Blog Give Aways – Page 2 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

The Official Elliebelly Self-Indulgent September Soxie Knitalong Post & The Winner of Soxie Yarn

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

Wow! That title is a mouthful! Try saying it outloud twice in a row. And then, come and sign up to knit with us in September, when we knit for ourselves (that's the self-indulgent part) and end up with a pair of Soxies to keep us cozy during the cooler months.

First off, the winner of the yarn to knit Soxies with from the giveaway post earlier this week is Eileen, StormyMonday on Ravelry. Eileen, pm your address to me on Ravelry and I'll get your yarn on the way to you with plenty of time to swatch before we cast on September 1. Congrats! Take a minute to check out Eileen's projects pages on Ravelry. Among her great projects are some adorable little candle jar covers — I'm just itching to cast on and knit a few. What a great idea! We may need a follow on KAL to use up our yarn scraps, but I digress…

I hope you will come and knit with us for the KAL, whether you are a new knitter or an experienced one. Soxie is a great pattern, and as I look it over, I realize it will let us learn or refresh skills we may not use a lot like the provisional cast on, be a relatively quick knit for a feeling of accomplishment, and yet retain our interest with the cables on the toe. About those cables: if you've not cabled before, this is the perfect pattern to start with as it is a simple and well-explained cable and you will get lots of support from the experienced knitters among us. I typically cable with a cable needle, but because this is just a few small cables, I'm going to experiment with doing them without the needle. And although the pattern calls for a button decoration on the front, I can't wait to see all of the variations we come up with. So join us for the KAL, which starts September 1.

A reminder: in the Elliebelly group, you can use any yarn you would like for our KALs. Because this is a one skein pattern, a lot of people will be using some Elliebelly "deep stash." And, in addition to the skein Eileen has won, there is a bit available beginning tomorrow.

Come be self-indulgent with us!

Self-Indulgent September KAL on Elliebelly! (And a KAL Yarn Givewaway)

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

We are knitting Soxie for our September Knitalong on the Elliebelly group.

Soxie is the perfect pattern for Self-Indulgent September — a quick knit with simple cables and style. And, whether you fly a lot like me or have cold floors in winter, Soxie is something you'll be reaching for all of the time.

It's simple and you are welcome to knit with us whether you are currently an Elliebelly Group member or not. We like newbies and offer lots of support! Join the KAL here. The KAL sign up thread/rules are here. The pattern is knit for a worsted weight yarn, and you are free to knit with any yarn, although we'd like to see this one knit up in Elliebelly!

To make that a little bit easier for those of you whose stash is running low, I'm doing a quick giveaway, for one skein of Elliebelly Pixie, a superwash worsted Merino that is perfect for this pattern. Leave a comment below telling me why you'd like to use this yarn for your Soxie's and we'll have a winner pulled Wednesday evening (yes, that gives you 48 hours from now to enter the givewaway). Make sure you include your Ravelry name and email address with your comment so I can track you down!

There will also be a bit of yarn available here on Thursday and Friday to help those of you with no/low Elliebelly stash, for those of you who don't mind spending a little bit to help defray the cost of the yarn and shipping.

Good luck and happy knitting!

One-Skein Knitting Pattern Contest Winners

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

We have winners! But really, I think we all won in this case, because we got to peruse all of the great knitting pattern ideas and eye candy we got to see!

Three one skein patterns, graciously offered to blog readers, are ready to send off:

The Fèe shawl by Tabismiles on Ravelry, goes to Angela Shira (FairyBlue on Ravelry), who was lucky enough to dye the yarn the original sample was knit with.

Gunard's Rainbow Trout hat pattern goes to Ericka, Bensgirl102397 on Ravelry, who wrote, "I can see making a family set of these for everyone since we are avid rainbow trout fisher-people."

Liz Corke's Storm Warning shawl pattern is going to Katie, Krgolden on Ravelry, who liked all of the patterns but thought Storm Warning would be perfect for a cold winter or a drafty church. I agree.

Come join us on the Elliebelly Group on Ravelry, and have input into the pattern selection for our self-indulgent September Knitalong, which starts September 1. It will be a great place for new knitters to pick up skills and old knitting friends to have fun together.

One Skein Projects – Pattern Giveaway!

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

Get your needles ready! On the heels of our one-skein yarn giveaway contest, several of the designers whose patterns were included in the contest have been gracious enough to offer a free copy of their pattern to readers of this blog. Post the patterns you are interested in in the comments below (make sure to include your Ravelry ID or your email address so I can contact you) by Thursday July 17 and we will draw for winners. And make sure you show these wonderful designers some love!

First up, we have Fèe by Tabismiles on Ravelry, knit from one-skein of fingering weight yarn. Fèe is a beautiful pattern and Tabetha has a lot of great patterns on her website. I am very taken with this pattern. Even though I swore off anymore queue additions, it made its way in there. Tabetha is on Facebook too.

