Knitting – Page 17 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

Marguerite’s Knitted Hats

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

Hands down, the best Christmas presents we received this year were handknit hats from our dear friend Marguerite, a fun, intelligent woman, whose idea of a casual knit is a detailed Kaffe Fassett sweater. She is an inspiration.

For Christmas Eve, she knit hats for everyone. Seriously, everyone. Hats for seven in my family and three in our close friends' family. And she followed that up Christmas morning with hats for her daughter, my dear friend and colleague's, family of four, and I suspect the rest of her children and grandchildren as well.

Marguerite is an epic knitter. I'm on the far right in the photo above in a colorwork hat with a kitty cat motif around the brim. My Mom, below, has a similar motif on her hat.

Ellie has a hat and mitts.

And the gentlemen got stripes, like this.

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee once wrote, "“When confronted with a birthday in a week I will remember that a book can be a really good present, too.” Obviously, Marguerite laughs in the face of such kind, gentle advice and managed to knit a swarm of hats for this one Christmas. What a wonderful way to make people feel the love in your heart. I'm going to remember that for next Christmas.

New Year’s Knitting

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

I wanted to catch you all up on the knitting I have planned for the month of January. I've joined The Plucky Knitter WIP Wrangling KAL, the goal being to finish Plucky projects that were started before the new year during the month of January.

I started Olivia at the end of November, but promptly set her aside to get some final holiday knitting done. Fisherman's Rib has been slow going for me, but I really like its plump, cushy effect. I'm hoping to spend some quality time with Olivia and conquer the short row technique necessary to finish her off this month.

Because I'm like this as a knitter, I hit a Cast-On-All-The-Things streak the last two weeks in December and set up a number of other projects to include in the KAL:

I'm knitting a second Nevermind Hat in Plucky Snug. This one is for me.

Vodka Lemonade is a sweater I've wanted to do forever. I've cast on in Plucky Crew — a cotton/merino blend. Although there is about zero chance I'll finish this in January, I'm hoping to get a good start.

I'm in love with Paddle Mitts and am doing mine in Plucky Scholar. The stripes on the hands will be in a different weight Plucky yarn, but I'm optimistic that it will all work out.

Some of my precious Plucky cashmere is going to become a Lina Hat. I'm not overjoyed with my cable cast on, but I've decided to assess it tomorrow and rip it out for a fresh start if it sucks as bad as I think it does seems to need a little help.

Wish me luck, ok? January is always a busy month at work for me, so this may be my knitting for several months, rather than just January. I'm really happy to have it all on my needles and ready to carry with me for delays and lines.

Finally, a sad note to the start of the year. Longtime blog readers (that would be you, Mom), know that we have four cats. Our beloved black cat Squirt, the oldest of our cats, passed away peacefully but suddenly. I'm going to miss his affectionate nature and loving support for my knitting — he enjoyed the holidays and was especially fond of having me sit on the couch for hours at a time and bat balls of yarn around for his pleasure. I'm going to miss him a lot, but am really glad he sat for one last family photo shoot a couple of weeks ago.

Yarn Things That Are Happening In My House Today

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

Although I need to clean up for New Year's Eve company and make myself presentable, there is a lot of knitting/fiber related activity in my house at the moment. It's a good summation of my knitting year, covering all of the bases.

There is blocking. More on this one to come as soon as it's dry. Suffice it to say, it's lovely and I'm very pleased with it, although a bit nervous about how the superwash collar seems to be growing exponentially as it blocks.

There is also (successful) swatching. Dead on gauge. It's a Christmas miracle.

And finally, there is dyeing. Wow, that's very pink isn't it! It's the first dye bath in a three step process, so look for the final result later this week.

Whatever you are up to today, I hope you have a happy yarn/knitting/fiber-ful New Year's Eve and on into the New Year! Happy 2015.

What Did You Knit This Year?

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

[Click on the photo collage to see the larger version]

This is my knitting year in review, or at least most of it.

2014 was a really good year for knitting in my house, likely because our Iceland trip spawned the need for lots of warm things early on and once my hat and cowl mojo got into gear, it never left me. It was also the year I conquered lace, starting with Pale Pink Shells, knit during the Olympics, and continuing onto Rainbow Fish and Lida. I started Lida during a trip to South Carolina in May and didn't finish her until September. She became my constant companion, knitting a row here and there in the carpool line or the doctor's office, and I love wearing her as much as I loved knitting her. I also knit a Citron, the oldest unknit pattern in my queue, from my favorite yarn of all time, Elliebelly Moth and Goat, a silk/cashmere blend that I dyed into a sunshine-y color, just when I needed some sunshine in my life.

