I’ve been knitting for a few years, but I finally took my first class. Annie Modesitt came to my LYS, Nine Rubies and taught two classes. I took her class on lace. In the past I have steered clear of classes, because I’m a book learner. I can read a book and figure out just about anything. Of course what you miss in most books is all those little tips and tricks that people have learned over the years. I saw Annie on Knitty Gritty last spring and really felt that her approach to knitting was very similar to mine. Though she is a far better and more experienced knitter than me. So I was really excited to hear that she was coming to teach at Nine Rubies.
How was the class? In a word, awesome. She is an incredibly dynamic presenter and really keeps the class engaged. She was very patient with people when they had trouble and talked to the whole class when she was helping them. That way we could all could benefit from what she was saying.
She really emphasized reading your knitting and memorizing your lace pattern. I can memorize a lace pattern after a few repeats, but I know many people can’t. I think she does a great job of showing you how to deconstruct the lace and find the pattern repeat and anchor point. She covered some more advanced knitting techniques including chart reading, alternate cast-ons, bind-offs, and edgings.
I think her class is about how to become a better lace knitter, not how to knit lace. A subtle but important difference. I would highly recommend knitting at least one lace swatch before you come to the class. Be familiar with k2tog, ssk, slipping stitches, and yo. IMHO when you take a class from a master knitter, the goal is not to learn the basics of the technique from them. The goal is to build your confidence and understanding of that technique, to move beyond the basics. I can look up a stitch on the wiki or in a book. What I may not learn is all of things that don’t get written down. How to approach knitting lace, how to move beyond the pattern and understand what makes great lace.
It’s so cute!
Possibly one of my favorite video games ever and it’s not just because it has a sheep shearing mini-game in it. Yes, you have to shear sheep. Though, they aren’t specific as to what type of sheep they are and you don’t get to keep the wool. (For the 
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Another sheep based mini game is included with the latest Super Monkey Ball incarnation. In this game you have to herd as many sheep into the barn as you can in a fixed time frame. My friend Paige is awesome at this one. (For the 
