Newly Finished Knit Projects – Page 2 – 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!

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.

Rainey DK: A New Elliebelly Yarn In Testing

Posted on October 25, 2016 by elliebelly

It's fun to test out base yarns for dyeing. Fun, and a little bit frustrating at times. As a small hand dyer, I rely on an unwieldy assortment of sources for base yarns. It's a pleasure to work with small producers and mills and there are some fabulous, slightly larger suppliers out there who work with hand dyers, as well. For me, it's been a one by one process over many years of trying different bases out: dyeing them, knitting with them, seeing how they look after they've been washed and worn. Different bases have their charms and their detractions, so you need some experience with them to come up with your favorites, the ones that are dye and knit-worthy.

The past year has been fun for me as I've been working with a wonderful group of knitters to experiment with the possibilities for some old favorite yarns and play with some new ones. Not every base succeeds, and among those that do, it's a very personal selection of what works for me and which yarns are best for which purposes. Those of you who've known me for a while know that I have a near obsession with linen. It last forever and it gets softer every time you wash it. It's lovely. It's been around at least since ancient Egypt (there are tomb fragments to prove it). And I like to knit with it, particularly when it's part of a blend that softens its feel — knitting with pure linen can be a bit like knitting with string, although I still adore it in this form.

This shawl, knit in a new base I've been working with, Rainey DK, showed up late last week. And I'm enthralled with it. Rainey is spun from 50% Alpaca, 25% Linen and 25% Silk. It's virtues include the softness of Silk, the strength and beauty of Linen and a fabulous halo from the Alpaca. It has just the right halo, not a "hair everywhere" kind of thing but enough to be soft and a bit rustic without shedding. Although I can envision shawls and shrugs for Claire Fraser in the Outlander series knit from this yarn, it makes a lovely, sophisticated shawl for today, as well. Rainey, which I'm dyeing in a fingering weight, along with this DK version, is going to be a fun addition to Elliebelly Yarns. I can't wait to play with its potential some more, but it's clearly a winner for shawls.

Key Covers

Posted on October 14, 2016 by elliebelly

Do you:

A. Have lots of key?

B. Have lots of keys that look alike?

C. Come home with your hands full of purse/briefcase/knitting bags and other cr@p you cart around all day and struggle to pull out your house key because it's hard to find in the mix of all of your other keys with about one-half of a functioning hand that isn't taken up holding all the stuff?

Or, do you just like pretty knit things that take no time but brighten up your life?

Ten minutes, and one small scrap of yarn later, I had this cute little key cover. Thank to Liat Gat for her easy to follow instructions and free pattern. My project notes are here in case you want to make one (or ten) for yourself. The yarn is The Plucky Knitter's Bello in Small Batch 014.

Finished, But Not Blocked

Posted on October 11, 2016 by elliebelly

I finished my fairisle hat from Janine Bajus's class at The Plucky Knitter's Glamping Retreat this afternoon. Kudos to my youngest kid for needing to visit the pediatrician today, which gave me all the time I needed to cast off, while having a nice talk with him.

It is not blocked yet, nor have I committed to the Alpaca pom pom from Toft, which is lightly tacked in at the moment. But really, I'm so excited that I couldn't wait another minute to share it with you. I knitted this! It's fairisle!

The truth is, if you're on the fence about trying a fairisle project, it's just not as hard as it looks. If you want to be all fancy about it, you can visit this video from the Philosopher's Stone and you'll be capable of knitting fairisle with yarn in both hands before you can say "stranded knitting." And you do need to know to keep the strand of yarn you are not using while you knit with the other color loose — if you pull it tight in back your resulting project will be very small and you will be sad. But once you know this is in issue, you can do some quick googling and your strands in back will be just right.

The inside is almost as pretty as the outside.

This hat is a pretty good fit for me as is, so I'm going to give it a gently steam blocking to even out the stitches and weave in all of those ends when I get a moment. I'll be back with better photos later this week when it's all done.

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Finished, But Not Blocked

Posted on October 11, 2016October 11, 2016 by elliebelly

I finished my fairisle hat from Janine Bajus’s class at The Plucky Knitter’s Glamping Retreat this afternoon. Kudos to my youngest kid for needing to visit the pediatrician today, which gave me all the time I needed to cast off, while having a nice talk with him.

It is not blocked yet, nor have I committed to the Alpaca pom pom from Toft, which is lightly tacked in at the moment. But really, I’m so excited that I couldn’t wait another minute to share it with you. I knitted this! It’s fairisle!

The truth is, if you’re on the fence about trying a fairisle project, it’s just not as hard as it looks. If you want to be all fancy about it, you can visit this video from the Philosopher’s Stone and you’ll be capable of knitting fairisle with yarn in both hands before you can say “stranded knitting.” And you do need to know to keep the strand of yarn you are not using while you knit with the other color loose — if you pull it tight in back your resulting project will be very small and you will be sad. But once you know this is in issue, you can do some quick googling and your strands in back will be just right.

The inside is almost as pretty as the outside.

This hat is a pretty good fit for me as is, so I’m going to give it a gently steam blocking to even out the stitches and weave in all of those ends when I get a moment. I’ll be back with better photos later this week when it’s all done.

Save