Sally Melville is amazing

I thought I'd divide today's post into two. That way you can read all about knitting in one.

I took two classes from Sally Melville at Knitch yesterday. When I started knitting a few years ago, some of the first books I purchased where Sally's The Knit Stitch and The Purl Stitch. I had been reading reviews and suggested knitting book lists, and these were highly recommended.

Sally came to the Atlanta Knitting Guild a few years ago where she gave a presentation and taught some classes. At the time I was unable to attend her classes, but she rocked that presentation.

So, when I got the news from Knitch that Sally would be teaching some classes there, I did hesitate briefly having recently quit my job, but there was still some cash, and I signed up for two. One was Knitting to Flatter and Fit, and the other was Pattern Drafting.

Can I say mindblowingly excellent classes? Why yes, I think I will. I thought she was an amazing teacher. Very knowledgeable and practical. One thing she said that I think will stick with me is that there is a disconnect between knitters and their closets. A lot of people where pretty simple clothing (as in classic, without a lot of frou-frou), but we tend to knit more interesting things. So we end up with something lacy that's totally inappropriate for our body shape and never wear it.

Luckily, I'm old enough and honest enough with myself to know that while I may love that lacy sweater, what I'm going to where is a longer, V-neck sweater done all in boring stockinette. I'll get my kicks knitting wild socks, but I do wear pretty simple stuff. In fact, I've made two Barcelona skirts, which are very easy, basic A-line skirts. Sally was saying that's a shape that's flattering to most women. All I knew before was that I loved those two skirts, and I've been acquiring sales fabrics to make a few more. I'd wear them every day, so I need to make more of them pronto.

Another thing she said that I absolutely loved was that most knitters just follow the pattern without taking into consideration their size or shape. Now, if you've read my blog for any length of time, you've noticed that while I'll follow a pattern, I'll also tweak a lot of them. The Barcelona skirt definitely needed to be altered to fit me better. The Basil Sweater by Kim Hargreaves, a basic, shaped V-neck sweater didn't fit me quite right. I'm making changes on the second one. What I loved most about this class was the validation that many of the things I'm trying and doing are actually correct and will most likely work out! That is a huge relief to know that before I tackle the sleeves on the current Basil since I'm changing them too.

To finish this off, if you get the chance to take a class from Sally Melville, do it. I found her to be informative, entertaining, more than generous with her knowledge, amazingly patient and just plain fun.

Sorry for lack of pictures. I sat down in the front row of class and realized my camera was here at home by the computer where I had just uploaded all those pictures of my backyard.