Beginning the Master Knitter Program

It is very exciting to begin something new don'tcha think?

I like something with a time line.
I like something with a goal to be reached at the end of the project.
I like a challenge.
I like to push myself to learn new things just for me.

I thought about this for awhile and now I have officially begun the Master Knitting Program offered through the Knitting Guild of America. I got my package of instructions. I have bought my binder with the see-through pages that I will fill up as I progress through the program. This will be for my knitting samples as I complete each assignment. It will also be used for my notes and the answers to my questions.


I needed to get some really nice worsted yarn to do the samples for the assignments. I went to my LYS yesterday to buy my yarn to get started. I selectedGALWAY "Pure Wool Knitting Worsted Weight" yarn. This is by the Plymouth Yarn Company of Bristol, PA. It is wonderful yarn. It costs about $6.00 a skein and it's so soft and nice to touch.


I found it on this site.

I have one year to complete part I of this program. There are THREE LEVELS. I am signed up to begin #1, which is the Advanced Beginner level. I am very excited as I love to challenge myself and set goals to work towards. This gives me a goal. I bought the yarn yesterday so I can begin work on it now. I have until April 23, 2008 to finish it all up, for Part I. I would love to hear from anyone else there who might be working on this program, too. Please, please let me know if you are also doing this as I would love a buddy to talk it over with from time to time. That could be you, if you want to contact me. If you want to know more about this program then you can Contact TKGA here.

I will begin my first assignment this weekend. I have 10 UFOs which I have listed on this site and I set deadlines for 7 of those projects. If you want to see what else I am doing, visit these two blogs. Knitty-Prof and Stashalong.

A Clean Studio

After an entire week, my summer studio is now open for the rest of the year. And, it is CLEAN.

You know how things happen sometimes. You think of doing something ambitious and before you realize it, there you go tearing apart the entire space. That is what I did last week. I started a major cleaning of this space about a week ago. I decided that it needed a good cleaning out, a purging. I had stuff accumulated there from as far back as grad school, which was completed in 1991.

Day after day I tore things apart. I started at one end of the studio and methodically went through every cabinet and drawer taking out the things that I no longer use or will ever use again. I think that over the week I carried out about 10 large bags of unwanted things. Some were taken to the Salvation Army, some to the dumpster, and some art supplies donated to my art room at the college to be used by students next year. A few things were put on Ebay. I had two wonderful French Sketch Box Easels - one never used. And, I had some killer Wood Carving Tools that I used for making my large Wood Cut prints. I don't paint outdoors any longer, and I don't make woodcut prints. I have changed over the years. Now, I prefer to work in fibers and do bead work. I have returned to my first love - quietly working with my hands on things that are small and precious. My work has matured and so have I.

My first project, in my cleaned up studio, will be to make many crystal bracelets. The proceeds from the sale of the bracelets will be donated to the Race for the Cure. I am a breast cancer survivor. This is my small way of giving back. I call it "Crystals for the Cure." I plan to be selling them at all my art festivals this year.
When I left the studio this evening it felt so good to look back and see it all organized and clean. I am anxious to begin my work now.