Odds and Ends

Spring is really coming, so they tell me anyway, and that means several things in my little part of the world.  For those of you that know me, you know that my daughter, Kendall, is a senior in high school this year and will be graduating  next month.  Here we are at a school event not too long ago.

We have many, many things to plan and do, as you can imagine.

I want to put that out there because I appreciate your patience with the large gap between posts here on my blog.  I HAVE been knitting and working in between all of the planning and doing, believe me.  That's just a given.  Blogging about it has been a little tougher... Thanks for hanging in there with me!

I'm sure there will be more to come on this big milestone in our lives,  but for now...I want to talk about a few miscellaneous topics.

I have been getting a lot of questions about how to post a comment here on my blog.  Many of you have said that you go to post something and it won't let you.  There is a reason that it is set up this way and I thought I would take just a moment to explain.  In order to comment, you basically are asked to identify yourself in some way.  I am sure the purpose of this is to keep people from putting unwanted or offensive content out there, unless we have a way to trace it back to that person somehow.  Many bloggers have it set up so that they can approve all comments before they are publicly posted.  This is just a protective measure that benefits us all in obvious ways.

This means that you need to have an account with Google, or one of the other choices listed in the little drop down menu, so that we know who you are:  Live Journal, Wordpress, Typepad, AIM, or Open ID are the other ones.  If none of these sound familiar to you, then I would recommend you go with Google.  You simply go to www.google.com and sign up.  They only ask for very basic information  like a name and email address.  Simple.  Once you have done that you are free to comment away here and elsewhere.

I am taking the time to explain this because I want you to be able to interact with me and other readers on this blog.  I have several fun things planned this year that you will want to be able to post comments about, so don't hesitate...just do it!  It will take 5 minutes or less.  And by the way, I am not trying to promote Google necessarily.  It's just one of the easiest and most recognizable out there.  For those of you reading this that have other suggestions or something that might help, please share.  I just know that it has been frustrating for many people that don't understand why it's set up this way.

And now for a little knitting news...

Let's start with a quote from Stephanie Pearl-McPhee in her book Knitting Rules!:

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I hate hearing knitters say they’re afraid to try things in knitting…..It’s only knitting! It’s not dangerous! Leap on! Be afraid of bears, of bungee-jumping, of faulty wiring in old houses, but never, ever be afraid of trying something in knitting.”

And that is the case I want to make for knitting socks 2-at-a-time on one long circular needle....

I recently finished teaching my 2-at-a-time Sock Class out at Brown Sheep.  I almost always cast on with my students in whatever class I am teaching so that they will be able to see where they are headed.  In this case, I went with a pattern called Baby Feet (courtesy of my boss Peggy)...little, tiny bootie socks knit from Wildfoote Luxury Sock Yarn on a 40", Size 1 needle.  (I prefer Addi Turbo Lace Tips for this particular technique, in case you were going to ask)

My students (who reluctantly agreed to having their picture taken lol:) used Lanaloft handpaint:

And Lamb's Pride Superwash:

And no, you don't need to adjust the color on your screen.  I always have the students knit 2 different colors for their first pair of 2-at-time socks.  It makes it much easier when learning this technique.  They will make another pair to match!

They did a fabulous job and I believe if you were to ask them how they felt at the beginning of the class and at the end, they would tell you that what seemed so difficult and daunting at first became clear and pretty cool as they worked their way through it.

Here's Stacia finishing up the last few rounds on the toes and getting ready to graft them together.

Debbie is smiling because she is almost finished with her pair as well, and I imagine she is feeling pretty proud of herself, as she should.  Nice job, ladies!

These are the Baby Feet that I knit all finished and ready to be sent off to my cousin Jill and her new baby girl, Jayla.  

I am planning a traditional sock class on double pointed needles and a 2-at-a-time sock class this summer.  Socks make for awesome summer knitting.  They are small, lightweight, and portable.  The schedule will be posted here at the end of the month.  I will also be having an Absolute Beginner's Class coming soon.

In the meantime, leave a comment and let me know what your are working on right now (knitting or otherwise) and how you manage to fit it in to your busy schedules.  Me?  I am off to address a few more graduation announcements.