I can finally show the photos of my latest gift project. This was made for my mom's birthday this week. I just gave it to her tonight at dinner and she was very pleased. She had been wanting to know how entrelac is knitted, but now she has her own she may not need to try it!
Presenting the VLEB (or very large entrelac bag). I didn't intend for it to be so big, but that's the way it came out. It's knit from the bottom up in the round so it creates a nice effect on the bottom. After making the bottom circle (I just kept increasing till I had 16 times 8 stitches for the 16 entrelac triangles in the next round) I started the initial triangles and then followed the entrelac pattern for the Lady Eleanor Scarf in Scarf Style. It's still my favorite method.
When I got to the top I finished it off with an applied i-cord. Then I added the little knitted tubes at the top edge to hold the i-cord handle. I knit the i-cord handle about 5 to 6 feet long. I felted it all at once, strung in the handle and tied a knot. Voila!
This is Noro Kureyon color #115. I initially bought about 4 skeins and knew I would need more. I knit those up and then added one or two skeins at a time until it was big enough. I don't remember how many skeins there were altogether, though I'd guess about 8. The great thing about Kureyon is that I didn't stress about dyelot. With the color changes I really didn't think it'd make any difference and it doesn't. Skeins for this were bought wherever I could get some as we went on our big trip. The majority of the knitting was done during that trip too.
I finished the French Market Bag too, but I think either I did something wrong, or the pattern isn't right because the handles seem to me to be much shorter than those in the pattern picture. I wish I had made them longer. This one is made from Lamb's Pride worsted in Aztec Turquoise, Limeade and Blue Boy. I think this will be another knitting basket (I swear I don't have enough of them!).
Just a note about my sore hands. I hurt my right arm really bad almost 2 years ago, while ice skating for the first time in years. I may have even broke it, but I never got it x-rayed. Ever since then I have occasional hand and wrist pain that seems to be related to that. I think that's what happened this week and the many hours of rotary cutting seemed to do it. I guess I'll always need to watch my right wrist carefully to not over stress it.
However, a very kind reader, Suzanne (I don't have a blog or website, but if you have one Suzanne, let me know) offered to send me some wool batting to try.
So, I've been wondering, with the quilters among us, do you have a favorite hand quilting batting? I've got some Quilter's Dream cotton select that I've already sandwiched with the next pillow tops. I also just ordered some Quilter's Dream cotton request (it's supposed to be excellent for hand quilting). I tried some Hobbs Heirloom wool earlier this year, but found it to be too lofty for my taste. I know I don't like polyester, but a small amount in a blend might not be so bad. So, what do you think?
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