And She's Back!

I know I've been gone a while. I was knitting, quite a bit, but just not finding time to write about it. Now I know that I can't find time, I have to take time to do things. 

Anyway, moving on.

Yesterday, I took my very first formal in-person knitting class. I attending the Madrona Fiber Arts Festival and took Knitting for Speed and Efficiency with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, AKA The Yarn Harlot. I learned a lot, and the most important bit of what I learned was how to lever knit. One of the issues that I've been having recently is that I've had some knitting related discomfort, particularly shoulder pain and pain in my right thumb. I'd like to continue knitting for many years and pain-free is my preference, so I'm going to follow YH's  suggestion and practice lever knitting on long straight needles (14 inches, one stationary, anchored in my right armpit) every day for 30 days. The suggested project is a 1x1 rib scarf, because there's equal knitting and purling. When I asked her how much time every day for these 30 days I should devote to this practice, she said, "until you feel anger and despair, then put it away for the day and knit your other projects your regular way."

This is what I accomplished today, which is day #1 of 30. 

It's not much yet, but it will grow. This is Classic Elite Yarns Alpaca Sox in the Spring Green Colorway. I cast on 50 stitches on a size 4 needle, worked a while in a knit 1 purl 1 rib, and this is about 30-40 minutes worth of knitting. 

I'll attempt to at least post a picture of my progress daily, even if I don't have much to say.