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I am Dani Smith, sometimes known around the web as Eglentyne. I am a writer in Texas. I like my beer and my chocolate bitter and my pens pointy.
This blog is one of my hobbies. I also knit, sew, run, parent, cook, eat, read, and procrastinate. I have too many hobbies and don’t sleep enough. Around here I talk about whatever is on my mind, mostly reading and writing, but if you hang out long enough, some knitting is bound to show up.
Thank you for respecting my intellectual property and for promoting the free-flow of information and ideas. If you’re not respecting intellectual property, then you’re stealing. Don’t be a stealer. Steelers are ok sometimes (not all of them), but don’t be a thief.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014 at 12:29PM Something is hatching here (click to embiggen):
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Photo of a page of my journal, black ink on white paper with blue gridlines. Brainstorming a list of features for a very large, weird, knitting project occupying my brain.
Something Knitty in Craft Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 9:30AM Warning: Knitting Content
Makihige
Back in January (during the few weeks it was chilly here in Coastal Texas) I was keen to knit a pretty, stylish something that could do double-duty as a scarf and small shoulder wrap. While trolling that knitter’s opium den (Ravelry) I came across the Shizuku Scarf by Angela Tong (try here for a Shizuku link off the Rav). The original design is striking, with little teardrops forming the fringe on one edge of a triangular shawlette knit in Noro Kureyon, a progressively-dyed yarn. According to the pattern, “Shizuku” means “drops or teardrop shape” in Japanese. I wasn’t sure how I felt about those droplets. They looked fascinating, but would they be fun to make? Further down the rabbit-hole I found a mod that banked on the brilliance of Cat Bordhi (clever knitter extraordinaire). Ms. Bordhi has a You Tube video in which she explains how to make Tendrils—sort of fringy twists—all over a hat, suggestive of cartoonish dreadlocky hair. While the substitution of tendrils for teardrops neutralizes the original name of the pattern, the result is lovely. And those tendrils are FUN to make. I want to put tendrils on everything now. I used a little more than a single skein of Lion Brand Amazing (wool and acrylic blend) in the Glacier Bay color way.
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Eglentyne’s Shizuku with Tendrils Scarf (Photo by Sonar X11, Click to embiggen)Ear Bud Sweaters
My ear buds needed a sweater. Less to keep them warm than to make them look cool. Plus, I cannot resist whimsy, and who wants tangled rubbery cords? I covered my cords with South West Trading Company’s Tofutsies yarn (Superwash wool, Soysilk fibers, Cotton, and Chitin). I used US Size 1 (2.25mm) needles to make a four-stitch I-cord over the main wire, then a three-stitch cord after the split up to the ears. I didn’t cover the mic, and stopped short of covering the ear end of the cords because I didn’t want yarn in my ears. Bonnie Pruitt has a video tutorial if you want to try this one.
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Tofutsies Ear Bud Sweater (photo courtesy of Eglentyne and a sunny day. Click to embiggen.)
Something Knitty in Craft Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 10:06AM Watch out, actual knitting content.
Felted Heart Milagros
Pattern by Mags Kandis. Yarn is Lion Brand Amazing in the Glacier Bay colorway. Not so much felted, but still squishy sweet. If you are a Ravelry member, I highly recommend browsing through the project gallery for this one. People have put together some amazing heart stashes.
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Sonar X9 modeling Felted Heart Milagros
Futbol
Pattern by Yana Ivey. Yarn is Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn in black and white (for obvious). So that a soccer-loving friend can play ball in the house. Knitting the thirty-two pieces was great. But there was EPIC SEAMING. Next time: I’ll use wool instead of acrylic so that a little bit of light felting will help tighten up and even out any little bulges and puckers.
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Sonar X7 modeling the hand-knit soccer ball
Knitting, Something Knitty, Sonars in Craft Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 8:35AM Knitting is full of whims. For the modern knitter, just choosing to knit must be whimsical on some level. So I have no good explanation beyond whim for why I made this scarf. I haven’t even seen the movie in which it appears, only a trailer and a few still shots. But I will. Eventually. I would not have chosen this color combination (brown, blue, and cream). But I love it. I love that combo enough that I am now knitting matching slippers and planning to repaint my living room.
Jude Law’s movie version of the scarf comes down to his knees. I may have overshot that a bit. Mr. Law is surely taller than I am, but not enough to make a nine-foot scarf come down to his knees. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Please click pictures to embiggen.
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Our grapefruit tree, sporting a Watson Scarf
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Eglentyne wearing a Watson scarf in a balmy South Texas winter
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 12:00PM Give me a few days to sweep out the cobwebs. Let some cultural (or culty, if you prefer) knitting and the brown-eyed Sonar hold us over. Oh, and Happy New Year.
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Sonar X8 busting a ninja move in a Jayne Cobb hat.
