Thanks to POOCH

Several folks have been hitting this blog in the last day or two thanks to a kind note from POOCH on the Modular Knitting List. She was a part of my entrelac class at Camp Stitches West a few months ago.

You will see that I am strongly considering writing a book on entrelac and now I am in early negotiations. This will be the place, at least for now, to keep abreast of my progress. Hopefully I will have some "real" news in the next couple of months. In the mean time, I have some new entrelac ideas brewing which I will post about soon!

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New entries of late have been non-existent due to the fact that I have been actually working on an entrelac book proposal to be given to a publisher! Although nothing has been finalized yet, it appears that we will most likely be able to come to an agreement in the near future. Obviously I will let folks know when I actually have news that I can share.

In the mean time, I am beginning to look for sample knitters, particularly those well-versed in entrelac. If you think that you might be interested in this endeavor, please drop me an e-mail at gwen @ knitability.com (remove the spaces)and place Entrelac Knitter in the subject line to help me identify you as "legitimate" e-mail.

So with all this activity I have been thinking about schematics and sketches. I am very uncomfortable with my drawing skills (or lack there of). Entrelac can be particularly challenging due to the need to include a reasonable representation of the the diamonds the fabric produces. What I discovered is that if I start with a diamond graph paper, I can get more accurate shapes. This paper also works great for creating directional schematics (using arrows to represent the "lean"). And then sometimes I will cut these up to create a 3-D model to verify that all the joins will work.

By the way -- it also is great for sketching up modular designs as well!!!

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Bloody Toes

Where does the time go?!? Well, May went to preparing for TNNA. But April and June are both months with Camp Stitches and my entrelac class. One of the questions that came up last April was how to deal with "bloody toes". Now this may sound a bit gruesome, but it is a term used to describe the bleeding through of the color of the previous tier at the point of the join.

Bloody toes are a "natural" occurance when working with entrelac. It is the result of joining two pieces of knitting perpendicular to one another. When it is most noticeable is when the underlying color is significantly "stronger" than the top color. Although the color "bleed" can be minimized with practice of specific knitting techniques, that along will not completely solve the problem.

I wish I could take credit for the solution, but alas, it was Joan Schouder who I believe is credited with the idea. At the point you are going to begin a new tier, work one round of knitting all the way around the tier in the new color by knitting the "live" stitches and picking up the appropriate stitches along the selvedge edges. By doing this you will need to keep closer track of your knitting, because the color of the yarn will not provide any clues. However, when you go to join the "live" stitches to the current tier, they will be the same color. No "bloody toes"!

Thanks Joan!

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Knitability's Got a Brand New Bag

In my previous post I was talking about a new project. Well it is done and it turned out even better than I expected. I will be adding it to my line of Skill Builder patterns for the TNNA show in June.

During Camp Stitches this past week I was teaching an intensive class on Entrelac and thought it would be fun for the students to see what happens between knitting and felting. So I finished up the project and during our afternoon off, went down to the local Laundromat / Tattoo parlor!! We would have gotten tattoos while we were waiting, but they are closed on Mondays.

Although once you get going the knitting is mindless -- the planning and starting of the project is not for an entrelac novice. The yarn is left over from another project I will also be unveiling at TNNA in a few weeks. It is from Ellen's Half Pint Farm and is her Wool / Mohair blend. It felts up with a boucle' type texture which just adds even more interest.

Watch for the pattern coming soon!

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Mindless Entrelac

I have always loved entrelac as my mindless knitting. I think the reason is that you REALLY can be somewhat mindless about the whole thing once you get started. You work on one rectangle until all the stitches from the joining unit have been incorporated. You pick up one stitch for every two rows (unless you are doing something a bit unique). The knitting is just stockinette.

So I am about to leave for Camp Stitches East teaching an entrelac class. I have had an idea for a project for some time and figured this would be great plane knitting. Well these past thre days, I have been attending a meeting prior to my departure. The "mindless entrelac" has gone so well I am practically done with the project. There definitely isn't enough to take me clear across the country!

So while here in Sacramento I ran over to Rumplestiltskins to find some yarn for an additional project. I finally decided on a sock yarn. I brought my sock needles and socks have a lot of knitting.

But the point is, the entrelac went SO FAST I just wasn't prepared. I will try and post a picture after I return and get the project felted (which is planned in this case). Who knows, after checking out the vendor market, I may get another project done before I return home. Yea! for speedy knitting!

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