The birthday season!

Sile--who turned 60--Nora who turned 30--and Eoin

We had loads of fun in the studio on Thursday evening drinking champagne and eating cake---yum----the cake was given to me by Jennifer at Sweet A as a birthday gift! The studio was packed and abuzz and it was just fabulous. Thank you to everyone who came. Thank you to those who left various bottles---without names!. Thank you to all who helped---with 70 people you need a lot of extra hands. Thank you to all of you for supporting knit-one-one. Thank you for the cards, well wishes and gifts. I was simultaneously overwhelmed and delighted.

And.....we discovered that the acoutics at the studio are just fabulous. The rendition of Happy Birthday soared from the rafters---4 part harmony and all.

knit-one-one doings on the weekend of Sept 12 and beyond

Honeycomb Hex Bag---the original

Elaine's blanket

Elaine's blanket

Petra's cowl and honeycomb

Kolya

A selection from the scarfers

Joile's Helix glove

Scarf and Scarf was great fun--lots of scarfing of both the knitted and eating variety. Kate did her usual stellar job and everyone was thrilled. Rachel M e-mailed to say that the process of making the scarf was totally addicting.

Look who came to Sweet A's on Saturday? Kolya! (His mother--Kaela---came too) He is an absolute dote and he smiled and gurgled and did all his cute baby tricks for us.

The helix glovers were delighted with their creations and so excited when they mastered the thumb gusset. And the beginners got started knitting in the round---we look forward to seeing the 5 inches of Hat this coming weekend (that was their homework)

Petra visited the studio and dropped off a wonderful cowl---seen above being modelled by Erica---she is thinking it might make a good future class. We agree! And you?

You will notice in the cowl pic that a version of Petra's Honeycomb Bag is in evidence---that class begins this coming weekend. The Honeycomb is a really fun project. (Ask Tai---I think she has made 4 or 5 of them----she took the class the last time it was offered)

And I finally blocked Elaine's blanket. We had to get Zoe G to do the crochet edging--thank you Zoe--- as neither Kate nor I can crochet--would you believe. And let me tell you nothing finishes off a blanket better than a crochet edging. Kate and I are determined to learn so that we can do nifty edgings not only on blankets but also on shawls, cardigans, gloves etc. Susan M is teaching a Crochet for Knitters
class on Sunday and if you don't know how to crochet, hie thee to this class!

Bramble has arrived in the studio!

BRAMBLE
---arrived in the studio yesterday. Getting him to knit-one-one required a lot of logistics. First of all, his creator,
KnitSonya
had to drop him off at Imagiknit. Next I had to e-mail the son---Eoin---and ask him to pick Bramble up. (Conveniently for Bramble, he, Eoin and Sonya all live in the same neighborhood). After that Eoin hied himself to Imagiknit, crossed the bridge and dropped him off at my apartment. From there he got transported to the
k11 studio
in Berkeley. He is happily ensconced in the window---it is nice and sunny there---and he is getting lots of admiring glances from the passing throng. Well more accurately all those people rushing to
Sweet A's to get their scone fix!

In other news---- theBlock Party
was ever so much fun. Carrie did a fabulous job and a good time was had by all.

Block Party OR Learning new stitch patterns OR Making a blanket

Here is how we come up with ideas for our knit-one-one classes. It is always a collaborative effort involving many of the great minds in the k11 commmunity.
Block Party

for example is the brainchild of Ms Carrie with help from other knit-one-oners.

How exactly did we come up with this idea? Well our friend Janice A Y was very taken with a baby blanket that Carrie had created and asked if she would consider teaching that class. Mmmmm Carrie says, let me think about this. And she did. Around the same time Reuben said "you know Sile, I think you should offer a new stitch pattern class. "Mmmmmm I said ---let me think about this. And I did.

Kate, Carrie and I talked and thought at length about how best to put these ideas together and the The Block Party was born. Here is how it works. Each month you will be taught at least 3 new stitch patterns. You will go home, finish your block and maybe even make a second. (If you are like Baby Catcher Peggy, you will make 4 or 5!) Then the next month you will learn some more stitches, work on your block or blocks---and---- here's the great thing. At the end of the process you will have a fabulously impressive blanket which can be as small or as large as your heart, your needles and your patience desires! And here's another thing. You can sign up for ONE of the blocks OR for all 4---again the choice is yours. Oh and did we mention that Kate and Carrie insisted that shortbread be part of the deal too. Yum. Learning, creating, laughing and eating---what could be a better use of an afternoon I say.

And since this was Carrie's idea she is the one teaching the class.

PS The pics are the various blocks that Ms Carrie has been knitting feverishly---and I mean feverishly. She says that the process is totally addiciting. So don't say you haven't been warned!