Ferals Top to Toe Challenge

Naomi invited me to Ferals last year shortly after I picked up my knitting needles again. The first time, I looked through the window at all of them and went to work out instead. The next time, I went in and very self-consciously sat as close as possible to Naomi while I knitted on something conspicuously NOT Fair Isle. I continued to attend, with or without Naomi, and have gradually met and been talking with many of the members. One meeting Karen Campbell delivered the Cotton Jeans yarn I had ordered from Two Swans, another meeting Sandra got my address and sent me a copy of the Fair Isle Tam and Vest pattern from Vogue magazine. At another meeting, Wendy showed me her third beautiful Martha sweater from the Rowan Studio Two book, and I was hooked (unfortunately, the book is now out of print, but I did manage to track down a copy to buy. Phew!). I can't name them all - I'm just trying to say how amazed and grateful I feel to find such a graceful group of interesting, talented and kind women to spend a couple of hours with every two weeks or so, and how lucky I feel to be among them.

I don't remember who actually set the top to toe challenge to have a Fair Isle knit hat or a pair of Fair Isle socks completed between January 1 and April 1, but I was determined to try something new. I heard about Sandy Blue's Midnight Sun tam then saw it at Churchmouse when I was attending Janine's Color in Fair Isle class and decided it was so beautiful, I wanted to try it. Once I decided, Karen delivered the yarn and pattern so swiftly, I didn't have a chance to feel panicky. I have shared my experience with it along the way, from the German cast-on to finally deciding with which colors to replace Bracken and Yellow ochre. Sandy talked with me not only in person at a Ferals meeting to tell me how she went about choosing new colors when shades get discontinued, but later by phone when I had novice-tam-knitter questions about the wheel chart. I'm not a fast knitter, and am even slower when doing the stranded knitting since I'm still learning technique, but even I thought I could finish the tam by April 1. And I did finish the knitting at the Ferals on March 31, with help from Rebecca and Naomi reminding me to read my color chart AND my knitted item, and with Melinda showing me the spit splice color change to avoid the hundreds (as it seemed) of ends to knit in. So finally, here it is!

The show and tell was this past Monday April 7 - I took my camera to capture images of some of the completed tams. Still to come are Wendy's re-colored Midnight Sun tam and Diana's hat - maybe more that I don't even know about. I'm sure there must have been more hats and some socks that didn't make it to the meeting. The folks who brought completed items were very generously given prizes from Karen Campbell and Linda K (two people I neglected to photograph) - I was lucky to receive the Koigu shown at the top, and am planning a pair of ribbed socks as soon as possible. Other prizes included pattern books, other colors of Koigu, needles, and I can't remember what all.

The knitting wasn't all hats and socks! Here's Lori on the left with her own intricate and beautifully colored design becoming a cardigan. She began this design in Janine's class when and that's when we met her and invited her to Ferals - she's been a devotee ever since! She also got in the spirit of the challenge and designed and knitted her tam in one day. And here's Janine on the right with her Armenian technique Leo sweater - this is another classic in the making to join Janine's collection of heirloom sweaters.

Left are four of the tams from the back: left is Lori, my Midnight Sun, Norma's snowy design, and Karen Hust's beautiful tam of Sandy Blue's other color way. Right is same lovely ladies in their tams. Below left is Wendy wearing Karen's tam and below right is Karen wearing my tam.

I loved being involved with the challenge, and it was a thrill to knit something so lovely and complex. I plan to knit another one and try more colors or maybe design my own.

It was a Tam Good Time!

Madrona Novice Part Two and beyond

My experienced friends coached me to be sure to allow some free time, so Friday morning I got in a workout at the nearby Y (since the hotel's workout room was "under construction" like so much else at Hotel Murano) and a walk to the bank and post office. Then I met Naomi, Melinda, Ellen and Ruth for lunch at the Japanese restaurant across from the hotel - there was a wait, but it was delicious and filling.

My afternoon class was Phoenix from the Ashes with Lucy Neatby - I had tried for her finishing class and while I didn't know what to expect from this one, I hoped for (and got!) a treat. We began with grafting and went on from there - it was great fun. We actually did things I had only read about, and I hadn't known anything about her intense, inventive style. When I think of her now, the words "never say die" are what I remember. While I'd like to have all of her DVD's, I settled for purchasing one at the marketplace this time.

