Dyeing – Page 9 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

Dye Yarn. Dye.

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

Sometimes a girl just has to dye yarn. Nothing else will do.

I dyed some Blue Faced Leicester for a very sweet girl.

I dyed two skeins of Elliebelly's Eco Alpaca — I guess that makes this an Eco Duo — to use together in a hat for my oldest. The skeins were dyed together and then the skein on the bottom was overdyed. I'm hoping this means I get complimentary skeins that work well together. It's an experiment I've been wanting to try for a while. You can see the richness of the colors a bit better in the close up photo below.

There is a bit more yarn steeping and you would think I would be tired of dyeing, but of course, that never happens.

Knitting Ollie’s Fall Sweater

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

I'm knitting Ollie's fall sweater for the Elliebelly Knit Along. I'm a little bit better than halfway down the raglan portion of the top of the sweater.

The sweater is Ragman and the yarn is Elliebelly Talia, a bulky Merino wool, dyed in the Crayon colorway.

Casting On: Ollie’s Crayon Ragman Sweater

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

The Elliebelly Knit Along starts today, and I'm on top of it.

This yarn

is going to become this sweater, Donna Higgins Ragman.

I'm off to a good start.

A very bad swatch indicated I would get gauge on size 9 needles (I've knit with this yarn before so I knew that and was too lazy to do more than just quickly confirm it.)

57 stitches, casted on using the long tail method.

And, on to the set up row for the raglan increases, followed by the insertion of pretty yarn jewelry (stitch markers).

The only hitch in the process involved our large black cat, squirt, who became enamoured with the "new toy" Mom got him, and suddenly wandered off with the ball of yarn, trailing my needles behind him.

He was very disappointed when I took it back. Poor kitty!

What Yarn Should I Knit With?

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

I looked through my stash this morning, hoping to find just the right yarn to use for the Elliebelly Knit Along, which starts August 13 — next Saturday. And of course, I was immediately overcome with all the different possibilities. I forced myself to pull just a few out, and I'm going to spend the next few evenings looking at possible patterns for them so I can be all ready to cast on in time for the start of the Knit Along.

It was lots of fun doing a bit of stash tossing, and I thought I would share my candidates with you. I would appreciate any ideas you have about patterns they might work with, so please chime in with a comment!

I've got just one skein of this Silk/Merino heavy worsted weight yarn in Copper Patina. This was my first test skein for the colorway, and I love it — swatched it eons ago, but since I've just got the one skein, I've never found a good use for it. I'm not even sure what the base yarn is — I think I bought just the one skein from KnitPicks right when they opened. It's a nice yarn. I wish I could identify it! Possibly enough yarn here for mitts or a small baby/child item.

Next I found these four skeins of Premium British Merino in the Crayon colorway. This yarn is heavenly and I have never knitted with Crayon (one of those shoemaker's children going barefoot issues, I suppose). Perhaps a vest for Ollie, although I wonder if at almost 9, his dignity would be challenged by the bright colors and the purple? This yarn is definitely a contender.

Alpaca. One of the true loves of my life! This is "Eco" and I have about 3.5 skeins, having started to swatch it only to have the swatch commandered by Ollie who insisted on mitts. Maybe I should knit him a hat and a scarf to go along with the mitts, or a vest? This is a heavy worsted weight, so I don't think I've got enough left to do a sweater.

One skein of my favorite worsted weight Organic Merino, being held by one of my favorite people. This is likely enough for a newborn sweater, and I have a neighbor due with her third child this fall. It would also make a cute little shrug for a slightly older child. And, I love how the colors dance along this yarn.

This is a stunning, worsted weight blend of Silk and Seacell. It's dyed in the Paintbrush Variation of Crayon, which on this yarn developed as a soft, subdued colorway. It's been sitting on my desk since I dyed it a couple of months ago, because I couldn't bear to stash it away. I've got about 500 yards of this yarn — it's itching to become something beautiful and I can't wait to knit with it.

Here is my last option. Five skeins of undyed, aran weight 100% silk, waiting to be dyed. It could be anything from the most luxurious baby blanket ever to, well, I guess just about anything. I love how it feels. It would be an incredible pleasure to knit with.

There are the choices. What do you think?

I hope you will join me, starting next Saturday, as we cast on for the Knit Along. Use your Elliebelly yarn and knit any pattern you choose. You can find more info on my Ravelry Group or by following this blog, and, of course, you can always include any questions in the comments here. So, get your yarn and your pattern lined up, and let's get started!

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!

Yarns I’m Dyeing To Knit With

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

I am dyeing and dying to knit with the follow yarns:

A new sport weight 65% Cashmere/35% Merino blend yarn I happened upon and grabbed a pound of to experiment with. I am insanely crazy about the first two test skeins I dyed.

I am thinking that I will use one skein for Mary-Heather Cogar's Simple Things scarf.

I am seriously thinking about devoting the second skein to the Eleanor Cowl from Knitty. I am hoping this yarn will live up to my expectations when I knit with it. I love the blend. I'm also considering doing a larger version of Simple Things, alternating knitting with both skeins.

Elliebelly Merlin Merino — an experiment, since I don't often work with predominately orange colorways, but wanted one with just hints of green and purple mixed in with the hot colors. I'm exceedingly happy with this as-yet unnamed colorway.

I haven't made a final decision about what to use this yarn for, so I would welcome any ideas you might have for it! I am giving serious consideration to Regina Satta's Thanks Socks pattern, which would have the added benefit of letting me practice my rusty German, since it is written in both English and German. It's a free knitting pattern on Ravelry and although I would have to monkey with the sizing since my yarn is a slightly heavier weight, I think it would look great in this pattern.

What yarns are you dying (or dyeing) to knit with right now? It's summer, if you're in the south like I am, it's incredibly hot. Little, light weight projects like these are irresistable for this time of year. What do you have in the works?

[If you are looking for the Playsilk Blog Give Away, make sure you scroll down to the next post. And yes, all photos from others are used with their permission.]

Changing Things Up At The Elliebelly Knitting Blog

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

As several of you have noticed, thanks to the lovely Kelly at Seventeen Stone, I have a cool new blog design. Kelly was incredibly patient and seemed to intuitively understand what I wanted. She was so easy to work with! Thank you Kelly.

I hope you all like it as much as I do!

To celebrate, I'm going to do several giveaways between now and the end of July. Yes, there will be yarn. Possibly some of the Elliebelly "Melted Crayon" on Naiad Organic Merino I'm in the middle of dyeing for myself. Certainly some crackle-dyed Elliebelly Playsilks. I'm also planning to write up my Cabled Afghan pattern, and will offer it for free at some point during this time period. And any other cool stuff I decide to share with my friends. Maybe some art. So click the orange RSS feed bottom on the left side of the blog to add me to your reader, or remember to check back in a couple of times a week. Because of my crazy schedule, there is no predicting when or for how long I'll do this. Just a little bit of summer fun for y'all and a great way, in fact, the only way to score some Elliebelly this summer.