It was a 2-hour class simply on how to hold your needles and yarn, feeding it wrapped through the fingers on your left hand. Then you "pick" the yarn rather than "throwing" it, which is the method I've always used. It's really hard!!! Actually, it's not that hard but it's going to take a LOT of practice to master. I'm going to cast on a narrow scarf in an easy to work with acrylic yarn and knit the whole damn thing Continental if it kills me. In the meantime, I'll keep throwing, aka English knitting.
It is Arizona Knitting's 28th Anniversary and they are holding a 25% off sale on yarn this week. I bought 3 skeins of luscious 100% silk yarn -- Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Silk. I'm going to use at least one to make one of the Knitted Neck Scarves (from the Martha Stewart website), but a little narrower this time, going more for style than warmth.
I'm thinking I'll try stringing a bunch of small crystal beads on another skein and making a lacy fashion scarf. You can buy yarn with the beads already strung, but it is four times the cost. For that, I'll try stringing my own beads. At least once ...
And I think there's enough yardage in a skein to make a pair of fingerless mitts. Not sure which pattern I'll use yet, but I think a pair in silk would be so nice.
I'm currently working on the last sleeve of the Lion Brand Soft Rib Cardigan. It is a gift and I'll need it finished soon, so will keep plugging away at the pieces. Then I'll just have to seam them all together and pick up stitches for the collar. I'm just over halfway through on a prayer shawl for a friend. It's taken longer than I had wanted, but I have had other projects that had to be finished first. There is a surprise gift on the way to someone right now that I just finished over the weekend.
Happy Spring ... Happy Knitting!
