The class turned out rather nice and low-key. There were only 3 of the 6 expected, one being my Elementary Education Math professor from college. She told me she expected me to call her by her first name, no college formalities, and I said I'd try. I did pretty well and I was proud of myself. It was really funny when she was asking a question about the 2x2 ribbing and I said "So what comes next in your pattern? You know, like you taught me." We all had a good laugh.
They are all fairly experienced knitters who have also knit in the round before. Them getting used to the double points is the biggest obstacle. I'm excited to see how they do. I try to be more of a guide than a teacher because with socks most everyone knows the stitches, just not the way they are put together. I told them to feel free to work ahead; it was not going to hurt my feelings. I love it when people come to the 3rd class wearing their socks instead holding themselves back and staying right with the planned steps. Of course it always depends on what that person needs and wants to get out of the class but there is always something fun and empowering about learning a skill and then taking off with it, suddenly making it your own and thinking outside the box.
This week my knitting is for Marilyn's socks, partially for an example in the sock class but also so I will finish them. I think I'm going to take a break from socks after this pair. This weekend I worked on some "wristlets," or, as Hubby calls them, my "street-tough gloves." They look similar to the gloves you see poor people wearing in the movies with the fingers cut off, only these only have holes for the thumbs; there is no sectioning for the fingers. They are a smokey gray color, Bernat acrylic afghan yarn (the same kind of yarn I did the newsboy cap out of but not the same color), and have a really cute yarn-over w/ garter stitch detail. I needed some of these because I don't like my fingers being covered but I needed something to protect my hands and keep them warm from the cold. I finished the right wristlet and am now working on the left. I omitted the thumb finishing step it called for because it was being too small a glove already and the thumb finishing called for 12 picked up stitches around the little thumb opening, making everything, including the knitting itself, too uncomfortable to knit. My hands are pretty thin already so when these ended up a little tight, I knew I needed to adjust the pattern, especially if I plan on making them again for a normal person. In fact I've already made the notes what to do differently.
Hubby convinced me to make myself a newsboy cap out of that yarn also, so I'm going to work on another one of those (it was a fun pattern!) and I'm thinking of developing a matching scarf that would combine the cables with the yo/garter detailing from the wristlets and tie all three things together. I could use some accesories that match. I don't have anything that matches or even looks like it SHOULD match. Also, I read on yarnharlot.com the Yarn Harlot's daughter commented that you can always tell the knitters because they're always wearing a hodge-podge of knitted things, none of which match, and if her mother was to knit her something it needed to look like it matches, i.e. could have been store-bought. Well, when I read that my first thought was "what's the fun in that?" and went grocery shopping in my scrap-yarn, wildly colored Granny-square scarf complete with red and white twisted fringe trim (that reminds me, I was going to develop a red and white peppermint candy scarf in honor of Jack and Meg of White Striped fame... must remember!) and Official Kitty-ville hat Sock Sis knitted in lovely varigated peacock-blue, chocolate brown, and cream (complete with little ears), and my black knitted sweater (bought, not hand-knitted, alas). But I got to thinking. Even though when it is just me going wherever and I can wear whatever I want, whatever color I want and no one in my family cares, what about when I am supposed to look like something other than a happy-rainbow mommy with a rainbow-knitting fetish? It might be a good idea to have this as an option to wear all at once or mixed with the Granny-square scarf, or mixed with the Kitty-ville hat, or the leopard-print fleece cape (definitely not knitted but still fun to wear and twirl around!) or... well, you know. Be whatever you want to be. Plus, it would be great projects to justify buying this lovely gray yarn. Little Bro turned it down in an afghan; I didn't think he'd want one anyway but I had offered just the same. Gave me the excuse I needed to buy it at the time.
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