjoyed the two episodes of YKnit that I've listened to in the last few days , and also like It's a Purl, Man. The others I listen to regularly at Ready, Set, Knit (can't miss those early announcements of sale yarns at Webs!), hosted by the husband and wife store owners, Cast-On and KnitPicks, the latter two hosted by women. But considering that men make up a fairly small percentage of knitters, it seems interesting they make up at least half of my favorites. I find that I like a fair amount of a podcast to focus beyond the host. Interviews are great, I enjoy book, yarn, and product reviews, and music is a nice interlude. I think most of these podcasts seem more professionally produced than others I've tried, and that makes a difference to me--as does a fairly good sense on the part of the host of what he or she will be saying before he or she says it! I expect, though, that other listeners might prefer all the things I don't like. I'll keep trying out podcasts that are new to me, and hope to find a few others that I'd like to keep listening to.


OTN: The Taconic Pullover sleeves are about 3/4 done. Sleeves are usually just so boring! And I've become really excited once again about the Tassled Fez from a pattern by Chalene Schurch. I guess it took a while for the stranding overload from the Philosopher's Wool cardigan to wear off!

Colorful Finished Objects

Today I finished up the last of the embroidery on the Sunny Flower Fez, a pattern by Kristin Nichols from Folk Style. I used the same colors as for the Fingerless Flower Gloves from Kristin Knits. I'd originally bought four colors of Valley Yarns Berkshire, but realized my gauge would be really off with this heavier-weight yarn. I like the cheerfulness of these items, though the colors might not be completely me. But then again, I tend to select safer color combinations that might not have the same pizazz or energy as these items do. By the time I was halfway done with all the lazy daisies on the hat, I was feeling pretty comfortable doing them!

Now I am back to working on the sleeves of my Taconic Pullover. I love the color of the yarn, but it seems very muted after these other projects!

I just read a fun book called One Night @ the Call Center by Chetan Bhagat, set in India. It follows the experiences of a group of young people (and one older man) who all work together in a unit at the call center. One of the women spends a fair amount of time knitting a scarf for her mother-in-law--a MIL who really doesn't deserve this kindness. The knitting is just a small element of the book, set amongst job angst and relationship troubles and boss troubles. And, oh yes, a phone call from God.

Fabulous Workshop!

Today I took a three-hour workshop with Kristin Nicholas at Colorful Stitches in Lenox, MA. We all brought along a knitted swatch, and proceeded to learn all sorts of fabulous ways to decorate it with duplicate stitch and embroidery. But first Kristin showed us lots of her projects, many of them from her most recent book, Kristin Knits, showing us how the overstitching changed the nature of the items. She also suggested some great ideas, such as decorating a plain store-bought sweater with the stitches we would be learning. Her enthusiasm and energy were catching, and throughout the afternoon I heard nothing from the participants but the most excited praise and exclamations that we could actually do these things! It was so very empowering, and ever so much fun. Afterwards, she presented a slide show on how she works with color and how she gets her inspiration. She encouraged us to open our eyes and see color combinations in everything around us. She sees them not only in such expected places as flowers against their leaves and the sunflowers in a field, but in the rusting old trucks in her neighbor's yard! The slides were great, and I highly recommend her blog if you'd like to see examples of her photography.

I'd decided to knit the fingerless flower gloves from her book, but the colors just weren't me. So I picked out four other colors of her Julia yarn, but thought perhaps I might take the opportunity to run them by her. I'd tried to balance light and dark colors, but watching her evaluate them together was really educational, and while two of my colors stayed in the mix, she suggested a few better possibilities to substitute for the remaining two. She then sketched out the mitt with colors indicated to help me remember. How very nice of her!

If you ever get the opportunity to take one of her workshops, or see her slide show, don't pass it up!

Seem to be hooked on Rowan Big Wool

I don't think I'd even heard of Rowan Big Wool four or so months ago. That was before I bought the new pattern book by Kim Hargreaves, Heartfelt: The Dark House Collection. I loved the look of Cherish, found the recommended Big Wool on sale during a trip to Webs, and that was that. Using my Denise size 17 needles was a bit clumsy, getting stitches from the thin cable to the thick needle, but I expect that would be a problem regardless of the brand of needles. I loved how quickly the project knitted up! Almost instant gratification. And I really like the finished project. Then a friend lent me her New Shapes pattern book by Rowan, and the Vanilla Scarf is really calling out to me. In the meantime, some Big Wool Fusion and the Fantine pattern from French Girl showed up in my order from Jimmy Beans. And now today, in browsing around Ravelry, I found a couple of lovely examples of Tess knit by nancykane. I think it is most interesting that when I saw this in the Heartfelt book, I had no interest whatsoever in it. Now, in comparing it to Nancy's versions, I think it must be the light color used in the pattern book that turned me off. I seem to think this needs to be a rich dark color, as hers are. This is an interesting aspect of Ravelry, being able to see multiple versions of a project, and perhaps revise one's opinions about the pattern.

