It only took me a year to finish it, in between all the other projects I’ve got going on, but here it is at last: my lovely army-green and dark grey knitted scarf. Please revel in its majesty and camouflagery, starting now:

Just in time, too, as the nice weather we’ve been having has dipped down to the mid-50s, and my exposed neck was getting a little chilly!

I love to knit, even though I only know how to make things that go in a straight line (scarves, iPod and cell phone cozies, bags, etc.), and always have to refer back to my Knitting for Dummies book when I need to bind off. (I take a year to finish anything, so no wonder I can never remember how to end something, right?) So lately I’ve been thinking about learning how to read knitting patterns so that I can make more complicated items, like socks, hats and even—the holy grail of knitting—sweaters.

I’ve been poking around the Internet to find some places in Austin that teach knitting skills, cus frankly, Knitting for Dummies is really only useful if you’ve already been taught in person by somebody who can correct your mistakes and keep you from freaking out when you suddenly drop, like, all of your stitches off the end of your needle. F*$#!

(I’m trying to set off the F-bomb a little less frequently, as one of my New Year’s resolutions. Can you tell?)

Anyway, so far I’ve found Gauge Knits, which offers classes at the most excellent price of $35 a month (4 classes), and $10 for an intro to the very basics. They’ve got a lot of great reviews on Yelp, so I am definitely going to have to check them out and join up!

If you’re into finding classes for a wider variety of sewing and craft related arts, I’ve also heard plenty of good things about the Stitch Lab. I love that they offer sewing classes that focus on the completion of specific projects, like The Quintessential Little Party Dress Series and their “Dress of the Month” series, which invites students to focus on creating a stylish dress from a simple pattern (January’s dress is Simplicity pattern 2360). If you don’t have your own sewing machine, this is a great way to buy some time behind one of theirs for an additional $5.

Hey, who knows? Maybe one day I’ll even become a member of the Weavers and Spinners Society of Austin!

Have you got a favorite kniting circle or sewing group? Give props to your faves @shoestringATX or in the comments section!

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• February 17, 2010 -- Guest Post: Angry Monkey Butler!

Tags: Dress of the Month classes, Gauge Knits, knitting classes in Austin, Knitting for Dummies, new year's resolutions, Stitch Lab, The Quintessential Little Party Dress classes, Weavers and Spinners Society of Austin

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 2nd, 2011 at 5:19 PM and is filed under Classes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.