FO's

I have been finishing projects. Yeah!!!

Here they are:

 Cloche Enough/Chemo Hat by Debbie Anne & Susan Ann

Click to read more ...

GAAA KAL

We are starting the "Great American Aran Afghan" knit-a-Long this week. We are going to try to do a block every 3 or 4 weeks. These are squares that you can join into a full size afghan, or a smaller lap blanket, or a few pillows. This project can be as big or as small as you want it to be and to be done at your own rate so no pressure! 

The first block this month is "Carol Adams". It is one of the easier ones. I am going to ease everyone in slowly. 

Most of us are using Berocco Vintage (worsted). I love this yarn. It knits up so nice, feels squishy and is washable. The price is right too. 

Join us!! If you can't start this month start as soon as you can. 

Email Me for more information

Busy with Knitting Classes

The knitting classes are filling! Yeah!!

A couple of the classes are already closed and a few more are almost full. I am so happy and knitting like a mad women. 

Good thing I love to knit, right?

I have finished the Gretel Beret. This was a really nice pattern. Ysolda's patterns are well written and easy to follow. I love this beret and plan on wearing it often!

I have almost finished Mara. I knit this from my stash. I used jitterbug for the gater stitch section. I found some purple sock yarn but it was very light weight so I doubled it for the 1x1 rib. I have a cone of louet opal, 100% merino, in green. I think it is more of a sport weight so I used it single. I love the way it is turning out. It is a bit on the smaller size but I find that I use smaller shawls quiet often so it will get good use. 

This weekend I am starting Agatha. This pattern has you knit the front lace panel first so that is what I will be doing before the class starts on the 22nd. I am using Elsebeth Lavold silky wool, also from my stash. It is a rusty brown color. Hard to get it to show up on the picture right. 

I hope I love it!

As Brenda Dane from Cast On would say:

Knit, Knit like the wind!

New Classes are Up!!

The new classes have been up for a week now and the sign-ups have been going really well. Putting up the classes always increase the number of people checking out my site.

While looking at stats to see what was going on, I realized that I actually have people reading my blog.

Yup, not only are people coming during the week I have put up new classes, they come back on a regular basis.

Yup, there are people reading this blog. And the numbers are actually higher then the number of my friends and students.

I find this amazing. I am not a writer by any stretch of the imagination. I am so greatful that someone, or as it turns out several someones, are actually taking the time to read my pages and then come back and do it again.

Thank You Thank You Thank You.

On with the knitting!
Since putting classes up, I have been busy knitting the samples for the classes. I selected the classes a little differently this time around. Instead of thinking about what I thought you, the student, might want to knit I decided to pick things I really wanted to knit.

What a difference that made. I have found that because I am excited about what we are going to be knitting so are you. I am also having a blast knitting everything up.

First up is the Mosaic Stole. This is a slip stitch pattern and it has been really fun knit. I have had to do some color managment with the noro silk garden lite I am using. There are 4 shades that are in the same family (pinks and corals). I don't want them coming up at the same time because, well, that would be too much pink and coral going on.

Solution? I rewound the balls so I could see what was happening with the colors and then figured out where I should start the two strands so that, in theory, those color families will not show up at the same time. I have a feeling I will have some more management to do before I get to the end of this project.

In hindsight, (don't you just love hindsight? I only wish we could have it more often as foresight), I would use noro colors that had more, distinctly different colors in one skein. The whole project would probably flow better.

Next up is the Hemlock Ring Blanket. It is finally on my needles. I have wanted to knit this for a very long time. I have had the yarn in my stash for maybe a year now. Any time it came to the top of my list I would place it back down to the bottom in favor of projects that were more pressing at the time. Now it is on the "I need to knit list" and guess what??

I am loving this pattern. It took me a couple of times out of the gate to get it going but it is moving right along now.

I started with an alpaca yarn I bought for this project a long time ago. It was a light worsted weight yarn and this pattern really needs the heavy worsted. I could have gone down needle sizes and it would have worked just fine but I really wanted to use heavier yarn so it would be a thicker blanket and it would work up faster.

So into the stash I went and came up with 7 skeins of City Tweed from Knitpicks that I had originally bought for a cardigan. Now it will keep me warm as a blanket. I am about done with my 3rd skein as I write this and it really is coming out lovely.

Next on my needles will be the rainbow scarf (rav link) and the Nona's Garden Pillow. I know, it is a shawl, but I just have this feeling that I will end up with a pillow. Which suites me just fine.

Year of Color

I have been putting together the classes for the next few months. Almost everything I am drawn to right now has a lot of color in it. There are so many things to choose from it is hard not to just start one project after the other.

