Life is just a "Chair of Bowlies"

Well in case you haven't noticed I have taken a longish time out.  I've been having some fun out there with folks, going to festivities, music, and parties.   This is my time off from work and I really get lazy around the house too:  reading, watching movies, playing my guitar, playing scrabble online and knitting.

Yes, I have been learning how to knit.  I started learning to knit with videos online because I go crazy waiting for my clients to show up for the studio and I'm just sitting there listening for the gate. 

 You can actually go pretty far with knitting videos until you "mess up".    Also, I am the kind of person who has to DO IT, get it in my bones and muscles, before I actually understand it.  So videos only take me so far, then I need a person.  

Luckily I have found a new friend, Annie, a knitting expert, who has kindly pulled me into and out of some tricky maneuvers in knitting.  Now she is determined to move to London so I will be without a great pal and knitting buddy.   Boo hoo .

So what have I done so far .... 

Well, my first project was actually a little gilet sweater that I started four years ago but gave up when the woman in the shop got exasperated with me asking for help.  She never had many customers so I didn't see what the problem was if she showed me something from time to time.  You see, all of the terminology is in French, so most of my videos didn't help with the pattern that she sold me.

  One day I brought this woman a bottle of champagne for her assistance.  She put it under the counter without a word and got me through the problem for that day.  The next time I came into the shop she grumbled again and I said to myself , hmmm.  This is not my idea of a good time.   I put the project away for three years until I met Annie and she showed me how to finish it.  

 My next project was a sleeveless tank which I finished at the end of summer.  It was made out of bamboo fiber and was pretty easy until I got to the dreaded "kitchner stitch" .  Luckily Annie said that learning that was not necessary for joining the tops so I just seamed them in the normal way. 

My next pieces were a series of beanies which are easy to do and I learned online to use circular needles for them.  I gave out some of those to friends and relatives until I got tired of doing them.   Sorry if you didn't get one, maybe next year.  

Now I am doing a second scarf out of bamboo and gossamer.  I didn't want it to be itchy so there is very little wool in the gossamer. That is the photo above.  My sister says she is indeed wearing the first one. 

     When Annie leaves, I am not going to attempt anything fancy until I find a knitting club or new mentor.  I see on Ravelry, that there are three knitting groups in Nice.   I will add this to the queue of all the things I would love to do this year. 

    I hope you feel that you are off to a good start for 2013.  Hmmm, it was not the end of the world after all. ... I guess there is still time to learn something new.