Blog – Page 11 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

Definitely My Favorite Knit Hat

Posted on November 14, 2016December 19, 2016 by elliebelly

Mendota is definitely my favorite hat that I've ever knit. When I shared it with you Saturday, it was still in need of a good blocking, which it never actually got, because one of the kids has apparently run off with the glass head I use for blocking hats. Instead, I plopped it over a plastic tub I use for mixing dyes and steamed it, with the result that it has rather a ridge about two-thirds of the way up.

It doesn't really matter, though. And, I'm not even put off by the fact that the dog chewed on the pom pom some (my darling husband, who sat calmly by while she swiped it off the table muttered something about wolves liking sheep). I went ahead and used it anyhow. The color was too perfect.

The result is amazing. So perfect that I haven't seen it since we took these photos, because she won't give it back to me.

It's just a hat, right? But, sometimes a hat is more than just a hat. Sometimes a hat becomes your best friend. But I'm not going to know how that works with Mendota, unless I knit a second one for myself. And that's exactly what I plan to do!

Making A Mess In The Studio

Posted on November 13, 2016 by elliebelly

I need a creative day. One of those messy, carefree, just for fun days. So, I'm up early, mixing dyes and soaking yarn.

I'm always at my best when I'm playing. And, it seems like a good day for working with a gray I have been wanting to capture on yarn. Old jeans and a big apron are the attire of the day and I'm listening to the Hamilton Soundtrack. If you haven't, you really should. The music is catchy and the lyrics are clever. If you're anything like me, you'll find yourself inextricably drawn to rediscovering the history of the revolutionary era, reading biographies and thoroughly enjoying yourself. But I digress, back to knitting.

In addition to Elliebelly BFL Constant, which is the undyed yarn soaking above, I'm planning on dyeing some Rainey DK. Rainey is a yarn I started working with this summer as part of my ongoing search for the perfect linen blend. Rainey, which is a blend of linen, silk, and alpaca comes in both a fingering and a dk weight, and is a new favorite. You can read about a test knit project with Rainey here.

I also need to get labels on a bit of yarn I dyed last weekend. (If you look closely, you can see I was listening to Hamilton last weekend, too). If you haven't noticed the sign up box at the top of the right hand column on this page, I'm gearing up to reopen Elliebelly in January. More on that later, but for now, I'm working on dyeing and implementing some long planned changes on the Elliebelly Website. I hope you'll stay in touch and look forward to Elliebelly coming back as much as I am!

When You’re Really In Love With Your Knitting

Posted on November 12, 2016December 19, 2016 by elliebelly

I finished this hat last night. I was so in love with how soft it was, that I put it on immediately. And I couldn't take it off, even when I went to bed. It was that scrumptious.

Predictably, I woke up to a sadly crumpled hat. I'll give it a good steam blocking later this morning and share it with you. It's a bit sad at the moment.

Details:

Mendota Hat Pattern

The Plucky Knitter Groovy

And in other news, I'll be wearing one of these today.

About That Hat….

Posted on November 7, 2016 by elliebelly

The kit for this hat arrived last weekend as you may recall from this post, and I cast on Tuesday evening. And couldn't stop knitting, because the yarn is wonderful and, of course, the colors.

It's really the perfect hat. Even Miss Figg thinks so.

And, never one to let scraps go to waste, my daughter already has a project in the works for the tiny snips of leftovers.

The verdict: Sure this is a simple idea and you could put one of these together with your own scraps. But half the fun of this project was the kit, which arrived so beautifully put together. I had not knit with Blue Sky's Woolstok before and am so glad I did. It's a really nice yarn and the colors are beautiful. I'm sure I'll do another with my own scraps at some point, but I'm so glad I started with the kit.

What To Knit With Handspun Yarn?

Posted on November 6, 2016December 19, 2016 by elliebelly

It's amazing, right? You can just feel all of that softness jumping off the page.

This is some 100% angora, naturally produced and undyed yarn, that I ordered from Seidenhase.de. Seidenhase literally translates as silk bunny, and nothing could be more apt. This yarn is amazing.

I'm not sure what to knit with it yet (two skeins, approximately 235 meters/257 yards, so enough for some nice fingerless mitts or a hat). I'll likely hold the two skeins together to even them out, as they are a bit different in gauge, but look to be mostly a dk or light worsted weight. For now, I'm just going to pet these sweet little skeins and wait for inspiration to hit. If you have any ideas for me, please share them in the comments!

Inspiration: The Late Summer Garden

Posted on November 4, 2016 by elliebelly

It’s dry, hot and still in the ’80s in Alabama. But the mornings are cool and despite the drought, there are lots of pretties in my garden to draw my interest while I sit on the porch and knit.

Fortunately, my 21 color slouch hat is a project that requires little attention, so I’ve been checking out what’s still blooming and getting some colors in mind for dyeing.

I love my Echinacea. It’s so pretty. This is the last of it and I’m especially intrigued by the yellow over brown over green in the cones. That blue-pink is a knockout too!

Tomatoes. They are little gems! Ina Garten’s new book, Cooking For Jeffrey, has a great recipe for roasting them while still on the vine.

I adore my Pineapple Sage. It smells great and makes a lovely tea. Although most of my garden is based on drought-resistant plants, this sage requires some water while it’s getting established, but my big established stand of this herb is almost 5 feet tall and coming through the drought in great shape.

I grow Mexican Bush Sage (Tagetes) because Tarragon doesn’t grow well in hot, humid southern summers, but this herb offers the same licorice flavor for chicken salad and soups. And it has the added plus of its flowers.

This explosion of color make me want to hit the dye pots this weekend to come up with yarn for my own version of the 21 color slouch hat, in hues from my garden.

I Have To Have That Hat!

Posted on November 2, 2016December 19, 2016 by elliebelly

It came in an email from Churchmouse Yarns and I had to have it. Right away.

It really doesn't get any better than stripes and a slouchy hat! The pattern, called the 21 Color Slouch Pattern, is available only with a kit of color in Blue Sky Woolstock. The cute put up of the kit, with mini-skeins wrapped around a leather cord, is almost as much fun as knitting the hat.

I put everything else aside last night to get started. It's a fun, compulsive knit, although there will be a lot of ends to weave in when it's finished.