My first class at Gather Here was the Sewing Clinic, where Virginia helped me with the Super Quick and Easy Baby Quilt (you can see a variation of it on the Purlbee here). The blanket is a present for a coworker who is expecting a baby in June and I think that the baby won't mind the uneven satin-stitch ovals and slightly crooked blindstitch.
Pattern from Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts (Joelle Hoverson)
Blue fabric from the Nest Collection by Valori Wells, purchased at Purl Diva
My second class was the Crochet Basics class, where Carson walked two of my friends (who are now into knitting and crochet -- I've been recruiting!) and me through a potholder pattern. I am now signed up for the June Crochet Amigurumi class where we'll crochet a cute little owl.
On the knitting front, I've been learning more about lace construction and lace traditions. Gudrun Johnston of Shetland Trader taught a 4 hour class on Shetland shawl construction at Webs. We learnt each step of the construction by knitting a miniature version of the Aestlight shawl (you can see my unblocked mini-shawl below knitted in leftover String Theory Bluestocking) and I'm looking forward to knitting the full version.
[From the class description] The three-part construction of the shawl begins with a garter stitch triangle, which increases from the point outwards using yarnovers. Stitches are then easily picked up from the yarn overloops along the edges and the border is worked outwards from the triangle. The shawl is finished with an edging that is knitted sideways and attached to the live stitches of the border as it is being worked.
I was lucky enough to attend "Introduction to the History, Methods, and Styles of Lace Knitting" with Franklin Habit, organized by Lucy of Mind's Eye Yarns. Franklin covered a lot of material in three hours from reading charts to blocking. I also learnt about the origins of the Orenburg, Shetland, and Estonian lace traditions. My dream would be to attend a class with Nancy Bush or Galina Khmaleva but until it becomes true, I'll be watching Nancy Bush's DVD "Knitted Lace of Estonia" ;)
