I’m so excited about this! Knitwear designer SKnitsB is working on for Elliebelly Basilisk and it’s almost done!
Spoiler alert: Susan is using four skeins of Berlin Flea Market on Basilisk. There are several colorways stocked in my Etsy shop and more coming. You could also knit this pattern using Elliebelly’s bulky weight Cosmopolitan Merino yarn.
Just in case you find yourself in desperate need of pretty new yarn this holiday weekend, I’ve just started stocking the shop. There will be some Basilisk (hint: SKnitsB has a new pattern in the works that takes four skeins of this lovely yarn), a new colorway of Smitten 120, and some farm sourced roving in different blends. I’ve also got a few of the Tapas mini-skeins, like those that were offered as prizes during this year’s KAL to add to the shop. And, I’ve just finished redyeing the almost completely decimated stock of Himalayan Sock Yarns in all of the colors I dye on the Yak bases, with the addition of Purple Rain. Please stop by! I hope you’ll find something you love.
I’ve been playing with some direct-from-farm Roving this week, trying to figure out which fibers I like best and playing with some new colors.
I’m pretty crazy about this ball of wool! It’s an untreated organic Roving that takes the colors beautifully. Hoping there are some spinners and felters out there who can find some good uses for this pretty stuff!
It’s just a small start, but I’ve finally found the perfect project for my favorite new yarn from the Plucky Knitter. I’ve got six skeins of Groovy, dyed in her Highlander colorway. I’m more than just a little bit excited about the colorful yarn, but after looking and looking (and swatching and swatching, I couldn’t find just the right project for it until I came across the Rhea Cardigan.
It was clear to me immediately that this was the right sweater, even though the pattern is written for Quince’s aran weight linen tape yarn and its show here in a solid. I wanted a comfortable, wear over anything cardigan, because I know all of the colors in Highlander will be just right with the simple patterning.
The pattern, which is well-written, has given me a bit of trouble at the start. Note to self: knitting with a really bad sinus infection does not bring out your strengths. And dropping down stitches to fix mistakes with Groovy, which is a felted cashmere yarn, was a little bit dicey. Fortunately, issues are resolved and once you finish the first pattern repeat, you have a pretty good guide for what is happening in each of the ten rows in the repeat. Despite my silly novice mistakes at the outset, I think I’ll get to the point where I can memorize the pattern and carry this one around with me to work on. Here’s an early photo – you can see how incredibly lovely the color variation is on this wonderful, unique yarn. Groovy is definitely a favorite for me!
Time (and yarn!) have been flying around here lately. We’ve been on the west coast for our oldest son’s law school graduation and are now back home for child #3’s high school graduation. And all sorts of stuff in between! Allergy season and a heavy dyeing schedule (there is a lot of new yarn in the shop for you to check out) have cut into my knitting time, but I wanted to share a couple of projects with you.
I’ve finished my Ceramic Flowers cowl and am in love with it! It’s long enough to wear doubled for warmth (which I was surprised to need in San Francisco last weekend) but really pretty and decorative in a long loop in Elliebelly Pussy Willow, a 50 silk/50 merino yarn. It also doubles as a convenient cat warmer.
We knit Ceramic Flowers as part of the Elliebelly KAL this April, and it was hit across a wide variety of base yarns. You can also knit it in different weights, and could move up to an aran or even a bulky version by doing two pattern repeats instead of three (I chose to do two with my worsted weight version and am really happy with the result). You cast on the long number of stitches and work in the round from top to bottom, so adjustments easy. Some of my other favorite Elliebelly versions were Elizabeth’s version, also in Pussy Willow, Kate’s in Elliebelly Silky Wool, and Eleanor’s in Naiad Organic Merino (I had to include one of her early pictures, because I love her Liberty Fabric bag so much!)
Maya is a bulky shawl, knit here in Elliebelly’s Basilisk, as part of the Adventurous April KAL. It’s a great, quick knit. The stockinette section is perfect conversational knitting, you’ll carry this one around for knitting in all of those moments when you’re involved in something but need to have some knitting at hand. And, the lace section, which is easily memorized, goes quickly. It’s a pleasure to watch the lace pattern develop.
The surprise in this project for me was that Basilisk, which is a bulky weight blend of 50% Silk and 50% Merino, knitted up into a cushy, airy, fabric. I knit this at a slightly looser gauge than I would normally use, because I wanted the fabric to have drape. The result is a shawl that can be wrapped scarf-like around your neck for winter wear, but is perfect for a breezy spring day as well. I had it on all day yesterday, in our unseasonably cool Alabama May weather.
The color is “Grimoire” and you can find Basilisk and other Elliebelly Bulky yarns in our shop.
I’ve finished the first chart for my Ceramic Flowers Cowl and have just begun the second. It’s a fun pattern to knit, and reasonably quick, since I’m knitting at a worsted weight. Although the chart contains three floral repeats, a number of projects have stopped after two and liked the design better that way. I’ll assess when I get to that point. I’m about halfway through the second chart now and haven’t quite exhausted the first ball of yarn, so I should be able to do a full size version with two balls of yarn, if I want to go there.
The yarn is Elliebelly Pussy Willow, which is available in very limited quantities in my shop. It’s a 50 wool/50 silk single ply fiber that works well for spring and summer knitting and feels get slipping through your fingers while you’re knitting with it!
