Tuesday Tidbits

Yesterday’s mail was bountiful:
A little advance birthday package via Knitpicks

Harmony Sock Needle set and the Riverside Cafe Lace Sampler

And a check (rebate) from my credit card!
Yarn and money; a winning combination I’d say!

The dish cloth pattern is progressing; I had to swatch some more and am hopefully attempting the finished item today. It's really hard to take good pictures of this, but here's a sneak peek:

Leaf v2.0 (done in some spare blue yarn, this is not the final color I'm using)

And finally, I'll leave you with some random stuff I've been thinking...

I was thinking the other day how nice it is to finally be a part of a bigger knitting community. Not so very long ago, I was really just a lone knitter doing my little hobby in my “off hours” when I wasn’t at work or involved in some other activity. Squeezing in knitting projects and knitting with whatever I could get my hands on. (Which was mostly the type of yarn available at ‘big box’ type stores). The only feedback I got was the type you get from non-knitters – you know - mostly “Oh, I could never do anything THAT complicated” “Well, I learned to knit once, but haven’t done it in years” or my personal favorite… “[insert name/relationship here] used to knit [back when] but I thought it had gone out of style” PAH! I suppose those are meant to be encouraging, but mostly I felt like I was some sort of bug on exhibit doing some quaint little thing. So looking back over the past few years, I am happy to say that I have been on a journey of discovery about the joy of being part of a knitting community. From discovering actual yarn shops while living in CA (but still being a little too far away and too busy for regular visits); to having a regular yarn shop to visit, take classes from and join a group of knitters at, in MN; to discovering the world wide knitting network through websites, blogs and now Ravelry; and best of all being able to work in a yarn shop. Still, the most amazing part is having the ability to connect with like-minded people in person or online and in short order get a knitting technique explained or demonstrated; get a valid opinion on the progress of a project. (Should I rip; should I go on knitting?) (Do these instructions even make any sense?) It’s really such a shame that there are still knitters out there who are unaware of the resources and friendships that exist in the bigger knitting community. I count myself very lucky to have become aware and involved with this community. I love the fact that I don’t have to knit with, heaven forbid, a local discount store’s version of a wide range of yarn choices (shiver) anymore. I love the fact that if the pattern calls for brand “X” that I have enough options to be able to track down the specified yarn and use it for my project. I don’t think I could ever go back to knitting the way it used to be for me. So where am I going with this? Oh, yeah! I’m just very thankful that this evolution from lone knitter to enlightened knitter has taken place. Not only has my knitting improved, but I feel empowered to experiment with techniques, patterns and yarns that I might not have tried before and even to forge off on my own with just my basic understandings of the craft, yarn and needles. Now I don’t have to sit alone in the “dark” trying to figure it all out for myself. I feel the same way about being part of this community pretty much as I did all the way back in the ‘80s when I discovered Knitting Without Tears in the Ferguson, MO library and had my very first knitting break-through. “I knit continental; I am not a weirdo!” “Thank goodness for another knitter who understands me!” So today, I say: “Thank goodness for knitting pioneers and thank goodness for the visionaries who have found ways to adapt today’s technology to keep knitting fresh, current and relevant.”