Forgive the lateness of this post.  I’ve been feeling pretty punk this week on top of which we’ve had company which has kept us both pretty tied up.  Despite the above circumstances, I did manage to get a few things done, however :)

There is a new post at The Dye Pot.  This is a sock yarn over dye called Spring Violets

Up until a couple of days ago, I was envisioning the triangle entrelac shawl as lace - heavier than usual lace, but lace never the less.  That’s still a possibility, but another one presented itself this week and I have been playing with it.

It started with this:

This is a bit of Alison Hyde’s pattern for Embossed Diamonds that I was playing with quite a while back - before I ever even considered entrelac and is what got me thinking in the first place.  What would this look like with a bobble in the center?  A flower?  A cup with a marble in it?  What?

Then came this:

Nothing special here - just a stockinette rectangle with a lump in the middle - sitting right on top of it, as a matter of fact.  I really didn’t want the bobble sitting on top.  I though it would be kind of neat if the rectangle formed a little cup - or at least had a small depression for the bobble to nestle into.  Alison’s pattern didn’t seem to lend itself well to entrelac (or at least I couldn’t work my fevered brain around it) so I started thinking about other possibilities.

Eventually I remembered working the fir cone pattern, you know, the old Shetland lace one?  You can see it here.  With this, you’re working increases and decreases at the center of the pattern which creates a very bumpy fabric.  In fact, before strenuous blocking, the fabric looks kind of like it was made out of soft egg cartons - full of little pockets…

Pockets?  Hmmmmmmmmmmmm…

I decided to expand the width some and use a different increase than a YO.  I wound up casting on 13 stitches, increasing (using the backwards loop) on either side of the center stitch until there were 25 stitches, knitting the bobble and then decreasing (centered double-decrease) until I was back at my original stitch count.  That got me this swatch:

This isn’t entrelac, as you can see.  I just did the first block and then picked up the stitches down the side to do the second so I could see what they looked like in opposition :)  The first block has a small, same-yarn bobble in the center.  I felt that was a little more subtle than I wanted so on the second block I increased the size and did it in a different color.  I had felt kind of clever about picking up the side stitches to make the second block, but as I’ve already mentioned, this isn’t entrelac and doesn’t really give you a good idea of how this pattern would look.

So I cast on again :)

This is definitely getting closer to what I had in mind except that the cups are deeper than they need to be.  The appearance is interestingly textured but, really, too much.  It also occurred to me that should those dimples be pressed out from the back, they would have a perhaps amusing, perhaps unfortunate resemblance to breasts - especially with the bobble sitting on the top of it and made in pink yarn.  Ummm - not quite what I’m looking for :)

So the next effort entailed cutting back the number of increases and decreases to create a dimple rather than a well.  And that worked out pretty nicely.  But it also gave me a closer look at my actual increases and decreases which I was getting less and less fond of.  They were too obvious and I didn’t want them to show that much.  So I switched from the backwards loop to an M1 left and an M1 right (still paired on either side of the center stitch).  I also changed the decreases from the CDD to an SSK and a K2tog, also paired on either side of the center stitch line.  That looked much better though one more increase and decrease row might give it a bit more emphasis without attaining the breasticular splendor of the first attempt :)

Now to work on the bobble itself which I would like to be slightly flatter and less rounded.

I’ve been debating hotly and heavily with myself about colors - specifically, whether to buy yarn in the array of shades I see in my mind’s eye, or to dye it myself.  Right now, I’m leaning towards the dyeing-it-myself option.  The thing is, this isn’t regular knitting that moves from row to row in a straight-forward and uncomplicated fashion.  The shawl would be built of entrelac blocks and I’m thinking that careful measurements should be taken so that I know how much I need to dye for each tier.  Of course I could get totally loony and measure out how much yarn I would need for each block and bobble and then dye each block separately - after sectioning off the middle few inches for the bobble which could also be dyed separately or, perhaps, just painted later.  I doubt that I’m quite that ambitious - but you never know :)

Success in our time!  I love these - this cheerful color peering up at me from my toes just makes me smile.  And they are warm and supremely comfortable.

They are also a little big - which only means that they will likely be house socks rather than shoe socks :)  I suppose it takes a while to get these things down (well, if you have a mind like a steel sieve, it takes a while!) and I’m still working on it.

The cute shot:

I am most used to wearing cotton socks and even the socks I’ve made for myself ere now have been acrylic blends with a very small amount of wool.  These are all wool and my feet are astonished at how warm they feel.  Of course it’s possible that the color lends a certain psychological support to the perception of warmth, but I’m thinking that’s a good thing.

The final inspection:

Possible, pattern modifications:

1.  There are an even number of leaf motif columns around the leg of the sock with the leaves offset from one column to the next.  Maybe substituting plain K1, P1 ribbing for every other column would improve and snug up the leg a little.

2.  The heel is just a tad wider than need be.  This means (I think!) that the sock, overall, is built on too many stitches - for a size 2 US (2.5 mm) anyways.  Since heel flaps are traditionally worked on half of the total number of sock stitches, I don’t think it’s a matter of the heel being too big in and of itself, but of the sock being a bit too big over all.

