2011 #2 -- Stream

Ta-daaa! Finished it off with a simple edging of ribbon yarn.

 

I'm calling it 'Stream." That's more about the knitting experience, because it felt like breaking through rock. If I were naming it from looks alone, I'd have probably named it, "Path."

Here are some closer looks.

Some of those look like good candidates for screensavers, actually.

All But Done

I've finished the body. Here it is being blocked.

I wanted to block it before doing an edging because the entrelac bunches up. As you can see, it blocked out into a nice rectangle. I was worried for a while that I'd have to add side panels.

Here is a closer look at the newest sections.

Now I have to decide on an edging. There's so much going on within this one that I think it will be very simple. Plus, I'm ready to move on....

While the middle was being blocked, I did a quick scarf.

It was liberating!

Getting Closer

I'm almost done with the body.

If you look on the bottom left, I've started to square it off. Here is a closer look except for that one corner.

And here is the other side.

I'm close to finishing, and I think it will block out wide enough that I won't have to make side pieces.

Almost free.....

Not So Interested

I have to admit, I'm starting to get bogged down. Once I pick up the current piece, I can keep working on it, but it isn't exciting me any longer.

I think it is just that I've solved the technical issues, and I prefer to be more involved as I knit -- that's what Conditional Knitting is all about! It also isn't a very quick knit, so I'm losing knitting time that could be more rewarding.

I'm thinking that I will just square this piece off, and then figure out a way to finish it off as an afghan, so I can move on.

One closer look.

Let's move to a happier topic.

Here's another trio from my trip to past. Once upon a time, I did try to knit some garments. Here is a trio of dresses, the first for an American Girl doll, and the next two for actual American Girls.

I'll end with the above note of pure cuteness!

Cleaned out a Closet, Found the Past

Yes, I found some photos from back when I first started to get serious about knitting. Back before 'blog' was a word!

Kaffe Fassett changed my life. The top right swatch was the one that started it all -- before that, I was a simple scarf knitter, with an occasional crocheted afghan. Simple stuff.

After I became enchanted with the leopard print in one of his books, borrowed from the library, I took several colors of Red Heart yarn (not much money at the time, and well before Colinette or Noro yarn) and tried it.

It was lovely. And it changed everything. At that point, I knew I could make amazing things, and all that was left to do was, you know, actually make them.

I went through lace periods, too. Marianne Kinzel and German patterns ruled!

And I made socks.

One couldn't get yarns as wonderful as those available now. I wonder if I would have leaped into color intoxication without Noro and Colinette?

But Kaffe led the way.

Good Day, Sunshine

Sorry it has been a while, but I've been working late, and it's been cloudy, so I haven't been able to take a good picture.

But I took off early today, so here we are!

I'm still not sure what the final result will look like, but I still like it.

Some closer looks.

I've actually just realized that I've knitted my way into a mistake.

You see a loop of yarn hanging off the back because I accidentally combined the yarn from one side of the entrelac with the yarn for the middle. The middle yarn is several strands thick, and I'd just started a section with fluffy yarn, so I didn't even notice.

I tried to undo it, but I'd combined the middle yarn into the entrelac on the other side, and I wasn't about to undo two layer of entrelac squares.

So I just knitted it back, knitting in the loop as I went, and divided the two yarns again.

That is one of the benefits of magic ball knitting: no one knows you screwed up.

Unless you blog about it.....

Not Too Bad

This one is progressing better than I'd feared.

I wasn't sure if the pattern would look good, and if the colors would mesh at all. So far, though, I'm happy.

Here are some closer looks.

And just for some eye candy, here's a close-up.

I should use that as a screensaver.

Time to Experiment

I've started the new one, still playing with entrelac.

The idea is to have a waving stream of plain knitting in between two areas of entrelac, all using magic balls.

I don't know if it will work, but I'm enjoying figuring out the mechanics.

I started both sides from the corner square, working outwards, and then when the triangular bits were big enough, I began the join in the middle.

I suppose we'll see if it works together.