The Friday Night Knitting Club

Last night, I was at Barnes & Noble in Manchester, NH for an author reading & signing. Kate Jacobs was promoting her novel, The Friday Night Knitting Club. Bearette had blogged about it and even began knitting after reading it. It sounded interesting, so when I saw the author was going to be in the area, I decided to attend one of her appearances.

I don't knit and never really thought about starting, but after seeing Bearette's newly knitted scarf after just learning to knit, I thought I might be interested in learning. Anyhow, the author was due to arrive around 7PM, but there were people already sitting down at 6PM and they were all knitting (fast and furious). And more and more people arrived...and many of them were also knitting. I think I was one of the few (or only one) that never knitted and didn't really know the difference between knitting and crocheting. But all the knitters around me were so willing to teach me and you can tell they just loved the craft. One person even offered to teach me at her house and I never met her before. Others asked that I join them at their weekly knitting session at B&N and they would teach me. They were all so friendly and just loved knitting.

Well, the appearance was great. It's ironic that the author never had an interest in knitting or doing anything "domestic" while growing up, even though her grandmother was a "master knitter". It was only later that she began knitting, and as she put it, she's "a writer who knits, not a knitter who writes." She also mentioned that the book is going to be a movie starring Julia Roberts. I just checked out http://www.imdb.com/ and the movie is expected out in 2008, but it doesn't have a director or anyone else's in the cast yet.

Kate Jacobs read from the book and talked about the process of writing. She was surprised when the characters took on a life of their own. She mentioned that she had plotted out a scene, and as she was writing the scene, one of the characters invited the other one to a party - something the author had not plotted out - it just happened. I've read Stephen King's book "On Writing" and he relays the same things happening to him - the characters just take over and go their own way...almost exlcusive of you.

I picked up a personalized signed book and am looking forward to reading it within the next couple of months (I'm backlogged on my reading list.)

And...guess what... Today I picked up a beginner's knitting kit which includes an instruction book, needles, etc. And I picked up 2 skeins (I think that's what they are called) of yarn. Wish me luck. I'm not sure when I'll start knitting since I'm busy learning about making silver jewelry and making jewelry, but I'll keep you posted. It looks difficult, but I'll do my best.

P.S. This one is for Bearette or anyone else interested in knitting in NY - Kate Jacobs mentioned that Williamsburg is a "trendy" knitting section in NYC.

I Made My First Silver Bracelet!!

I took a Precious Metal Clay class this weekend and made a silver bracelet, pendant and 2 little pieces (which I'll incorporate into earrings). It was my first time making silver and I LOVED it! I will definitely be doing more of it. I loved designing it, forming it, texturing it, firing, filing, burnishing, polishing, and putting it all together. I really enjoyed the whole process - except the part after the clay is dry (silver is embedded in the clay/binder and is released during firing), but before the firing. This is when you drill the holes in the pieces for connecting later. The pieces are fragile and can crack - so you have to be very careful. Two of the people in class had at least one piece crack - they have to make that piece again (rolling out the clay, cutting the piece, texturing, drying, etc).

And this is 99.9% silver - not the standard sterling silver which is 92.5%. If you click on the images to enlarge them, you can see the texture of the bracelet more clearly. I'm definitely be making more silver pieces. My mind has been thinking creatively and have some ideas for designs. Plus, Dick liked it so much that he would like me to make him a bracelet, too :)