Baby, You've Got Class(es)

Thing One: For my intrepid Stranded With Mary adventurers, I have an update: The first of our five sessions for the second group starts on May 23! The deadline for ordering your yarn kit for the exclusive Victoriana sweater (offered in FOUR colorways!) is May 15. If you’d like to join us for some serious concierge knitting, do keep that in mind. The yarns for your kits are being custom-dyed just for you, so there’s a bit of lead time required for our yarn artist. I can’t wait to share this workshop with you - I learned so much from the first group and I think I can say with confidence that you’ll be wowed by the experience. The information I’m sharing will serve you in all your other steeked colowork endeavors, going forward. To register, click HERE.

Thing 2: Also happening on May 15 is my fun and famous Selbuvotter class, hosted by For Yarns Sake, where we explore the tradition and mysteries of traditional Norwegian mittens. In addition to the class, you’ll also receive a kit containing my Nordica pattern and the authentic Norwegian yarn preferred for these very special mittens. Come and join us for all the mitten-ey goodness! Register HERE

*The unique construction of Selbuvotter is both elegant and delightfully comfortable.*

Thing 3: On May 16, I’ll be teaching the inaugural session of my newest class, “Feeling Edgy”! This is a unique offering for me, because it’s entirely technique-based. You’ll be watching my hands and knitting along with me as I demonstrate three different edging techniques you might not have tried before: The Knitted Hem, Latvian Braid, and most exciting, a technique I’ve never seen taught anywhere else: The Two-Sided Pickup for Bands. There’s a teesy bit of easy homework for this one, so don’t dilly-dally if you’re planning to join in. I can’t wait to see which of you join me for this maiden voyage! Register HERE

*One of about a million ways to use knitted hems*

*Latvian Braid is a showstopper, wherever it goes.*

*Need to bind a cut steek edge, then continue knitting away from it (collars, hoods, plackets)…? This is one BOSS trick!*

Being with you online, Gentle Readers, is the balm for my soul. At a time when we need each other’s company more than ever, technology has come through for us. Come and join in the fun, won’t you?

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Start to Finish

As a public service, Gentle Readers, I’m here to announce that it’s not too early to start thinking about the weekend. In fact, my message today is an invitation to begin at the end and work backwards:

If your goal were to create a picture suitable for hanging, what If I challenged you to design your ideal frame first, and then fill in the middle?

If you had a really clear idea of what your completed knitting would specifically be, with all of the design, fit, yarn and finishing decisions made before you even cast on, how might the end result be different from when you’ve worked the other way around?

I have been asked many times to teach a class on finishing. For a long time I couldn’t see why I should, because lots of great classes about specific techniques are already available. It wasn’t until I realized that my design/planning process is very different from that of other designers that I understood what my “finishing” class should look like. And so that’s what I teach now: Planning ahead for Happy Endings.

I have learned that answering a series of questions for myself at the beginning of my knitting serves as a project management tool. It allows me to keep on time and under budget. To stay true to my vision, while remaining open to the possibilities.

Start to Finish is part show-and-tell, part wish list-building, and part project management. We discuss yarn, fit, design, and everything in between, with the stated goal of beautifully finished knitting. The process applies to any project, and all skill levels.

Best of all, there’s nothing to buy and no commitment. It’s a mental exercise that we practice together, and is yours to keep thereafter. The only preparation you need for class is to take yourself on an imaginary shopping trip. Visit your stash, your pattern queue, or your imagination to come up with something you’d like to knit. That’s all. It can be as complicated or as simple as you wish. Just bring your ideas, the pattern if you have it, or a photo. We’ll practice asking ourselves all the right questions to plan the project as if you are really going to make it, and see where the process takes us.

CLICK HERE to sign up for Start to Finish this Saturday, 03-20, 10AM - 1PM PST.

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Knitting Fearlessly

I’m coming up for air after a big weekend of teaching and high jinks at Vogue Knitting Live, in which I communed with around 100 of you, and happy times were had by us all.

Who’s up for more? This Friday I’m teaching “Fearless Two-Color Mittens” for Longmont Yarn Shoppe via Zoom, which is a great follow-up for students who have completed my introduction to stranded colorwork. It’s also great for intermediate mitten-knitters who are ready for a sample of traditional Norwegian mittens!