Shepherd's Harvest Class Signup is now open, and other stuff

The class signup for this year's Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival is now open. Go here to learn about the festival in general, and here for the full class list. This will be my first time at Shepherd's Harvest, but I've heard good things about the festival for years. On Saturday, I'm teaching a new class- All-Day Nordic Christmas Stocking, during which we will work on a stranded, toe-up Christmas Stocking, with an afterthought heel (the link has a pic). No prior sock knitting, or stranding experience is needed. You just have to be comfortable with knitting in the round. On Sunday morning, I'll be teaching my Writing Patterns for Publication class, which goes over formatting, submitting, photographing, and writing up patterns, and a lot more. No experience needed for that class either. I have heard a rumor about a booksigning in the afternoon on Sunday, but nothing firm on that yet. I'm excited to attend and teach, and I hope to see some of you there the weekend of May 7-8! And as always, the bad thing about teaching at these festivals is that I can't take classes myself. The roster is full of workshops I'd love to attend.

Speaking of going places- I've been invited back to SAFF, so I get to go to North Carolina in October again! Woohoo!

In between planning classes and trips, I've been doing a bit more knitting.

I finished the Opal Dumbledore socks. They turned out beautifully, if not particularly Dumbledoreish.

And I started another hat. I'm experimenting with a honeycomb slip-stitch pattern for the brim, and I'm using up more leftover yarns (this is old Knit Picks sportweight superwash sock yarn- discontinued long ago). I like how it's coming out. I plan to do the crown decreases in plain stockinette stitch. Next time, I'll work the purled rows in a contrasting color- that'll make those recesses pop.

But the biggest knitting project on my drawing board is a wedding shawl for The Wonderful Cassy, who is marrying Younger Son in July. I want to design and knit something spectacular for her- she has already expressed a preference for a rectangular shawl, and I'd like to incorporate some seashell/ocean design elements since the wedding will be in Oregon, at the beach. I'm excited about this undertaking, and since I'm not working on a lace book, or a shawl book, or any knitting book at all right now, I can share pictures as I work. It'll be an adventure!