a blanket for Emily

If you’re looking for the May post for 2013: The Year of the Finished Project, it’s over here.

As you may know from this post, my eldest niece (my sister’s eldest daughter) had her first baby on 23 April. Being just two days before my own birthday, you could say she was an early birthday present.

This is the same baby I made the Very Hungry Caterpillar quilt for (because it is her mama’s favourite childhood story).

But I’ve gone a little less bright and a little more “pretty” for her baby blanket.

I didn’t start the blanket until the day after she was born, and then I ripped it out (too wide and wrong colour combination) and started again two days later. It’s not that I didn’t know she was coming, of course. It’s just that I didn’t know she would be a girl (although I had a feeling she might be!)

I was also being true to my own rules – no new knitting projects until others were finished – but a new baby is exceptional! They don’t come along in my family every day!

I have not been in the mood for knitting between saying goodbye to DD and the Grandsons, being sick, and working over at the “renovator’s delight” (henceforth known as “RD” -- there will be a post soon, I promise)!

But there’s nothing like a new baby to bring out all those craft-y tendencies!

I looked through my stash and decided to use up my Fiddle De Dee cotton (by Cleckheaton, sadly discontinued) because it’s a heavier weight (10ply/Aran/worsted) than the other cotton in my stash (we’re coming in to winter) and, more importantly, it’s machine washable and dryable! I don’t know that my niece knows such a thing as hand-washing exists! It knits up very softly although, being cotton, is quite hard on the hands when knitting for extended periods. I only had small amounts of each of four colour-ways, three skeins (150g) of lemon, and six skeins (300g) each of mint, a lemon/blue/white variegated yarn and an lemon/mint/pink/white variegated yarn.

The right combination and the right pattern were going to be important so an entrelac blanket it must be (hi Cindy! LOL). My first choice was to use the two variegated yarns but I didn’t like the combination so I settled on the mint and pink variation (of course! LOL)

Anyway, I hope to see Emily next weekend and wish her mama “happy mother’s day” for the first time. But I doubt I’ll have the blanket finished. This is where I was up to on Saturday afternoon; I’ve done part of the next tier since then!.

(Thanks Diane for the photo taken by iPhone during our workshop on Saturday)

If I had time to knit all day I might have got it done …

But there’s no way that was going to happen!

It will be sweet when it is, don't you think?

Linking up with Barbara at Cat Patches for the New FO challenge (on the last possible day!).

a brief summary of Camp

I arrived at the Knitters' Guild of NSW (Inc) Camp on Friday evening at 5:20, after an almost three hour trip - half an hour of which I spent travelling just four kilometres (2.5 miles). A police operation was underway in Castle Hill (a motorist been shot by the police the day before) so there were major roads closed in the area.

I was given a nice twin bed motel-style room with en-suite which I shared with a member of my own knitting group so the accommodation was much better than I was expecting. The word "camp" conjures up bunk beds and dormitory style rooms so it was a very pleasant surprise. The food was quite good and there seemed to be enough for everybody although those at the end of the queue missed out on pumpkin for dinner one night.

I took my camera, charged the batteries overnight and then was too busy to take any photos!

On Saturday I tutored an all day workshop on entrelac knitting. I am by no means an expert but I have knitted quite a few blankets in garter stitch entrelac so I am very familiar with the technique.

All the samples I prepared were knitted in acrylic (I don't like "wasting" wool for knitting samples and I hope they'll be protected from insect attack!) and unblocked: I wanted the participants to see what their work would look like on the needles - which is not always like a blocked piece; this is especially true of entrelac.

In the first session of the day, I taught the participants how the squares of entrelac are joined together. We worked in garter stitch: but some of those squares were knitted entirely in purl. The samples show the same square knitted in one handpainted yarn and in two contrasting yarns. The participants all made the sample with two yarns so that hey could see how it comes togehter.

