Knitting with Toothpicks

I just wanted to pop in and post a quick update before I crawled up to bed. After finishing my felted Easter egg, I decided that I needed to show off the results at the fiber shop today. Sundays at Fiberworks are usually a good time to visit and catch up with people. Today was no exception. Arlene spent most of the day teaching spinning to two lovely ladies from Cincinnati while a group of us sat around the table knitting, talking and snacking on pound cake, brownies, and sliced oranges.

I have been eagerly anticipating a knitting class with Maggie since the very first time that I saw her working on a set of beautiful beaded wrist warmers. These lovely accessories have a very Victorian feel and were inspired by similar items made during that period to hide stained or worn cuffs. One of the advantages of learning to make them, or so I keep telling myself, is that learning to work in the round on Double Pointed Needles (DPNs) is the first step to learning to knit socks... (Ok, you don't have to knit socks on DPNs. You can knit socks on circular needles...) I doubt very seriously that I will **EVER** attempt to knit socks. I'm intimidated by the whole concept of trying to follow a pattern that way. There are so many foreign terms involved in sock knitting... heal flap, gusset, kitchener stitch...

On the other hand, I'm having fun knitting these wrist warmers. I'm actually knitting something that requires me to purl. And I'm knitting on #2 knitting needles. They feel so small and fragile in my big clumsy hands. I think that I may actually attempt to make bronze needles to play with. The coolest thing about that idea is that I could actually have multiple sets, and make replacements as needed...

Well, the pillow calls...