It's Magic!

A while back I posted about the Magic Cake technique of using up your odds and ends of yarn.  The LYS where I work had a few people ask about it so we offered up a few one day workshops.  I had my first workshop yesterday with one of my Wednesday afternoon students who is new to knitting.  She didn't have a lot of her own yarn but as you might recall I have a HUGE bag of yarn.

My sole student (this was a test drive for the future workshops) wanted a shawlette to go with a brown sweater she owns.  So I dug into the bag and came up with these colors.

And after working the Double Knot technique and with the ball winder look what we did!  Isn't it beautiful!??

Big and Bulky

I'm sorry I've been quiet lately - my knitting mojo is off (a tangent of me being off and struggling right now but I'll get through it).

When my knitting mojo is off, I need fast projects.  I knit a lot of items for sale in my LYS - hats, baby items, cowls, etc.  I try to use stash or on sale yarn as we all know no matter what you don't get paid for what your time is worth when you sell hand knits.

Recently, my LYS put Bergere de France Recyclaine on sale.  Quite frankly I'm surprised this yarn didn't sell well as it is big and bulky and perfect for fast projects.  I got a few skeins and decided to whip up some hats - Bohemian and Really Warm Hat.

I have been struggling with a new design with a new yarn from Berroco called Indigo - love the yarn, have an idea in my head, having great trouble translating it to needles.  I've already ripped it out twice.  It is in a time out.

I think I might need to do some weaving for a little while...

With Time to Spare

Thanks to the ton of snow and snow days we've been having, I was able to hunker down and finish my son's sweater.  I had set a deadline of last Sunday as we were going to visit him to take him out for an early birthday lunch (his bday is 2/10).  It was done by Friday.

Well, the weather may have helped my knitting but it didn't help our travel plans.  My husband and daughter ended up on the road on Saturday and I stayed home as I was teaching a workshop.  It was not easy being left behind and not seeing our son to celebrate his birthday.

The sweater was wrapped up and among his gifts and I left our daughter with specific directions to take a photo of him wearing it NO MATTER WHAT.  As I was teaching class, this photo arrived via email.  It warmed my heart - it fits him perfectly.  Had I been there I would have straightened out the right sleeve, adjusted the neckline and perhaps had a better background setting...but beggars can't be choosers.  Someday I'll get a better photo...also had to share one of him when he was two.

Towards the end of my class, my cell phone rang and I quickly answered it...he called to thank me for his sweater.  Makes a mom's heart sing.