I really shouldn’t. I have plenty of other projects on my needles. I have a sweater to finish this week. And shawls. But, it’s such a pretty pattern. I have the perfect yarn in my stash. I really shouldn’t. Cashmere. I can’t help myself.
Cast on.
[That’s The Plucky Knitters new Silver Spoons pattern in Bedrock Cashmere Aran]
And, don’t forget to look back through this week’s earlier posts for the KAL yarn giveaway. I’m traveling this week, so it will stay open through Friday.
[If you are looking for this week's yarn giveaway for the Adventurous April Knitalong, the post is here. Sign ups for the KAL are here. Come knit with us!]
There is something very special about handspun yarn. I can't do it nicely myself, but I love how it looks. So you can imagine how happy I was when I sent some roving off and got this incredibly beautiful yarn back.
It's hard to believe that this beautiful yarn started life as roving that I was worried about. I thought it looked better in my head than on the actual roving after dyeing. But spinning is one of those amazing processes that turns something a bit awkward and uneven into something extraordinary. It's that whole spinning wheat into gold thing.
I'm searching for just the right project — not at all sure of what this yarn wants to become. Any suggestions?
[If you are looking for this week's yarn giveaway for the Adventurous April Knitalong, the post is here. Sign ups for the KAL are here. Come knit with us!]
Today's post is about a hat. A special hat.
© elliebelly: Knit in The Plucky Knitter's Sweater in the Antiqued Colorway
This hat is Faiza/HandSoOn's newest pattern, Pile Ou Face. It's knit at a DK weight and is a pleasure to wear. It was fun to knit too! Here is Faiza's description, "[t]he 3/1 ribbing (the brim) is subtly unusual, punctuated by an eyelets line. A ribbed stripe runs diagonally through the body of the hat, separating stockinette and reverse stockinette and providing a little twist as well as many options for wearing the hat."
I love both the stockinette and reverse stockinette side of the hat, and it was fun to figure out what Faiza was doing early on, as I test knit this hat without a photo to work from. A few rounds in, I realized she was making a little band of ribbing that would traverse the hat on a diagonal. Very, very clever. I haven't seen anything like this, and really appreciate her ingenuity.
Faiza is a French knitter, and this hat was her distraction from the terrorist attacks that took place in her neighborhood late in 2015. Go grab the pattern today and knit it! It's the perfect hat for early spring dog walks and hikes.
If you're knitting along with us for the annual Elliebelly Adventurous April Knit Along (info and sign ups here — if you miss out on knitting with us, you will definitely regret it), you know we're spending March clearing our needles and preparing for the KAL. Part of that prep is stash acquisition. Last week's giveaways were two skeins inspired by commenters choice of colorways. I picked two to dye, Retro Kitchen and Alphabet Block. The yarn is on it's way to the recipients and I hope they has as much fun knitting with it as I had dyeing it!
This week, the giveaway is all about Elliebelly's BFL Constant sock. This is a relatively new yarn that has proven its worth for everything from socks to sweaters. It's a blend of British Blue Faced Leicester wool and nylon. And it's very pretty. I've got two skeins to give away this week, and it will be a random drawing. To be eligible, all you need to do is sign up for the KAL and comment below on what you're doing to get ready. Are you finishing projects to free up your needles, swatching, or just day dreaming? Share what you're doing and win a skein of Elliebelly BFL Constant.
The Variegated yarn is Secour and the blue — much to my disgust I seem to be unable to get decent photos of any dye mixed with turquoise — is one of the old time, classic Elliebelly colorways, blue eggs. It's a rich, translucent, variegated blue. Bonus points to whoever wins it if they can get a good photo! If you have a preference for one yarn or the other, let me know that too in your comment and I'll try to accommodate.
First yarn giveaway goes to Lindsey C., Alphabet Block. As soon as I saw her comment, I knew it was the yarn I couldn't resist dyeing right away. That's Alphabet block on Elliebelly's high twist Merino, Cashmere, Nylon blend fingering weight yarn.
Stick around. The fun isn't over. The Adventurous April KAL doesn't start until April 1 and there will be plenty of other chances to win some Elliebelly yarn if you are signed up for it.
