Dear Ann,
Guess what! I get to visit another college (or 2 or 3) this weekend. Rhinebeck fades into the mist in the rearview mirror, and we proceed ONWARD.
For about a year and a half, I had a ball of handpainted cashmere weighing heavily on my conscience. In a fit of I Don’t Know What, I had bought it at Vogue Knitting Live in January 2013, from String, a yarn shop in my own city that caters to the big-gauge cashmere crowd. There was something about that lipsticky shade of pink crashing into that particular mix of taupeish-brownish, with a pale wash of blue in the background, that set me all a-tingle. Had to have it. Didn’t know what to make with it.
I dithered and stewed (in other words, had a fantastic time) deciding about the pattern. I did not want to make something with a plain, linear stitch pattern that would create stripes, pools, or flashes, or whatever you call it that handpainted yarns have a tendency to do. I wanted to preserve the blotchy effect that I loved in the yarn when it was in the skein.
A few months ago, I remembered the good ol’ Lady Eleanor wrap pattern. Entrelac! That’s the ticket! Entrelac is a great technique for self-striping yarns. Instead of stripes, you get your color in patches. If the sections of color are long, you do get a striped effect, too, but it’s more compressed. Blocky and irregular.
This project was my companion for a one-week trip to California last August. How-to-entrelac came flooding back to me for a week, and now it has left me again.
This was blissful knitting. After a wash & block, I wished I’d knit to a tighter gauge, but I’ve readjusted my thinking and now it’s perfect. Yay! Instant handknit in October.
Happy weekend, everybody.
Love,
Kay
I think readjusting one’s thinking is the perfect response to any bout of wistfulness or second guessing
Changing ones perspective is often key to a great FO. You nailed it with this one by knitting the colorful yarn into an entrelac scarf!
Love this so much. Would you mind sharing what the name of the yarn? I am feeling covetous.
What an excellent solution to the flashing/pooling problem. Thank you for solving it. Your scarf is gorgeous!
Well. I was with you when you bought this yarn. I wondered what you’d do with it (as in What the What is she going to knit with that?) but you have reframed my thinking totally on it. And I like the look at that gauge too. You got the eye, kiddo! (I mistyped that as you got the oy.–Maybe that too). Good luck with the college visiting. xox
The pattern and gauge both look perfect to me. Such a cool look.
GENIUS! I think I now have all the nerve I need to take up Lady Eleanor. Thank you for that – and yours is beautiful.
I still haven’t tried entrelac, but this may just inspire me. I love it.
Oh, luscious entrelac. It *is* perfect. Congratulations on a perfect solution! I get stuck on the dreaming about what it could be, and find it hard to move past that.
What great solution … neverought of entrelac as a antidote to pooling.
Did you knit backwards?
ugh that’s just really clever and smart! I love it!
“but I’ve readjusted my thinking and now it’s perfect”…is there an acupressure point for this adjustment? It would be helpful in so many areas of my life!
Lovely smooshy object you’ve made, no adjustment required. But then, I’m a bit partial to the fiber.
Kay, it’s amazing how you crank them out in no time! I wish I could be.more like that. Thanks for sharing anothet great creation and for keepin’ the faith.
LoveDiane
I like how this yarn worked out in entrelac SO much more than the usual neat little blocks of color. I think it’s perfect.
Great Minds, I guess. I just received Scarf Style, which I had chased down specifically for the Lady Eleanor pattern. I have been thinking about it for years, so I must be meant to knit it.
Stun. Ing.
Lovely!
Generally speaking I am not of fan of the entrelac ‘look’….too heavy…too dense….too un-drapy. But this. With this yarn. Changes my whole world. I love it when someone changes my world. Thank you!
This! Though entrelac has tempted me for years from a process-knitting standpoint, I’ve never seriously considered an entrelac project before because I don’t love that undrapey, hey-look-it’s-entrelac thing. But this has changed my whole conception of what entrelac can be — seriously! I can feel the startitis coming on,,,
I’d like to see a photo of the transition between the pinks and the browny-creams – this scarf is fascinating for the color shift. Any photos of the original skein?
Fabulous! And this bit …
“…but I’ve readjusted my thinking and now it’s perfect.”
….strikes me as a recipe for happiness in general. 😉
Genius.
I LOVE this. Really, really beautiful and special.
Stunning! I can understand the lipstick color fetish! Color Goddess Laura Bryant has come up with a yarn that does just this! Perhaps you saw it on the cover of Vogue. Yours is a knock out.
Beautiful. How much cashmere did you have? I have the same memory lapse after I finish short rows. I don’t think I could do the Lizard Ridge blanket again if my life depended on it. Well, maybe my life…
Your gauge on this is just perfect. I didn’t realize it was entrelac (usually so scrunchy and tight and, well, specific) until you named the pattern. The looser gauge changes it completely. Divine!
Stunning! Perfect pattern for that special yarn.
beoootious. I agree with the knitter who said the gauge was perfect.