Knitting Next Door

I mentioned in an earlier post that I love yarn.  This is the LYS, local yarn shop, where I buy it.  Knitting Next Door is way more than a place to buy yarn, however.  Thursday evening, I was there for my Afghan Crochet Class.  It is a place to take classes, but it's more than that.  I learn lots from the knitters and crocheters that spend time there as well.  If you're having problems with a pattern or not sure how to do a certain stitch, just bring your knit or crochet project, sit at a table, and someone is bound to be able to help you.  It might be Polly, who owns the shop, or one of the people who works there, or it may well be another customer.  Knitting Next Door is a community.  There are many people who meet there on a particular day of the week or just pop in when they can.  I often go in for just an hour, and end up staying for two or three hours.  Polly and the staff have made it that kind of welcoming place.  I am so grateful to know them, and to be able to spend time there.

Knitting Next Door is located in the Old Town area of Ankeny, Iowa.  If you want to check it out, here is a link to their website.  http://www.knittingnextdoor.com/.  I must add a word of warning, however, By hanging out in this friendly atmosphere, surrounded by all these beautiful items, you will be tempted to buy things.  For example, those gorgeous embroidered bags in the top photo were calling my name, and one did come home with me.

Finished Projects

Today was a successful day for knitting.  I finished two projects.  The first was easy.  That was this hat which is a pattern called "Regular Guy Beanie".  It was a free pattern that I found on Ravelry.

Then, I spent the afternoon hanging out at Knitting Next Door where I learned how to do the Kitchener Stitch to finish this little sweater.  The pattern is called the Wallaby.  I have been working on it since August when I took a class.  It is the first sweater that I ever knitted.  It's a little small for me, however.

New Socks

Every Thursday evening, from five until seven, you can find me in Ankeny at Knitting Next Door where I'll be sitting and knitting.  Tonight I did the bind off on my socks.  I feel like I've been working on these socks forever!  Finally they are finished and ready to wear, only I'll have to wait for some cooler weather.

Being the Student

Yesterday was a very busy day, with two classes at Knitting Next Door.  In the morning I took a Crocheted Jewelry Class.  We used a ladder yarn to crochet jewelry.  It was a lot of fun, and super easy.

After that I went home for a few hours to hang out with the dogs before going back for my 5:00 class.  This class was a knitting class.  We were learning how to knit a shawl.  The pattern is called Highland Fling, and is the most complicated pattern that I have tried so far.  My evening class had it's ups and downs, and you can read more about that on my Day's Class Notes blog.