Yay, Hat!

Here is my wonderful boyfriend modeling the knit hat I made for him! The pattern is simple ribbing, taken from the wonderful pages of Stitch n Bitch. I stitched it up in just 6 hours! Isn't he handsome folks?!

Sharing the Love

Finally managed to have my first knitting get together with my wonderful friend Mary this past Thursday. Mary has been trying to get me to teach her to knit for what seems like a month of Sundays. Our schedules finally line up and what happens? We spent most of the evening stringing beads! Her yarn was just a little too wide for the usual method of tying the string the beads are on around your yarn and push to work. We only actually had knitting needles in our hands for about 40 mins! Trying to teach someone else to knit brought back memories of how awkward and frustrating it sometimes felt at the beginning just to hold a pair of needles. It also made me remember the awesome sense of accomplishment just completing a single short row of knit stitches could make you feel. At the end of it all I left her with my bulky weight lamb's pride and size 10 1/2 needles to practice with, and I took her beaded scarf home with me to make a little progress on until she is confident enough to work on it herself. :-D Can't wait til next week!

Expanding my Embroidery Horizons

This is the project I am working on most consistently right now. It's a Christmas stocking for my daughter and my first serious/large decorative needlepoint endeavor. Ioanna and I picked it out together, she even likes to sit on my lap and embroider with me now and then. I've been taking classes once a month with Shay Pendray at the Crafty Lady Trio in Utica, learning new stitches, trying out different threads/fibers, discovering the joys and limitations of canvas work.