A Good Workout

I had a terrific time at Gayle's "Even More Challenging Stitches from Japanese Designs" class on Sunday. If I take a class, I want to have my brain stretched a bit, and this one certainly did the trick.




Many of the chart symbols were fairly familiar. The only thing really tricky about working the top left chart was remembering how to work left and right slanting decreases on the purl side.
(I cheated a lot and looked at the notes on the whiteboard.) Not familiar: those long stretched out lines on the lower left chart, or the big loopydeloos on the upper right. They make sense now (but I had better go back and practice them before I lose the sense).

By the way, when it comes to working with charts, that yellow transparent "post it" tape is a lifesaver.

The other challenging part of some of the patterns came with needle maneuvers that were new to me: reaching down a couple of rows and pulling up numerous loops of yarn from one stitch; knitting a stitch together with another that is five stitches away (hint: cable needle) while working a wrong side row no less; different ways of clustering stitches. Counting. Yes, on the last sample we worked, the challenging part for me was keeping track of when I was.

At the end of the morning, I had this.

The quality of the knitting technique, or lack thereof, is no reflection on the instructor. It can be rough work trying to teach your brain and your fingers new tricks at the same time. But the sense of having branched out into new territory is very satisfying. Now I really need to find a place to use the bit that looks almost like broomstick lace.

On a purely personal note, the time we were able to visit together outside of class was wonderful.