After lunch came the harder session: not only did the participants learn how to knit traditional entrelac in stocking stitch, which meant making triangles at the base, sides and top of their sample, but I also taught them to knit backwards and asked them, if they could, to knit with the right side facing for the rest of the day. Knitting backwards is knitting the work from the right needle to the left needle; this saves turning the work around at the end of every eight stitch row which, with practice, is actually faster than knitting and purling.

Most of the participants got it and were happy to keep knitting that way (slowly) for the remainder of the afternoon. Some of them said they really enjoyed knitting backwards, which was a real bonus!

The sample shows the difference in size and finish knitting the same pattern in stocking stitch versus garter stitch - same needles, same yarn, same number of stitches, same knitter.

For the fast finishers, there was a bonus sample: lace entrelac. Well, a combination of lace and garter stitch as seen below.

I was given many thanks and compliments for the workshop which I really appreciated.

On Sunday I was exhausted. 8:30am-5:50pm was a long, long day for me! The weather was miserable, and got worse as the weekend progressed. I had planned to leave on Sunday afternoon after the intarsia workshop I was taking, but the combination of heavy rain and fatigue made me decide to leave at lunch time on Sunday.

I had a good drive home, despite the heavy rain at the beginning of the trip, and was home in about two and half hours. It was the first time in a very long while since I had driven that kind of distance (170km - 106.5 miles - each way) so I was quite pleased with myself.

I had a wonderful time (despite the weather and the exhaustion) and would encourage Guild members to start saving now for Camp 2013. And be sure to let the Committee know what workshops you would like to see at the next camp.

I felt honoured

Last week I received a phone call from the member of the Knitters' Guild of NSW who is organising the biannual camp. She had heard that I was a good teacher and had recently done a couple of workshop on entrelac. She wanted to know if I would teach a session or two at the camp.

I was flattered. I wondered who had said something - but I think I have that figured out (three of the Guild's current executive are members of the same group to which I belong). Part of me wanted to say "yes" but part of me resisted.

You see, the camp is always held on the Long Weekend in October. WM has a rostered day off every fourth Friday and for the past couple of years, that Friday has been at the start of the October Long Weekend - as it is this year. Because he has four days off, we often go away.

So, we talked it over and guess what - I'm teaching two sessions of entrelac at the camp in October.

Is anyone else going to camp?

entrelac workshop

I have recently facilitated two workshops for our group of the Knitters' Guild of NSW.

The first was held on 19th March - we did squares of entrelac in garter stitch, which meant there were no foundation triangles and the participants were able to concentrate on learning how the squares "interlock".

one in two colours, one in a variegated yarn to show the difference yarn choice makes

The pattern was copied from a book, now out of print, by Brenda Horne (a member of the Knitters' Guild of NSW) called "Enjoy Entrelac Knitting".

Some of the participants finished their sample squares for homework. I gave them a pattern for six inch squares - DD knitted hers 10 inches square so she could use it as part of a blanket (afghan) for Wrap With Love and in the process began to truly understand how entrelac works.

DD's 10 inch square for Wrap With Love

On 16th April we had our second workshop. This time we knitted foundation and side triangles as well as squares. the participants had the choice of knitting traditional entrelac in stocking stitch or knitting a "garterlac dishcloth", pattern from Dave at criminyjickets. (Thanks C. for giving me the link).

Note to self: I really should have done one in two colours so that the participants could see the structure.

I really like tutoring; I am a teacher by profession but I also am a teacher by passion and gifting.

knitting progress

Some knitting has taken place here between the piecing and patchworking sessions. The socks are finished, except for the grafting.

The Cynthia Blue No-Purl Scarf, aka the Corrugator Scarf (Rav link), continues slowly. It's my commuter knitting and therefore doesn't get much knitting time since I only commute one day per week. I did, however, knit some last night while watching Midsomer Murders; I needed something I could knit without following a graph or instructions.

The March Mystery 220 project hasn't proceeded past Clue 1. I must get onto it before it's time to cast on for April! Even though I know what the finished object is, I'm not entirely sure what it looks like. I skimmed past a photo on another blog (well done on completing yours, C.)

