Accidental Knitting Group

I unintentionally started a knitting group at work yesterday. Well, I should really say that I didn't initially intend to actually start a knitting group at work, but circumstances being what they are, it's what ended up happending...unexpectedly.Here's how it went down:

We have a "spam" list at work. People can send anything to the spam list, such as want ads, for sale, requests for recommendations, anything.

Someone posted a "knitter needs help" request. She was a beginning knitter and had somehow did something to her knitting as she was trying to fix a dropped stitch and something went horribly wrong; she was afraid to make it worse. A couple of people responded, and when I emailed said person privately, she had said two people had helped her already, and was glad to see so many knitters at work.

I said we should start our own knitting circle, and she heartily agreed.

So, knowing our IT group, I requested a knitting email alias put together (which they did in 5 minutes), posted it to the SPAM list, and people started adding themselves. We have a bunch of knitters here, plus some in offices in other parts of the country.

Then I scheduled our first meet-up on Friday (as it was the earliest in everyone's calendar). All in the space of about 2 hours. So, there ya go.

Sometimes, it helps to be a little proactive. And it helps that knitters are a very very social group and just love to get together for any excuse to knit.

Gretta

I've started spinning one of the fleeces I got from the Retzlaff Winery Event (that I didn't attend) that was processed by Morro Fleeceworks


Gretta is a merino/corriedale cross from Janet Heppler's Nebo Rock Ranch, and processed by Morro Fleece works. She was a 6 pound fleece, and I got 4 pounds 5 oz back from Morro.

I did a sampling, as I wanted a heavier worsted weight yarn for a potential sweater. I did Sample A first, and didn't quite like how the yarn turned out. Then I spun up Sample B.

Sample A) 7.25:1 ratio (left) spun worseted 3ply

Sample B) a 5.5:1 ratio (right) spun semi-woolen 3ply

Sample A came out an aran weight yarn
Sample B came out a heavier worsted weight yarn...and very lofty

So, I'll be spinning Gretta in the Sample B ratio & style. And so far I've gotten 2 ounces spun up, and she's an absolute delight to spin -- woolen spinning really suits her. She's like a soft grey cloud of soft fur that I just want to bury my face into because of the softness.

The Lack of Buttons: Finished Sweaters

This past week, I finally finished the Mondo Cable Cardigan I started last month, which all things considering, isn't a shabby length of time to knit a sweater. Some sweaters I've knitted took several months (like the February Lady's Tunic Sweater that I started in April, then finished in August.)

I'm really happy with how the Mondo Cable Cardigan came out. The color's perfect and I didn't mess up too badly. (I had missed an increase at one point, but that's not really a sticking point for this sweater.

It has about 2 inches of ease, which is perfect for wearing as layers. And the wool is light enough to not make it too bulky, but as it's wool, it's *warm* --- perfect for fall weather. (Plus, today, it's actually nippy enough to wear to work!)
I like it so much that I think I shall make another (at a later date) with a smaller collar that's better fit for a zipper.

And here is the aforementioned Febuary Lady's Tunic Sweater. It was the never-ending sweater. I had made incredible progress on it, until about the last 6 inches, then it started to slog so I put it down to finish some other projects, working on it occassionally. When we started podcasting, I finally got enough 'gumption' to actually attempt to finish it.

The angora/cashmere wool sweater Tunic is also VERY warm and VERY soft. It's like wearing a fluff cloud. However, due to the square neckline, it's more suited for high neck shirts (like turtle/mock-turtle necks).
Unfortunately, I only had two clasps (as featured in the photo) for it, when it really needed about 2 more. I had procrastinated going to JoAnne's to get more for about two months, but decided since I needed buttons for the Mondo, I'd pick them up as well.

THEN I discover that JoAnne's doesn't carry those particular closures anymore! GAH! I had to search online & buy more online. I don't know when they stopped carrying those closures, but it had to be within the past several months (as I had bought the same exact closures back in January for another cardigan).