Stitches Midwest 2003
I was supposed to take three and a half days of classes but I wasn’t able to, more on that later.
Here are the classes that I did get to take.

Invitation to Spin with Merike Saarnit

This was a great class! I learned how to spin my OWN yarn. She really broke it down step-by-step in a great way. I loved this class! She showed us that we can spin almost anything we want. We tried wool, mohair and a blend of silk, mohair and something else. My yarn is gorgeous and I can’t wait to start a hat with it. I figure start small so that I can use all of the yarn I’ve spun and that way, if I am less likely to run out of yarn! :)

Classy Cast-Offs with Barbara Kerr
I was really frustrated in this class because she didn’t make sure that everyone was doing the bind off correctly before she went onto the next one. She was also very focused on keeping one side of the room up to speed, but on my side of the room there were about six of us that she would help very quickly and then move on.

From Bottom to Top: Hemlines & Necklines Candace Eisner Strick
This was a really good class. I learned a lot of things that I already knew how to do, but it was really a class that I took to help me teach these things better. I got several neat tips on hems and picking up along a neckline. I also learned how to do the tubular bind off on k1, p1 rib that I couldn’t figure out in the Classy Cast-Offs class. I think it was the way that it was presented in this class was more understandable and she made sure that everyone understood it and could do it.

Norwegian Mittens with Beth Brown-Reinsel
What a wonderful class! I have done some fair-isle before, but now I think I will be doing some Norwegian mittens for myself. Beth showed me a good way to keep my fair-isle from being so tight that really works! I also now have the confidence in my work that I needed to do more two-color knitting. Sometimes all it takes is a compliment from an instructor to give you the confidence you needed to take your knitting a bit further. I also learned the Norwegian Purl! What a great way to work a purl stitch. I think knowing the Norwegian Purl will cure my strong dislike for ribbing and seed stitch! Thank you Beth!

Market purchases: (hopefully photos will be up soon)
* Henry’s Attic alpaca in natural and grey for a sweater, I don’t know what but I will find something to make with it since it’s so GORGEOUS!
* Henry’s Attic lace-weight yarn to make a shawl
* Gorgeous microfiber ribbon from Tess’ Designer Yarns to make a lovely red shell
* Hands-On Spinning by Lee Raven
* Folk Mittens by Marcia Lewandowski
* Folk Vests by Cheryl Oberle
* The History of Hand Knitting by Richard Rutt

Now to why I wasn’t able to make the full three and a half days of classes. Thursday morning, I had breakfast - scrambled tofu (no comments please, I’m sure it sounds gross to most of you) that had sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and alfalfa sprouts in it. I felt it go down the wrong tube and I coughed a bit but still felt like something was there. I figured I would cough it up eventually so just dealt with the discomfort. Thursday night, I was driving home from the Stitches convention and I was coughing so badly that I couldn’t breathe. I think I was home 15 minutes before I asked Bryan to take me to the emergency room. So we went to the emergency room and they admitted me to observe me overnight. They think it was a sesame or sunflower seed that got lodged in my throat. They gave me some anti-inflamatory drugs along with antibiotics and sent me home. I was back at the convention on Saturday coughing a lot and talking with a really hoarse voice. I’m still coughing and am still a bit hoarse. I’m fine though. The seed dislodged itself on Saturday night, which was a real relief!

I was home for three days from work last week so I got a lot of knitting done. Most of it wasn’t on my projects but was homework for Stitches Midwest, which starts this Thursday, August 21. For one class, the homework is to knit three tubes - one 16 or 17″ in circumference, 8″ long and the other two 7 or 8″ (I can’t remember off the top of my head) in circumference, 5″ long. So I started the 16″ tube and about 2 inches into it was so bored that I figured I would practice some fair-isle, which I did and was really fun, but I’ve realized that my fair-isle still pulls in. The pulling in is the whole reason I’ve never made anything more than mittens in fair-isle.

I also worked on other homework for Stitches. I finished the little miniature sweater front for my hemlines & necklines class. And I started the cuff for the mitten for my Norwegian Mittens class. I’m working on the many swatches for the cast-off’s class, I have six swatches and I’m working on the second one. They won’t be a big deal because they are three inch swatches that are in k1, p1 rib or k2, p2 rib and then one in straight stockinette. :)

In my time at home, in addition, to working on Stitches homework, I also got about an inch and a half of the second sleeve of the Lang cardigan done. After working with size 5’s for the tube, the size 7’s for the cardigan felt huge. :) I’m about half way through the sleeve before I start shaping for the top of the sleeve. So I have a ways to go, but hopefully, I will get it done before the first really cold day! :)

I have been doing more knitting in the last five days than I’ve done in my home in the last several months. I finished the Joy sweater in Rowan Cotton Tape last night. I put the shoulder seams together and knitted the neck. I had just enough yarn to pick up stitches around the neck and bind off a row with 12 inches to cut off. The neck looks nice though, after looking at it in the picture I like the way my neck is better, it just fits the rest of the sweater better.

I finished the back of the Pagan sweater in Rowan Calmer. I’ll probably start the front tonight or next week as my mom will be here this weekend. I am not looking forward to dealing with the crazy lace pattern at the bottom of the sweater again. It doesn’t make any sense and there is no way to put markers on the needles to keep track of where you are because the stitch count changes every row and in every repeat. I don’t know how anyone could have figured it out on their own enough to write the pattern. It’s nothing special as far as edging lace goes, but it adds a certain cuteness to the bottom of the sweater, which I think could have been achieved with a much easier lace pattern. With this lace pattern, I don’t know how it got a one skein rating from Rowan. But then again, I guess if you’ve been knitting since birth, it’s not a hard pattern. The general pattern is SO easy, it’s just the damn lace part that I makes it difficult.

Last night, I put half of the sleeve on the Lang cardigan and realized after sewing it that it puckered really badly in one area, so I ripped it out. I wasn’t in the best mood last night, so the fact that I had to rip it out didn’t put me in a better mood. :) I couldn’t leave it though because it looked bad!

I’m not teaching in August at all. I needed a break, plus Stitches Midwest is in two weeks. I really should start my homework soon. I really need to find my needles and some yarn - all of my needles are packed away somewhere and I haven’t found them yet!

Eventually, I’ll update my knitting pages. Moving has totally taken so much out of me.

It took us about two weekends to get all of my stuff moved out of my old apartment. I got rid of so many things and I’m still surprised at how much stuff I still have that I don’t know where to put it. The kitties are enjoying the new place. They love to look out the patio door at all the birds, squirrels, rabbits and the dogs walking by. I’ve let Chloe go outside on a leash and harness. She loves rolling around in the grass and just being outside. Living with Bryan at first was a little difficult because I didn’t like how he put things in the dishwasher. Thank goodness that’s the extent of the difficulty! Now things are great. I love seeing him every night and having him make breakfast for me in the mornings. :) He wakes me up every morning and has to practically drag me out of bed. (I’m not a morning person.) We cook dinner together and usually have something to do in the evenings, we don’t have cable so we’re not watching tv. I thought I would miss the city more than I do. I love being close to Whole Foods and having a parking space close to my building every night when I go home. One of the best parts is - it’s a 15-minute commute from the time I walk out my front door until the time I log-on to my computer at work.