I called Spun early last week to sign up for the class. Unfortunately the class was filled and I was disappointed. I put my name on a waiting list but had resigned myself to the next class in August. Before the end of a day I got a call saying someone had dropped out or the instructors had agreed to take one more. I'm not sure which but I got in the class. Hurray!!!!!! I needed to buy my yarn before Sunday. The materials called for were either Shepard's Wool Worsted or Berocco Vintage Worsted. Why, you might ask, didn't I just use something from my stash? It's not like I don't have something, right? It is understood and often a written rule, when you take a knitting class you buy your materials from the LYS offering the class. OMG! I love that rule! A legitimate reason to buy more yarn. I love it. I went to Spun on Thursday to pick out yarn. I started my day with a fender bender on my way to get my hair colored for my (significant number) class reunion; hair color in Sylvania, Ohio; then yarn buying in Ann Arbor. Luckily, the fender bender didn't slow me down.
Next came our instructors, Lynn and Lizzie. OMG! I have yarn older than they are! When they introduced themselves they told us they are both computer science PhD students researching artificial intelligence. My first thought was, "YIKES!!!" They have both been knitting for 10 years and fell in love with Brioche a year ago. They used the word addicted. I think they are my kind of people.
If you don't know what Brioche is, it is hard to explain. It is a scrunchy, puffy kind of knitting that is usually seen in two colors. For that reason, I thought the technique would be similar to double knitting. Well, it's not. It even has it's own vocabulary: brk = brioche knit, a.k.a. "bark," and brp = brioche purl, a.k.a. "burp." People were just barking and burping all night. I think it is "talking dirty" in knitting.
For the first few rows, things are pretty much a mess, then all of a sudden there it is! BRIOCHE! I love it.
I had a great time at Spun which I love more every time I go. I tried to convince Lynn and Lizzie to have Brioche 2.0. I thought maybe if I used their language I would impress them. I learned something new; made a new friend, Renee; spent the afternoon in the presence of knitting addicts and I didn't buy more yarn. It was a great afternoon. I can't wait for Lynn and Lizzie's next class. They are really 5.0 instructors.