Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Knitting a pleasant end to a rough day....




Ah, the stress relieving properties of my favorite hobby... A welcome relief from download software and impatient insurance agents!!




I am very excited to report that the yarn arrived yesterday for my Fan Kimono. I am barely, barely restraining myself from starting it!! I got a gigantic swatch started. I ripped it out about 1000 times, but I think I am finally getting the lace pattern. Practice makes perfect.... The yarn is DIVINE. I will make many projects out of shine worsted! It is soft as a cloud and the color is wonderful.... Love....
I remembered to send out the invite to the Stitch n' Bitch this weekend. I am pleased that people wanted to meet again this soon. Cathy should be there on the correct day, and Sharon said that she will be there with bells on. I am looking forward to it, especially since it means that this week will be OVER!! And I am very pleased to realize that we don't need a leader or agenda to have a good, relaxing time with friends.
I got a tripod so that I could take pictures of my knitting projects in the various stages of completion.... Maybe Ravelry should count as an entirely new obsession?? I don't mind, though! A very nice lady has already helped me with the pattern for the fan kimono!
Remember, if you are reading this, feel free to join the group through the link at the left!!

Monday, April 28, 2008

Knitting Group Launched!!

It was such a good weekend for knitting!! First, the knitting group met for the first time this weekend. My mom and I were there really early, had my little sign up, all ready to have a meeting. At about 3:15, Melissa showed up. I had never met her, was really glad to finally get to know her... She brought a knitting loom, which I had never seen anyone use before. Man, did that thing go fast!! Brenda got there not too much later and we had her first knitting lesson. She did really well, just needs to leave the yarn in the back! Took a poll of attendees, few though they were, and we decided to meet again next Saturday. I can't wait!

On Sunday, I got my invitation to join Ravelry. I am so excited I can't stand it!! It is AWESOME, may never get any more knitting done because I will be networking about knitting!! It is great to be able to view projects that other people have done from the same patterns as me, to see the wonderful variety that people can bring to the same set of instructions.... And if I have problems, I know there are people who have done the same things I have.

Finished my mom's vintage bubble bag yesterday, too. It's true. She thought it would never happen... And after two years in the knitting bag awaiting the sewing on of handles, who can blame her?? It looks really good, and she has decided I should make one for everyone for Christmas... I want to do other color combinations and leather handles. I may even try my hand at lining this one. I can't help it, I just love knitting bags. Heck, apparently I love knitting red bags!

Found out that the yarn for the kimono should be here today or tomorrow, the website said that it was shipped on the 22nd. I am very, very excited about this one, too. People did BEAUTIFUL versions of this pattern and posted them on Ravely, which makes me eager to start.

Ravelry is just going to feed my knitting obsession, I can tell!

Friday, April 25, 2008

The countdown....

I have this fear that it is going to be me and my mom sitting at Barnes & Noble knitting away tomorrow at 3PM. I guess worse things have happened, since our Saturday would have somehow involved coffee and sitting together knitting, anyway, but I want more people to get interested!! I have printed flyers with the blog and the contact information for the group to give out if someone asks during the meeting, and I have a sign holder to put on the table to let people know that it is ok to just jump in and introduce themselves.... I just need to remember that we will have fun and knit either way, and if I am persistent with the whole thing, it will happen!

Didn't knit a stitch last night, got sucked into the land of computer mah jong and became zombified. I seriously think that psychologists should do studies on the hypnotic effect of that game!! I will literally match tiles until my hand aches from clicking or I realize that the same show has come on again in the middle of the night as I saw earlier! I just had to have a break from the same stitch for a day.... I have the bag here at work with me today, so I can show off and knit at lunch. It keeps me motivated! Plus, if people see me knitting, maybe they will want to join the group!! Always thinkin'....

For many reasons, I am ready for this week to be over! The most exciting of which is that the yarn we ordered should be here today or tomorrow! My mom ordered yarn to make a shell to take to Italy (lucky dog!) and I ordered a beautiful cotton blend to make a kimono! I am SO excited about making the kimono, I can't wait. I must finish the bag first, but yippee!! I can't wait to see the yarn. It should be interesting to make too, being a lace pattern and will be the first one that I absolutely cannot avoid blocking. Ah, a challenge!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Knit, knit, knit, knit....

Around four inches done on the red bag. It is shaping up to be very basket-like, which makes me happy. I am at work now, very sincerely wishing I was knitting instead!! Sadly they frown on knitting at the IT help-desk.... I keep trying to tell them of the stress relief benefits of repetitive motion and mindless crafting, but they don't buy it! Sigh.

I am excited and nervous about the group meeting for the first time Saturday.... What will my duties as host/organizer be? Hopefully, it will be like a great, laid-back coffee party where even new people chat and relax. I am going to be teaching some people to knit gradually in these meetings, so even if I get really nervous I will be occupied, I guess! Good practice for the upcoming class!

