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
It started with this:
Then came this:
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:
So I cast on again :)
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 :)
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 :)
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Oh my goodness, you HAVE been busy! You have a lot more patience than I have, my dear. I don’t know which one I like best, but I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
I’m struggling to get my mind around a triangular entrelac shawl. Just can’t understand how you’ll get the triangle shaping.
Oh my goodness! You are so skilled. I can’t believe you thought of that! That’s really amazing.
Hope you are feeling better.... Ahhh Robbyn, you are indeed the swatch queen. Do you save all the swatches or rip them out? They may make a great piece of Freeform. Can’t wait to see what you will end up with. I love the beautiful sock yarn.
OMG! Breasts! Teehee! (Please excuse my extremely childish respone.)
Ev - It has little to do with patience, believe me :) It has to do with following a thought (well, with being unable to resist following a thought) and seeing what it leads to :)
Charlotte - I promise to share the pattern when I get the particulars worked out - but trust me. It’s pretty simple :)
Marcy - Thanks :) Sometimes having an unusual and twisted mind comes in handy!
Maureen - Sometimes I save them, but more often I rip them out because I’m going to need the yarn for another swatch or project. Thank goodness yarn can be recycled!
Opal - think nothing of the giggles. You should have seen me guffaw when I saw what the thing could actually look like - and then my mind started throwing up color combinations to avoid and I really started laughing :)
Boobs...hehehe.....
I’m so sophomoric at times....thanks for feeding my inner 12 year old! LOL
Bron - Welcome to the club sweetie. I’m positive there’s a part of all of us that never gets older than twelve. True, it’s the part that giggles at the idea of a shawl made up of boob motifs, but it’s also the part that most deeply experiences wonder and ponders possibilities because it doesn’t know they’re supposed to be impossible :)
I love it when you play with yarn. And I was so glad when you realized what that pink swatch looked like, ‘cause I was gonna have to write and say, “Um, Robbyn, um, that pink thing with the darker pink dots in the middle....” I still love the lace idea. Hope you start feeling better soon.
Rob - Well I’ll tell you - when you’re moving swiftly upon the clean, clear flow of inspiration, it’s sometimes dang near impossible to spot the rapids of embarassment and the whirpools of humiliation in the distance :)
Ba-dump-dump…
I do think just the simple color change does the trick nicely, but fewer increases/decreases certainly don’t hurt either!
