Pooling Scarf Class

Last night I took a knitting class at the Red Purl. It was for the Pooling Watercolor Scarf (Ravelry Link). The class taught us how to find the color repeat on the yarn and to knit it into vertical stripes. It was quite interesting. I had a little bit of trouble though and after having to rip back several times, I finally set my project on the table, crossed my arms over my chest and said "That's it. I'm done. I quit." Everyone kind of laughed and Kallie's response was something like 'That's really being adult about it.' :o) Heidi, the instructor, helped me out though and got me past my little snit. I was really having trouble varying my gage; either tightening or loosening a few stitches in order to make the color changes line up.

When I got home, I thought that I had figured out what was going on, so I decided to do a little more knitting. Bad idea, as I was tired and the lighting wasn't that great. I almost threw my scarf across the room in frustration. I did 2 rows and realized I had messed up my count. I should have just put it away, but I wanted to get it fixed before I went to bed. So I ripped, then re-knit. Still wrong, but for a different mistake. Rip/re-knit. Still wrong. etc. After about 45 minutes (yes I said 45 not 4 to 5) I finally got it right and was able to actually proceed ahead. I have a whopping 3 repeats done!

I must admit that I took a page out of my fellow knitter Kelly L's book and called the scarf a few choice words. I think that scared it enough to finally start cooperating. Or it at least temporarily shocked it into submission. We'll see what happens when I next pick it up.

1 Down, 1 To Go

I finished my first Monkey Sock last night. It turned out great. I am knitting it out of Panda Cotton by Crystal Palace. I had not used this yarn before and wanted to try it. I love the feel of it. It is heavier/thicker than I imagined, but that just means toasty feet. :o) The only thing I didn't like about it was that it doesn't have a real tight twist and tends to split alot, which made the SSK a real pain, but it is beautiful. I'm not going to give a finished picture yet, not until I get both done. I have sock #2 started. AND I have all my Monkey goodies bought.

I still have to buy the sock yarn and Cookie A pattern though. I was trying to wait for the new LYS, The Red Purl to open up, and buy from them. I just called and she is open starting today. She will actually be open until 9pm tonight, so I'm planning to stop on my way home. Can't wait to check out what she has in stock. Curious, Curious, Curious.

New LYS

There is a new LYS (Local Yarn Store) that is supposed to be opening up in Niles, MI soon. The information for it is:

Red Purl
207 north 2nd st
Niles, MI
49120
269-684-0411

The latest update on the new knit shop opening in Niles, is that I happened to drive by Friday evening on my way to the bank and saw that their sign/awning is up. I also noticed the door was opened and there were people inside. So of course I stopped to see what was going on. No, sorry to dissapoint, they aren't open yet. The owner and several friends were in working on the shop. I talked the the owner, Amy, and she said she estimates the shop will be open by mid-September. I think I heard she had originally said end of August, but she said the shelves she order have been delayed. She gave me some cards to pass out and said to start checking the web-site, because the designer has started working on that. I just checked, and it doesn't work yet, but here it if you want to periodically check on it: www.redpurlknits.com