Knitting – Page 21 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

Lida. A Lace Shawl in Progress.

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

Lida makes my heart beat. I don't usually knit complex lace, but this pattern, by Bristol Ivy, was beyond my ability to resist.

I am not accomplished enough to knit this pattern while I'm talking, watching tv, or engaged in any other activity, so I haven't found a lot of time to work on my Lida. But I have been able to finish the set up rows and the first lace repeat. It is so lovely. I cannot wait until it is grown up into the perfect triangular shawl and it is mine, all mine, to wear.

One note about taking on this pattern if you are a newish knitter. It is very clear and well written, but it is written for a more advanced knitter and assumes you can internalize the lace pattern, which is set forth in one section of the pattern, into the appropriate place in the rows, which are set out separately. And, with each repeat of the pattern, you increase the number of lace pattern repeats you set inside of each row. If that sounds confusing, it's because I am definitely not one of those advanced knitters who does this intuitively. I have to think it through carefully. And, since I seem to be destined to knit a bit of this and then set it down for several days or even a week before picking it back up again, I wrote out a version of the row repeats with the lace pattern included in brackets within each row. If that sounds like something that might help you with this pattern, my notes are here.

I'm taking Lida along as my knitting project on a yoga retreat later this month. I don't have any illusion that this is going to be a quick knit, but I do want to try to work on her as I find time over the next few months. Some of my simpler projects get more attention, as they are perfect for carpool lines, airports and doctors offices, but Lida owns my knitting heart right now.

Knitting Nae. Part Two.

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

I'm a lot less nervous about knitting Nae than I was when I showed it to you last week.

You may recall that I was concerned, after the first few inches, that I had made a mistake in substituting a thick and thin handspun yarn for the tightly twisted fingering weight yarn the pattern was written for. And, I was also worried about the color placement.

Now that I'm 25% of the way in, I'm finding that the yarn and the colors are both working. I know this to be true because my 15 year old daughter, the intended recipient, is most pleased with it. And as those of you with daughters know, they tend to freely express their displeasure when something isn't to their liking — even daughters as nice as mine. So I'm relieved about the way it's working up and particularly happy about how the stitch pattern, which involves a 3" band of moss stitch across the top and a triangle of stockinette below looks when it is worked up in handspun.

It's organic, in a charming sort of way. You can envision it coming off the wheel of some centuries-ago Scottish Highlands knitter (well, except for the riotous colorway) and being knit into this comforting little pattern, a bit of warmth to throw around the shoulders and chase away the chill.

Unfortunately, these photos, which catch the stitch definition nicely, don't get the colors right. That is probably because I took them while we were sitting in the stadium for the local 4th of July baseball game. Thankfully, we were in the shade. But it didn't do much for the colorway, which is more accurately shown in the photo below, from the first post about Nae.

Nae is a quick knit, which is a good thing because I can't wait to see it finished. I'm hoping to work on it later in the month when we go on vacation. In the interests of full disclosure, I seem to have four or five projects, all of which I seem to have deluded myself into thinking I'll "find" time to finish while we're away. But Nae is first in line and I'm looking forward to it!

Nervously Knitting a Nae

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

Only three more days to be entered in our one-skein yarn Giveaway. Click Here, to be take to that post. Leave a comment by June 30 and be entered in the drawing!

There is no way the beautiful handspun from our last post was going to stay unknit in my stash for very long. Last night I cast on a Nae shawl.

Nae is an absolutely wonderful, and free, pattern. But in my haste to get to work with this yarn, I'm not sure I made a good pattern selection. Nae is written for a fingering weight yarn, like a Madeline Tosh. This yarn is heavier than fingering, more like a dk weight, but it is a thick and thin spun and it moves seductively back and forth between a heavy fingering and a light worsted weight. It's not going to give me the crisp, precise stitch definition that may be what Nae is all about as I look at it now.

A second problem I may have is color placement. Nae is essentially a big triangle. You start knitting in one corner, increasing until you hit its full length and then decreasing from the point of the triangle until you end in the opposite corner. As you can see from the yarn off the skein, I dyed the roving with a longer run of blue-purple, a shorter run of yellow-orange, and an abbreviated area of green where the colors mingle. At the start, with just a few stitches on the needle, I'm getting lengthwise stripes of color. As the number of stitches increase, I'm not quite certain what I'll get, and I'm not sure it's going to work. So at this point, my Nae is a question mark — will the fuzziness of the stitches or the way the colors play out or both doom this project to disaster?

EIther way I am already in love with this pattern and will be knitting a Nae. And the yarn is heavenly. It's soft and pretty and whether this is the perfect pattern for it or not, I'm sure there will be one out there. I am eternally optimistic, so I'm going to knit for a bit before making a decision. In the picture above, you can see the corner start of Nae, in blue-purple on the left. The top border of the shawl is a 3" deep border of moss stitch.

The stockinette triangle blooms out from beneath the moss stitch band (and is edged with a two-stitch garter border to avoid rolling) from in between the two stitch markers. It's difficult to see at the moment, but if you look carefully, you may see that I'm up to 5 stitches in between the two markers. Rather than increasing every other row per the pattern, I'm increasing on every fourth row for a looser shape and my plan is to increase to about 50 body stitches, or as long as the yarn holds out.

