What an amazing day!!!
What an amazing woman!!!
I have been thinking about this class and what it would be like for the past month since I signed up for it. For the past two nights, I have dreamt about it. It was much better than any of the dreams or thoughts I had!!!
My day started early…7:15 (I am on vacation, so why else would I get up that early???). I got ready and climbed in my car for the drive and was on the road by 8:00. The drive was 99 miles long. The shop the class was held at was small, but very nice. Probably the homiest yarn shop I have been in, but then I have not been in that many. They had a wide variety of yarns to choose from, feel up, and drool upon. When I signed up for the class, I was told only twelve people would be in it, and that is the number that signed up and paid, however, one person did not attend.
Cat Bordhi is a wonderful person and made me feel at ease right from the start. She was much tinier than I had pictured her to be. I did take my camera, but was kept so busy that I only took one picture of her as she was inspecting my knitting! Sorry, but I am too tired right now to download it and figure out how to post it, so that will wait for another time. Anyway, she made everyone feel right at home. She started out talking about mobius’s and explaining the cast on (that was something else!). We finally got started on the needles about 45 minutes later. First we practiced. The cast on is like nothing I have ever seen before…it’s just wrapping the yarn around the needles, but using this method she came up with. I could not help myself and had to ask her what kind of drugs she was on when she came up with this idea…she is quite an amusing person and thought it was quite funny.
Once we got the cast on and first row practiced, we ripped it all out and started on our baskets. Even though you do only 56 cast ons, it miraculously turns into 112 stitches because of the way you do it…I still can not figure how she figured this out!! Once we got a row or two done, it was time for a lunch break (time really flew), so we all went in different directions…except for four of us (me included!), who joined her across the street for lunch at a teriyaki place. I got to sit right next to her! :shock: After lunch we returned to the shop. She made the rounds of the room, stopping to chat or to help or to show you what to do…I was flabbergasted. I also got to learn what using waste yarn was all about. I doubt I’d have ever understood that if there was not someone to show me.
Once we were all well underway, she took my Denise set and proceeded to give a demonstration of different things you can do with them. I’ll never part with these needles now! She would throw out different ideas and suggestions about the needles, yarns, etc all day long. Apparently, when you write knitting books and contact the company, they send you never ending supplies of their things when you mention them in your books. She said she has enough Addi’s to last her several lifetimes. I forgot-at the very beginning of the class, she took about an inch snip of a piece of one womans yarn, separated the fibers, then spit on it and rubbed it in her hands quickly for one minute. The reason being was to see if or how well it would felt, which it indeed did. She talked about different type yarns; llama, alpaca, etc and how they felt. She talked about the whole felting process. I think she had the samples shown in both books there for us to pick up and look at and drool on. There was one basket she made completely out of wool roving that she pulled off into sections about a foot long and knit with and added to as she went. It was the prettiest basket there.
She asked us all about how long we had been knitting (I was the baby of the group at 10 months…most had been knitting since age seven and the majority of them were well older than me!). I believe I blushed when she sat down with me later and told me I was a natural knitter!!! :oops: I thought I was going to faint or drop dead to the floor. She had her books with her and I bought a copy of each. She autographed mine, with the pen I provided, writing something nice in each of them. She then used the same pen to write in everyone elses. I am telling you, I am now a large fan of this woman. If there is ever a class around here again, I will be sure to be in it! The day ended at 4:00 which came much too quickly.
She did mention that she is also a published author of a novel that came out in hardback a few years ago, and comes out in paperback this coming year. She also has two books that will be published next year, one on socks and one on footwear (think moccasins and old fashioned type footwear from days gone by). I think you will find the sock one interesting because of the techniques she has come up with. She had one sock she is in the middle of that is going in the book she showed us and it was fabulous. I will have to learn how to do socks soon! I forgot, she also gave a demo on knitting socks with two circulars…very interesting.
When you take a class at this shop, you get a 10% discount on items purchased, but because today was their big sale day, everything was 20% off! I was good and only bought yarn to make one more basket and my books and the 52" cable for the Denise needles. There was a beautiful leather embossed purse there that I would have died for, and nearly did when I learned it cost $400!!! The shop owner goes to New York City every year and goes to a leather maker, picks out the leather, picks out the embossing designs and purse designs for each bag and has them made…they are each one of a kind. Had I not thought I would be in hot water for spending $320 (it was 20% off dear 
) on that purse, it would have come home with me. All I could think about was, should I buy it anyway, or should I not and then have that $$$ for the Hawaii trip we go on in a week…well, Hawaii won out. I really didn’t need another purse anyway…but boy was it beautiful!
If any of you ever get the opportunity to take a class from this woman, I would strongly urge you to do so. I know if I have the chance to, I will take another, even if it is the same one I took today.
Well, I am tired and my mobi-ass (one of her words) hurts from driving and sitting in folding chairs all day, and I know I have rambled on enough, so I will go. I’m sure I will think of more, but it will have to be added at a later date…maybe when I figure out the picture posting.
pat… who is glad November 26th finally got here!
I knew I would think of something else!! Cat mentioned that this next year Denise is coming out with two more tip sizes, #17 and #19. You may have known that, but I didn’t.
