Maymester for Knitters

Something about having a high school senior will MAKE you think about college. A lot of colleges offer what they call a "Maymester", a condensed study time that will give you an entire course over just a month's time. I think that sounds pretty nifty so I decided that if they can do it, so can I.

If you'd like to ramp up your knitting skills and techniques in one short month, now's your chance! Starting April 25 with my combined Beginning Knit/Purl class, you can learn a whole mess of techniques during the KnitOasis Maymester.

Schedule:

April 25 (Sat, 9-11am)--Beginning Knit/Purl

May 2 (Sat, 2-4pm)--Startin' Off Right: Cast ons

May 4 (Mon, 6-8pm)--Knit Around & Up & Down: Knit a beret in the round with simple increases and decreases

May 12 (Tues, 6-8pm)--Finishin' Strong: Bind offs and (some) seaming

May 16 (Sat, 2-4pm)--Intro to Fixing Mistakes

May 23 (Sat, 9-11am)--Lace Sampler: Intro to Lace Knitting

Click on the links for each class for more details.

Register for 2 or more classes and save $5 per class! Class sizes will be kept small to ensure quality instruction (this IS Maymester, after all), so register early.

KnitOasis Birthday Giveaway

It's time, y'all. Time to get serious about knitting up those afghan blocks for our Charity Knit-a-Long for the CYDC. Time to get those needles cranking out 7" x 9" blocks of knitted love that will get sewn into awesome blankets for the use of kids in need. Time to share with others about this project. Time to help the CYDC out with gifts that help them provide for the children that come through their organization.

TIME TO DO ALL THAT AND GET ENTERED IN THIS AWESOME CONTEST!

Show the people what they could win, Tamara....

Sock yarn from LYDIA Yarn, a fabulous project bag from C Bags, a copy of the Diamond Ring(let) sock pattern, a FREE Private Knitting Lesson and more! #knitoasisbday

How to enter:

1. Knit an afghan block. One block = one entry (Clink on link for info on blocks)

2. Give a wish list item to CYDC. One item = one entry

3. Share about our promo on social media, using the hashtag #knitoasisbday. Two shares = one entry

Social media sites to use: Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Remember that your social media sharing settings will need to be set to public for these posts so I can find them. Sharing includes posting links to this post or any of the other Charity Knit-a-Long posts.

There is no limit to the number of entries you can have. On May 1, I will put all the entries into a giant knitting bag and have the winner drawn by whichever family member is available at the time (they aren't eligible to win, after all). Winner will be notified by email that day. (So make sure I have your email--if you're subscribed to the monthly newsletter, then I already do!)

Questions? Just ask!

Ready, set, GO!

The things they taught us. Also: Easter craft video!

I wish we had iPhones with video recording capabilities when my grandparents were still alive. I'd have a video of my Grandma drinking a Coke and telling a story about how she talked someone into doing something, or of us going out to lunch.  I'd have a video of her second husband, my step-granddad whom I always called Jimmy (that being his name and all), teaching me how to whistle through my hands. It was one of the few times I remember him taking the time to show me how to do something, and I cherish that memory. I can also whistle through my hands--just ask me.

That set of my grandparents taught me many things, none of which I have on video. Grandma was a great cook, but she was also a great finder of excellent bakeries. There were always cookies from Heinrich's Bakery in her kitchen when I came over, and to this day I've never found their equal. Both Grandma and Jimmy could tell great stories, a gift that I imagine they put to use when they would go meet up with friends at the VFW Post. I always thought this was a very glamorous part of their lives. They were a bit cantankerous at times, set in their ways, somewhat profane, and I suspect I get a lot of my bossiness from my Grandma. They were also loyal, generous, funny, and gone way too early for me.

Partly due to their early impact on my young life, I like to collect extra grandparents for my children. That sounds more ominous than it is, I promise.

There is one particular man we know who adopts as his own ALL the kids at church. He traveled all over when he was in the Navy yet settled here when he retired (since once upon a time we had a pretty awesome Navy Base in Charleston. Jimmy was even here when he was in the Navy, many years ago). He has great stories to tell, always hands out candy at Easter, and makes our palm leaves into crosses on Palm Sunday every year. Every year I try very hard to learn how to do it, too. This year, I decided I would video the process so I could practice it on my own. He was a good sport (of course) and let me.

So, here he is, Don Maddox, who along with his awesome wife Pat have been an extra set of grands to our kids (and the rest of the kids at our church, for the last 20 years or so), making a Palm Leaf Cross.

Let me know if you try it!

Simple Knitting Tips: Where is your yarn??

I was peacefully knitting myself a pair of my (Mostly) Ridge Rib Socks one day, when I glanced down at my needles to see that the yarn was not where I thought it was, and consequently not where it should have been. And I thought, it's a good thing I caught this because it would have made a mess that would have been hard to trace, diagnose, and fix. And naturally it turned into a blog post. Naturally. 

How many mistakes have been made--and could have been avoided--because our yarn was not where it should have been. This applies to both the working yarn and the tail yarn. 

Some scenarios: 

1. Knitting with the tail. 
One of the first things we teach beginners, yet seasoned veterans still find themselves doing this occasionally. Awkward.

2. Working yarn is in the wrong place for knit stitch or purl stitch. Yarn front to purl, yarn back to knit.  Unless the directions say otherwise--in so many words.

3. Yarn in the cat's mouth. 
Pets and knitting is not always a happy mix.  I have a friend who has cats who will dig in the knitting bag for yarn then run off with it.  Needless to say, she has to use knitting bags with zippers!

4. Yarn caught in a dpn. 
This is what happened to spark this blog post.  I was two stitches into the pattern on one needle and must have set the sock down and picked it back up and when I did, the working yarn had gotten wrapped around the needle not in use.  Because the yarn was dark, (and the needles were, too, come to think of it), I didn't see what was going on immediately.  My Spidey senses were tingling though and I've learned to pay attention to them. They were asking me, "Where is your yarn?!?!"

5. Yarn wrapped too many times around the needle.
Intentional yarn-overs are lovely things, aren't they?  The unintentional kind are not. I've seen the yarn wrapped too many times before working the rest of the stitch as a result of paying too little attention to the process of the stitch.  And maybe also a result of there being an adult beverage in range.  Just maybe.

What about you? What other ways has your yarn wandered away from where it should be while you were knitting with it?

Also, the (Mostly)Ridge Rib Sock pattern is a free pattern, available to download from Ravelry HERE.