I am amazed

The first few pairs of socks I knit were done on three needles. No matter how hard I pulled to tighten the first and second stitch at the beginning of each needle I still ended up with a ladder, the one in the center back being more noticeable than the other two. I'm sure there's some physical principle at work here but don't know exactly what it is. Something about angles and stresses no doubt. At the suggestion of my sock knitting guru I started using four needles. I can't find a ladder, no matter how I try. And I don't have to pull anywhere near as hard on the stitches at the beginning of each needle. Amazing!

Yesterday was Anny Blatt, Bouton d'Or, Stop day at Skein. I had never met Jean Christophe before but had heard about him for years. I don't know what I expected except that I wasn't prepared for how charming he was. But then he was pushing his lines so why wouldn't he be charming?

Some people don't care for the Anny Blatt yarns. Many years ago, when I was doing some free lance knitting, Anny Blatt was the yarn of choice of the designer I was working for. The leap from Super Yarn Mart and Red Heart yarns to a prestige yarn was stunning. Birth of a yarn snob. I still like their yarns a lot. It's true they can be a little precious aesthetically and economically but I still like them.

I feel the same way about the Bouton d'Or yarns. They're not for everybody. The Stop yarns were new to me. The yarns are made in Spain and generally have a lot more synthetic fibers. They're not as pricey or as complex. Ann Mary chose a few summer yarns that she thought would be good for kids or adults. So I'm looking forward to trying out this line.