A Fallish Project

This summer I blogged about a knit shop called "The Whole Nine Yards." My friend and I took two of our girls to a two-day knitting class there, which was just wonderful. It was a very inspiring place -- not cheap, but very inspiring. :) There was a demo sweater there that I fell in love with, and lo and behold, they were offering a class that was starting the following week: all you needed to do was purchase about 12 skeins of yarn that cost about $12 apiece... and then pay the $50 for the class... and then, of course, knit the sweater without making a mistake because you might have apoplexy if you did, due to the pressure of knitting a $150 project as your first experience in the knitting pattern world.

I am quite adept at knitting scarves. The last two winters, I have been happy enough with that. But after seeing the beautiful yarn there, and the variety of projects available to a person who can actually read a pattern, I may not have been quite ready to drop $200 plus dollars on a "beginner" class, but I was ready to start learning.

So first I borrowed my daughter's book, and I gathered old yarn and needles:


Next I sat for several evenings while the fam watched a tv show, and knit rows, practicing all the simple stitches that I had never quite conquered -- the same ones Claire and Priscilla had just learned -- and I tried to get fairly comfortable with k2tog, and sl,sl,st, and yo, and using place markers, etc...

The pattern is truly a beginner pattern, but it's everything you'd want in a finished project: soft, warm, and wearable. :) There are two things I'd like to be able to knit, and I will be completely satisfied if I ever learn to do both, and that's 1. a shawl and 2. a sweater. So my deal with myself was to conquer this pattern, do it several times if need be, and then attempt the sweater. (they say it's not a difficult pattern... the knit shop people are available for help... I have two friends who are excellent knitters... surely eventually this could happen? I'm hopeful but not holding my breath! It's a goal, anyway. And you know what Kit Deluca says: "Ya gotta have a goal.") ;)

After I started to feel comfortable with the basic stitches, I found some great yarn on sale for $2.50 a skein. I needed 3 skeins. The pressure is OFF when they whole project costs about $10. By the way, this yarn was DEFINITELY not found in the knit shop!

Oh, the colors... it is very difficult to decide. I landed on this -- it has both grays and browns threaded through the cream. It looks comforting, like rice pudding or vanilla ice cream, and it feels like holding a baby lamb in your lap. A good project to start this first week of fall:


When I am done, I hope it will look something like this:


And here is a picture of Oliver, thrown in for good measure, since I'm writing about soft and furry things in my lap. :)


If I get stuck, I already have a friend ready to meet me somewhere and walk me through it. So -- I don't even have to dread my mistakes! Ha ha!

The rain finally fell today, after a long, hot, dry September. It did a number on my hair, but other than that, it felt good. I don't mind the wet, if only the temps will fall with the raindrops... I am ready for some fall weather to enjoy along with my fall projects.

I'm also enjoying reading about other creative people's ideas out there recently. I think the seasonal changes bring about a resurgence of old and new interests and inspirations... motivation... and happy pursuits of creative pleasures. Other people's passions seem to make my sparks fly, too... Feel free to share.