Finally, a word about the needles I'm knitting with. These are Darn Pretties from Dyak Craft, and I have no affiliation other than the fact that I seem to be tithing these days to the nice people who handcraft these needles in Vermont. The needles are made from a laminated birch product. I love knitting on them. Needles are a very personal choice. For me, these needles have just the right combination of slip and tooth. The yarn moves when I need it to, but never slips off the needle at inopportune moments. This is my fourth project on Darn Pretties and they have become my needles of choice. This particular pair is in the Hazelnut colorway. I was lucky enough to get a set of them from a Ravelry destash, and I do mean lucky because the waiting list to get your own custom made set runs north of eight months. I've been on the waiting list for "a few" needles since early this year, and can't wait for their arrival.

Keep your fingers crossed for my Nae and if you have any thoughts or suggestions about possible patterns for this yarn in case my Nae bombs, please leave them in the comments.

Still.Knitting.Citron.

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

If you've come here looking for the Yarn Giveaway, Click Here, to be take to that post. Leave a comment by June 30 and be entered in the drawing!

I am still knitting Citron. I started this incredibly simple pattern on April 15, but somehow or another, I'm still plugging away at it.

In my defense, I now have 400+ stitches on the needles, and I've managed several other projects while I've had Citron in the works. But it feels like I'm knitting in slow motion. During the final show of VEEP last weekend, I only completed three rows. I may be knitting Citron forever. The picture above, of Citron midway through the fifth section, doesn't really look as though it has progressed since I was in the middle of the third repeat. It must be a trick of the knitting.

It will be worth it in the end, though. It is so lightweight and airy! The color is so, well, lemony. My hope is to have this finished in time for Ellie's and my annual yoga retreat, so I can toss it around my shoulders at night when we go out for our last cup of tea. It feels like it will keep any chill away without adding any oppressive heat in summer. And it is undeniably chic.

So Citron can have her rows of 400+ stitches. I am resolute. I will finish her. I will wear her. I will be happy, chic, and sunshiney. I love you Citron and I'm going to conquer you!

In Defense of Single Skein Projects — Why We Knit

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

We can't all be the girl who knits incredibly intricate Estonian lace in her spare time, producing immaculate shawls of haunting beauty. And we shouldn't feel bad about it.

I love knitters who are accomplished and precise, and I enjoy celebrating their work. But that doesn't, and shouldn't, in any sense take away from the accomplishments of new knitters, intermittent knitters, or knitters without time for larger projects. There is virtue and integrity too in smaller, simpler, single skein projects.

My Redeux hat, pictured above, was a relentlessly simple knit that any beginner could finish in a day or two since it calls for a single skein of bulky yarn. It has given me an enormous amount of pleasure, to say nothing of the warmth it leant my husband during our trip to Iceland. It was easy, it was simple and it is red and beautiful. I value this hat as much as any project I've ever knit.

Similarly, this Rainbow Twist Cowl is easy enough to be the perfect first attempt at cables for a knitter who has never done them before. Plus, it has the advantage of color. Anything knit with Malabrigo's beautiful Arco Iris colorway is guaranteed to become a cherished favorite. Again, a quick simple knit that was infinitely satisfying and produced a remarkable result. I know this to be true because my teenage daughter stole it away as soon as it came off of my needles and will not return it. This must mean it is a thing of grace and beauty.

This is a basic ribbed knit hat, Rib-a-Roni, knit from a single skein with the addition of a few leftover scraps to form the stripes. This hat brought me such a feeling of accomplishment. I googled and mastered jogless stripes so that the joins look even. The ribbing was meditative. The recipient was ecstatic. He is still wearing it in summer.

We all know that as knitters, there is a tremedous amount of pressure to constantly innovate our craft. And I like that. Last year I picked up lacework for the first time and enjoyed the results. But there is a special virtue, and no shame in working with these easier, baby-bite sized kind of one-skein projects. They take skill too. We sometimes forget that to non-knitters, we all look like rocket scientists. Don't be afraid to turn off the pressure and enjoy a simple knit.

Random Saturday Musings

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

This morning started with a trip to the farmers' market, with plenty of time for knitting and coffee while we sat out a sudden burst of rain.

In the meantime, I'm happy to report that Harry, our Maine Coon Cat, is most appreciative of the window seat I had built to his custom specifications and is always happy to protectively snooze on any baskets of yarn that intrude into his space.

Despite it having nothing to do with knitting, we enjoyed seeing our ballerina perform last night. Her Pas de Deux was a thing of beauty and wonder. Whatever form your art takes, knitting, ballet, or something completely different, I hope you have a fabulous early spring weekend!

Knitting Update: Citron

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

Ever since the start of the Adventurous April Knitalongs I've been spending every minute I could manage knitting. So I've made good progress on each of my projects although I haven't been blogging.

The first project I want to share is Citron, with more to come later this week.

If you've never done a garter tab start to a shawl before, it can be a bit intimidating. You have to think about it right: to make the start look like a semi-circle, you will cast on a few stitches and knit for a few rows before picking up stitches along the edges to get your shawl off to the right start. Don't be afraid to stick your needle into any available space between the stitches as long as you're consistent. Doing several swatches to see what approach you like best is a life skill! I've made it through two repeats and am pleased with the colors and the drape, so on we go.

The yarn is Elliebelly Moth & Goat, a blend of silk and cashmere that has just the right drape for Citron. Although I didn't think about it in advance, the yellow color makes the shawl in progress look like a big slice of lemon!