Knit-In at Barnes & Noble

My friend Karen and I went to a knit-in at the local Barnes & Nobles yesterday. It was organized by 5 of the yarn shops in the area. We had no idea what to expect. We were told to bring chairs and that their would be great door prizes. Well, the door prize gift baskets did look wonderful, but unfortunately we didn't get to have any first hand experience with them (i.e., we didn't win!). The store was mobbed with knitters, spinners, crocheters, and maybe other fiber artists, though those are the only crafts I saw. There were groups spread out throughout the store, some smallish (we were in a group of about 9 lovely women--and it turned out 4 of us were librarians, most of the others were teachers. I've noticed this at knit nights at my LYS, too--lots of women in these two professions. I wonder if I might do some sort of study of this seeming link between knitting and careers?), others much, much larger. I am glad we ended up in such a friendly group, though it could well be all the groups were friendly! I felt a bit sorry for muggles who were actually trying to buy books, as some sections were completely blocked by our groups.

My group was located near the mall entrance, with a massive window right behind us. Lots of people stopped to see what we were up to, particularly because we had a woman spinning on a wheel in our group. It was great to see all the interest. The woman who taught me to knit a couple of years ago stopped by, and I was able to show her the fair isle sweater I finished lately. I was glad to have the opportunity to thank her for changing my life, which really isn't an exaggeration at all.

I wonder if the yarn stores and B & N will do it again? I also wonder if the store got lots of complaints by the book buyers.

OTN: I finished the back of the Taconic Sweater, and have just started the front. I understand that the smaller sizes aren't able to follow the chart completely, because there aren't enough stitches. To me, that seems to be sloppy pattern writing, but perhaps it is more common than I realize? I also finally started knitting some Brooks Farm yarn--Mas Acero, in an incredibly simple shawl pattern--perfect knitting while watching the PBS Jane Austen offerings every Sunday night. I have several other skeins of Brooks Farm yarn around, but they are buried deep in my stash. The colors are lovely, I shouldn't have waited so long.

Back to normal knitting!

I finished up the fair isle cardigan early this month, and I am ever so happy to have it out of my hair! I feel like I can relax a bit now with my knitting, towards the end things were getting somewhat tense with it. There are a few areas I am not completely happy with: the button bands, despite close checking of gauge to know how many stitches to pick up, droop a bit. As does the ribbing at the top of the pockets (note to self: find black elastic thread and take care of this). Also, the neck is shaped something along the lines of a boat neck. I know I picked up stitches in the range recommended, so I don't know what the heck happened with it. But let's just call it a design element. Unfortunately, my office at work hovers around the 80 degree mark, so I've only had the chance to wear it once since I finished it. This weekend I'll be going with a friend to a knit-in at the local Barnes & Noble, so that might be a good time to feature it. Here's a picture of it when it was being blocked.

Those of us who joined the skein of the month club from Webs got our first shipment toward the end of January--lovely yarn from Sheep Shop, and a very pretty pattern, too (see Jan. 27 post). Well, it turned out my skein was the skein from hell. Terrifically tangled and matted to boot. After approximately 5 hours spent trying to untangle it (my husband even volunteered to help, when he saw me in deep frustration mode, and a friend did the last part for me, in trade for my doing tassles for a hat for her), it was done, but the yarn was a bit the worse for wear in parts. Still, I am enjoying knitting it--it is very soft. Said friend suggested contacting the yarn company, which I did. They say they've never heard of this happening before, but kindly offered to send me a replacement skein--WOUND! (I don't think they trust me to do it myself, but that's ok.) The end of February is creeping up on us, I guess we'll be getting our next skein and pattern soon.

Other recent projects include a version of the Robin's Egg Blue hat, which was a lovely, soothing knit and a pretty shrug, Cherish, from Kim Hargreave's book Heartfelt worked in Rowan Big Wool.

Additional pictures

Well, I managed to trick my camera and get the latest pictures out. The purple neck band lining is evident here, as well as the area cut away from the neck. The third picture shows the two lines of stitches from the inside that will be joined with the outside stitches to encase the cut area. I used light blue on the outside, light turquoise on the inside, just for a bit of fun.

