The Origami of Knitting

Working in a LYS I get asked questions all the time. I help with yarn choices and try to trouble shoot problems for knitters in distress. It’s a collaborative effort to get the right yarn for a project or to figure out where there is a mistake in the knitting. I like the give and take of playing with knitters.In July I am going to teach my first class. I’m a little nervous but really excited too. I am going to help folks learn the BSJ. Elizabeth Zimmerman’s icon of knitting: The Baby Surprise Jacket.The years ago when I first I looked at the pattern I thought it was complicated but I could figure it out. I didn’t get very far. I chalked it up to inexperience and put it on the shelf for another day. The next time I tried I took a class. Our teacher walked us through it line by line. And I was hooked.How can this bit of cloth become a sweater? The magic of knitted origami. teehee. Like many knitters before me I marveled at the blob forming on my needles, certain I was doing something wrong. Then came the moment I flipped it into a sweater. It folded up just right. This triumph did not come easily. I started over once, ripped back three times. And in the end I saw that my increase stitches were way to visible. But I did it. I made a BSJ!If you want to join the fun the class starts Monday July 2 from 4 to 6 at Piedmont Yarn in Oakland, CA. Just call the shop at 510-595-9595 to sign up. Watching a group of little jackets form around the circle will be great fun.