Lucy also was the speaker that evening and I hadn't had enough of her yet, so hearing more was energizing. I wish I had photographed her - I haven't seen a single image of her that captured that personality. After the talk, the instructor's gallery was also inspiring: Ruth was like a rock star with all the people gathered around her and her tables of lovely items knit from Kauni yarn. She had her knitted basket pins for sale and they sold in a flash - I barely managed to get one myself!

Saturday was my morning with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee; another real treat! Besides all the students being able to sit and knit while she talked, the information she delivered was specific, useful, AND entertaining. I was able to use one of her sock tips in combination with a pick-up technique from Margaret Radcliffe's Sunday morning class - I can't remember when I've taken classes that so immediately applied to what I'm doing in real life.

I went to Janine's Color Reunion at noon and it was fun to see everyone's progress. I only had my Midnight Sun tam with me since I planned to change out two of the colors, but some folks just had great things. I might have liked Sheila's wristlets best; see what I mean?! Janine talked about how yarn manufacturers are continually reducing the number of colors they offer, and how every color cut from the line impacts the stranded knitter's ability to choose the colors to acheive the amazing subtleties characterized by Fair Isle knitting. We all talked about the value of supporting the yarn industry by continuing to knit traditional Fair Isle designs, and Janine went so far as saying that today's knitters from outside Fair Isle may be the ones to save the tradition, which doesn't appear to be valued as much on Fair Isle as we think it should be! All the more reason for me to chip away at my attempts at this skill with Sandy Blue's Midnight Sun tam for the Ferals challenge.

Saturday afternoon was spent visiting with people in the rotunda outside the Marketplace. Sat with Ryan and Kathy, then with Sam. Went through the marketplace with Melinda, back with Rebecca, a couple of trips on my own... it's hard to not spend money when I can't stay out! There were so many lovely yarns and useful tools, dvd's, books... I bought every color of pin Jamesen's and a couple of colors of J&S for good measure at Two Swans Yarns... Karen's rainbow display of yarns was just irresistable!

The much anticipated banquet had wonderful food, I'm sure, since my choice was salmon. Amazingly, foodie that I am, memory of what I ate was completely knocked out of my mind by what I heard from Judith McKenzie. I knew only a bit about her, but when she began to speak about bison, I felt like I was at a National Geographic lecture. Her authenticity was apparent from her specific information, much of which was first-hand, once she completed the history portion. I was so entralled that I uncharacteristically asked a couple of questions. And I loved the yarns which were serving as the centerpieces on the tables... at my table, we thought we were going to get an opportunity to win some!

My final class was again with Margaret Radcliffe, then I was off home. George did a fine job of taking care of the house and dog in my absence - in fact Maverick didn't really seem to need me back at all for the first 30 minutes or so. The only part of Madrona I thought George would be interested in was the talk on bison, and I did my best to recount much of what I learned to him. Even with my minimal capsule of information, he was interested enough to get right on the computer to look up bison vs grizzly on you-tube (unfortunately finding only a video where the grizzly was successful in getting the calf - heartbreaking to watch the mother bison unable to save her baby).

It was hard to break the habit of knitting at every opportunity, so I was glad Monday was a holiday for us City workers. Ferals on Monday evening was quite fun with a very large group including Ruth. Sandy Blue was even there and gave me some insight into color replacement ideas; I had already replaced Bracken with J&S #FC10, and I tried Crimson in place of Yellow Ochre that evening, but took it out as soon as I got home (it was right next to Leaf and ended up looking like a Christmas hat). George chose the color I ended up using: J&S #9143. I was considering Sorbet, and it would have been nice too... another hat, another day?

I did go in to work on Tuesday, then attended Ruth's Design class at Village Yarn & Tea on Wednesday. It was a lovely day and comforting reminder that returning home from Madrona doesn't have to mean an end to my knitting retreat. Some of my favorite people were in class with me, and the light in the room was a teaser for the spring weather to come. Ruth is a charming, natural teacher who shared with us, encouraged us, and enjoyed everyone there - possibly as much as we enjoyed her! We listened, tried on her designs (photo at left is of Victoria in Ruth's skirt, with Rebecca), then began designing and knitting for ourselves. Besides starting my very own wristlets, I loved getting this wonderful photo of Rebecca and Ruth together, as well as the one Rebecca took of me (wearing one of Ruth's sweaters) with Ruth.

Madrona proved to be completely inspirational to me, if I could only find the time to knit everything I want to knit in addition to having my regular life. Maybe that's a future Madrona class: "How to find time to knit as much as you want." Still, I'm persevering, and will update with photos of "Life After Madrona 2008" next time!

