Wow- today was just AMAZING! I went to my first ever knitting retreat in Blacksburg- Purl Jam.  Thanks Gina for making an amazing day.

I had decided to take classes with Annie Modesitt since her episode of Knitty Gritty about the combo corset-T is what really made me realize that you shouldn’t be afraid of a pattern… it’s what took me from a scarf to “real” knitting.  First off, the seat I took at breakfast happened to be next to her- oh darn!  Then, I took the class on the cocoon shrug, and I wasn’t sure of the pattern or if I would like it until I started playing with it.  The pattern is wonderfully intuitive and just makes *sense* without having to really think about what you’re doing.  The way she taught it made it easy to understand the patern as well as how to use a swatch to do more than measure your gauge.  I also met some great people in that class and just had lots of fun!

On lunch, I sat with a different group and quite enjoyed that as well…  then it was off to the combination knitting class, which is the one I really wanted to take.  Now that I have developed as a knitter, I would like to be able to knit without the strain and annoyance of moving the yarn around so much.  It took some getting used to, but it really is an easier and more natural way to knit.  I kept trying to watch Annie as she knit- I wanted to see just how she held her yarn and got the stitches right- it just looked so smooth and simple.  I asked after class if she could slow it down and show me, and to my surprise, I got to sit and talk for a while and she showed me how she does charts as well… wow! I have learned so much today, it’s going to take a little while for it all to sink in, but it was worth every penny and every moment of slight frustration as I learned something that wasn’t as natural to me, but I hope will become so.

Thanks to all I met and I had a wonderful day!