Kelly, otherwise known as Gunard on Ravelry, has this awesome hat pattern called Rainbow Trout (best name ever for a hat). You should stop reading this post right now and click on the Rainbow Trout link to go see all the amazingly colorful, charming hats people have knit from this pattern. Kelly has a Ravelry group here and is transitioning to the name Pekapeka Designs. Her patterns are just wonderful!

Liz Corke has the final pattern of our giveaway (and a brand new baby!) This is Storm Warning and it is so perfect! It is also knit from one-skein of fingering weight yarn and I have some of my silk-cashmere yarn dyed with black beans to a beautiful gray blue set aside for it. Liz's website is here, with lots more tempting patterns, and she blogs here. I am desperately trying to keep myself from casting on Storm Warning until I finish up a couple of projects.

I love all three of these patterns and am grateful to their designers for being willing to share them with us! And, they are the perfect lead in to the next knitalong on the Elliebelly Group on Ravelry, which will start September 1. It will be our self-indulgent September KAL, and we are in the process of searching around for the perfect one-skein pattern for it. Whether you've knit with us before or are new to the group, please stop by and check out the KAL thread. There are lots of amazing ideas for a pattern, but we're going to have to narrow them down and make a decision by the end of the month so we have all of August to gather our yarn and prepare. We would love to have you join us!

And The Winner Is…..

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

The winner of our one-skein giveaway is……(drum roll please)….

That would be Chris, I-hook on Ravelry, whose pattern choice was a crochet shawl called Over the Willamete.

I'm so glad Chris won! I loved this pattern when she posted it, even though I don't crochet. It's going to be a pleasure to send her the yarn, and Chris, I hope you'll have time to work it up soon and you'll share it with us when you do! Many thanks to Jenn Wolfe Kaiser who wrote the pattern and was kind enough to let me use her photograph.

And thank you to everyone who posted their favorite pattern. There is an amazing variety of inspiration and ideas in your comments! I've added so many of your ideas to my queue. Perhaps one of them will find its way into our Self-Indulgent September Knitalong, later this year. I wish I could send each of every one of you some yarn for your project!

The only remaining question is what yarn to send. The pattern calls for a fingering weight yarn and it seems to look lovely whether it is worked up in a solid color or a more vibrant colorway.

I finally decided this pattern needed a luxury yarn and chose a skein of Elliebelly BFL CashSilk Sock, a yarn I've been for myself and friends, but haven't ever sold. The blend is 70% Blue Faced Leciester, 20% Silk, and 10% Cashmere, and the yarn seems to have all of the best qualities of each fiber, plus a nice stitch definition. I hope it will be a good fit for this pattern, or whatever you choose to make with it Chris!

Several of the pattern designers whose designs were included in the comments have kindly offered copies of their patterns to readers of the blog, so stay tuned for a post later this week and a chance to win some of these wonderful patterns.

What is Your Favorite One Skein Pattern? (Blog Give Away)

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

Last week, I wrote about knitting small projects and enjoying the meditative value of simple knitting. So, now I'm curious: what is your favorite one skein knitting pattern? If you tell me about your favorite pattern in the comments, you will be entered in a drawing to win yarn for your pattern choice!

One skein patterns can be quick and satisfying. (Pictured above, Ellie, knitting a Cherry Branch Hat out of Elliebelly Basilisk). Especially during the hottest part of summer, one skein knits are great projects.

In the comments below, tell me about your favorite one skein pattern. It doesn't matter if it's written for Elliebelly yarn or not, because, patterns can be adapted to different yarns as long as the weight and drape is a good fit. On July 1, we'll have a drawing to pick one lucky winner from the entrants.

Here are some of my other favorites one-skein projects from Ravelry knitters to get you started:

ShellBelle76 knit Malabrigo Hand Thingies in a skein of Elliebelly Coventry Cashmere.

Angelicasays did a Rainbow Wave from Elliebelly Angel Sock.

Squeakybeans knit some Toast armwarmers from a skein of Elliebelly Ellie-Blue Blue Faced Leicester.

What beautiful projects by a group of amazing knitters! Post your comment below to enter the give away. I'm looking forward to seeing what your favorite patterns are!

Elliebelly Knit Along Announcement & Elliebelly Give Away (Merlin Merino)

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

We are closing in on the start of the first ever Elliebelly knit along, which will begin on Saturday, August 13.

If you haven't already, pick out a pattern! This is a free style knit along — you knit the pattern of your choice using any Elliebelly yarn. Along the way, we'll have fun, prizes, and knitting support. I'm looking forward to featuring everyone's knitting on the blog so we can all see each other's works in progress. What a great way to get some late-summer-anticipating-fall-knitting started!

Still wishing you had some Elliebelly in your stash? Here's a bit to help out. A quick giveaway to give faithful blog readers a quick chance. This is two skeins of Elliebelly's Classic Merlin Merino in "Fire Dragon." Merlin is a 3-ply merino and there are about 560 yards in the 8 ounces up for grabs here. Post in the comments, telling me what you will use this yarn to knit in the knit along and I'll pick a winner Sunday night, so get your posts in quickly!