3.  The sock is also a bit too long - but just a hair.  Really, a round or two is all we’re talking about here as I realize that would also make a difference in the way the heel fits.

4.  Doing these socks on a smaller needle might solve all the problems but right now it isn’t possible for me.  Due to almost constantly watering eyes and somewhat reduced dexterity (both side effects of medication) a size 2 needle is about as small as I can go and still be able to see what I’m doing :)  Still, the thought is tempting - that a smaller needle may cure all ills - and I will hopefully get to try out the theory some day.

The entrelac stole hasn’t been frogged - yet - but it’s probably going to be.  It turns out that I’m not going to have enough yarn after all.  Since this was - more or less - a practice piece anyway, I guess I can set it aside without too much angst (Oh really?!?!?  Since when?) and just wait for the yarn to arrive for the triangle shawl.

Of course that means I actually have to decide what color (or colors) I want and then, you know, actually place an order :)  And, of course, I’ve been thinking about other design ideas as well.  Still entrelac and still a triangular shaped shawl, but different motifs in addition to - or even instead of lace.  Right now, my brain is a hodge podge of notions which don’t seem to want to settle into a consolidated whole.

On the other hand, that means more swatches and more playing - and that’s not entirely a bad thing, is it?

Happy Monday!

I did pull out the first effort on the entrelac stole and started the thing over again.  Does it strike anyone else as ironic that what took hours and hours to knit can be ripped in only a few minutes?

This time I went with three starting triangles and worked from there.  That solved the possible problem of there not being enough of the light pink yarn and also brought the stole to a width much more in line with what I had in mind in the first place.  It’s about 33” wide in its current state and will probably go to around 36” or so when it’s blocked.

I’ve moved on to the second color and it’s working out well.  The various shades that I have pegged for use in this project are all different yarns.  The light pink is a wool/alpaca/silk blend.  The fuchsia is a lightly felted wool (Classic Elite Waterspun - unfortunately not available any more, but I had a fair bit in the stash and was able to frog a fair bit more from an abandoned project that had been sitting in my recycle bag for over a year now).  The next color is a washable wool that is close enough to the Waterspun that I have decided to try dyeing it - just to darken it a little.  Then there are a couple of balls of oxblood alpaca and a single ball of deep violet in another type of alpaca.

By the way, I moved each block of stitches to separate needles for the purposes of taking that picture this morning and it occurs to me that the entrelac could be worked that way = each block or triangle on its own needle.  Have any of you ever tried that?  Would there be advantages to doing it like that rather than having everything all together on a long circular?  I suppose I could just give it a try and see what happens :)  I don’t have any size 9 US (5.5 mm) DPNs (the blocks are only 25 stitches wide so an ordinary DPN would work fine for that) but I can pick some up today when I go shopping.  Definitely something to think about.

I have also decided, after spending copious amounts of time poring over lace stitch patterns, to just go with the single pattern I started out with - for the stole anyways :)

I have also gotten myself into a corner with the projected entrelac triangular shawl in that I can’t seem to decide on yarn weights or colors for it.  I sat down with my bank card yesterday, all ready to place an order and simply couldn’t come to any kind of decision.  I guess it can wait for a little while but I had really hoped to have that taken care of by now.

I’ve really been focusing on the stole, but the second Leaves and Vines sock is coming along.  I have managed to get the heel turned and am now on the home stretch down to the toes :)  For some reason, it occurred to me that working the foot might be easier on a circular, using the magic loop technique, so I transferred the stitches and lo and behold!  It was easier and, for some reason, faster.  If I don’t get totally absorbed in the stole this weekend, these socks might even get finished!

The weather has turned lovely here - up in the 60s for the last couple of days so we were able to open the windows and air the place out.  Ahhh - fresh air!  I miss it terribly in the winter when windows have to remain tightly shut for insulation purposes :)  It always seems to me that I sleep better with an open window - even if it’s only open a crack :)

Goldie is a terror when I’m trying to wind up yarn.  He seems to think this is all being done for his personal amusement and play enhancement.  To give him credit, he knows I get cranky when he plays with the yarn and he tried to leave it alone.  But at some point, the wiggling strand brings out his natural pounce instincts and he scrambles after it - faster than you’d think a cat his size could move from a standing start :)  Then he is relegated to the other room in mild disgrace.  Jade, on the other hand, seems to take no interest at all in the yarn until it has been worked up.  She adores my mohair blanket and my Silk Garden stole and plops her little fuzzy butt onto one or the other whenever she can, purrs loudly and then goes to sleep!

Ahh - the simple life :)

And you thought it’d never get here!

I got started on the entrelac stole this weekend - great knitting while we were accumulating a foot of snow on Saturday!  While the stole is working out as I had expected, there are a couple of issues - aren’t there always?  Heheh…

I imagined the stole with 3 to 4 lace panels across the width (depending upon which tier was being worked) and it was with that in mind that I began to work.  I cast on 100 stitches and did the set-up triangles and the first tier of lace blocks.  I have four balls of that light pink yarn in the photo and had hoped to use it to both begin and end the stole.  However, I had to start a third ball in order to finish the first tier of blocks.  Crud - there wasn’t going to be enough yarn.  It was then I began to get a little suspicious.

