KIP
Why is it that every time I knit in public, someone has to come over and tell me a better way to do my knitting. Now mind you, I have been knitting for 45 years now and while I do not profess to know everything there is to know about knitting (no way!), I do know what I like to knit and I do know what works for me. I was taught to knit continental by my bubbe who hailed from Eastern Europe. Now, I teach knitting and while I do teach continental knitting, I also know that folks may have learned English style throwing at a younger age (probably from their bubbes) and that muscle memory takes over --- so I tell them to knit the way they most feel comfortable.

So why is it when I knit socks in public, (oh, that is such a rarity to begin with, and mind you, I knit them on 5 double points because THAT IS WHAT I LIKE), do some people have to come over to me and tell me I should be doing magic loop, or that my socks are too big (these socks in particular are for my 90-year old dad who is wheelchair bound). Oh, I just don’t get it! Yesterday, I was sitting in the waiting area in the gym for my husband to finish his workout and I was knitting his sweater (another rarity). I noticed that I should have purled where I knitted one stitch a few rows down, so I dropped down a few rows and started to pick up the stitch. A woman came over and promptly announced that she is a knitter and that I should use a crochet hook to pick up my stitches. I looked at her. Yes, I could use a crochet hook, if I wanted to, but was perfectly comfortable using my size 15 needle, thank you very much. Then she got a little flustered and said I must really love my husband if I were knitting a wool sweater in the middle of summer for him and walked away. Well, it was air conditioned in there for god’s sake. What better time to knit him a wool sweater – so he’ll be able to wear it this fall. and winter.

Which brings me to the fact that I do actually finish some things. Ravelry is so wonderful because you can actually see the progress you have made. Here are a few items that I have actually finished in the last few months:

Adult Surprise Jacket out of Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran

Diamonds and Pears Lace Shawl out of Artyarns Silk Rhapsody

Man's Vest from Classic Elite Summer Book 1 out of Four Seasons

Now, I did have to sneak in another new project -- the Hemlock Ring Blanket from Brooklyn Tweed. I've been wanting to do this for a long time. I'm using Vermont Organic O-Wool Classic in plum after I heard the gals from the Stash and Burn podcast talking about it. Love working with this yarn and it will probably only take 3 or 4 skeins. We will do a KAL at the shop --- I know there are some new lace knitters who want to try this and it's a great project for anyone who likes to do lace.