In fact, after reading through all of the comments, I had to go back and dye a second prize winner skein. This one is in Retro Kitchen, another one of my favorite colorways, and one that I haven't dyed in what feels like forever. It's still cooling, so no photos yet. Although several people mentioned Retro Kitchen, Angela was the first, so there is a skein for her, on Elliebelly Juliet 3-Ply Sock. Angela and Lindsey, send me a pm on Ravelry with your address, and I'll send your yarn on the way!
It was so much fun to see everyone's choices in the comments. I felt like I was hearing about friends I hadn't seen for awhile. Dye all the colorways needs to be a thing! If I could find time, I would dye them all from start to finish. It was great to see people mention colorways I haven't dyed in a very long time; Water Lily, Cherry Sundae, Siobahn's Rainbow, Copper Patina, German Wheel, and Pellucidly to name a few. They are all yarns I would like to dye and knit with!
I especially loved Marla's comment, "The BFL Constant base in any colour, just want sox in that yarn." I couldn't agree more. There is something about this yarn that I really, really like. It will definitely show up in one of the next few giveaways. Make sure you check back in frequently, as I'll be putting up more giveaways so everyone can get ready for the Knit Along. And, if you haven't joined yet, this year, we've got multiple sock patterns picked out for an April 1 start. Everyone is welcome to knit with us and you can use any yarn you choose, Elliebelly or not, so please come take a look and consider being part of the KAL!
[If you are looking for the Adventurous April KAL/Yarn giveaway post, click here.]
It seemed like forever but it was really just a couple of weeks, knit on and off with other projects.
And now I have a sleeve. But just one. We all know how that goes. The second sleeve is always fraught with peril: will it match, will you run out of yarn, will you succumb to the boredom of knitting exactly the same thing a second time? I don't find second sleeve syndrome to be quite as much of a thing as second sock syndrome, but I know all the risks.
I am a slow knitter, but I am optimistic. I have a hat I want to finish, but then I'm going to focus all of my energy on this second sleeve. I'm going to knit it in planes, trains and automobiles. It's going to match — I hope. And I'm not going to run out, because a kind friend sent me a couple of extra skeins of yarn, the cables in this thing positively eat yarn. (but see, will it match). I hope to be in position to swear under my breath while I seam this whole thing together in just a couple of weeks. We've got a cold weather trip to look at colleges with our delightful children planned, and I want to wear Glacier all along the way. Fingers crossed!
It may be a little bit early to put your pants on, but the Elliebelly Adventurous April KAL is on! And, it's not too early to clear your needles, pick your pattern and acquire your yarn (more on that below).
To rehash the basics, we start on April 1, you can knit with any yarn brand (but I'll have a number of opportunities over the next few weeks to score some Elliebelly), and you don't have to finish by the end of April. We knit together for the fun and the friendship.
Sign ups for the KAL are in the Elliebelly group on Ravelry. You need to be a member of the group and signed up for the KAL to be eligible to win any of the yarn giveaways (more on that below), but it's easy to sign up and we'll never spam you or share your info around on the internet, because we're not like that. So go here to join the Elliebelly group on Ravelry if you aren't already a member, and then let us know you'll be participating in the KAL in this thread.
This year we are knitting socks, and there are four categories, a simple sock, Zigzagular, Rye, and a category for people who want to knit a sock pattern of their own choosing. It wouldn't be Adventurous April without a little bit of anarchy!
And, the first giveaway! The sock patterns we are knitting will work with both variegated and solid/semi-solid Elliebelly colorways. What are your favorites? Perhaps an older colorway that hasn't been seen for a long time? What would you really like to knit with in the KAL? Leave your pick in the comments below by Friday, and I'll select one to dye, just for you. (Remember, you need to be signed up for the KAL to win).
If you're new to Elliebelly, what are some options for seeing the colorways? Go to the Elliebelly Yarn page on Ravelry and look around. Or, you can click here and see all the Elliebelly that is stashed on Ravelry. Although it's important to remember that colorways will look different on different bases, this should give you some ideas. And if you really want to go down the wormhole, you can go the Elliebelly website and type "dyeing" into the search box at the top of the page. This will let you scroll back through my many posts about dyeing over the years.
I'm looking forward to you ideas about colorways and your comments. So come on and sign up for the KAL! It's (almost) Adventure Time!