My sample for the entrelac workshop (part 2) I am teaching at the Blue Mountains group of the Knitters' Guild of NSW is finished. This one (unblocked) is in garter stitch but the foundation triangles are made the same way as they would be for stocking stitch, except this way has no purl stitches.

And... since I didn't show you my samples for the workshop I did last weekend (19th March), here are two unblocked examples of garter stitch entrelac (a la Brenda Horne).
 

 

The saga of a blanket

Back in May, I took an entrelac knitting workshop. Sometime in July, I cast on for an entrelac blanket. The blankets I knit are for Wrap with Love and measure 70 inches by 40 inches. It soon became apparent that a blanket knitted in squares 10 stitches by 20 rows would become very monotonous so I did what I always do in this situation - redesign!

I decided to have one panel of entrelac, one panel of stripes, repeated for the length of the blanket. I finished the first entrelac panel. I picked up stitches along one edge and started the stripes. One word - yuk!

But I was not defeated! I carefully separated the two panels by unpicking the cast on edge [I wasn't going to undo 8 inches of stripes, was I? LOL] I threaded in some waste yarn and continued knitting stripes. I'd figure out what to do with the entrelac strip later.

I soon had an idea that the blanket was not wide enough – I measured: sure enough, it was only 26 inches wide; 14 inches too narrow. No problem – I would knit a border around the stripes! So I continued on my merry way, knitting stripes until the strip was 14 inches short of 70 inches [that’s 56 inches folks; this English teacher can do maths! LOL]

Now, faced with an ever increasing [in length] border, I decided that a border of little squares [10 stitches by 20 rows] was the way to go. I could knit two lengths the same as the striped strip [try saying those last two words 10 times quickly] then pick up the stitches on the waste yarn and the not-cast off end to knit the top and bottom strip of squares. This worked very well but, now that’s it’s finished, I wish I’d put a plain border between the stripes and the squares. Ah well, we live and learn, don’t we?

To finish off the blanket, I did several rows for a border: [K1 row, change colour, K 1 row, P 1 row, change colour] 3 times, K 1 row, P 1 row. Voila! A very pretty striped border and a nice finish with the mitred corners.

And what of the original entrelac strip? Some of it was unpicked to make little squares and the rest of it is in the frog pond waiting for the next time I need short pieces of yarn!

off and racing!

Was given permission to knit again on Tuesday evening.

Finished the entrelac blanket [I actually had 1980 stitches to go, not 990!]. Have sewn in all the ends - most done while I wasn't knitting, so it's completely finished.

Have knitted another two adult beanies, one in 8ply [DK] and the other in a thicker yarn.

Last night I started a poncho for DD. Frogged after ten rows because I thought it was too stiff. Started again, going up three needle sizes. Decided to knit on circulars in one piece [that is, no side seams]. After several hours of knitting - last night and today - found I was making a Mobius poncho! Don't know when it twisted; it was fine when I checked it first thing this morning!!

We interrupt the knitting to...

Yes, that's right! Interrupt the knitting! So, what's the big deal? After four weeks of "no knitting, no crochet, limited computer use" my specialist said:
"Yes, you can knit. Knitting won't make your shoulder any worse than it is!"

Yay for the specialist, yay for the knitting! Not yay for the still frozen shoulder!

See you, I'm off to knit! I have only 990 stitches to complete the entrelac rug I started in March! See you soon with my FO!

The entrelac saga continues

I looked at the 120cm square I had knitted. It's not a good size for a cot blanket. Besides it's too dark for a toddler; it's knitted in blues and purples. Not only that, because I had not made the decision to stop when knitting each square, there are 'live' stitches on the needles; so, I've changed my mind again.

I'm going to finish the blanket to the original size. However, I'm taking the pressure off myself to have it finished by 18th April. That way, I won't feel like I have to knit for hours on end; you know, "just one more row...". To preserve my shoulders, I knit for half an hour then go and do something else. When I feel ready I come back and knit for another half an hour. I'm on holidays so I have that freedom.