The Never-ending Fair Isle Cardigan

I CAN NOT wait for this project to be done. I have spent 4 of the last 4 weekend days working on it almost full time. Yes, knitting a body tube without having to worry about purling while doing colorwork is a great idea. Not so great is the machine stitching and picking up stitches. These two activities make the actual steeking look easy and carefree. I am indebted to all the posts at Luna-Knits as she went through the process--I
know mine will be much better for learning about encasing the cut areas so that the mess doesn't show, and reading about how to keep the button band edges from curling, as well as other advice. I found the encasing directions a bit late for the sleeves, but that is ok, as that area really doesn't show. But I lined my neckband (with a new color, just for a little oomph, though my camera doesn't seem to want to disgorge the picture of it), as she describes, and now I am knitting the rows that will encase the front steeked edges. I am a nervous wreck (well, I've been a nervous wreck most of the time over these four days), but the latest cause is my worry that I haven't picked up the right number of stitches, and the button bands won't lay flat. My row and stitch gauges were the same, so I I picked up in every row. We'll see. More pictures to come when my camera decides it is willing to share them.

I passionately long for some uncomplicated, but still interesting, knitting projects for the next few weeks. I feel like I've been challenged enough for now. My goal is to finish it by the end of January. There's a chance... (I think my husband hopes for this, too. He has said he's a bit tired of coming second to a cardigan!)

On a cheerier note, I received my first shipment from the Webs/Storey Publishing Skein of the Month Club. I am impressed. It is Sheep Number Three from Sheep Shop Yarn, and a pretty pattern for a scarf. A friend wonders how well the pattern details will show in the variegated colorways--I guess we'll find out! (Once I get to my post-cardigan life...)

Changed Store or Changed Knowledge?

Several months after I started knitting, I visited Amazing Threads, a yarn shop in Lake Katrine, NY (near Kingston). It isn't a very large store, but I was really impressed by the unusual yarns and the lovely sample items and the patterns they had available. When I had a chance this weekend to finally get there for a second time, almost two years later, I couldn't wait. However, this time I wasn't overwhelmed by what was available. Lots of Plymouth yarn, and Alchemy Yarns of Transformation, and some others. (They also had a box of a beautiful plum/copper/brown yarn, labeled "Amazing Threads Special," which I couldn't resist (only $3 for 77 yards!) and which is already being made up into fingerless mitts.) There were very nice people working yesterday, but overall, I felt a twinge of disappointment. I'd had such fabulous memories of my first trip. But after thinking about it for a time, I realized the store and its stock probably hasn't changed all that much. What has changed is how much I know about yarns, and how many more yarns I've worked with since I was an absolute novice. I will cherish that memory of my first trip, and instead of being disappointed about the second, I will celebrate how much I've learned and how much I've gotten from this wonderful craft in the last 21 or so months.

New Year challenges and a new book that caught my eye

I hate New Year's resolutions such as losing weight or eating fewer desserts or that kind of thing. I am sure this is because I know I have no intention of doing such things. But I am happy to try to find a couple of knitting challenges that might fit as resolutions. I wonder if it is fair to put one on my list that I mastered in the last week, before I firmed up my resolutions? I am pretty proud of it, since while I was still learning, I wasn't a very happy camper, and I think my husband would have been pleased to move out for a few days. To explain: As I mentioned in my last post, I went to the Webs book launch for Melissa Morgan-Oakes's book 2-at-a-time Socks in mid December. I was thinking of getting the book, but wasn't completely decided. It was, however, a great excuse to go to Webs! Well, you know I won the kit and bought the book. I was off from work last week, and thought this might be a good time to concentrate on learning this technique, rather than starting some evening when I come home from work ultra-tired. The first day I worked on it, it didn't go well. I was misinterpreting what to do with the needle after finishing the first half of the first sock, and what should have been K1P1 ribbing turned into two knits in a row, moving from the last stitch of the first half of sock 1 to the first stitch of the second half. I contacted Melissa, who suggested just doing some stockinette practice rounds. Something clicked when I tried this, but then it took another couple of sessions to get the hang of moving the socks and/or cord around and not getting totally tangled up. But as is said in My Fair Lady, "she's got it, I think she's got it"! I am still working on the practice toddler socks, but feel much less clutzy now. I am actually a fan of double-pointed needles, but I do suffer from second sock syndrome, so I think I'll try knitting a pair of adult socks this way next.

In Borders yesterday, I found a new book that really caught my attention: Knit Tricks by Rebecca Wat. The garments, which run the gamut from scarves to vests to shrugs to sweaters, are all made out of rectangles, but a number of them use really interesting wrapping techniques. The author is very interested in origami, and that shows in some of these designs. There are 3 or 4 I'd like to make right away, but of course there doesn't seem to be anything appropriate in my stash. I think there is another trip to a yarn store in my near future!

Besides the socks, I have just started working on a short sweater, Cherish, by Kim Hagreaves from Heartfelt, and my Celtic Cardigan and Fair Isle Sweater continue to languish (though I did finish enough of the Celtic Cardigan to wear it as the Celtic Vest for the time being). The multidirectional scarf in Noro Aurora is moving along. However, my second knitting resolution is to finish the Fair Isle Sweater and do the steaking! It would be nice to wear it this winter, and there aren't many inches left on the body (the sleeves are both done, one is below). Wish me luck!