Falling for this yarn

I haven't been a big sock knitter, but after taking Cat Bordhi's workshop yesterday I've been inspired. I think the class was a bit over my head since I've made a whopping 2 pairs of socks over the past year - ever. There were some major brainiac sock knitters there so I was a bit intimidated. My head wasn't partly in it because my mom has been in the hospital for a couple days now but it was a nice distraction from worrying.

It was interesting to see how excited people were over knitting socks and Cat Bordhi. There were a lot of tips and advice to keep in mind. I have to say that Cat is awesome though. The way she thinks outside of the box about new ways to knit is amazing. At the end of class I was able to have her autograph my New Pathways for Sock Knitters book.

We practiced making our heel turns making a small bowl using Cat's methods and instructions. Here is my effort.

Then we got to dive into making toe up baby socks by the second half of the class. I kept forgetting how many rounds I was making so it's wonky. I only got to the heel turn of one sock by the end of class and finished the "wings" at home. Here's my half baby sock (can't figure out why blogger is uploading this picture vertical instead of horizontal).
With some help at Yarn Boutique, I found this gorgeous colorway for a sock pattern I admired from the Bobbin's Nest last weekend. There's no name for the colorway but it's Anne by Schaefer Yarns. I am absolutely in love with the autumn colors. And for once the yarn isn't green.
I hope I can get these on the needles soon so I can wear them for this fall instead of next fall.

Love love love Artfibers

Last weekend I took a continental style knitting class at Artfibers in San Francisco. Their 3-hr workshops are very reasonably priced. Amy was the instructor for the 4 person class and she was super patient and very helpful with any questions we could come up with. She kept encouraging us to ask more. The 3 hours went by so fast! I got the hang of continental knitting but still a bit slow at it. Getting the right tension will take some practice. I'll eventually get my rhythm.

Of course I bought some yarn to practice what I learned. No way I was leaving Artfibers empty handed. I purchased a cone of Ming (half silk/half merino wool) in a bright teal color and a ball of Bambusa (97% bamboo/3% silk) in a mossy green. Bambusa is soooooo soft that I'm considering making another Juliet Cardigan out of it. They were out of the color I wanted so I'm waiting for them to notify me when their next shipment comes in.

I'm do plan on taking some more classes at Artfibers again and learning more techniques.