Knitting With Nancy

This has been my year for taking classes with famous knitters. In January, I took Magical Moebius with Cat Bordhi at my favorite LYS. Great class; love the moebius.
Today it was Estonian lace knitting with Nancy Bush (check out some of her shawl patterns here.) I wasn't sure my knitting skills were up to the challenge, but I had a great time and - bonus - I wasn't the slowest one in the group.

Nancy taught Estonian folk knitting for the guild yesterday; I opted for the more expensive lace class because, while I doubt I'd ever knit socks or colorwork mittens, I definitely would like to knit some of the fabulous lace shawls in the 10 Shawls in 2010 . . . some day.
I made it through 8 rows of the chart before my brain totally fried; and only twice did I need Nancy's help un-knitting mistakes. I read charts, made nupps (pronounced nuuuuup like soup), and ended up with something that actually looks like lace.
I thought the best thing I'd get from today's class was Estonian folklore and Nancy's tips/tricks. Not so. The best thing was the boost it gave my knitting confidence. The size 8 needles I'm using to finally finish my One Row Handspun Scarf feel positively gigantic after spending the day with size 4's. And the knit-through-the-back stitch that's been giving me fits? Not any more. I've done NUPPS.