A Class With Laura Nelkin: Swoon!

Madison may not be a big city, but it is a big knitting city. We had our Knit In this weekend, and the line-up of teachers was amazing. Saturday morning, a friend and I took a class on knitting with bead from Laura Nelkin, author of Knockout Knits.

The class was amazing. Did you know that you should never use beads on single-ply yarn? Me, neither. It's not strong enough. Also to be avoided are wool/silk blends and cashmere. I also learned that you need to use bigger beads when you are placing beads (like with a crochet hook) than when you pre-string beads.

This is the Stellanti Shawl, which was our favorite one of her samples. The beaded sections are super easy so this is definitely going in my queue. Nelkin is quite funny. She described more difficult projects as being "anti-Alzheimer's patterns."

I do love knitting jewelry, though I haven't made any for quite some time. Nelkin's samples gave me plenty of inspiration.

The class was just for a half day, so we shopped after scarfing down some sandwiches from home. It turns out that I am quite the Wisconsin shopper. The two reddish/pink skeins are going into a second Perhaps, Perhaps. They were dyed by Sun Valley Fibers (Mount Horeb, Wis.), and I cannot say enough good things about their yarns. They are stunningly beautiful, a joy to knit with, and hold up well to wear.

I could not resist the mini skeins from Ewetopia (Viroqua, Wis.). All my favorite colors in one package! I'm looking for the right poncho or shawl pattern. Let me know if you have any ideas -- though I should mention that the yarn is DK weight.

Last but not least is the gradient cake in blue and purple, which I bought to make an Antarktis out of, but now I'm thinking it would make a good Stellanti. Such tough choices.!The yarn is by Knit Circus, which is right here in Madison. Yes, I am lucky!

This seems like enough for one post, so I'll tell you about fair isle with Mary Jane Mucklestone later!

Friendly Knitters, Great Classes, Amazing Yarn: What's Not To Like?

The highlight of the year for the Madison Knitters Guild is the annual Knit-In and this is THE weekend. Our guild has about 500 members so it's a huge event. This year, we had to move to a large convention space, where the lighting is not so great for photos:

But the event itself is awesome, with a great classes and lots of tempting vendors -- like Annie Modesitt, shown at the left here with her business partner, Kathleen Pascuzzi. No doubt you've heard of  Annie as a designer, and now she's dyeing yarn in Minnesota's Twin Cities. Can you see all those yummy skeins? 

The vendors are always fun to talk to. Annie and her family have moved around the country and weathered a number of crises; she is one strong lady! We got into a discussion about the politics in our states, and she gave me a "Wisconsin teachers" discount when I bought a few things, including this:

(If you don't follow U.S. politics, our governor in Wisconsin has cut pay and benefits for many government employees, especially teachers; Minnesota's governor has maintained a strong public sector.) I can't wait to make this cowl, although I am not allowing myself to cast on until I get a few things off the needles!

You can learn more about Annie and her business here.

I took a great class yesterday, but that's another post. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Yes, It Was Awesome

I had forgotten how invigorating it is to take a really good class.

Learning to make the Latvian Scalloped Braid was fun. It was hard. It is definitely not intuitive. But the end result is worth the struggle. Here's the sample I completed:

Mary Germain taught the class. A former owner of a yarn store in Milwaukee, Wis., she has become an expert on Latvian knitting. She traveled there in 2001 and then went to Estonia in 2003. She has self-published a some books with her friend Sandy De Master. Mary explained the process very thoroughly and provided written instructions. I highly recommend taking a class with her if you have the opportunity!

Now I have to find a pattern that I like that has a Latvian Braid. I know there are a lot of patterns out there, but I need to find one that is not too daunting.

The marketplace was smaller than usual, but the quality was awesome .... but that's another post!

On My Bucket List

I picked up these three skeins of yarn today and I have to get them swifted (is that even a verb?) today.

Because tomorrow I am taking a class at the Madison Knitting Guild's annual Knit-In: Latvian Scallop and Braid. It's hard to believe that my huge stash did not contain three coordinating colors of sport-weight yarn for the class. But it didn't!

The LYS was really busy, which makes sense. I'm sure the two-day Knit-In draws a lot of out-of-towners. I was happy to see the crowd was shopping locally.

My class is from 9 to noon, and I have afternoon plans. This crowded schedule will keep me from spending too much at the Knit-In marketplace, which I'm sure will be full of temptations!