Knitting – Page 28 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

Casting On: Ollie’s Crayon Ragman Sweater

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

The Elliebelly Knit Along starts today, and I'm on top of it.

is going to become this sweater, Donna Higgins Ragman.

I'm off to a good start.

A very bad swatch indicated I would get gauge on size 9 needles (I've knit with this yarn before so I knew that and was too lazy to do more than just quickly confirm it.)

57 stitches, casted on using the long tail method.

And, on to the set up row for the raglan increases, followed by the insertion of pretty yarn jewelry (stitch markers).

The only hitch in the process involved our large black cat, squirt, who became enamoured with the "new toy" Mom got him, and suddenly wandered off with the ball of yarn, trailing my needles behind him.

He was very disappointed when I took it back. Poor kitty!

Getting Ready For The Elliebelly Knit Along: A Post In Which I Expand My Choices Instead Of Making A Decision

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

I have a number of favorite patterns and potential choices for the Elliebelly Knit Along, which starts Saturday so I'm getting to the point where I really, really, really need to make a decision here. I hope you'll consider signing up and knitting along with me! You can knit any pattern of your choice in any Elliebelly yarn, with lots of fun along the way. Sign up here.

Instead of deciding from among the patterns I looked at a few days ago, I have a couple more possibilities to add to my list.

I adore Karin's Simple Ribbed Cowl pattern. I can't help but think it would be wonderfully warming on a cold winter's day, and I do have just enough bulky Cashmere to knit this one, although I would have to do some quick dyeing as it is still in its natural state. (This is actually not much of a disincentive, because I love dyeing and I love dyeing Cashmere).

Then there is Pinkobbit's shrug. She used the Shrug This pattern, which uses just 153 yards of an aran weight wool. I could probably get gauge double stranding some of my Eco Alpaca.

I also think the black and white colorway Pinkobbit used is fantastic, and it occurs to me something like that, or yarn dyed in my Urban Myth colorway would be nice for this pattern.

We are coming up on decision time here, and I don't seem to be any closer. I'm still eyeing the Sea Three (Seacell and Silk) as the yarn I would most like to dye with. But I haven't hit the perfect pattern for it yet, and the patterns I have found are so tempting, that I suspect a number of them are going to hit my needles between now and the end of the year.

Hopefully a few of you are doing a better job than I am of deciding what to knit. Remember to go ahead and sign up officially once you make your decision.

I’m Not Going To Make It!

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

It has become abundantly clear to me the last few days that I am not going to finish Tiny Tea Leaves in time for the start of the Elliebelly Knit Along this Saturday. I have at least another 8" of stockinette to go on the body before I'm ready to do the sleeves and finish the button bands.

I had hoped to finish it before starting my next project, but that is a LOT of stockinette. As in miles and miles of stockinette, with several hundred stitches on my needles.

In its favor, though, I have to say this sweater is adorable. Being able to try it on her in progress is definitely a big plus and I love the way the simple yoke pattern looks.

I'm going to knit this one a bit long to insure she can wear it for a couple of years!

Elliebelly Knit Along Announcement & Elliebelly Give Away (Merlin Merino)

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

We are closing in on the start of the first ever Elliebelly knit along, which will begin on Saturday, August 13.

If you haven't already, pick out a pattern! This is a free style knit along — you knit the pattern of your choice using any Elliebelly yarn. Along the way, we'll have fun, prizes, and knitting support. I'm looking forward to featuring everyone's knitting on the blog so we can all see each other's works in progress. What a great way to get some late-summer-anticipating-fall-knitting started!

Still wishing you had some Elliebelly in your stash? Here's a bit to help out. A quick giveaway to give faithful blog readers a quick chance. This is two skeins of Elliebelly's Classic Merlin Merino in "Fire Dragon." Merlin is a 3-ply merino and there are about 560 yards in the 8 ounces up for grabs here. Post in the comments, telling me what you will use this yarn to knit in the knit along and I'll pick a winner Sunday night, so get your posts in quickly!

Ellie’s Tiny Tea Leaves Knit Cardigan

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

Here is the start of Tiny Tea Leaves.

It just couldn't be any cuter. I'm knitting this sweater, which is meant to be Ellie's fall cardigan, in Madeline Tosh's Vintage hand-dyed superwash Merino yarn. The pattern starts at the yoke, and is knit all in one with raglan sleeves.

Progress on this one is going to be slow, but it's so much fun to knit I'm going to have to make time for it. There are lots of beautiful examples of this sweater on Ravelry if you want to see it knit up without waiting for me.

P.S. – Make sure you check back in over the holiday weekend as I'll be posting a giveaway for some hand-dyed Elliebelly organic Merino yarn.

A Quick Note — A New Knitting Blog You Should Be Reading

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

I just discovered Assemblage, the coolest little knitting blog I've seen in a long time. The author seems to be an Australian knitter who draws much of her inspiration from a Japanese aesthetic. A fabulous scarf knit from Habu's silk wrapped stainless steel yarn caught my eye, and I couldn't stop browsing. If you want a little bit of eye candy for the holiday weekend, I think this is just the thing!

Yarns I’m Dyeing To Knit With

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

I am dyeing and dying to knit with the follow yarns:

A new sport weight 65% Cashmere/35% Merino blend yarn I happened upon and grabbed a pound of to experiment with. I am insanely crazy about the first two test skeins I dyed.

I am thinking that I will use one skein for Mary-Heather Cogar's Simple Things scarf.

I am seriously thinking about devoting the second skein to the Eleanor Cowl from Knitty. I am hoping this yarn will live up to my expectations when I knit with it. I love the blend. I'm also considering doing a larger version of Simple Things, alternating knitting with both skeins.

Elliebelly Merlin Merino — an experiment, since I don't often work with predominately orange colorways, but wanted one with just hints of green and purple mixed in with the hot colors. I'm exceedingly happy with this as-yet unnamed colorway.

I haven't made a final decision about what to use this yarn for, so I would welcome any ideas you might have for it! I am giving serious consideration to Regina Satta's Thanks Socks pattern, which would have the added benefit of letting me practice my rusty German, since it is written in both English and German. It's a free knitting pattern on Ravelry and although I would have to monkey with the sizing since my yarn is a slightly heavier weight, I think it would look great in this pattern.

What yarns are you dying (or dyeing) to knit with right now? It's summer, if you're in the south like I am, it's incredibly hot. Little, light weight projects like these are irresistable for this time of year. What do you have in the works?

[If you are looking for the Playsilk Blog Give Away, make sure you scroll down to the next post. And yes, all photos from others are used with their permission.]