Moving Forward...

Well, that's another year done with! When I stop and think about exactly what decade this is, I feel like a real old fart. Considering I turned 49 on my birthday in November, I guess that makes sense.

Since I last posted, I wove this scarf for Owen:






I'm still not very good at planning for how much extra warp thread it takes to get the finished length you want when weaving, so this is a bit shorter than I was hoping. But it is long enough to be a scarf.

I also finished knitting this scarf:



That's some chunky weight Noro Silk Garden I bought from a de-stashing sale last year. I tried a few different ideas with the yarn, and it seemed like entrelac was the only one that really worked. I'm not sure I'm the greatest fan of entrelac, but it is an addictive technique: just one more square...

I've also knit some socks, done some spinning, and made a little cowl-like thing from some hand spun yarn. That still needs a button and some finishing before I show the world.

In the past couple of weeks, I've suddenly (finally?) been struck with inspiration for new sweater patterns, which I hope to submit for publication. I knew that once I started to feel like my new lair was settled, like it had become my space, the gears would start turning. Still, it was uncomfortable when people would ask me if I was designing much lately.

I don't make resolutions, but I do have a few goals for 2011. I really hope we sell our old house this spring, as that would be a huge relief. I need to get Mr. SABLE to finish building my website and then get all my patterns available there. And I would like this to be the year I get a bit more serious about marketing myself to the knitting world.

Stay tuned!

Third Time's a Charm?

This entrelac scarf is the third go-around for this yarn. I think it's finally done. Well, I mean, I'm done with it. This is the crappy iPhone pic of it blocking on the porch on a grey rainy day.

The yarn is Rowan Tapestry, which really doesn't like to get frogged. I think I had two balls of it.

The entrelac squares were eight stitches wide.

I think I worked on US #6 needles.

Actual Knitting Content!

I've been knitting a bit! I'm making another pair of my Making Waves socks using this wonderful yarn I bought at YarnCon in the fall.


It's Turtle Cove Farm's Turtle Feet; colorway Standing on the Shore.

This yarn is really wonderful to knit with and the colors are so deep and enchanting, I feel like I'm snorkeling on a coral reef, not standing on the shore.

I also decided to take out an earlier effort to make the best of this Rowan Tapestry.

First it was a simple garter stitch scarf, knit the long way. Then, it started to become an oversize entrelac. Now, I've decided on just a normal-scaled entrelac pattern and I hope to never frog it again. This yarn really likes to stick to itself, so it's a bad candidate for frogging.

And there's been some weaving.

This is a piece of cotton cloth from which I'm going to sew a messenger bag. I had a cone of 8/8 cotton (knits at worsted weight) hanging around a while. The black stripes are Tahki Cotton Classic. I'm still thinking through all the details of the bag construction, so stay tuned for that.

Have you all noticed (well, Northern Hemisphere Dwellers, that is) that the days are getting longer? I'm eager for spring this year, even though there might be a lot of upheaval for us. We're hoping to buy a bigger house, still staying in the Madison area. We've been in this house for 13 years, which is longer than I have lived in any one place in my whole life. I'll add that I am not the only one in the family with pack-rat tendencies, and you can imagine what we're up against. Getting a loan? Piece of cake. Packing and moving? That's another thing altogether.

Some Autumn Entrelac?

This is the beginning of a scarf from some yarn I spun maybe a year and a half ago. It's softer to the touch than it looks. Blue-faced Leicester. I can't decide if I like this enough to go forward with it. But I don't dislike enough to stop and frog. Oh me, oh my.


This is an experiment: making one oversized entrelac motif down a scarf. It's Rowan Tapestry, which I recycled from a sideways-knit scarf that really never made me happy. I'm not sure this is working for me, either.

I've got to get out of my cave more. Look what's right out my back door:


And this is out front:

About That Entrelac Hat...

This post is to answer Ruth's question, asked in the comments of the post Et Voila.

Use US #2 double points. Cast on 120 stitches. Work ribbing for about a half inch.
Set up base triangles: work the base triangles following your favorite entrelac tutorial. You will be making 15 base triangles, 8 stitches each.

When you get to the end, begin making squares, heading back over the round just completed, the opposite direction. Again, consult your favorite entrelac tutorial.

Note: it really helps to teach yourself to knit backwards, that is, with the right side always facing you. It will feel awkward for a short while, but save you a ton of time in the long run.

Make three full sets of squares.

Make a round of triangles to fill the gaps. When you finish with all this, you should still have 120 stitches.

I wanted the top of my hat to lie fairly flat. I knit 2 together, 12 times evenly around, every third or fourth round. I staggered the placement of the decreases to minimize the effect of spokes. When I got to 12 remaining stitches, k2tog around leaving 6 stitches. Break yarn, leaving a 12" tail and use tapestry needle to pass tail through last 6 sts twice. Draw tight and secure to inside.

I blocked by draping damp hat over a medium sized plate positioned over a small pitcher. The plate held the top flat and the entrelac section just hung dry.

Those with smaller heads could try making 13 eight-stitch squares instead of 15, casting on 104 sts.

Happy knitting!

Et Voila!

Well, I might become an entrelac convert, but only in a limited way. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out, first attempt at a fiddly new technique and all.





I don't think I can stand to write a pattern for this because I sure don't want to talk anyone else through Entrelac 101. And in the round, at that. But if you already know how to do it or can handle looking up a tutorial on your own, I'll probably make a rough guideline to making a similar hat. But not a word-by-word pattern. Because I surely don't want to hear about it when it goes wrong, which it's likely to do!

Some Details
Yarn: Mini Mochi, 1 50 gram ball. I can't find the ball band for the colorway right now.
Needles: US #2 double points.
Size: pretty darn big: it fits my head!

Never Say Never

There's one knitting technique I have always said did not interest me. I didn't particularly like the result most of the time and the effort involved seemed way too fiddly for my taste. Well, after 20 years of saying I'm not going there, guess what?

I'm going there.

I think it's going to be pretty sloppy, but it's my first time with entrelac and in the round, too. It's all because of this darn Mini-Mochi yarn. Stay tuned.

In other news
The Gourmet Schmores Alt Knitting Camp was a rousing success! We had a few last minute cancellations and two no-shows, so our standing line was, "You're eating for 12!" And eat we did! The weather cooperated, the campers were in good spirits, the food was abundant, and the knitting progressed.

Kathy gave me this nifty little thing:


Inside view:


It's an Altoid tin she covered with polymer clay, then filled with all the knitting essentials! And she thought of everything! Little pen, little tape measure, stitch markers, darning needles, nail clippers, emergency yarn, and a little bitty knitting needle with a crochet hook on the other end that she made. I'm impressed! Thanks Kathy.

As we head through the rest of August, blog posts might continue to be sparse. I'm going to NH with my boys in a week or so, then we'll be careening into the school year! (YES!) But come September, lets hope I can get back into the spirit of it.