Busy, Busy, Busy!!

Above: The finished scarf from my rigid heddle weaving class. A little shorter than I'd hoped, but Hubby said it is a good length for him to tuck under his coat collar. This scarf was made for him in the colors of his alma mater (Oklahoma State University) which is also our hometown (Stillwater, Oklahoma). Since this is my first scarf EVER, I was experimenting with the striping. I do have to work a little more on weaving in the ends--the instructor taught us a trick, but I might have to go back to have her show me again. This weekend I'm going to do a longer scarf for him in the same colors but with different striping sequences. And here is a picture of the scarf pretty close to the beginning. I took a beginning rigid heddle weaving class at The Yarn Barn in Lawrence, Kansas this past Saturday. It was a wonderful class and the instructor was fantastic. To show what a small world it is, the instructor of my rigid heddle class grew up in the town next to mine, and her Dad teaches art at my kid's high school!

I love going to Lawrence to take classes at the Yarn Barn and to visit their wonderful shops and restaurants. It is a very vibrant and eclectic college town with a bustling downtown. Each time I've taken classes at The Yarn Barn hubby has driven the almost 3 hour drive with me and wandered around downtown while I'm in class. He's such a sweetheart! This time the class was from 10 a.m until 5:00, so he was definitely on his own for an extended period. We like to spend a little time sitting on one of the many benches and just watch people and their dogs. A lot of people walk their dogs downtown, so it is always a great place to just sit and look.

No trip to Lawrence would be complete without eating at my favorite Indian restaurant (India Palace)which is located right around the corner from the yarn shop. Convenient, huh?

Usually we head over to Half Price Books afterwards, but to tell you the truth, I was pretty darn tired. Since we had to travel to Stillwater the next day for Easter and we opted to just head home. It was a really good day though.

I was REALLY happy that I took the class. The instructor was great and I actually bought the 16" loom my scarf was on. This allowed me to take the scarf home on the loom and continue where I left off. I do have a 24" loom that I bought a month ago, but the 16" will be a good size for something thinner like scarves. I am going to warp both of them this week so I can do another scarf for Cute Man and a shawl for me. I love the look of woven shawls, which is why I took the class, but I don't think I'd have the patience to warp a large floor loom. The rigid heddle is perfect for me. Plus, it is portable. I really like that I can take it with me if I go to the lake. My 24" folds and has a carrying bag, which is great for travel also. The 16" doesn't fold, but I can sew a carrying bag myself if I decide to take it out a lot.

I'm not abandoning knitting, just learning a new fiber addiction!