Elliebelly Yarns – Page 2 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

Closing Out The Year In Green

Posted on December 31, 2016 by elliebelly

Happy New Year’s Eve (or day, depending on where you find yourself at the moment). Before I head on out, I wanted to share a few last Elliebelly Yarn projects with you. Photos, compliments of my daughter who took a few quick snaps for me. When I looked at them, I realized I had selected four green projects. Perhaps that’s an omen for the new year, but I can’t think quite what it means, so I’ll simply close out the year with a few last bits of knitting eye candy for you.

Mitts Knit in Elliebelly Tree Wool

The pattern is Falberry Mitts and the yarn is Elliebelly Tree Wool Sport. We love this yarn around here. It’s the replacement for the beloved Elliebelly Sea Wool Sock Yarn, a yarn we were devastated when the mill discontinued it. But now, we like Tree Wool even better and have been knitting with it a lot. These mitts give you a good idea of why it has become such a favorite.

Rob Roy Hat Knit in Elliebelly Lyric

This is the Rob Roy hat I knit earlier this year. It’s the first time I’ve gotten a decent photo of it. The bit of white fluff at the top is perfect with Lyric, one of my newest yarns. You can see the projects knit to date with Lyric here. It’s a new-ish yarn, so there are only six of them, but wow does this yarn have pizazz! This colorway is Catherine, Are You Weeping and it has become the new black in my wardrobe. It goes with everything and it’s a bit of a chameleon depending on what you wear it with. I’ll have this colorway on a number of different base yarns when we reopen. I hope you’ll think it’s as special as I do!

Zigzagular Socks Knit in Elliebelly Juliet Merino

Zigzagular Socks were last year’s Adventurous April KAL choice. Turns out, this pattern is perfected with a variegated sock yarn and is also the boss with our Paint Brush colorways (here’s my sock from the KAL, knit in “Friends,” a Paint Brush yarn). These socks are knit up in the Verdigris colorway.

Heart of Wales Shawl in Elliebelly Angel Fingering

And finally, the Prince of Wales Shawl, knit in Angel Fingering (I really don’t have a favorite yarn, but if I did, this would be it) in “Dido.” It’s such a pretty shawl! If you’re looking for a fun lace project in the new year, this is one that is so wearable that you will find yourself reaching for it constantly. And I think it would be a lovely, functional shawl in one of the merino sock yarns but also definitely worth having in something luxurious like this Alpaca/Cashmere/Silk blend.

That’s my four green pieces for a cold, rainy new year’s eve. Perhaps the green choices must mean that I’m looking forward to a beautiful spring this year and lots of opportunity to sit outside and knit in my garden. It’s a wonderful idea, in any event.

Hope wherever you are, you are going to have a happy New Year and lots of beautiful adventures to look forward to in 2017.

It’s A Test

Posted on December 18, 2016December 21, 2016 by elliebelly

We’re playing around with the website (as you can doubtless tell — we’re trying out colors and ideas and there may be some rough edges here and there for awhile). And finally, the blog is here on the website, something I had difficulty making happen on my own.

I’m doing some test driving here. This is the first post I’m making directly onto the website instead of blogging on Typepad and sending everything over here through the magic of the interwebs. The interface is different, so I’m playing around a little bit here to see how it goes. Once I’m sure that I’ve got it all figured out, I’ll post a redirect on typepad and set everything up so you can subscribe here.

Please let me know if you notice any glitches (or anything you particularly like or a feature that bothers you), as we work through getting the architecture of the site just right. I’d love to have your input and I hope you’ll be patient as we sort it all out.

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Indie Untangled

Posted on December 17, 2016 by elliebelly

Have you run across Indie Untangled? It's Lisa Chamoff's brilliant effort to help you find indie yarn and knitting related swag and I've been relying on it to keep up to date on yarn-world happenings ever since I found it.

Lisa noticed that I was getting ready to reopen Elliebelly in January and was nice enough to ask if I wanted to be part of her holiday giveaway this year. You can find the details here. She has some great yarn & swag in the works for you!

In non-knitting news, this happened in my house yesterday.

Total and utter madness will ensue.

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Four Elliebelly Projects

Posted on December 5, 2016December 19, 2016 by elliebelly

Are you looking for something to knit? Something pretty for yourself or a quick last minute gift? I've got you covered today, sharing four projects that have been knit with Elliebelly Yarn recently.

The project on the top left is knit from handspun yarn — I dyed the fleece and my incredibly talented Cousin Ann spun the yarn. But then, it sat around in stash for a long time because it was too pretty, too valuable and I wasn't sure what project would be sufficient to honor it. The Demiluna shawl turned out to be the perfect answer to that conundrum. The pattern is versatile — you can adapt it, even late in the game if necessary, to use your yardage. And its shape makes it very wearable. Use your handspun!

Pictured on the top right, the I Want You shawl is knit in Elliebelly Rainey Fingering. This is one of my newest yarns, a Silk/Linen/Alpaca blend. It's wonderful and the perfect weight for wear all through the year. I adore the sweet edging on this scarf/shawl, and because it's a one-skein wonder, you can knit one fairly quickly as a gift, or spoil someone (yourself?) by knitting it using a sinfully luxurious skein that you would hesitate to buy a sweater quantity of.