Novice Madrona Attendee

Except for hearing about saving up for the once a year buying opportunities at Madrona and for seeing the light of anticipation in my friends' eyes, I really didn't know what to expect. It was wonderful that Naomi is so organized and planned ahead for the room at Hotel Murano with four of us (saving $ means more to spend in the marketplace, and we had our own knitting circle right in the room!).

My biggest time preparation was to prepare food for George to eat while I was away for four nights. Among my advance preparations, I made Crab Risotto with goat cheese and fresh basil, White Bean Chicken Chili, and Steak Stroganoff with brown rice, and I stocked the refrigerator with vegetables. Of course, I didn't have to do it. George is perfectly capable of grilling steaks, frying up different kinds of sausages and bacon, and ordering Pagliacci's pizza. Enough said?

Wednesday, February 13th at work was a longer, more stressful day than I planned. The bright point was when I stopped for a lunch bite and George met me with the package he picked up at the post office. I've been coveting Rebecca's sock monkey sweater, and she e-mailed me when the Rowan DK marl came up on ebay in two colors. Without going into the angst I suffered while awaiting the end of the bidding (I'm not yet good at auctions), we won both colors. George gave me the buttermint for Valentine's Day, and I bought the fudge to knit a topdown for him (no, we will not be matchy-matchy). The red accent for the sock monkey sweater is Judith MacKenzie's Elemental Effects from Two Swans Yarns at the marketplace.

I packed the car with too many small bags of yarn and knitting accoutrements (three trips to get them all to the hotel room where my roomies had just as much stuff per person) while playing with Maverick before I left. Arrival in Tacoma was a joyful relief, and a knitting circle was already going on in our room with roommates Naomi, Ellen, and one-night roomie Jen Black from Connecticut, as well as Danish designer Ruth Sorenson. So I listened to the banter and started my homework for Knitting Shapes with Margaret Radcliffe the next day. Ruth was knitting lace without light or a pattern, Jen was working on a lace shawl while wearing another, and Ellen and Naomi worked on one project for awhile, then switched to work on something else. Ruth looked at my homework since she would be in that class too, but she finished hers at breakfast the next morning.

The single chaotic moment was Jen's when she unpacked the Refined Aran Jacket (Interweave Knits Winter 2007) she had just completed and found that her hairspray had leaked all over her bag during her flight. Some color had leached from the Silky Wool onto some other clothing, so she had do some washing before she could sleep. The sweater was beautiful, and happily, there was no noticeable evidence of the event when I saw her wearing it on Saturday.

Margaret Radcliffe was fun for me to meet since I carry her Answer Book with me and use it when I get stuck. I enjoyed learning about planning how to knit shapes rather than just trying, frogging and trying again. The challenge for me was knitting with my two circular needles rather than using dp's since her calculations were based on dp's. I completed all the samples except the pentagon. We didn't knit a triangle sample, but two of my favorite items were using that shape. Margaret had a colorful triangle shawl that I didn't photograph, and this photo is of Margaret on the left talking with Ruth. Ruth brought in her triangle cardigan to illustrate Margaret's statement that "if you can knit a triangle, you can make anything."

I lunched with Melinda, and after class went with Ellen (on the right) and Victoria from Village Yarn & Tea for a quick bite before charity night. We found our way to the front row to support a very nervous Naomi, who, nevertheless, gave an enjoyable account of her knitting internet connections while the audience joined in her experiences. It was my first time seeing Stephanie McPhee, so my first glimpse was of a gleeful, riotous pit-knitter of lightning speed. Somehow, I

had pictured her writing and speaking rather than knitting, so it was a bit of a mind-altering experience. Ruth's talk was charming - her command of English is wonderful, and she is such a lovely person besides. I love that her blog includes English as well as Danish! Melinda's talk on Shetland was moving for me - it seems to be a recurring theme that traditions and cultures are lost in the crush for the appearance of greater opportunities and more money when truly, a "better life" might be had right where we are.

My first day at Madrona closed with a gathering of women who had knitted and were wearing Ruth's Kauni cardigan design. There are numerous images of the entire group, so I'm also including one of my friends: Ruth, Naomi, and Melinda (Ellen should have been in this as well.) The number of finished garments was a tribute to Ruth and the beautiful Kauni yarns - I wished I had knit my sweater in time for Madrona. Still, I have time before she is here again next year...

More Madrona next time.

