Trish Knits.com

Well, I was successful in getting the sleeve stitches onto holders today before knitting group, so here is the latest photo of the baby sweater in progress. It finally looks like a sweater, no? I’m finally seeing a light at the end of this tunnel.

Now some scenes from today’s knitting group:

Rhoda knitting on the BYOB bag from Knitty.com

(Dina is our new group member. She didn’t want her picture taken, but here she is!)

Lola saw that I posted on Ravelry to Jo the other day, asking if she had a drop spindle that I could play with at group today. Jo said no, she didn’t, but then Lola surprised me with this:

A drop spindle to play with and a bit of roving! I tried for quite a while to make yarn tonight and it was interesting to say the least. It looks so easy when I see others doing it! Maybe I’ll have to ask Lola to give me a lesson or two. I’m thrilled that she’s letting me borrow this spindle before I buy my own, though… it’s good to figure out whether I can even do it first. So far I’ve had yarn falling apart and lots of spindle crashing to the floor stuff, and very little yarn stuff, but I think I’ll get there. Wish me luck, and what a great afternoon it was. Thanks again, ladies! I had a great time.

Everyone was knitting socks:

Even me!

And the thing is, even though we were all knitting socks, we were all doing it differently. Shelley was knitting top down on DPNs. Lola, who happened to be knitting way cool purple socks, was doing top down on two circulars. Rhoda was doing a second striped sock top down on magic loop. And me? I’m doing one toe up on magic loop. Isn’t it great how the same thing can be done in so many marvelous ways? That’s the coolest thing about knitting to me. I’ve learned that there’s no right or wrong. I don’t have to be concerned that my hands won’t work a certain way to use this certain tool or that certain method. There’s always another way. And that’s cool!

Shelley and Lola both like spinning and had lots to talk about. Lola reported that she just got a new spinning wheel.

Rhoda knits away on her second striped sock. Looks like she’ll be done soon!

I of course could not get out of the store without buying another book. More on that tomorrow.

It is uncharacteristically hot for this early in June in these parts, and some folks on some of my knitting groups are complaining about how it’s too hot to knit. No! It’s not! I can attest to that. My Bowie group met today for our usual first Saturday of the month meetup. And it was such a good time that most folks stayed beyond the two hours I usually allot.

Lissa came all the way from the other side of the Potomac to help me untangle my yarn woes! And she stayed at it for about three hours, too. Amazing! The hank was in such a mess though, I’m sorry to say, that even after all that, it still wasn’t done. Oh my, why am I so clumsy with my yarn? Not to worry, though… my dear friend Rhoda volunteered to take it home and keep winding. (She said her daughter actually likes to do these things… I don’t get it, but more power to her!

Speaking of Rhoda:

She’s back! After having foot surgery a couple of months ago she was finally able to join us again. Rhoda is my main knitting buddy and I have sorely missed getting together with her, as we have somehow managed to do every couple of weeks over the last couple of years. Here she is knitting a sock from some Opal yarn that I covet!

This is Yvonne, our newcomer for this month. She is a wonderful teacher of amazing second graders, and she is making the fabulous Frock Camisole
from the Spring 2008 Interweave Knits. Lissa, who had showed Yvonne how to pick up stitches without a crochet hook, really coveted the yarn, which I forget what it is. Yvonne returned the favor by showing Lissa how to do a gusset in the tank top she’s working on (demonstrating with Rhoda’s sock). Aren’t knitters great? This is one of my favorite parts of knitting group–that everyone learns from each other.

Jo came along and was knitting away on a purple sock (which I, as a lover of all things purple, drooled over). We all practically squealed when she said that the yarn was her own handspun. It was surely gorgeous! Spinning is something that eludes me but I admire people who can do it! Go, Jo!

And this is Marie, who brought along a baby sweater and hat that she was working on with some red and white yarn. We all agreed that it would make an ideal Christmas sweater. Now Marie just has to meet some lucky baby to give it to!

We survived the scorcher of an afternoon with good friends, good air conditioning, and plenty of slushy cold drinks from the coffee shop. I already can’t wait until we meet again.

Today was our post-Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival knitting meetup. It was small; Jo was there, and then I showed up a bit late. We had fun chatting and knitting. I was working on my second-ever sock, and Jo was knitting a sock from her own handspun yarn. It was lovely!
Jo mentioned that her spinning wheel is really quite portable and I think she’s going to bring it next time! I’ve always wanted to observe spinning up close so this will be a real treat for me. Our next meetup will be the first Saturday in June.
In one of those “small world” moments, we discovered that Jo’s husband Pete went to high school and graduated with my husband, John. What’s more, they’re both obsessed with model building! (And, we wives know, REALLY into model kit collecting! So not much need to complain about our stashes, eh?) Turns out that Jo’s hubby is into military models, and mine is into all things car-related, but still… it’s a similar passion.
Four o’clock came too quickly for me and I am already looking forward to next month, when I can see Jo again and her spinning wheel. Hmmm. Spinning yarn whilst spinning yarns. Now there’s a pun I’m sure no one has said before!

Stash Enhancement

I finally got this yarn in the mail on Tuesday! It’s Regia Nation Colors #5399. I got it from a shop called Web of Wool, and I’m not sure about the exchange rate but I think I got it for a good price. It took nearly a month to get from them to me, but I don’t do much overseas shopping so I don’t know how long it’s supposed to take. The Yarn Harlot featured a pair of socks made from this yarn on the date that I appeared as a member of the First Sock Brigade (see April 8, 2008, post entitled, “Two for One”), and I knew immediately that I must have this yarn. It took me a few days to figure out what it was and then find it. (Several stores I had checked with were sold out–they say once a yarn’s been “Harlotted” there’s usually a run on it. Ok, so does that make me a follower?)

Truth is, regular readers already know I’m a bit of a rainbow fanatic. So, I could not get just enough to make one pair, because I know as soon as I do knit with it? A couple other folks in my world will see it and want some rainbow socks, too. So, I have six balls, just for insurance. Even that might not be enough.

This weekend I plan to go through my last tub of acrylic yarn. The art teacher at DD’s school teaches knitting and weaving, and she said she can always use some more yarn. So I’m gonna bite the big one and get rid of it. I’ve got plenty of other new yarn around here to keep me busy!