Unfortunately, we did not win the lottery last night, so I cannot devote myself full time to spreading knitting joy around the area like Johnny Appleseed! I have my fingers crossed for Saturday night!!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

All good things come from knitting.

So, all this started from my desire to gather knitters together locally... That seems to be happening slowly, and I am trying to be patient with the process.... BTW, if you are reading this and want to sign up for the group, the link out to it is on the left hand side of your screen! I am also finding, however, that this desire has set into motion a chain of events that so far has been great! To create the Yahoo group, I had to get a Yahoo email address. I decided that since Yahoo is free and my email at the time wasn't, that I would switch. As a result of switching emails, I sent a giant group email to everyone on my address list to let them know about the change. The exciting part is that I have heard from a bunch of people I hadn't talked to in ages! My friends Tamara and Paul crawled out of the woodwork, and Bonnie-baby emailed me for the first time in YEARS! We are going to have coffee soon... Tamara and Paul are out-of-town friends and have nothing to do with my fiber obsession, and yet my reconnect with them comes right out of that! And Bonnie!!! She is local, and I will attempt to lure her to the group! Even if she doesn't want to stitch with us, I am back in touch with one of my favorite friends of the past! Whoopie!

Plus, I have created this blog, which I am enjoying very, very much. It has been a long time since I have focused so clearly on the things that make me happy and excited or really clearly laid out what I was thinking about. That can only be good. :-)

Another great consequence of my push to excite the natives about knitting is that I finally got brave enough to make the effort for a teaching gig at the adult education center. I had given it some thought in the past, but chickened out every time it came time to do something about it.... Now, I figure that the best way to grow a group of knitters is to get newbies knitting! I am very intimidated by the idea of standing in front of students with needles clutched eagerly in their sweaty hands, but I am going to soldier through and do it! It can serve as practice for becoming the art history professor of my dreams.... I have a syllabus and everything! It doesn't start until August and I can hardly wait!! Maybe they will even pay me....

As for my knitting last night, I have only one thing to say: knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, slip marker, knit, knit, knit.....

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

The historic second post!

That was relatively painless, so here it goes again. First, thanks to my ever supportive Mom for posting a comment so that I don't feel so adrift in the blog universe! You are awesome!

Next, I have added the link for the knitting group, whose meeting is this coming Saturday, so, if you are reading this, join the group!! Look left, intrepid reader! The group is how I will send out announcements about when and where we are meeting. I am hoping to snare some newbies to the group and meet all kinds of new friends. I want to keep adding to the circle until there is a great stitching community in Florence and the surrounding area.... I have a dream.... :-)

On to knitting news, the part you have all been waiting for... I did remember to take my knitting home last night, always a step in the right direction! I worked on the red market bag, however. I am a little concerned that it is not going to felt well because the guage is so tight and small. I think I read somewhere that the guage should be loose to let it move enough in the felting process. Oh, well. Even if it doesn't felt, I have a feeling that it will be sturdy enough to stand on its own as knitted. I am using two worsted strands of Wool of the Andes on size 7 metal needles. It is nice and snug. I have moved on to the part of the bag where I just knit straight up the sides for eight inches. While certainly easy and ultimately rewarding, it is boring the snot out of me. Knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, slip marker, knit, knit, knit, knit.... You get the idea. I am plowing onward, though, in hopes of a truly adorable basket-like bag. I guess if it gets too monotonous I can always work on the lovely olive bag. Or the lovers knot afghan. Or finish the two sweaters I have almost done..... Anyway, I am close to two inches down, six to go, then handles.

I had the alarming idea this morning that I have turned into a Victorian spinster, knitting at home with my mother and my cats... I guess I don't have anything else to say about that, just a moment of horrified silence for the idea.... Shoot me in the head the next time I suggest a doily!

Monday, April 21, 2008

snbFlorenceSC

Ok, here goes post number one. Since I am new to this and not much of a creative writer, you will all have to bear with me! Assuming, of course, that anyone but me is reading this....

My primary reason for creating this blog is for my own amusement and to publicize the knitting group I am trying to get organized in Florence, SC. Surely I am not all alone here in the wilds of South Carolina!! My Yahoo Group is snbFlorenceSC where you can find the calendar of events. Right now, it is just the first meeting on 4-26-2008 at the Barnes & Noble Cafe on the list, but I have high hopes. SO, if you aren't a member already, join the Yahoo group and join us for coffee and stitching! Everyone is welcome.

I left my knitting at work over the weekend... A recipe for madness! Since Vickie was here and she and my mom were knitting away all weekend, I had to start something new. I just could not resist.... So, my beautiful olive cabled purse is just destined to take the rest of my life to knit! I have already ripped out 66 rows and started over, due to the famous handle-hole incident, and now I have fallen in love with a new bag. Ah, the fickle allure of the new project. (The new one is going to be fabulous, though!)