I transferred the stitches to a 60” circular needle this morning so I could spread the stole out and get a reasonable photograph of it.  Lo and behold, it was wide enough for a small afghan, let alone a stole.  Unblocked, it’s 44” wide.  Blocked, it would be big enough to wrap a mummy in.  Well poop!

Actually, this isn’t so terrible.  It does mean that I’m going to have to rip the work and start over which is never very much fun I guess.  I figure if it’s 44” wide now, doing 2 - 3 blocks over the width (rather than 3 - 4) should come out around 33”.  I realize that’s still pretty wide for a stole (and that’s unblocked), but I do want it to be generous - I just don’t want it giving the farm away!  That should also solve the problem of the light pink yarn.  Doing the set-up triangles and the first tier shouldn’t run me over 2 balls now.  So all I have to do is frog it and re-start it.

Onwards :)

I have a fair quantity of each of the two yarns in the photo below and would like to incorporate the both into the stole.

The problem, to my eye anyway, is that they seem close enough in color to be visually confusing if place side-by-side - which they would be in the stole.  Myria says very firmly that the ball on the right is much lighter in tone and sufficiently different in texture that there wouldn’t be a problem.  I’m thinking that the color on the left (I have 4 balls of that) could be dyed a little darker to emphasize the difference between it and the color on the right.  What do you think?

There was some dyeing this weekend too :)

This is Silver Mauve and the whole story can be found over at The Dye Pot.  This yarn had a substantial microfiber component so dyeing it was an interesting experiment.

Hope you all had great weekends and that your collective Mondays are mellow :)

...no, not that kind of proposition :)

I’ve kind of reached a decision on the Entrelac triangle shawl thing :)  I know what I want to do - or at least try to do but I won’t be able to start it until I order the yarn (and it arrives, natch!) - and it will be another week or so before I can do that.  In a way this is good because I haven’t settled on a stitch pattern and keep trying different things and wondering.  In another way, of course, it’s maddening because I’ve got this nifty idea and I’d like to get to work on it now!

I go back and forth on the yarn but the only real issue is gauge and, since this is a shawl, gauge doesn’t really signify :)  The initial experiment was done with DK weight yarn on size 8 US (5 mm) needles and looked, I thought, pretty decent.  I worked another swatch in worsted weight on size 9 US (5.5 mm) needles and that came out pretty well too.  I suppose if a spectacular sport weight came along at an unbeatable price, I would work it up on size 7 US (4.5 mm)  needles and see how that went but I’m not interested in things getting any smaller than that.  I intend for this to be a big shawl and would like to be able to wear it sometime this century :)

In the meantime, my fingers keep nudging me about doing some entrelac and I think I’ve finally figured out how to handle that.  I mean, I was going to have to do something - I’d like to get the mate for the Leaves and Vines sock done too and I don’t want my hind-brain whining about entrelac when I’m trying to focus on socks!

So last night, I started a stole.  I’m hoping this project will do a couple of things. 

1.  It will give me some entrelac to play with for a while.
2.  It will use up a collection of stash yarns in related shades.
3.  It will enable me to test stitch patterns.
4.  It will give my Zen Garden Stole a chance to rest and relax after being pressed into use almost every day for the last few years as my default shawl.
5.  It will be fun :)

The plan right now, is to try out a different stitch pattern for each tier of blocks (there will be three blocks per tier, 25 stitches wide).  Each block will consist of the stitch pattern (in however many repeats are required) plus side borders.  I’m considering top and bottom borders too because if these are all lace patterns and panels, things could get very visually confusing.  The borders, I think, would help alleviate that problem.  Colors will range from light at the ends to dark in the middle.  I have a moderate amount of light yarn, a lot of the medium tone and only a little of the dark.  It will be interesting to see if I can balance this so that it is pleasing to the eye.

And that’s really it.  I’m raring to get going on this because I’ve been caught on the Entrelac hook since I first started thinking about the possibility of a triangle shawl.  Now I’ve got something to work on while I mull over the colors and weights for the larger project!

I have actually started the second Leaves and Vines sock and am about halfway down the leg.  This has been a seriously gratifying project and I am enjoying working on it and am going to really enjoy wearing these puppies!  I have also been in the dye pot again but as the yarn is still wet, that post will have to wait until Monday :)

On to the proposition :)

For some time now, I have been mulling over the possibility of adding another time spot to the Knitting Chatters chat room.  Not changing, you understand, but adding another instance on another day and time so that maybe those for whom Thursday night from 8-11 PM isn’t convenient might have the option of joining the fun too.  If this has any appeal, please let me know - and let me know what day(s) and times would be optimum!

Okay, I’m off to work on my new stole :)  Have a great weekend everyone - stay warm, stay safe!