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Sunday, March 12, 2006

Listen to this post as an mp3 file (for posts after 3/6/06)
Entrelac <> Speed

So, I spent the entire weekend knitting my Lady Eleanor Stole and this is all I have to show for it -- a 21 x 12 inch rectangle. It seems like I should have made more progress, but I guess speed and entrelac really don't go hand in hand.

All of this knitting was done in (or en route to) lovely Woodstock, Vermont, where I spent the weekend at a family gathering. There was much eating of great food, playing of games, and general sitting about and chatting. Oh, and knitting. There was quite a lot of knitting, but that was mostly just me, I guess.

I am really enjoying knitting this stole. Yeah, it's certainly slower than straight knitting, but entrelac is so much fun. I have been continuing to practice my new backward knitting skills on this project and I can report that my speed has greatly increased. I really like this technique now. I love not having to turn the whole project around to knit back and forth on those little 8-stitch-wide sections. Without backward knitting I think this project would probably be a nightmare.

I have used up two balls of yarn and the stole currently measures 12" long. So, I guess that means that the 10 balls I have will give me a total length of about 60" with no fringe. I'm thinking that may not be quite long enough (plus I would like some fringe). I may need another 2 or 3 balls. I guess I should have thought this out before buying, but I was operating in the haze of a yarn swoon. I saw other people's posts that said they used 10 balls, so I bought 10 balls -- not thinking that I would really want more of a wrap, and less of a 'big scarf'. Hopefully there will be more of this dye lot.

Abrupt Change of Topic: I recently read a great roundup (part 1 and part 2) of all the various knitting-related podcasts that are currently out there. It's by Anne of knitspot. Go check it out. It introduced me to a few I'd never heard of.

If you haven't listened to any knitting podcasts yet, I would recommend you try out Cast On first. You don't need an iPod or mp3 player to listen to a podcast, you can just download the audio file and play it on your computer. However, they do tend to be big files, so you may only want to do that if you have a high-speed internet connection.

Leave a Comment 8 comments:

MelissaKnits said...

Is not backward the cat's meow?? I think I would have murdered ruffles if not for that backwards thing. It's also very handy for any modular ala Schreier as there are a ton of short rows. I bet your enabler will procure you more of the same dye lot. She seems pretty kind and generous...

Persnickety Knitter said...

Yes, my yarn enabler is very kind and generous.

You know, I never did try backward knitting on the Ruffles Scarf. Hmmm, I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more that way.

Anonymous said...

wow, my hat is up t0 33% done! woohoo!

also, i just love the colors of the new scarf/wrap you are working on!

Anonymous said...

I love your Lady Eleanor! I'm dying to learn entrelac - I just perfected my backwards knitting technique and use it whenever I turn a heel ;o)

Anonymous said...

I really want to learn to knit backwards! Really, really, really want to learn how! Did you learn from someone in person? Or is there a tutorial online?

I love the colors in your Lady Eleanor! Yours is much further along than mine is - I'm going to try to work on it later this week!

PointySticks #3 is up (in case you haven't heard it) and I think it is the best one yet. :) I would love your feedback!

Anonymous said...

Well, having seen the entrelac project first hand, I will confirm the reaction of PK's fans and say it is truly stunning! I will also say that PK did participate in the celebrations during this Woodstock weekend and added her own touches as usual.....even if she was knitting pretty constantly!

Anonymous said...

lady eleanor is wonderful! i love shawls but would have thought an entrelac shawl awfully heavy until i saw all these lady eleanors out there; they are so warm-looking, i might have to cave and do it too. i could even learn backward knitting as well.

thank you for mentioning the podcast roundup! i appreciate your support so much. BTW, i think i've got the comments thing worked out . . . hopefully no more jumping thru hoops.

Anonymous said...

Backward sounds veddy, veddy interesting. And so useful - the socks idea, for example. Wow. You can knit for 25 years, and not even dream of these things. I'll have to look that up and figure out how to do it. And the shawl, well obviously, STUNNING. Maybe Sis #2 could forgo the annoying hat for a trade?