A 1st (or 47th) Anniversary celebration

This weekend has had glorious sun as well as the usual Seattle grey skies, and an early start for daylight savings time - this is a teaser for the ever-closer spring season. It's a fitting time for the Madrona Fiber Retreat afterglow, which I am still feeling three weeks later. I can still hardly contemplate anything that doesn't have to do with yarn and knitting needles, so I'm inside knitting, my justification for not being outside is that my yard bins are full until yardwaste pickup begins again on Wednesday.


Until last year, I thought of myself as a fairly accomplished knitter since I learned the basics at such an early age. There's nothing like experience and getting to know other knitters to shock me out of my lofty confidence. I now realize that years going by, even if I'm knitting (which I've done only sporadically), didn't give me the experience and new techniques that would contribute to the description of "accomplished."

A new friend, Jen Black (our emergency first night roommate at Madrona) put it well when she described the knitting community deprived area she comes from in Connecticut. She said there are knitters where she lives, but they don't have curiosity about how to do it better, different, or to explore the new techniques and ideas out there. I realize I had not pursued new knowledge, so I didn't know it was out there, and didn't know how much I wanted to look for it.


Then, last year at this time, I saw Naomi carrying some beautiful sock yarn (she was just back from Madrona) and asked her to help me learn to knit socks. I was never interested in knitting socks, but I had been aching to knit something besides a scarf. And sock yarns were so seductive when I allowed myself to enter yarn stores that I finally caved and decided to try them under Naomi's kind tutelage. She also recommended that I join a "Build Your Skills" class loosely structured enough to meet my needs at my skill level and fill in my gaps of knowledge. And, when buying my sock yarn from Ellen at Village, I found the class schedule and tried to sign up for the Build Your Skills class. It was full. But I signed up for the next class in March, and knit my socks while I waited for the class to start.


At class I met our instructor, Rebecca Bienn, and as she deftly troubleshot each student's challenges, my inspiration continued. I brought my stash list to the first class without the least idea of how to decide what to work on. I've continued in the weekly Thursday night class, even showing up at Village with a classmate or two when there is no scheduled class. Now, one year later, the result is that I am continuing to build my skills. And lest I get all full of myself and think I've reached some pinnacle of ability, I'm humbled every two weeks at the fair isle knitting group, Ferals, and by the amazing learning of my friends Naomi, Melinda, and Karen from Jean Wong at the Nihon Vogue course. Right now I don't aspire to the Nihon Vogue level of detail - today I'm thrilled with my custom fitting Top-Down Sweater (unpattern by Karen Alfke) and my newly conquered fear of trying new things. The difference is that I've been working with a "net." By having a knitting community, I've learned the generosity of knitters - most will take the time to share experience and knowledge so I'm trying new techniques and considering patterns I wouldn't have a year ago. A good life lesson, even beyond knitting.

Less contemplation next time, and something about my first Madrona experiences - with photos of my latest projects.

What's next...

Yesterday morning before leaving my bed, I was thinking about what I wanted to do with my day - the last of my three-day weekend. I work the 9-80 schedule which means Monday thru Thursday I work 9 hours and on alternating Fridays I have the day off or I work 8 hours.

This Friday off, I made a trip to Mill Creek to visit Main Street Yarn . George and his cold joined me, and our first stop was at Central Market for lunch. I was also looking for salt cod to try a recipe from the Saveur authentic Italian cookbook (and I found it, complete with a chef to talk to me about how to prepare it). George spent time in the University Book Store while I checked out the yarn store - in short order I found all the needles I was looking for, and a Mac&Me pattern for an alpaca ruffle scarf I think is simple and beautiful. At home, I worked in the yard until it was dark, then checked the drying progress of my pink variagated socks and my teddy bear top-down sweater - I had blocked them together before shopping. What to do next? Which takes me back to how I started today.

My mind percolates with such a variety of ideas that there are days I am nearly paralyzed into inactivity just trying to decide. I want to knit and read, I need to get to the gym for a workout, I like to talk and spend time with my friends, and the house needs cleaning. I want to cook wonderful, healthy foods, I want to take Maverick for a walk, I want to complete several sewing projects, I love reading my friends' blogs, and want to keep my posting more regular... and so on. The good news is that it's such a gift to have these choices - reading A Thousand Splendid Suns reminded me of my good fortune to just be born an American. The challenge for me is organizing my time to approach my own fulfillment and give the maximum joy to my dog, friends and family in the process. The things I most often give up are sleep and time for peaceful reflection - it can really be a vicious cycle, so I want to improve every day.

