Since February of this year, I have been attending a knitting group. I was invited by my massage client Carol (shown here on right; Mary on left), who has been attending for years. I have long wanted to advance beyond scarves and slippers, and so I took on the task of knitting my first sweater.Although I have missed many of the Tuesday sessions due to hospitalization, travel, or other commitments, I have become a regular. Definitely I am the youngest in the group. Some women have me beat by more than 30 years. For the most part, we avoid discussion of sex, politics, and religion, so all goes smoothly.
The meetings are hosted at Fern's house in east Long Beach. Fern has spent hours helping me, showing me new ways of casting on and giving me all sorts of tips. Here she is shown with me in the sweater I finally finished--whew! It turned out way too big, but Fern says that if I bring it next time, she'll block it for me, a way of ironing a finished product to make it lay nicer. We'll see.Despite the imperfections that can be seen in the sweater upon examination, I'm proud of my handiwork. I've learned a lot during these past nine months of working on it. My next challenge: socks.
Though the size and composition of the knitting group change every week, here are a few more of the regulars:
* Marcia (with book)
* Annie to her left, our right, who happens to be my next-door neighbor
*Mel on the right
Mel left for Barcelona today. She and her boyfriend are taking a Mediterranean cruise. Carol told me that years ago, she and her beau would split the travel costs until Mel told him that she could no longer afford to pay her half. The boyfriend said that was OK, he'd pay for everything. At least once a month, the two of them take a major trip. Wow, how do I get that kind of gig? Seems as distant as my shot at landing the presidential nomination for the 2012 election!
