Knitting – Page 19 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

Two Knits in Need of Blocking

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

I finished two long-running knits this week, and although they aren't blocked yet, I couldn't wait to share them.

First up is my Lida linen shawl, which is going to be insanely beautiful once it is blocked out. This took me forever, but between carefully blocking out the pattern (which was a bit confusing) and using stitch markers to keep the repeats marked off, it got easier and easier and was a truly enjoyable knit.

I've also finished the Antler sweater, which needs buttons sewn on after a good blocking. I have some sweet little wood buttons and can't wait for this to be complete.

The sweater will be easy enough to block because it's small, but the shawl is so large that it won't fit on even my large folding blocking board. I'm going to scavenge some of those foam pieces the kids use and see if I can use them to extend it enough, because Lida is going to require some serious blocking.

No More Knitting Blues

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

My knitting blues, which set in when I ran out of yarn about 7/8th of the way through these fingerless mitts, is gone! The knitting gods smiled upon me. Although the replacement yarn I was able to find was not precisely the same dk weight as the yarn I started out with, it was close enough. And the color match when I dyed it was excellent!

Although my boxer puppy, Fig, is transfixed by them (she repeatedly tried to run off with the yarn, a finished mitt, or the entire work in progress), once they are blocked, they are going onto the hands of my youngest son, who seems equally delighted with them.

I can't say enough good things about this simple, versatile pattern. In a knitting emergency, you could knock out a pair in an evening, making them perfect for last minute Christmas knitting.

My Shetland Lace Shawl

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

It's a miracle! My Shetland Lace Shawl is done and I am in love.

So in love that I'm going to wrap it around my neck and never take it off.

It even looked pretty while it was being blocked, a chore I usually dislike, but one that was a pleasure here because of, well, just look at it!

As an added bonus, it was a fabulous accent for my Game of Thrones temporary tattoo for Halloween.

Thank you Malabrigo! I love your Silky Merino yarn, I love your skillful dyeing. It's hard to pick a favorite yarn, but for me, this one is surely close to the top of the list.

What Travels With Me?

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

I'll give you a hint. It's knitting.

Although my carry on bag also includes whatever work needs to be accomplished on the flight, my knitting is always in there as well. It's a real lifesaver for long flight delays or unscheduled overnight stops! And since I'm a somewhat nervous flyer, it's also great for distraction during bumpy landings.

The current carry on knitting is my Lida lace shawl.

Slightly Obsessed With Blue

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

I am utterly in love with and obsessed with blue knitting at the moment. I suppose this is a good thing, having just gone through a spate of dyeing everything I could get my hands on blue.

The Betsy Blue superwash merino I posted about earlier this week is now on the way to becoming a pair of Basic Fingerless Mitts. I love the pattern and this yarn, Wool2dye4's DK Weight Superwash Merino, is perfect for it. I've not dyed it before but had a skein that had been sent as part of a trade and am impressed with both the pattern and the yarn.

And still more blue. Recently, I've discovered the fabulous indie dyer who makes Plucky Yarns. I love her yarn with all of its beautiful, subtle colors. And when she offered blues for sale this morning, well, I was forced to order one of her lovely cashmerino blends in….blue. (Yes, I know. I dye yarn. I dye blue yarn. I have lots of yarn on hand and lots of it is blue, but there is just something about Plucky Wool and her beautiful BLUE colorways that meant I couldn't help myself).

And lastly, this yarn for blue.

I do realize that it is pink at the moment. Honestly I do. But I was so taken with my friend Helen's yarn, (overdyeing discussed in the last post) that I've purchased this lot to dye for myself. The content of Helen's yarn was very different, with a lot of silk in it, so I'm not expecting the result here to be quite as intense, but, well, it will be blue. And right now, that seems to be all it takes to make me very happy.

My Shetland Lace Shawl and the Virtue of Alternating Multiple Skeins When Knitting with Malabrigo

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

When last we visited my Shetland Lace Shawl, I had just realized that I should have been alternating skeins as I knit, because they were clearly different. I immediately commenced a program of switching skeins every four rows. The tip of the scarf definitely has a more "mustardy" appearance than the rest, but I'm hoping that it won't be obvious — at least not to anyone other than me.

Um, it's pretty obvious. I know this, but I keep hoping it will go away. Worst case, I will resort to a gentle overdye to try and unify the colors.

One tip: had I wound all of the skeins into balls before I began, I think I would have been forced to confront reality. In the future (and I've got a red Malabrigo sweater about to come up in my queue), I'm going to wind everything in advance and try to avoid convincing myself it will be okay. You can see from the balls wound that this was never going to work out without alternating the skeins.

However, I'm eternally optimistic, and this project is no exception. I pulled it out of my bag at brunch this morning for knitting show and tell with my Mom, and everyone around us ooh'd and ah'd. Perhaps I caught the problem early enough and it will all work out after all. It is definitely lovely up close!

What Was I Thinking
Subtitle: This Skeins Don’t Match

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

In the whiskey-foxtrot-tango category of bad things I've done as a knitter, comes this unforgiveable mistake when knitting with hand-dyed yarn: not alternating skeins as you knit. I know better. After all, I dye yarn myself and understand that even with great care, handpainted skeins aren't going to be a perfect match. And Malabrigo Yarn, which I love as much as life itself for its beautiful colors, is notorious for throwing skeins that don't match, even in the same dyelot. Which is to say, anyone with an ounce of sense who is knitting with Malabrigo knows to swap skeins every few rows.

But, in my excitement at starting this project, I … forgot. This is Evelyn Clark's Shetland Triangle Lace Shawl, and I have been wanting to knit it for a long time. It's a simple lace pattern, knit in DK weight yarn and I chose the indescribably delicious Arco Iris colorway in Malabrigo's Silky Merino yarn. I had four skeins.

You can see right off in the picture that although it isn't horrible, the second skein down from the top has a lot more bright yellow in it than the rest of its cadre. So, you guessed it, that's the one I started knitting with.

Midway through the fourth repeat, I realized I hadn't changed out skeins. No problem, I told myself, those skeins really were well-matched, and I would be just fine. I would start alternating now. So I pulled out the next skein (as a well prepared knitter I had wound multiple skeins into balls so I could switch off carefully throughout the shawl) and beheld this incredible horror:

They don't even look like the same colorway. The one on the right, the skein I started out with, is not even in the same universe as the one of the left, which I am currently knitting from. Quel disaster!

Here I am, about four rows into the new skein (this photo has the truest colors of any of them — I do love Arco Iris). One could almost convince oneself that it was all going to be okay. That despite carelessness, just this one time, the knitting gods were smiling, and it would all work out.

However, I have learned that such hopes typically get smashed a couple of inches in. I haven't made a mistake like this in years, actually, in seven years, since this sweater, which I knit in 2007, showed a clear line between skeins. You can't see it well in this cleverly staged photo, but particularly in the back, there was a line of demarcation that was as clear as the Berlin Wall.

Already, my thoughts are turning to clever strategies like a gentle, unifying overdye to tone the different skeins into submission. I could, and probably should, frog this back to the first repeat and go forward in a more knitterly fashion. But I'm going to hold my breath and see what happens.