The Genesis of Entrelac

The first time I became even remotely interested in entrelac was when I laid eyes on this beautiful pattern called The Entrelac Shawl in one of Debbie Bliss' books. It was gorgeous as it was unique.  Beautifully textured rectangles with a simple cable down the middle.  I knew I had to make that blanket.  Entrelac was a foreign concept to me at this time, in terms of execution.  Yes, I was familiar with the term, but in so far as squares alternating ugly colors that seem to have no business together, and so I never felt the least bit inspired to learn that technique. But this was different.  There was no freakish use of color to hurt my eyes, just a good looking piece of fabric.  And so I set out to begin work on this masterpiece.  Then I got stuck.  Once I got through the base triangles, the pattern began to read crazy.  Each word got tangled in my head, leaving me in an utter state of bewilderment, angst and confusion.  I put that shit away, but this piece just kept nagging at me to put an end to this madness.  The call to completion got louder, and louder, and so I picked it up again.  I found someone who successfully completed this blanket, and she not only allowed me to pick her brain, she got the light bulb in my head to go off, and helped me decode this language of entrelac. I finished the blanket and unexpectedly a whole world was opened up to me.  My desire to master this technique was to finish this blanket, but then I discovered that I actually liked the fabric that entrelac created.  I have since made other things, and have been given the opportunity to share the creative wealth of knowledge of the wonderful world of Entrelac at Stitch Therapy where I now help others decode this rather simple skill.