As the tortoise said to the hare, "Slow and steady wins the race!"

Entrelac blanket progress ... or is that "conclusion"?

You may remember that I attended an entrelac workshop last month. To put my new found skills into practice, I decided to make a blanket for Wrap with Love in an entrelac style - squares of 25 small 10 stitch x 20 row squares in garter stitch alternating with plain 50 stitch x 100 row squares in garter stitch. That, dear blog friend, is a total of 140,000 stitches [as is normal for the Wrap With Love afghans - 28 squares or a total of 70in x 40in].

I set myself a goal to have the knitting finished by 18th April, when we have Part II of our entrelac workshop at the Knitters' Guild meeting. So far I have knitted 80,000 stitches, so in 12 days I have 60,000 stitches to knit [or 5,000 stitches a day]. I'm on holidays - unless TAFE calls me for some relief work this week - but it's still a big ask!

Yesterday, I knitted 9,400 stitches and my shoulders are a bit stiff today [don't tell the health professionals who are looking after my shoulders]. Actually, my right shoulder is really sore. I was using a KnitPicks cable needle so the weight of the blanket was on my lap and on my legs. I have a very close knitting style; I keep my elbows by my side and can knit easily on crowded public transport. But, believe it or not, knitting is hard on the shoulders; partly because knitters tend to slouch [especially me] and partly because the muscles attached to the shoulders [biceps and triceps, for example] are involved in the knitting, whether it seems like it or not. I've been told this on separate occasions by my sports medicine specialist, my physiotherapist and my massage therapist; all of whom tell me to limit knitting to small amounts of time! Sometimes I just get carried away!!!

The blanket is growing but, of course, it's getting heavier and heavier and so every stitch seems slower and slower. I have learnt to knit in both directions so that I don't have to turn the work around - that's okay when doing purl garter stitch; my knit-in-reverse [left to right] is slow but okay. But, it's sooooooo slow when doing knit garter stitch - my purl-in-reverse is painfully slow! Sometimes I push on, especially on the short rows, just to get the practice and therefore build up speed, but sometimes I just get jack of it and turn the work as needed - usually on the 50 stitches rows!

It's better for me to be able to knit in the future [I clearly remember five weeks of no knitting!]. I cannot knit today and it's my own fault for knitting for too long yesterday. The weight of the blanket, in spite of the cable needle, is pulling me down. Not knitting today means that I will have to knit even more stitches every other day to reach my goal in the given time frame - a super-human effort. So, today I made a decision; a cot-size blanket [120cm - 40inches - square] is useful and will save my shoulders! Now, there's a load off - figuratively and literally!!

All I have to do is sew in the myriad of ends that come with entrelac knitting.

Entrelac workshop

Yesterday, at our Knitters' Guild meeting, we had an entrelac workshop. Entrelac is French for 'interlaced'. We used a method devised by Brenda Horne [also a member of the Knitters' Guild of NSW] which doesn't require starter triangles and isn't knitted on the bias; it is, therefore, easier to do.

I probably wouldn't have made so many silly mistakes and I wouldn't have had to do so much tinking if I hadn't been having a very enjoyable chat with David. However, I got the gist of it and later in the evening completed my 15cm square sample. I don't know that I would knit much in coloured entrelac; perhaps an afghan/blanket/knee rug. But our tutor, Raelene showed us an example of entrelac done in stocking stitch and lace knitting, and that got me thinking. A very dear friend of mine will be a first-time grandmother mid-year. Perhaps if I get knitting soon.... how much 4ply [baby, fingering] yarn will it take to knit a wrap 120cm [48 inches] square?

I'm off to design an Afghan and order some wool from Bendigo Woollen Mill. In the meantime, I''m going to put what I learnt to good use by knitting a blanket for Wrap with Love.

PS Thanks, David, for showing me how to do a thumb cast-on. Congratulations, Raelene, on being made a life member of the Guild for services rendered - it's a well-deserved accolade!