So next in knitting I have begun the alpaca ruffle scarf using the vintage yarn Laurie gave me in return for knitting cashmere wristlets for her. Also, I have cast on the Ferals Fair Isle challenge tam, and while the color chart reading is a new lesson for me, I'm cautiously optimistic about making the April 1 completion date. I'm determined to complete my Forest Canopy shawl before Madrona, and in Rebecca's class on Thursday, I'm planning to use my swatches to calculate the sizing for my Silky Wool top-down pullover sweater. And I can't imagine not having some socks in the works, so tonight I'll decide which yarn and pattern I'll begin.

In books, I just finished Laurie King's "With Child" (action taking place partly in the Seattle area) reading it while I worked out on the eliptical and while riding on the bus, and her "Touchstone" at home. Sarah Waters' "The Night Watch" is in my car on CD so I can listen while I drive, and after completing Ian McEwan's "Amsterdam", I've begun ordering other previous Booker Prize winners from the library. I'll begin the first winner tomorrow: "Something to Answer For."

In photography, I've finally opened a Flickr account and have been mulling which photos to add. A basic digital photography course through North Seattle Community College Continuing Education exposed a few new things about my camera - I've already begun to use a couple of features I hadn't known how to access. A 2008 promise to myself is to take computer courses on a regular basis to keep up with the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, I'm not giving up on finding balance combining my love of reading, knitting, and photography with my love of a clean and serene home filled with good, healthy homecooked food, friends & family, and a happy, healthy self and dog. Oh yes, and applying myself at my job during those 80 hours each two weeks.

Jumping into 2008...

Is it already three weeks into the new year? I've been throwing myself into my unfinished projects with abandon; and not just knitting projects! I knitted the tam for Emily's friend Abby, and had to change Emily's design a bit because the colors I had available were too close in tone for the way they were laid out. Abby put the hat on immediately and her mother said she wore it for three days straight - it looked great on her.




I also finally set up the "new" sewing machine and made a fleece bedcover for Cherie's pug, Hugo. Since the machine came to me via Cherie (it had been her grandmother's) it seemed right for that to be the first project. I sewed a cover from olive fleece for Maverick's family room bed while he closely monitored my progress, following me from room to room as I cut, pinned, and stitched. He sat watching George and I add the styrofoam beans to the liner then put the cover on the bed. Then he plopped down immediately, looking up at us. He knew it was his, of course. I have his larger nighttime beanbag bed left; I'll be sewing a chocolate brown fleece cover. I'm preparing to paint that room, so he needed a new cover to fit in. I never imagined co-ordinating home dog accessories, but then, I never imagined a dog like him!




We started our top-down sweater class within a class with Rebecca, and it's so fun! We are doing a teddy-bear size first to practice the techniques - it's fun for each of us to be doing the same thing. Rebecca has all these wonderful samples knit from Karen Alfke's top down pattern, and since she refuses to sell me any of them (I think the sock monkey one is my favorite, but they all fit like a dream) since they are, after all, HER samples. And she would be wearing them herself if she wasn't keeping them for her classes. My excitement could be attributed to the feeling I have that learning this method of sizing will help me learn to better plan my sizing for any pattern I want to make based on the gauge I get from the yarn I choose. I feel a little like I'm just about to be set free! My first top-down in my size will be with the fabulous red Elspeth Lavold Silky Wool that Gail let go of at the Village New Year's Day sale when she decided on the green. (If she had stayed with the red, I would have bought the green - both colors are that beautiful.) Based on my swatches, I'll be knitting with size 3 or 4 needles instead of the recommended 6.








My first toe-up sock is finished, with an alteration to the pattern I was following. This was also my first "afterthought heel" and I like the way it turned out. It's so nice to have all these new tools in my toolbox. I've already cast-on the next toe and knit the first couple of inches on the second sock. This is the biggest yarn I have so far used to knit socks - amazing how much quicker it goes on size 1's than size 0's!





And tonight at Ferals, I used the German cast-on for my Fair Isle tam. I actually had learned this cast-on in December, but hadn't really used it yet. I got lots of practice tonight since I twice miscalculated the long tail and had to start again. I finally got my 144 stitches with a tail of less than 2". It's inspirational to see how others are progressing with their tams; Naomi and Ellen were both working on theirs and encouraging me. It was great to see Rebecca and Peggy there - the first time I've seen them at Ferals since I began. Lori came with her finished Fair Isle swatch from Janine's class and began doing the math for her cardigan. She's an intuitive knitter who doesn't really like to follow patterns, so watching her process is fascinating for me... this is going to be an amazing sweater! And Gail is nearing completion on her beautiful blue Aran - she sure convinced me of the beauty and simplicity of Cascade 220!

