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 :)
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The stole is looking good so far. I’m sure you could do each section on a separate needle; there’s really only one way to find out, isn’t there? When I did the (variation of) Lady Eleanor stole (I did a scarf version), I thought about it, but didn’t want to tempt fate by having needles that had the capability of falling out at inopportune moments…and so, I stayed with a single needle.
The socks are looking great, too! Looking forward to seeing them wrapped around a pair of feet. ;)
The stole looks great. I’m working on the Forest Path Stole which is an entrelac stole and I ended up putting all the unworked stitches on stitch holders. Then when I need a stitch I just slip it off the holder. I like the stitch holders more then DPN’s because I couldn’t bear having any of the stitches inadvertently falling off the needle.
Ev - I have rethought things and pretty much decided that the DPNs aren’t appropriate for this. For one thing, I would have had to buy two sets plus any number of point protectors (to use as end caps) and it came to more than I wanted to spend. So this will go back on the circular for further processing :)
Opal - I saw your shawl this morning - absolutely fabulous! And I think your idea about the stitch holders is a pretty good one. Having rejected the notion of individual needles for each block, I’m now giving some thought to the stitch holders. For one thing, I wouldn’t have to swap the long circular out every time I wanted to take a picture!
stole and socks are looking good- i am enjoying *your* pink moments!
there must be something in the air that has pets quite interested in yarn- our catly delinquents are usually too busy destroying large things, leaping down on unsuspecting heads, or eating houseplants to even look at yarns and such, and the dogs have never really paid any attention to such- suddenly all are just entranced by ‘the good stuff’ and i have removed many ‘felted’ ends from their mouths- all are far greater yarn snobs than i am, and they avoid the acrylics and blends and go right for the good wools or fine laceweights they find- only the pesky princess alopoecia doesn’t seem affected, but after all, *she* spends most of her life on a satin pillow- how sad that our pets are the aristocrats here!
wishing you a warm and sunny weekend- stay happy-
The stole looks great…sounds like an interesting combo of colors. Can’t wait to see it as it works along. I love the “Goldie” pic..such a handsome fellow.
Barb - You might have something there, you know :) Do you think there might be a market for pure, kitty-felted wool? It would, of course, be a very high-end item because of the lengthy processing involved but…
Maureen - Thanks, I’m enjoying working on it and trying not to worry that I won’t have enough yarn after all!
Goldie sends regards to Miss Peach :)
With regard to how quickly you can take apart something that has taken you hours and hours to knit, have you seen how quickly they demolish buildings? ;-)
Ryan - Good point…a little depressing, but good point. On the other hand, you can’t use those bricks again but the wool can be recycled :)