Speaking of favorite yarns, late in the year I discovered The Plucky Knitter's yarns and fell in love. Some people got up early to shop on Black Friday. I sat in front of my computer and bought Plucky. Lots of it. My first project was a Nevermind hat in the Plucky bulky cashmere blend called Snug. My second project, which I only speak of with great difficulty, was a pair of beautiful merino mitts that were almost done when I stupidly left them in the Atlanta airport, never to be seen again. I've got an Olivia shawl in the works in a worsted Plucky yarn and plan to cast on several more projects this week to get me through January and February in Plucky yarn. Because I am in love. Plucky has great yarn, beautiful colors and the most incredible customer service.

2014 has been a great knitting year. Looking at my collage, I've decided I need to up my photography game in 2015, so my poor knitting models darling children can all have that to look forward to. 2015 will be a year filled with cashmere, sweaters, happy knitting, and it will, of course, be the year I start my Christmas knitting early. I'm starting in January this year. Really.

Hanukkah, Knitting and Elliebelly Yarn

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

What would the first night of Hannukah be without gifts? Specifically, yarn. Because what else does a knitter want for the holidays?

Every Tuesday on the Elliebelly knitting group on Ravelry, we post on our Take A Picture Tuesday thread and share what we're working on. All projects are welcome, no matter what yarn you're knitting with. Since the first night of Hanukkah this year coincides with our Take a Picture Tuesday thread, this week, I will do a few random drawings to send Yarny Hanukkah gifts to posters next Tuesday.

So come post your works in progress or even your works on hold. Post a picture of yarn you haven't cast on yet and what you're thinking about knitting with it. Or post your recent swatching.

The holidays give us a chance to be our best selves and knitting is definitely a part of that for me. Invite your friends to our party and post up all the Yarny goodness for inspiration, motivation and just plain fun. We can't have dreidles and latkes on line, but there will be yarn!

Bad Things Happen When I Go Away

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

I should have known it was going to be a bad trip, right? For openers, within minutes of my getting on the first plane, husband sends a series of photos that demonstrate that my months of careful training of the puppy are all going out the window. Immediately.

He taunted me with photos all week: dog on table, dog on bed, dog in the trash. I should have known it was going to be a really bad week. And it was, at least in a knitting way, because this is the last photo we're every going to see of my Ferryboat Mitts, knit in my beloved Plucky Knitter Trusty yarn in Corduroy.

I finished the first mitt and started on the second the night before I left, hence the fabulously bad hotel room lighting photo. But they were lovely. I couldn't stop trying them on in progress.

(Airplane lighting, even worse than hotel room lighting).

I answered a work-related call in the Atlanta airport as my flight home was boarding. Typically, I would have had better sense than to combine those two, but it was an important call. By the time I sat down on the plane, I realized I didn't have my knitting. A kind stewardess told me I had time to run back and get it. The gate agent wouldn't let me off, but said she would go get it. Predictably, she came back 30 seconds later, telling me it wasn't there and that I had to get on the plane.

Despite the efforts of some kind Ravelers and other friends to track it down, my knitting is nowhere to be found. So RIP wonderful mitts that would have kept me warm, along with my favorite copper stitch markers. Somewhere around gate T3 in the Atlanta airport, my knitting is cold and lonely. I feel sure it misses me. And I feel really sad.

Knit This Now! Plucky Yarn, Fingerless Mitts, And Me

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

Every time I knit a pair of fingerless knits, they magically get adopted by another member of my family. I'm the only one around who is ungloved. But this time, I'm knitting just for me!

This is Churchmouse Fingerless Mitts in The Plucky Knitter Trusty. The yarn is a pleasure to knit with and the color is fabulous. I'm liking these so much that I'm hoping I have enough leftover to do a striped pair with this yarn and the yarn from my Betsy Blue Mitts.

This pattern is so simple and so functional. You could probably manage it with any skein of sport, dk or worsted yarn. It's quick. It would make anyone happy. Knitters everywhere should stop what they are doing and cast this pattern on. It's just that happy of a knit!