Someone blogged about my twined hat

http://stringplay.blogspot.com/

All be damned....by mere accident like everything else in my life, I fell upon a blog...and the blog happens to touch upon my twined hat, clear across the country.  Now I know that everyone today blogs, so eventually, we all will end up blogging about one another in due time.  Nonetheless, it's exciting to think that someone actually thinks your pattern is interesting enough to blog about.

Thank you Stringplay for making me smile!

Another great Madrona class

My class on Sunday with Margaret Radcliffe, author of my newest favorite book:  The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques was another great class.  Funny thing is that I bought this book and wrote about it in my top 6 favorites of 2009 - not realizing that I had signed up to take a class from her!  I guess I need to start paying attention to the instructors and book authors!  I  didn't know much about Helix knitting and it appears that most people don't - other than it's a jogless technique.  It was beyond jogless...it was thinking outside the box in working with color.  As soon as I finish this deadline of mine, I plan on diving into a helix hat using my favorite all time bulky yarn - Mirasol Sulka which happens to be the yarn used in my class projects above.  I also plan on doing up some fingerless gloves the "helix" way, using up 4 partial skeins as a great way to reduce my stash. 

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Mitred socks class

My close friend Sherri and I took a knitting class today at Madrona Fiber Arts in Tacoma.  When I signed up for it, I had no idea that the instructor was Jane Slicer-Smith - author of the Swing Swagger Drape book.  In fact, I knew little about the class other than we were going to knit mitred socks.  Well - it wasn't exactly mitred socks as I had envisioned but it was a good class just the same.  I wouldn't say that the teacher was a spectacular instructor either since we basically just followed the pattern and she came around to help as needed.  What I did get from the class however, is a better sense of how to integrate mitred knitting into purses/booties/shawls and sweaters.  Mitred knitting is quite simple but understanding the foundation to this technique and how to apply it is really what I gained from this class.  I have flipped through the pages of this book before but to see the actual garments in person and have people model them is a totally different story.  The jackets were far more stunning and flattering on and the workmanship and construction were incredible.  The jackets are truly a work of art.  I have such an appreciation for this book now and for the designer behind the book.  Wow - am I ever excited now for my class tomorrow with Margret Radcliffe - a name I do recognize!

go to:  http://www.sigknit.com/ for more mitred knitting patterns and photos.

Need to do inventory of my knitting supplies

Being addicted to knitting, you would think that I have every knitting accessory known to mankind.  I must have everything- afterall, I worked in yarn shops with discounts for years, I have a walk in closet nearly dedicated to knitting and an office shared with my husband that displays the rest.  So now that I have a super tight deadline - I now realize that I don't have stitch markers for size #13 needles and beyond nor do I have US13 double pointed needles!  I have 11's and 15's - but I guess my many hat projects never used size 13 needles.  So until I can get to a yarn shop and search for large enough st markers - my great aunt's wedding ring will have to do.  I actually need 2 more stitch markers - but I'm afraid to use my wedding ring and sweet 16 ring in fear of losing this knitting bag!  So - I have decided that I need to write down a knitting list - just like my grocery list that I keep in my purse so the next time I head into a yarn shop, I can pull out my handy dandy list and actually buy what I need and not what I will stash for another decade.