Swirling Pentagon

I bought Knitting Nature last Friday and cast on for a swirling pentagon right away. Upon closer inspection at home, I found that this book is rife with typos. For example, on page 47, it says to use size 8 needles to achieve a 18x25 gauge in stockinette for the body, a size 6 needle for the 1x1 rib at the cuffs and hem, and a size 9 needle for the 1x1 rib in the swirling pentagons. Look at the volcano on Grumperina's initial attempt when she followed the instructions. I agree with her that the size 9 should have read size 6. Her finished sweater looks fantastic.

I made test swatches with some 98 cent yarn from Marukai Marketplace. The wrapper says 100% peruvian cotton made in Japan. I got 18 sts per 4" in stockinette with size 6 needles and a pentagon with 20 sts and size 5 needles measured 6 1/4" tall. It looked like I could make the 40" size (small) with this yarn if I cast on 22 sts per side for the pentagon. I went back to the store for more yarn.

They didn't have the same color, but I bought 14 balls of a lovely orchid pink color instead. I was about halfway through the pentagon when I realized that the pink yarn is considerably thinner than the taupe yarn. I tried doubling the yarn and the gauge came to 16 sts per 4". This sweater is not in my immediate future.

I was also interested in making the Mosaic Shrug on page 64. The instructions don't make any sense. If you want to make a pentagon, why would you cast on 80 stitches onto 4 needles and then work the decrease rows? The instructions for the decrease rows say to [k2tog, k to 2 sts before end of needle, ssk] 5 times!

Does anyone know if there is an errata for the book posted on the web yet? The designs are so lovely. I wish they had taken a little bit more time to copy edit the book.

Shibori Slideshow

Last week, I attended a shibori workshop taught by Joy-Lily. We wrapped the silk scarves around cylindrical objects. As you can see, a Trader Joe's coffee can works quite well. We tied the scarves with crochet thread and painted diluted Procion H dyes on the scarves and string. (The dyed string makes interesting designs when reused later on another scarf.)


When the scarf is untied, it looks a bit like a sea-shell. This one is a chevron pleat design.



The scarves air-curing in the laundry room.


A close-up of the sampler scarf I made in class first.


The clothesline with shibori and Devore satin scarves I dyed in Procion MX and white vinegar on my own at home.


[The corn and tomatoes have grown somewhat since I took the picture. We do use a clothesline in the big, bad city. We have never lost any clothing from the line, though a neighbor did leave throw his surf towel on our line when he tossed it on the fence to dry.]

More Shibori adventures here and here.

Bicycle Commuting and Bike-to-Work Challenge

Today's LA Times has several articles about bicycle commuting in the health section. Our cycling club member and acting president, Dan Gutierrez, is even quoted on the front page of the section.

Click here for the LA Times' list of tips and resources. If you work in the El Segundo employment center (along with over 100,000 people), and you would like to try bicycle commuting, contact our bicycle club. One of our 'bike buddies' volunteers will assist you in choosing equipment and routes. We will try to find someone to ride the route with you your first day or so. Sometimes, people will want to try riding in for the first time on a weekend before tackling the ride on a weekday. That's okay, too. Our volunteers need the exercise.

It was great to read about the Bike-to-Work Challenge. When I first moved from Boulder to LA and tried to explain the contest to a room full of the commuter services coordinators of the large employers in El Segundo, I got many blank looks. 7 years later, it is the highlight of the week.