Luckily I have friends to help me make my choices. Because I teach knitting I am able to pick out some of my favorite things to knit and then see if there are others who want to learn to do the same thing.

I used to have to guess at this. But now there is a great online site, "survey monkey" that allows me to send my ideas out to my mailing list and see what everyone thinks about my choices before I schedule them. Of course I still knit things that are not on my class list. But I love that I can knit some wonderful things and share the joy with others.

Here are some of the projects I am really excited about.

Byzantine Scarf by Susan Pandorf
(thanks Debra for finding this one)

The magic of these beautiful colors are accomplished by using a technique known as Mosaic knitting. Only one color is used per row along with some slip stitches. Looks much more involved then it is. Love that!

Then there is this lovely Rainbow scarf. (rav. link)

Double knitting and one skein of yarn used from both ends is the magic behind this color wonder. Another very impressive scarf for such a simple technique.

The one project I am really going to sink my teeth into is the "Mona's Shawl".

This is going to be a KAL with some of us knitting the shawl and then several people have opted to knit the "East meets West" bag. Knitpicks

Both projects are what color knitting is all about.

This is the Year of Color for me. I want to really push myself and see where it leads me. Want to join me?

Harika Socks by Stephanie van der Linden
(thanks Lisa for pointing these out)

What are some of your goals for knitting this year?

New Post!! Fall Knitting Classes!!

If you read past posts you will see that fall is my most favorite time of year. What better time to bring some focus back to my poor neglected blog.

I have been working very hard on getting Marvels of Knitting ready for the fall. The new fall classes have been added here and now I am a knitting fool trying to get all the samples made up by next week for the Class Fair.

So far my favorite knit is the Fingerless Gloves by Ysolda. The lace cuffs where easy and fun to do. I love the way the thumbs where increased for and the the little leaf detail is just lovely. There is just enough to keep the interest yet it is a pretty simple knit for an intermediate beginner.

After i finish this post I am going to start the Beaumont Tam by Jared Flood of Brooklyntweed. He is one of my favorite designers. His esthetics's are so simple, clean and beautiful and his photography makes everything look fabulous. I am going to be using Classic Elite's Fresco, the yarn used in the pattern. This is a new yarn for me to try out! It has angora in it so I will let you know how that goes.

On the needles is Damson, another Ysolda design. I am using my Malabrigo Sock Yarn. It is a dream to knit with and the colors are working really well. This is a really easy beginning lace design. Anyone that can knit and do "yarn overs" can knit this. It is a perfect first lace type of project because you can practice all the little tricks for knitting lace without having to concentrate so much on a lace chart.

After I have all these projects done then I will have to rest my hands for a bit. Which means I will have some time to dream about new knits and new yarns while watching the leaves starting to change and hopefully enjoying some cooler weather.

No Posting but a lot of Knitting

When does a knitting teacher get to knit her own projects?
Maybe never.
I have been knitting up samples for the april classes at Unraveled. It has actually been a lot of fun because they are relatively easy knits so the instant gratification comes into play to keep me happy.
Two of the new classes for me are Baby Hats and Booties

and Beginning sock class using a child size sock to learn from.

I have one more class to get samples made up for, a spa set for mother's day. And then it will be time to think about next month.

Along the teaching thread, I am not sure why we have not been taking pictures of our classes and what the students make in them. There have been so many great things made and fun times to be had. So I have started doing that. This was a beret class from last month. Everyone finished their project. Yeah!!!

I will be adding an FO page to the stores website for our customers. If you have anything you have finished bring it in so we can take a pic and but it up on the website!
Gotta love knitting for work. Doesn't get better then that?

Speaking of getting better. Hubby and I went down to San Deigo last weekend. Of course I had to go to a couple of yarn stores.
First I went to Knitting by the Beach. It was a great little store. With lots of good yarn. But the best was the owners own designes, she is really good. She has made up a lot of garments using Habu yarns. Just beautiful. Well worth the trip in if you are in the area.

Then I went to The Black Sheep in Encinities. It was a great store. With so much yarn. I mean it is as big as Unraveled and filled to the gills with lots of things. They use a lot of ribbon yarns in their class projects so they had a wall of yarn from colnette, fiesta, great adirondack and some prisim. Now I am not one to use a lot of these yarns, but the wall was a spectacular sight full of amazing color. I did find something to come home with though.

First some lace weight Alpaca, just because it is so pretty. Misti Alpaca and Alpaca with a Twist which is Alpaca and silk. Be still my little heart. Now I know I won't be knitting on this any time soon. So it will live in the treasured basket in my living room where I can see it everyday.
Bet you can't guess what my favorite colors are?

And some Lousia Harding Cinnabar for the great bag on the front of Knitting Little Luxuries

I can still plan and dream about my own knitting projects.