MIA

I've been MIA the last couple of days, but that doesn't mean I haven't been knitting!  My MIL is in town this week, so that gives me ample knitting time but not necessary blogging time.  I also had my local Knitting Guild meeting this past Monday followed up with my library knitting group that meets on Tuesdays.  This month's Knitting Guild was along the lines of Love your Knits - Wear what you knit.  We learned about how to knit garments that will fit and how to figure out what would (and would not) look good on your specific body type.  It was really good and I feel like I've learned a lot.  One of the big messages was that you have to be realistic about what you look like.  Most people don't look like the model in the knitting magazine, so you have to make the decision for you if that type of garment will be flattering on your body type.  Also, almost every garment you knit is going to need to be adapted in some way.  These aren't major adaptations, just things like length either in the arms or the body.

It all comes down to gauge.  Gauge gauge gauge.  Gauge is something that I like to ignore when I knit.  For shawls and scarves this has been okay for me.  But for garments I know that isn't going to be okay.  The gauge really tells you a lot.  In that respect, the knitting guild said to do some math and check your gauge against the number of cast on stitches and the number of stitches at the widest parts of your measurements.  Simply, this is doing math to make sure your gauge and measurements align with the size you are knitting.  These all seem like very simple things and obvious things to check when knitting a garment, but they are not things I've thought about before.  It was very eye opening and I learned a lot!  I might even tackle knitting a sweater or shirt now.  Perhaps first though I should finished my Einstein coat that I started YEARS ago.  Have I mentioned my Einstein coat before? Stay tuned for more details on that (hibernating) project!

P.S. I've made good progress on the Rose Lace Stole!  I'm almost to the lace edging!