Knitter's Connection

Last week I attended Knitter's Connection at the Columbus Convention Center. I took 3 classes: Plug and Play Shawl Design with Amy Singer, Advanced Sweater Shaping with Sally Melville, and Double Knitting 101 with Amy Detjen. All the classes were fantastic and meeting and chatting with these knitting greats was a thrill.

Here is my creation from the shawl class.



The premiss of the class was that you can take any sock yarn and work up a shawl in fairly short order since the gauge is larger than than lace-weight yarn. And, as Amy said, most of us have tons of sock yarn on hand these days anyway.

Sally Melville's class was a lecture on set-in sleeves and shirt tail hems. It was very interesting. She gave us the tips we need to tailor any sweater to our individual body. I'm anxious to give it a try.

The double knitting class was fun and gave me confidence with knitting two colors at one time. However, the technique of double knitting isn't something I think I'll use very often. The climate around here just isn't cold enough for that kind of covering. One possible other appication could be for a baby blanket. I'll have to file away the technique for the next baby announcement that comes my way.

Yesterday morning was spent cheering my oldest brother, Joe, on at the state Special Olympics. Joe is a very good bowler and competes most years in the tournament. His first game was fantastic, with a 164, but he fell off a bit in the second game. He finished with a silver medal. He's happy as long as he gets a medal. Here he is at after receiving his award.

We Be (Strawberry) Jammin'

It's strawberry season around Ohio. Last Saturday I went to a local farm and picked 4 quarts. When I got home I tried my hand at making freezer jam. It was so easy!! The local grocery store had red raspberries for $1 per half-pint, so I bought a bunch and made a batch of raspberry freezer jam. Blake loves the jam. He' been making himself toast and jam for breakfast. This morning I made drop biscuits to have with my tea and jam. (Gee I feel a song from 'The Sound of Music' coming on!) Here's a photo. If I say so myself, this photo turned out to be a very pleasing still life. This is the strawberry jam.



Today's project it to put a UV film on my bedroom windows. My intention is to get enough practice before attempting to cover the big windows that are over the front door. I'm learning that it is at least a 2-person job. The film wants to curl back on itself. It is very sticky and if it does curl back, you are screwed.

Our house faces west-southwest. There are no trees out front to block the sun and with the two big windows in the entry hall, the house warms up too much in the summer. I'm hoping this helps to keep things cooler. The film advertises that it reduces 74% of the sun's rays. Let's hope it works.

Doesn't Feel Like June

It is a cold, rainy evening. THe sun has not been seen in days. If it wasn't for the end of school activities, I wouldn't know what time of year it is.

School is completely over for the kids. The girls finished up last Friday and Dash's last day was today. Today was the last day ever for the elementary school for all the kids. YEAH!!! It isn't a bad school. I just wasn't happy with the experience there. Some of the teachers were only marginal and the principal is too mean. Switching the kids out of private school into the local public school system has been the best thing we've done. The girls have loved every minute of the local school and the curriculum has been challenging enough to satisfy me.

Over Memorial Day weekend, I went to the Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster. I met an old friend whom I haven't seen in years. Cat and I met when I was 9 years old. She, my younger sister, and I became pen pals. We kept up with each other through school and college. She came to Ohio for my wedding in 1989 and Nancy's in 1992. Nancy and I went to Canada for her wedding in 1992. I think Nancy's wedding was the last time we saw each other. She and I last talked about 11 years ago. After that we lost touch for a while but reconnect thanks to the Internet. We have discovered we both love to knit. A couple months ago she asked if I was going to the festival. I hadn't considered it, but decided that it was a great idea. It was nice to have a day for myself. I have a picture from the festival, which I will post later when I can get Dancer's camera back. The festival was geared more towards spinning, but there were a lot of yarn vendors nonetheless. I think I might have caught a bug to try spinning though. I'm considering signing up for the Beginning Spinning class at Knitters Connection later this month.

Well, I'm off now to grab a cold drink and enjoy a quiet evening. Later!!