Category: Knitting

Yesterday, my knitting took a rapid change in direction when I took a few minutes to cast on my Maya Shawl for the KAL.  The yarn is Elliebelly’s Silk Basilisk and it’s one of those lovely yarns with the perfect amount of silk in it to make knitting a joy.  I couldn’t put it down once I started and have used up almost the entire first ball of yarn.

 

The KAL project I had been focusing on was my Ceramic Flowers Cowl (also in a part silk yarn, Pussy Willow.  Sensing a theme here?)  I’m in love with this project too.  It’s going to be a fight to see who gets the most attention over the weekend!  If you haven’t joined us yet, there’s still plenty of time to get involved in the Elliebelly Annual Adventurous April Knit Along, so please check out the threads and jump right in. Fun and prizes.  You won’t be sorry!

I’m continuing to try and add new yarn to the shop every day.  I photo each batch as I list it so that you always know what the yarn you’re buying is going to look like.  Although I’m not doing custom orders, feel free to contact me if there’s a particular yarn or colorway you’d like to see in the shop and I’ll try to include it in my dyeing rotation.  There are a lot of new treats in the shop this week, like Nomad in Smitten 120, my new Yak/Silk/Merino base and Vintage Silver on Pussy Willow. If you want to join the KAL but are tight on time, pick up a single skein of Talia Bulky Merino and join us in knitting the Mirren Hat.  Mirren is getting rave reviews from everyone who knits it and Talia, and the other Elliebelly bulky yarns, are a perfect match for this pattern.

 

 

Finally, a few shots from my garden this morning.  Japanese Iris, Catnip, and some Cilantro that has gone to seed.  If my garden is any guide, and it’s usually a pretty good one, there will be lots of delicate blue-purples and pale lavender shades in my dye pots this week.  Something to look forward to!  Happy end of Passover, early Easter, and happy weekend and knitting to everyone!

It can be hard to find just the right pattern for sport weight yarn, so when I saw Schwarm earlier this week, it immediately jumped into my “what to knit next” shortlist.  I love the texture, and in a sport weight, I can consider knitting a summer linen version later on, but I want something warm enough for chilly spring nights right now.

My choice for knitting it is Elliebelly’s Alpaca Silk Sport, although I’m not sure what colorway I’ll use yet.  Interested in knitting one for yourself?  there are two pretty colorways in the Etsy Shop right now.

 

We’re under Tornado warnings, so I’m spending a lazy afternoon knitting orange cables. This is my Mirren Hat in progress, knit in Elliebelly Talia bulky merino in the 20th Century colorway.

The annual Elliebelly Knit Along has started, and although I haven’t had the chance to make a lot of progress yet, two of my projects are off to a slow but steady start.

First up, my Ceramic Flowers Cowl.

This is Vespers on Pussy Willow, such a pale, whisper of a yarn.  I can’t get over how perfectly it matches the project bag, so sorry to keep showing that off, but if I could, I would design a room around that fabric/color combo.  This project is going to be slow going as it’s 200+ stitches knit in the round.  I’m still on the garter stitch border, but hope the pace will pick up once I hit the lace patterning.  Until then, I’m enjoying the silky feel of this yarn and, did I mention, the color.

I’ve also cast on for Mirren, a bulky cabled hat.

I always say I’m not an orange person, until, suddenly, I see a skein in the 20th Century colorway, and fall in love all over again.  This is my kind of orange — not too Halloween, but definitely cheerful on a snowy day.  And subtle.  I love the variations in tone the layers of different orange undertones bring out in the final yarn. I love the pattern too — it’s well written and uses an innovative combination of a Twisted German and Traditional Long Tail  cast ons.  Love that I was forced to up my game and learn a new skill!

If you haven’t already joined the KAL, you’re welcome to do so at any time.  We’re located on the Elliebelly Ravelry Group and, of course, PRIZES!  I’ve just awarded the first set for successful cast ons.  Two participants will be receiving Elliebelly Tapas sets — 5 coordinating 20 gram skeins.  As if you need a reason to knit, come join us as we knit our way through April and give away a little yarn to boot.

Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words.

I’m packing for spring break.  It took me under 30 minutes to pack a week’s worth of clothes.  But the knitting, oh the knitting.  I’ve got two sweaters in progress that I’m taking (7 hours of flying each way, one is at a difficult stage for traveling, so I may not make a lot of progress on it).  The yellow yarn is to knit this cute little trivet for the cup of tea I keep next to my desk.  The gray/brown is for Paragon Socks.  I’m knitting them for the Elliebelly Adventurous April Knit Along (if you aren’t already knitting with us, browse around here to see all the patterns we are knitting this year and join us) and want to get my swatching done while we’re away.  My daughter was quick to point out she knew there was going to be a problem when my clothes went into the little daypack I use as a carry on and I pulled out a suitcase for my knitting.  Still waiting to be packed is yarn for a cowl I want to swatch for and possibly a hat as well.  This year, my approach to Adventurous April is going to be more “cast on all the things” than finish a project.  But I need to set a good example by swatching first, and spring break seems like just the right time.

In other exciting news, it really is spring in ‘Bama.  This means my herb garden is coming back and we’ll have more experiments with colors from my dyer’s garden starting in a few months.

Apparently, I’m not the only one who is happy about spring.

Many of you know that after 7.5 fabulous years, I’ve left my job in public service.  I’m taking a few months off before I start my new job and having a wonderful time continuing my commitment to some causes in my community like mentoring youth, fighting domestic violence, and developing community resources to fight addiction.  And I’m enjoying my new found time to knit in longer stretches than 5 minutes here and ten minutes there.  It’s amazing what one can accomplish with an hour to knit and sip a cup of tea!  Although my community work has kept me from putting all the bells and whistles I want to include in place on the website, we have opened shop on Etsy.  I’ve been slowly adding skeins here and there, and there is now yarn in all weights, roving, even a few sweater quantities in the shop.  Please stop by for a look.  You can join us in the Elliebelly Adventurous April Knit Along using any yarn of your choice, but this year, for the first year in a long time, you can knit with Elliebelly yarn, so I hope you will drop by for a look.

FInally, I want to just note that despite our busy lives and all the stress that they can impose on us sometimes, it’s important to take time to enjoy life’s little moments.  I had one of those when I dropped by my local bakery for coffee this morning, and saw that the cookie bakers had made quite a morning of it.

I hope you’ll find something to bring joy and color to your day, too!

I’m enjoying a lazy breakfast in NYC after finishing up some meetings. Returning to my roots and knitting with an Elliebelly Paintbrush colorway.

Yesterday’s flight to Denver gave me the chance to knit without interruption.

The Oakleaf chart I’m currently working on is the third in a series of four charts on the body of the Sjølingstadkofta sweater, and it runs for 60 rows. I’m now halfway there.

You can see the oakleaves shaping up now.

Although it  looks complex, it’s not a difficult knit at this point. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.