WOO-HOO, Happy 10th blog post to me!! I am celebrating this Friday's 'WINE' down with stitching up cables and sipping a delightful Cuvée. Cuvée? It basically means blend; which is awesome because, to me cabling is a blend of sorts (a twisting) of stitches to form something so pleasing to the eye as the Cuvée is to the palatte. :-)
Anyway, Let's dive right on in!
Crochet Cables
Unlike in knitting, where one works with "live" stitches and a cable needle in order to twist the particular stitch in the desired direction, crochet allows you to use an existing stitch as the base for creating a cable pattern. "What do I mean by that?" you ask.
Well, I'll tell 'ya ..... at the very basic level, crochet cabling requires the working of a "live" (unfinished) stitch around the, from either the back (wrong side) or the front (right side), post of an existing (completed) stitch. This existing stitch is normally located one or more rows below.
Now, if you have read any of my previous Stitch This, Sip This posts, you know I like to break things down to as basic of a level as I am able. With that said, let's start with the anatomy of a crochet stitch - I mean when instructions direct you to work around the "post" of a stitch - we should probably know what the "post" of a stitch is, right? So, let's take a peek:
Post of a stitch: the minimal explanation is that the 'post' is the part of the stitch that tells you how many times you have yarned over - look at the picture again ... a double crochet (treble in UK) requires 1 yarn over, correct? How many 'wraps' do you see here, one, right? Boom, yes! OMG, I LOVE breaking down stitches, things become SO MUCH more clearer (I am a visual learner before every other learning style).
The other thing to take in and to take in well at this point is that for many of us the 'post' also includes the legs - so if a pattern says "front post double crochet', you will be working around the front of that 'all-inclusive post stitch' (meaning the post and legs of the stitch). This front post stitch raises your stitch forward and creates that basic cable stitch we all adore. (pretty sweet right?) So, we we say post stitch we mean what we see below. I will also show you the symbol for the front post double.
So, to recap, for crochet cables, one would crochet into the post of the stitch. Interweave Crochet Magazine just published its Fall 2018 issue, I have my copy in hand and looking though it, I notice the Shadow-Stitch Cable by Shannon and Jason Mullett-Bowlsby of the Shibaguyz. Now, apparently, this technique is worked in two passes (meaning by 2 rows) and produces a much more desirable cable fabric in that the fabric created is much more consistent and doesn't present itself with "holes" resulting from skipping stitches worked when working the individual cable stitches. This is exciting and I plan to film a YouTube tutorial which shows how this is done. SO EXCITED!! Hopefully, this weekend, I get to film the shadow stitch video - lovelies, it is SO FRINKIN' AWESOME - seriously a game changer. So, if you've been working cables for ages and consider yourself a pro but have never worked a shadow-stitch cable, you are going to be wondering how you've spent your life working anything but. So stay tuned.
SO... I just joined another wine club. *handsoverface* LOL. I just can't help it, I LOVE supporting small batch wineries. Anyway, Heringer Estates Family Vineyards and Winery
has this AH-MAZ-ZING red blend (or Cuvée) - I am told it is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Verdot. (Oh, I learned that the use of "Cuvée" is supposed to denote a better quality and/or prestige, although because this type of label isnt regulated anyone can slap it on their bottle)
This Cuvée has what I call a heavy taste, meaning, for me, it is on the bolder end of things. The aroma is of red berries and herbs. Very drinkable slightly more chilled than the recommended red wine chill temperature (it has been VERY hot here in Sacramento - still very close if not triple digits so I gave it an extra chill time in the fridge after opening). Okay, until next time, may your stitches and sips be plenty! xoxo
