elliebelly – Page 19 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

Summer Knitting

Posted on July 4, 2016 by elliebelly

Usually, summer dampens my fervor for knitting a little bit. Once the mercury hits 90` and the humidity lobs on another 20 or so in feel, the idea of sitting beneath a pile of wool is less appealing. But, not true this year. Perhaps that's due to the fact that my two primary projects at the moment are both knit in linen, but I'm also looking forward to picking up my Summer Moon, knit from Merino, and finishing it, as soon as these two are finished.

Happy Fourth of July to the U.S. knitters among us and happy summer knitting to everyone!

I'm still playing yarn chicken with Mithril. My current plan is to finish out the sleeves with ball four and then use what is left to pick up the neckline and finish it. There is a little bit left in ball three so I can add some length, but I'd like to make this as long as possible and am hopeful there will be a bit left from ball four as well. The silk linen blend is beautiful and I really love the pattern. I might knit the neckline a bit less generously if I were to do it again, but it's a simple pattern, perfect for a first sweater. The stockinette never gets boring, as you're always looking forward to the next cable and watching that pattern grow.

This is Jamie Thomas's Vested Interest, knit in Quince Kestrel. I've just started in on it. If you're coveting all of the beautiful Eileen Fisher summer linen knits, this is a great pattern for you. And it's the ultimate in public knitting projects — all stockinette with two very simple armholes. I'm reserving this one for knitting with friends. One quick note if you decide to knit it — grab an extra skein or two. I started out with four skeins per the pattern, but picked up two extra, which I will clearly need, along with a third for insurance. Kestrel is reasonable priced, so even with the additional skeins, this is still a moderately priced project.

Random Pretty Yarn

Posted on June 28, 2016 by elliebelly

Here are a couple of random pretties to brighten up the middle of your week.

This is "Bliss" — the palest of my pinks, ready for a little color work adventure.

It's mate, "Mahogany" is my favorite brown of all time. Just enough gray. Just enough brown. Definitely not boring. I want to knit a bulky sweater out of this color for winter and hibernate in it!

"Margaery" is one of my all time favorite colors, but I'm not a good enough photographer to capture its rich turquoise tones. The photo above is on a silk/cashmere blend, so it's slightly more muted than its Blue Faced Leicester cousin, below. Although there is some variation in this (and all hand dyed yarns), depending on the precise blend of fibers used, these two are actually quite close in real life, and somewhere in between the two photos. Getting a good picture of Margaery is my knitting holy grail at the moment.

Today’s Episode Of Yarn Chicken

Posted on June 25, 2016 by elliebelly

Today in Yarn Chicken, we learn that dyers have no one but themselves to blame when they run short on yarn. #AngryYarnChicken

Although I technically dyed enough yarn for this sweater, as a loose knitter, I know that I always take slightly more yarn than a pattern calls for. But I persist in willful ignorance of this fact. So, I knit the first sleeve in an effort to figure out how much yarn I would need to reserve for the second sleeve. Now, I’m finishing out the third ball of yarn on the body. I’ll use the fourth ball to knit the neckline, before knitting the second sleeve. Any leftover yarn will go to lengthening the body.

There will be a lot of prayer on that fourth ball of yarn. I did dye up a bit of extra yarn, but true confessions, the four initial skeins were so perfectly matched that I have not alternated. I don’t believe the newly dyed skeins are a perfect match to the earlier batch. Worst case, I will use them on the sleeve ends where I am planning on altering the pattern and doing some ribbing.

I have fallen in love with this new tool/accessory. It is something I found on Etsy and had not seen before. Since I travel frequently with my knitting, I often have problems, particularly when knitting with double pointed needles, with stitches falling off of a project that is hastily put back in a tote bag. This little cover, which snaps over the needles has put an end to that problem. I purchased it from Pokdej, a seller located in Canada, and received my order very quickly. I have no connection with the seller, but liked this little item so much, I wanted to share it with others who may have experienced similar problems with stitches sliding off of needles.

Sent from my iPhone

Sleeves

Posted on June 23, 2016 by elliebelly

I am weirdly sticking my arm through the neck hole of my Mithril sweater to try on the sleeve for length. I’m convinced tape measures lie and this careful effort to try the sleeve on without dislodging the needles will give me the precise fit I’m looking for.

I knew from the outset I would be playing yarn chicken on this one. I’ve got to save enough yarn for the picked up neckline, so I’m going to do the sleeves and then get as much length as I can on the body, leaving an ounce or so of yarn to cast off and do the neck.

I adore the cable down the front. It’s so simple and understated, and it also gives you something to look forward to every few rows as you’re knitting.

The Protector Of My Yarn

Posted on June 19, 2016 by elliebelly

I am so fortunate to have this wonderful protector for my knitting. It never fails. If I leave it to get up for even just a minute, Harry shows up in yarn cat protector mode.

My Knitting Weekend

Posted on June 18, 2016December 19, 2016 by elliebelly

This weekend, I'm dyeing some yarn. That's "Blossom," the palest pink that I dye.

I'm knitting away on Mithril whenever I get a few free moments.

My doggies are showing their support by sleeping a lot. That's Trouble and Miss Fig, the Boxer.

I finally got a good picture of the beautiful Ivette Cardigan my wonderful friend Rita knit for me. We've known each other since we were pregnant with our now 17 year old daughters, and she is one of my knitting heroes. She knit Ivette in Elliebelly Angel Fingering. It's a blend of Alpaca, Silk, and Cashmere, and I wanted to see how it would knit up for a sweater. Other than having to use sharp point needles to avoid any issues with splitting, she seems to have had a great time knitting it, and it's stunningly gorgeous. I have cleverly blocked it out a little bit so that it's really too large for anyone other than me to wear.

In other knitting news, I managed a quick hour at In The Making, my local yarn shop, to try and pick out buttons for Lake Effect.

While there, I got to visit with Jamie Thomas, who writes really beautiful, wearable patterns. Her newest pattern, Vested Interest, is knit in Quince's aran weight Linen ribbon yarn, Kestrel. It's the perfect, light weight summer piece. I sat in the shop and knit for a few minutes while I pretended to deliberate, but I knew I had to buy the pattern and the yarn on the spot. I'm looking forward to casting on when I finish Mithril. Isn't the yarn gorgeous?

A Little Yarn Pørn In The Making

Posted on June 17, 2016 by elliebelly

I was excited to get some time with Amy of Amy P. Photography recently. Amy is a local photographer with a fun, laid back, easy to talk to style. Although she specializes in babies, weddings, and all sorts of sweet, timeless photos, she also does some product photography. We decided to try a session with yarn and knits to see how it would work out.

I had no idea you could have so much fun watching someone take pictures!

We went through a large bin of yarn and two baskets of knits. Plus some sweaters.

Amy seemed to intuitively grasp the vibe I wanted.

And, I really enjoyed watching how she put items together. She has that knack for piling a few things together and having them look perfect.

By the end of our shoot, I was incredibly sorry my children are all too grown for baby pictures.

Now it's all on me to learn some new skills and make the Elliebelly Dye Works website match the new look on the Blog. And most importantly, I'm hoping to put to use the experience I've gained from my experimentation with dyeing and knitting with the yarn I've dyed over the last few years to share some insight into the selection of yarn and patterns that work well together. It's a slow work in progress, but I'm so glad to have started down that path. I think as knitters, we all want to share the knowledge we have to help others — it's one of the best parts of being a knitter. I'm so happy I'll have Amy's wonderful photos to help illustrate what I've learned!