Learning from the Master

This Friday and Sunday I went somewhere and learned so much, I think other stuff fell out of my brain while I sat there. I think during those 2 classes, I became a better knitter. I took sock design and travelling stitches with Cookie A. at Hill Country Weavers. And I learned, for one thing, that I was doing this whole design thing all wrong. I have been working ( in those rare moments where I can actually concentrate on something) on several designs using graphing as my primary focus. Cookie A. allowed me to see what an important tool graphing is in knitting design.

Additionally, I had been working on a couple of her socks from her book "Sock Innovation". I am working on Rick in Shibui Sock and Wanida in StitchnPretty's own Gone Swimming. I love the Gone Swimming and knitting with it is teaching my what I am looking for in a hand-painted sock yarn. For complex knitwork, I want delicate color differences and not to many colors. I do not want anything busy that steals the show from my knitting, and Gone Swimming has the perfect effect.

I have realized in recent months that I want to make my dreams a reality. I want to go after knitting, in both design and dyeing. I always wanted to be an artist, and this is my medium, of that I am sure. Meeting Cookie A. this weekend lit even more of this fire. I want to teach as many people knitting as I can. This craft saved my during my bedrest in my pregnancies, and has generally made me a happier person. I want to help other people find what knitting as given me. I want to use the medium of knitting to show my own artistic vision. I am willing to work every day toward these goals.

So, yeah, meeting Cookie A. was great. Her class was amazing. And I can't wait to take what I have learned and really create something.. me.