July 2018 – Dramatic Lyric

Learning Entrelac and Knitting Backwards

I’ve been meaning to learn to knit Entrelac for quite a while now, but I was always intimidated because of how hard I had heard it was. There are a lot of things in life that we are told are hard. But some things that might be hard for me might be easy for you, or vice versa. In most cases I find that things are often easier than they seem. All it takes is a willingness to learn and some good old-fashioned practice.

A year ago I spun 545 yards of somewhat thick and thin singles yarn. I chose the fiber because it reminded me of the Arizona sunsets of my childhood, fading from yellow into orange into red into deepest purple. I took bits of each colour and added them to the larger sections of the other colours so the skein would hold together a little more cohesively, then I spun my heart out. Ever since then, I’ve been wondering what to do with this gem of a skein.

handspun yarn

A few weeks ago I was hanging out at the yarn store (as you do) and entrelac came up in conversation. A trusted spinning friend pointed me toward Allison LoCicero’s excellent (and free) Entrelac Scarf pattern so I, too, could learn to knit entrelac. After a bit of a false start I am happy to say I can now knit entrelac pretty smoothly. About the 2nd row I got really tired of turning my work every 8 stitches, so I thought about how a knit stitch and a purl stitch were formed and taught myself to knit backwards. It’s a little awkward at first, but once you get used to it, it’s really not that bad.

I can’t wait to see how this scarf comes out. I have a feeling it’s going to be incredible.

knitting entrelac

Breed Study: Targhee

The materials in this post were put together by my friend Jenn for our spinning group’s fiber study.

Targhee is one of America’s youngest breeds, having been developed this century. The Western sheep industry around 1900 was based on Merino and Rambouillet sheep with the emphasis on raising wool. Shortly after the turn of the century a demand began for lamb and this led to a crossing of the fine-wooled sheep to develop a better lamb producing animal. The most popular method to achieve this goal was the crossing of an English longwool breed with the fine-wooled breeds that were the basis of the Western sheep industry.

To fill this need, the US government began a program of crossing Lincoln rams on Rambouillet ewes, which was the foundation that developed into the Columbia breed. While these crosses were quite popular, many sheepmen felt that the ideal sheep would be 3/4 fine wool and 1/4 long wool, or what was commonly known as a “comeback” sheep, a name that signifies coming back to the Rambouillet from the first coarse and fine cross. To meet this demand, the US Sheep Experiment Station was begun in the fall of 1926 to lay the foundation for such a breed.

The foundation was a group of cross-bred ewes, consisting of Rambouillet, Lincoln, and Corriedale blood that were bred to 9 of the station’s smoothest, thickest Rambouillet rams. After 3 years of the program, 201 first-generation ewes were carefully selected and bred intensely. After 3 generations (about 1938) it had become apparent that a desirable breed had been developed and a larger genetic base was needed. New breeding schemes were developed, using the same original breeds, and the number of Targhees was boosted to over 1,000 sheep. The breed was named Targhee after the national forest where the animals grazed during the summer.

Each ewe will average a 10-14 lb fleece that has a micron measurement of 21-25 and a staple length of 3-5″ with a yield of 50-55%.

Jenn provided us all with a handful of Targhee fiber, and it was luscious! I spun a fine single on my drop spindle, wound it into a butterfly, and plied it back on itself for 15 yards of a fingering weight 2-ply yarn. I will definitely try this one again!

handspun Targhee

Finished Object: Squircle Socks

Hello, there, lovelies! I have been a busy bee and finished some socks! I started the Squircle Socks on Thanksgiving Day last year as my husband drove us 2 hours to his grandparents house. The project stayed in my bag as a “just in case” project for a long time, and I’m not a very prolific sock knitter anyway (I once knit a pair of man-sized socks in 2 weeks and hurt my wrists so bad I couldn’t knit for almost a month afterward. Not doing that again). The yarn is Knit Picks Felici in Mint Chip, which is sadly no longer available. This was my first time using self-striping sock yarn. I can’t believe I hadn’t tried this before! It was so ridiculously fun! The pattern is a little involved and asks you to do a little math, but it was a really fun and interesting knit.

If you want to explore different sock styles and like a bit of a challenge, I would highly recommend the Squircle Socks.