Knitting – Page 13 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

New Yarn: The Plucky Knitter’s Cachet

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

Cachet is The Plucky Knitter's brand new 100% cashmere yarn. Although it's listed at an aran weight, it knits up in the worsted range for me, with 18 stitches/26 rows to four inches on size 6 needles.

It knits up like a dream: a soft cloud of stockinette. And, the gauge is perfect for some of the patterns in my queue I'm longing to knit the most, including Carol Feller's Portulaca, Thea Coleman's new sweater, Rye, and Mailin and Monte Rosa, both by Isabel Kraemer . Decisions, decisions.

I'm also going to swatch this yarn a couple of needle sizes down to see what the fabric looks like. Originally, I planned to knit Alana Dakos Cabled Leaf Pullover in this yarn. Since its gauge is 20 stitches/26 rows, it seems like that might be doable.

I know it's obvious, after years and years of being a polyamorous knitter who carried a torch for a lot of different brands of yarn, when I discovered Plucky last year, I fell deeply in love with the wonderful custom spun, hand-dyed yarns they produce. All of the yarns I've used so far, from Snug Bulky, to Bello Worsted, to Cashmere Sport, to Primo Aran, to Crew, to Scholar, have made me really happy. Each new project makes me think I've found my favorite yarn of all time. And truly, they are all my favorites. I adore this yarn, and the new heavy weight Cachet cashmere is like knitting with a dream. If you haven't discovered Plucky yet, it's worth the effort. Although the yarn is sold in an unusual fashion, there is lots of advice for newbies here and a very nice group of helpful knitters on the Ravelry group. You'll be glad you took the time to figure it out!

Aster

Posted on May 31, 2015December 28, 2016 by Joyce Makes Art

Knitting with linen is always tricky. Swatching isn't as exact, because your fabric with ease up significantly with repeat washings and lengthen if the garment has any weight at all to it. And, because I have a very loose gauge from the get go, swatching is even riskier business for me on linen.

My first swatch for Aster was on size 8 needles. The pattern recommends 9. And it was huge. Very pretty but huge. I would have knit a monster size garment.

I went down to size 6 needles and after washing, blocking and stretching the swatch (to imitate normal wear), I had gauge. Or at least, I had stitch gauge. My row gauge is off for the garter stitch piece. Interestingly, the pattern suggests going down a size when you hit the garter stitch block at the top, and that gives me row gauge. But not stitch gauge. So I'll do some math-fu on that part.

After swatching, I was distracted by two sweet little stray kittens who came to live with us this week. Aren't they cute? They ADORE knitting. This is not a good thing.

This pattern calls for negative ease, and I'm knitting it for my daughter, so I chose the 31.5" size. The next size up, at 34" would have been far too large. The start is stockinette stitch, and you can see that it rolls. The roll up at the bottom concerned me, but looking at the pattern photos I saw a slight roll. I'm hopeful that as the garment grows in size, its weight will work on that.

I'm not sure that hope is going to work out, because I'm past the first set of decreases, but I still have a roll of linen. And on the gauge front, as I thought might happen, even with my best efforts to knit tightly, I'm still getting enough fewer stitches over time that I'm please with the choice of the 31.5" size. It's too early to tell if that will hold up, but as of right now, even with the stretching that is inevitable as the garment grows, I think I should get a good fit.

Finally, a word about the yarn. This is Quince and Co's linen tape yarn, Kestrel. I love their sport weight linen, Sparrow, which is a typically spun yarn, and which I used for Lida last summer.

The verdict is still out on Kestrel. I had a knot in the first skein after knitting three rows, which did not get us off to a friendly start together. But this is a good project to test it out on and see how it performs.

April Catch Up: Knitting and Vacationing

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

As most of you know, we spent two weeks in April on a study trip (cleverly disguised as a vacation) to Israel and Jordan. It was a wonderful trip and we learned a lot. And, because of lots of travel time and some wickedly long layovers, I got a lot of knitting done.

This is me during our five hour layover in Charlotte, after completing the first of three flights it took us to get to Tel Aviv. At the time I was not amused, but when I realized the husband had brilliantly snagged seats that reclined into flatbeds for the overnight segment of the trip, I felt better.

In my bag: Antarktis (the blue), Vodka Lemonade sweater (the green), my Frostline shawl (you can see a bit of red peeking out in the back), and a couple of squares for my quilt from hell that will never be finished Barn Raising Quilt, which you can't quite see in the photo. Although the full bag of knitting may seem like overkill, I finished two of the four (Antarktis and the quilt squares), worked on Frostline until I ran out of yarn, and got in a few inches on Vodka Lemonade. More on all of that progress after I catch up on the time change, but I did want to share two photos with you before I get some sleep.

