Sock Yarn Studio Book Give-Away!

In January, 2011, I got an message from Carol Sulcoski asking me if I wanted to contribute something to a book she was putting together. I was just starting work on my Tenney Park design, which was eventually published in Knitty™. At that point, though, it kind of fit her general description of projects for the new book: featured a sock yarn, not a sock. So, I made a little proposal package out of my preliminary sketches and sent it off to her. Carol said she liked the idea, but it was a little more than she planned for the scope of this book. Would I, maybe, put entrelac on something else? Like fingerless mitts? Well, sure, I thought. No problem. So I made another proposal with a sketch and a few vague details.

Carol said yes and we ironed out yarn choices. Before too long, I got a little bundle in the mail from Crystal Palace and it was time to start knitting. This was a very fun little knit. The only disappointment for me was that my hands are bigger than most men's hands, so I was unable to try on the sample pair as I worked. In Sock Yarn Studio, the Thornapple Mitts are in the 2-skein section. This is only because of needing two different yarns to get the effect. You should be able to get two pairs of mitts out of one each of the Mini Solid and Sausalito, and you'll still have more Sausalito to make more entrelac panels!

For a lot of years, I didn't want anything to do with entrelac. It seemed like a lot of fiddly fussing for dubious rewards. So often, it seemed, that when designers got into entrelac they really got into it, if you know what I mean. But I had to admit that I liked the way it could be used with yarns that featured long color changes. I wondered if I might like it better if it was used in a more restrained way. That was what led me to my Tenney Park sweater and also to the Thornapple Mitts.

One thing that really helped me embrace entrelac was learning how to knit backwards, that is, to work from left to right across the row, right-side facing, so I didn't need to constantly be turning to purl. If you you are reasonably comfortable with seeing the structure of knitted fabric, it isn't hard to work out the process, and then it's only a matter of practicing enough to develop the muscle-memory. For those who need some guidance, there are many tutorials online. Here's one from Knitty.com. Knitting backward is also handy for making bobbles or just any knitting that involves a lot of turning from right to wrong side of the fabric and back again.

So, about the give-away... leave a comment on this post. On November 4, I'll do a random selection and pick one of the commenters to get a free copy of Sock Yarn Studio. The rest of you can order one from Amazon or Barnes and Noble or even go to a bricks'n'mortar store near you and buy it in person! Be sure to catch the rest of the Blog Book-Tour, too!

Photo reproduced with permission from Sock Yarn Studio by Carol J. Sulcoski, © 2012 Lark Crafts, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.