In the lower left corner, Trieste Mitts, knit in Elliebelly Big Blue Bulky BFL. Quick because they are bulky and really warm, squishy, and pretty. I'm sure I'll be knitting a pair of these on Christmas Eve for one last gift.

Last, but not least, Anticlastic was written for a worsted weight silk blend, but this project used Elliebelly Seasilk DK and came out perfectly. If you aren't sure what to do with variegated yarns, this pattern definitely has an answer for you. It's like a fisherman's net made of silk, which, when wrapped around your neck, is stunningly pretty whether you're wearing jeans or off to something formal. I'm a huge fan of Seasilk at any weight and I think Anticlastic is the perfect pattern for showing off its many virtues.

I hope you find something fun here to help with your holiday knitting. Elliebelly will be back in January, but until then, please sign up for announcements about that (and perhaps a giveaway or two) in the box in the upper right hand corner. Happy Knitting!

It’s A Gansey (Sort Of)

Posted on December 3, 2016 by Joyce Makes Art

I'm a little bit obsessed with Amy Miller's new mini-sock patterns, and have been working on a pair of Jimmies in between other projects.

Because knitting Jimmies made me even more obsessed with the other three mini-sock patterns, I sent off yarn to Ravelry knitter, Mommajnine, for a pair of It's A Gansey, another of the patterns in the set. Ganseys are sweaters with distinctive local patterning, which this sock pattern mimics, and to kick up up just a bit, I sent four different colors of yarn to use for the sock, rather than knitting it as a solid.

The yarn is Elliebelly Blue Faced Leicester (BFL) Constant, dyed in Dear Theodosia (Green), Muslin (Neutral), Lady Mary (Blue), and Lost Coast (Salmon Pink).

Janine, who is the most amazing of sock knitters, turned the yarn into a pair of It's a Ganseys, quicker than I can turn the heel on a sock! Here they are in all of their loveliness. I adore how she aligned the colors.

I'm enjoying knitting my Jimmies and encourage you to pick up some sock yarn and knit a pair of Amy's socks. They are the perfect quick little knit to make sure that you don't forget yourself in the middle of holiday knitting for friends and family.

Elliebelly is Coming Back

Posted on November 28, 2016 by elliebelly

So….This is definitely a thing, and I'm doing it. Elliebelly is coming back in January 2017.

It's exciting and nerve wracking! There is lots and lots (and lots and lots more) work to do on the Elliebelly Website, which is pretty bare bones at the moment. The fun part, of course, is the dyeing, which is happening at full speed right now. And, a little bit of plotting: those of you who remember the old Elliebelly know that it contained a lot of guidance on yarn selection and "What Can I knit With It" kind of help. I'm going to amp that up. A lot. And, I have a special collaboration with one of my favorite designers in the works too. Knitting brings a lot of joy, friendship, and support into my life and I hope the new site will do that for you too! Please make sure to sign up to receive the newsletter in the box at the top right hand corner of the page, so you'll know when we're ready to reopen.

One of my favorite parts of the new site is the photography of sample knits. If you're not sure whether you're a yellow person, meet Oryx. Pretty in the skein, but amazing knit up in this Andromeda shawl. Oryx also looks great paired with other colors, like Crake and Lady Mary, in Ashburn.

This is Carino, knit in Elliebelly Angel Fingering in the Mystic Tangerine colorway. Angel is incredibly soft, spun from Cashmere, Silk, and Alpaca for the perfect luxury yarn.

The last sample knit I'll share with you today is Isabel Kraemer's Lemmy K Shawl. It's knit here in the heirloom rose colorway in Elliebelly Cloud Soft DK, a cashmerino blend. This is a fluffy scrumptious shawl.

As I work on the new site and prepare to reopen, I'm incredibly grateful to the cohort of knitters who worked with my yarn and supported my ability to select the best base yarns and tweak colorways. The community of knitters is a wonderful place and each and every one of the sample knits makes me think of a friend, sometimes a new friend who I have never met in real life, but a friend nonetheless. For me, knitting is all about community. I'm excited about reopening Elliebelly and helping to give to that community, and I hope you'll come along with me and be a part of it!

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Knit Socks!

Posted on November 21, 2016 by elliebelly

I'm knitting Jimmies! These cute little low socks are so adorable that even the fact that I'm knitting them on size 0 needles isn't dampening my enthusiasm.

Part of my enthusiasm is the yarn, which is Elliebelly, pulled from my deep stash. This is Ella, a paint brush colorway, dyed on BFL (Blue Faced Leicester) Cash-Silk Sock. I love the subtle color transitions.

So far, so good. I'm about halfway through the flap on the first sock and looking forward to making good progress during the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Although I'm typically a very loose knitter and struggle with getting gauge, often going down two needle sizes, I'm knitting these more or less as written. The pattern calls for size 0 for the cuff and size 1 for the remainder of the sock. I'm knitting everything on size 0 (mostly because I couldn't find my size 1 DPNS). The cuff opening looks small, and I'll be interested to see if I end up with a kid sized sockie. No problem either way — this project is so manageable I decided to knit the first sock as my gauge swatch, as I have plenty of yarn, and I'll take it from there.