Freak Show

It took a little bit, but I was able to get my 'homework' done in time for class on Saturday morning. Fortunately I realized that I better try my vest on now because in a few more rows, it won't be possible to try on anymore. After the steek is set the tube that is being knit will decrease in diameter dramatically, so it was now or never.

I am very pleased with the fit so far. It is not meant to have any ease...and *fortunately* it doesn't. The waist shaping seems to mimic my own well enough and the V is starting were I was hoping it would. (Notice the surprise? I was really afraid all those calculations we made weren't going to turn out at all.) I only had one mild dilemma last week when a knot from the yarn that I thought I could hide well enough on a float, decided to come undone and drop a few stitches. Fortunately it is on the back and after messing with it quite a bit and trying various 'fixes' (I really didn't want to have to rip out fair isle knitting if I didn't absolutely have to), I have it pretty much back the way it was.

Some people wonder what's the point in taking a project class. The pattern tells you what to do, why pay someone to guide you through a pattern? But the reason is simple: expertise. I am someone who learns better from others. Having learned to knit from a book, I have found that I am twice as likely to absorb and remember the tricks of the trade from someone than from the written word. And even though Eunny's pattern is exceedingly well-written, it is the little tips from an expert that you glean from a class. Like this for instance:

This is the cast-on section of my V neck steek. I would have just cast on the number of stitches required and wondered what to do with my gigantic float across the back. So the trick? Use the long tail cast-on method with the contrasting color over your thumb and the main color over your index finger. It's the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. I also learned the proper way to spit splice, which turned into a giggle fit as we were simultaneously trying to watch what he was doing and not gag at the reality of what we were looking at. So now we just knit, knit, knit and next class we will practice cutting our steeks on our second swatch. I am really looking forward to that one.

And since I realized I have shared all that much non-knitting stuff in awhile, I thought I would share a couple photos from Friday night. We went bowling with people from my office. And considering I work with 10 attorneys, we are a pretty fun bunch and going out tends to involve public humilation of some sort.

Our team wore matching team shirts and blue hair, which is definitly easier to deal with when you are all together, but a little less comfortable when renting your shoes or going to the bar. And the best part is, I realized that not only do I have flipper hands when I swim, I aparently have a 'thing' I do with my left hand when I bowl.

What is that? I can't even recreate it when I try. I think this is another one of those things that I could have gone the rest of my life without knowing. Man, you gotta love the digital age.