This is me, happily knitting on our balcony in Jerusalem in sight of the walls of the Old City. This became my early morning routine every day, and I was grateful to have a project I could work on while looking around and drinking in the beauty of my surroundings, without needing to pay lots of attention to the knitting. It was amazing and moving, as was the entire trip.

This photo captured an unexpected moment of knitting poignancy, that would have taken my breath away if I had any left at all while visiting Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial. It was an extraordinary and emotional experience. We came upon this exhibit, which told the stories of those who had survived in the camps, only to be forced into a death march as Hitler's forces realized they were losing the war. One of the exhibits showed a beautifully knit, stranded glove, among pictures of some of the people whose stories were told. It noted that the knitter made items like this to trade for food and took it along with her on the beginning of the death march. I can't capture my feelings in words, but wanted to share this photo with my knitting friends. On so many different levels, it's both heartbreaking and hopeful.

Update: Knitting On Spring Break

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

My first spring break knitting goal is accomplished, my Tipperary Shawl, knit from The Plucky Knitter’s Snug Bulky yarn, is finished.

It is, of course, love. There are three reasons for that: Cashmere and Alpaca in a bulky lace pattern, a Warm and pretty finished object, and, an easy but never boring to knit pattern.

This is another pattern I can’t recommend highly enough.

Next up for me is casting on my Antarktis Scarf in the morning when the Adventurous April KAL starts.

Clapotis: An Old Knitting Favorite

Posted on March 29, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

In 2009 I knit a Clapotis out of linen. To be precise, that is Elliebelly Chemise in the Nassau Colorway.

Every year, around this time I take my summer clothes out of storage, and fall in love Clapotis all over again. Kate Gilbert's brilliant pattern stands the test of time. And, in linen, Clapotis is decorative, protective from the sun, a little bit of extra warmth – all as needed.

It's interesting how some knits remain favorites for ever. This Clapotis, my second one, knit up much more quickly than the first. It's much smaller and I understood the pattern going into it. It's very simple. And yet, I reach for it constantly.

What knits have stood the test of time for you? What patterns do you see out there that you think could achieve that status in your knitting? My other knit in this category is Lida, which I finished just last year, and which I wear constantly.

Elliebelly’s Adventurous April KAL 2015 Begins

Posted on March 28, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

The Knit Along isn't actually beginning just yet, but I'm winding my yarn and gathering my notions so I will be all ready on April 1. Looking for a KAL to join? Our pattern, Antarktis, is a one skein project that is beginner appropriate and we are lots of fun to knit with! You can use any yarn you want, and, if knitting a scarf/shawl isn't your thing, we also have a stuffed animal and a "learn a new technique" category. Sign up for the Elliebelly group on Ravelry here, introduce yourself in the threads and feel free to join in with us!

I've selected my yarn after lots of back and forth. It's Elliebelly's MCN (merino/cashmere/nylon) High Twist in a fingering weight. It's a pale robin's egg blue called Lady Mary (if you watch Downton Abbey, you'll remember the dress that inspired the colorway!)

My runner up choice is this Elliebelly Seasilk in Jabot. I went with the Cashmerino blend because the Seasilk doesn't grow as much when blocked, and pattern designer Janina Kallio stresses the importance of selecting a yarn that will block well.

I'm all set. I've got my new Darn Pretty Needles all ready to go, along with my yarn in a pretty linen bag from Churchmouse. See you on Wednesday for the start of knitting nirvana as we all cast on.

Nighttime Knitting. Or Not.

Posted on March 21, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

*If you are looking for the post about the Adventurous April Knitalong and the Yarn Giveaway, click here.

I had plans to start the final repeat of my Tipperary Shawl tonight. I spread it out on my bed and went off to grab a few things I needed.

My cats typically ignore my knitting, but apparently there is an exception for Plucky Snug yarn — perhaps it's the bit of Alpaca in it? Whatever the reason, Harry, my Maine Coon Cat, decided there were more important things to do than knit tonight. Like snuggle all the knitting.

I really wanted to knit, though. There are so many stitches in each row now that it's going to take me a while to get through the final repeat of 20 rows and the cast off. I really wanted to get started. So I tried to gently shoo Harry away with promises of kitty treats later on. But he got feisty.

I had to buy him off with promises of a knit toy if there were any leftovers. Not much knitting around here tonight. Hopefully tomorrow!