Stuff and Such

There she is... Kiri #2. Finished. Not perfect, but finished. She's now hanging around on the sofa in the living room, just in case my shoulders are a tad chilly. I love her! I love the colours, I love the texture. If my daughter ever decides she wants it, she'll have to fight me for it (just kidding.. but this one's MINE!).

And the obligatory closeup...

Want to see another FO? I've already mentioned this one.

The ever patient spaghetti squash (who's still hanging around) agreed to model the second Baby Beret. I made the trip to Michael's on Sunday to pick up the ribbon. This beret is now on display at the store while the other one, for Oceanna, is waiting to be mailed. I want to finish her Tropical Punch cardigan first. It's coming along, a little slower than anticipated, but right now, I'm almost at the point of dividing for front and back. I have one more project to turn into a FO and then I'll concentrate on the cardigan.

The trip to Michael's, and Debbie Stoller's crochet book also inspired this little project.

It took about 20 minutes to put the whole thing together; it took longer to attach the clasp (magnetic) than it did to crochet the bracelet. And it was fun! Now, I'm looking at my bead bucket and going..."hmmmmmmm..." While I had the wire out, I decided to experiment a little and did this...



That's 10 stitches on 3.5 mm needles. It's about 1.5" square. I know there are books about knitting and crocheting with wire, but I've not really studied any of them. I've shied away from working with wire (other than "normal" beading with wire) because I thought it would be very hard on the hands and the needles. I was surprised at how easy it really was (other than the occasional struggle to keep the wire in my fingers.. it was curling off the spool). I used beading wire and a 6.0 mm hook for the bracelet and jet glass faceted beads. It's a simple foundation chain with a bead snugged into each stitch (except one, if you look closely). It was my first attempt, so I wasn't even trying to achieve perfection. The next one will be better.

Ok, I'm realizing that this will probably be a long post. I hope you don't mind. I have lots to share today.

This weekend also saw my first attempt at Kool Aid dyeing. I'm probably one of the last to jump on that bandwagon. The only reason I did, other than the fact that I've wanted to try it just for the sake of trying it, is that I had the off-white Regia Silk 4 ply that I'd used to knit the lacy camisole from "the Knitter's Stash". Remember that one? The one I frogged at the neck shaping because I was way out on my count? That was three balls of yarn. I had one more of the same in my stash.

I turned it into this....

The one on the left, I'm not too sure of. It's been turned into center-pull balls now and looks a little better, but it's pretty muddled. It will make some pretty wild socks, wouldn't you say? The two on the right, I love. I love the colours. That was done with strawberry and cherry kool aid. The darker one was done first; the second dipped into the remaining liquid, which had lost much of it's intensity. I didn't realize it would do that. If I ever do kool aid dyeing again, I will keep that in mind. It was fun and quick to do, a great Sunday afternoon project but I'm not sure I'll try it again.

Now, on to what I alluded to in my last post. I have a plan for the fall. At the store, like most yarn stores, we offer classes. Our knitting classes are predominantly geared to beginner and intermediate knitters. Nothing wrong with that. There are intermediate to experienced knitters who come in, though, looking for something more. That's where I've decided to step in.

I'm planning on offering two hour seminars, in my home, for knitters who want to learn some of the more "advanced" techniques. For instance, there are a lot of ways to cast on; most knitters I've encountered always cast on the way they were first taught and aren't aware that different cast on techniques exist. Nor do they realize that different methods of casting on are suitable for different applications.

So far, I have six topics that I can expound on for two hours at a time. In no particular order, they are:

1. Casting on... casting on for differing purposes
2. Casting off... choosing the right cast off for the job
3. Button holes
4. Sock knitting... different methods of knitting in the round
i.e. dpns, Magic loop, 2 circs
5. Lace knitting, including how to read charts
6. Cables unravelled, including how to read charts

Minimum class size will be 2 people, with a maximum of 6 (that's all that will fit around my dining room table). Classes will NOT be for beginning knitters; a basic understanding of knitting will be required. I intend to have handouts prepared, with lots of room for taking notes. The cost for each 2-hour session will be $25.00.

Opinions? Suggestions? Suggestions for other topics to cover? Input!! Your comments are requested, positive or negative.