2007 in Review

December 31 always affects me. For years I wanted every day to be remembered and was sad if it wasn't. I think I just really wanted every event to be memorable. Now I realize that individual times and things aren't likely to be memorable, and that what I really hope for is a life lived well. I spend a lot of time in my head, and I don't even talk about much that's important to me for fear of disappointing myself as well as the people in my life. So my goal for 2008 is to reach more openly for what I love in this world, and to continue to learn generosity from many of the wonderful people in my life.

I've been taking the Build Your Skills knitting class from Rebecca at Village since March, and toward the end of our last 2007 session, she asked each of us to list our completed knitting projects. Last night I completed my 34th knitted project of 2007. Many of my projects this year have been small in size and time commitment and large in regaining skills while learning new ones. I didn't list the projects I haven't completed, which include my first lace shawl, my first toe-up socks, and Rowan's Lynton cardigan in Cotton Jeans yarn (they are first on my list for completion this new year).

In 2007 I knitted my first pair of socks using the Pure and Simple topdown pattern, and knit four more pair as the year progressed. I've now learned four more ways to cast on and observed a new cast off, although I haven't yet tried it. My two gift bags were my first attempts at beaded knitting and the Fair Isle was done while I still only knitted with the throw technique.

Rebecca gave us a class to familiarize us with continental knitting, and in October, I took a class from Karen Alfke to learn two handed knitting while making her Banded Fair Isle Tam (see photo). I knit the green one in class then designed new bands for the next three) and I realized that although I progress slowly, Starmore and other Fair Isle patterns are not out of my reach. My niece liked the tam I knitted for her, and she created a band design for me to knit the same tam for her friend, Abby. I call that a triumph!

I'm becoming reconciled with swatching from seeing the amazing swatches my Nihon student friends knit for their projects and from the success I've had due to swatching first. And, as a result, I not only allow for the swatching in my yarn purchase, I've learned that I knit so loosely that it will be rare for me to knit a pattern with the recommended needle size.

My biggest project was completing a UFO that had been weighing me down for three years. I had chosen S Charles Micio for the wonderful softness and vibrant color, then found that the pullover sweater I was knitting had no body. I frogged the entire back and front and what I had knit of the sleeves, then chose a simple Nashua cardigan pattern. To get my gauge, I combined it with Falk's Dalegarn sportweight and swatched to get my needle size. I went to my first Beppa button sale and bought the lovely silk buttons, and my last minute panic about whether I had enough yarn was unfounded. My next learning experience was learning about the woolly board. Naomi brought hers over, and it worked like magic. I would have never considered soaking the sweater for 30 minutes in warm water then spinning it for 30 seconds in my washer, but I trusted Naomi's guidance. My cardigan now fits like a dream and is a joy to wear when it's cold. The photo color doesn't do the yarn justice.

The other sweater I completed was a Sirdar chunky knit from Rowan's Ribbon Twist. I had another panic about yarn quantity when I decided to add long sleeves and learned the yarn had been discontinued. It's a wonderful yarn to knit - I have about 3 yards left. This is another one I wear only when it's cold. (Thankfully, I still had Naomi's woolly board, but it's now been finally returned to her.)

Janine Bajus is holding student Lori's swatch homework, and Naomi is holding the one she knit (Note how Naomi is wearing the colors she swatched with!). Thanks to Janine's class, I've learned that the color sense I've felt as long as I can remember is still with me, and I'm building confidence about trying color combinations with yarn. I've learned that having specific times to knit and a fiber community inspires me to do more and stick with my projects. And in 2008 I intend to keep my project list updated so I can put my energy into reviewing my progress instead of counting them up in December.

And, finally, I'm learning to blog. I haven't been consistent with my postings, due to failure to commit the time, moving slowly on my knitted projects, and some uncertainty about what will be interesting and fun for others to read. So I plan to have more fun with my blog in 2008.

It's important to knit things we like, don't you think? My December projects each began as gifts and were given with love. Happily, some were received with sweet enthusiasm, and I learned who I will knit for again as well as who I will not. One item that began as gift is now part of my own wardrobe, and I have no regrets about the effort I put into it. I've made some valuable new friends in 2007, and I get to continue learning in my class and at Madrona Retreat in February.

2008 looks to be a very good year!