bfl – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

More Knitting With Blue Faced Leicester

Posted on August 19, 2016December 19, 2016 by elliebelly

On the heels of yesterday's post, I thought it would be fun to share more of the projects, like yesterday's Little Plum Shawlette, knit in Blue Faced Leicester yarn by the incredibly talented group of knitters who have been helping me test yarns.

These test knits use a variety of different BFL based yarns. The cowl on the top left was knit in Elliebelly BFL Superwash. The brown portion of the floral socks is knit in Elliebelly BFL Sock, the same yarn used in yesterday's shawlette. The red mitts are knit in Elliebelly BFL Aran, the original BFL yarn I dyed and still my favorite yarn to knit with. The green socks are knit in Elliebelly BFL Constant, a yarn I was originally hesitant to dye because of its high nylon content. I convinced myself to try it because of its potential to result in super strong socks for kids, but ironically, it has become one of my favorite sweater yarns as well. The nylon in no way alters the feel of the BFL and the yarn resists pilling and takes color beautifully.

For Ruxton, the green shawl in the upper left hand corner of this collage, we are back to BFL Superwash Sport. I adore this yarn and it's paired perfectly with this pattern, which is such a clever, textural knit. The red sweater is knit in Elliebelly BFL Cash-Silk Sock, a blend of 70% BFL, 20% Silk, and 10% Cashmere. It took only a couple of projects, this being one of them, to convince me this yarn was a keeper and compared favorably to other luxury blend yarns. The sweater with the large cable down the front is knit with two fingering weight yarns held together for a marled effect. One of them is the ever-versatile BFL Sock. Definitely not just a sock yarn. The lacey blue sweater is also knit from BFL Sock.

Conclusions? You should all run out and find some yarn with Blue Faced Leicester and knit with it. Now. Seriously, it's wonderful yarn. And fortunately, you won't have to go to England to buy some like I did originally. Although Elliebelly yarn isn't being sold currently, there are a number of good commercial and indie options for buying BFL and I encourage you to enjoy the experience of knitting with it.

The first purpose I envisioned for this yarn was diaper cover pants for babies who were cloth diapered. It's fabulous for that purpose, and if you want to see some of my earliest dyeing and favorite projects, you'll find a few pages of adorable projects for babies on Ravelry.

A Simple Knit Scarf

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

One of my favorite fibers to work with is the wool of Blue Faced Leicester (BFL) sheep. It is a long fiber wool and quite light, so it produces soft yarn with the additional benefit of a pretty sheen, much like wool fiber that is blended with silk. It produces a strong fabric that is perfect for socks and has long been a staple of British knitters, but it was relatively unknown here 16 years ago. I first stumbled upon it on a trip (because I visit yarn shops on family vacations. I just do) and picked some up to use for diaper covers for my daughter. And I was instantly hooked. It became one of my favorite fibers to knit with and later, to dye.

BFL is increasingly well-known to US knitters. Canadian and American raised BFL is spun into yarn along with its counterpart from Great Britain. Lately, I've been testing different blends and spins of BFL yarns to try and come up with a few favorite yarns. And, I admit, it's virtually impossible, because I like them all. This project is the Little Plum Shawlette and it is knit in BFL Sock, a 100% fingering weight yarn, not treated with superwash, that is primarily intended for socks but is versatile enough to work for scarves and other accessories.

Over the years since I first discovered with it, I've knit frequently with Blue Faced Leicester and the results are always pleasing.

A quick note about the purple scarf pattern. It was released the month that Prince died and the designer's description of the pattern made it impossible for me to pass up, especially since I had some yarn on hand that I had dyed in my oldie but goodie Purple Rain colorway:

I have loved Prince since the 1980s and was so sad to learn that he died suddenly. This shawlette has stitches that each commemorate a song by The Artist. I get that this is MAJORLY dorky, but when I was between designs, Michelle from Bo Peep Fine Yarns messaged me suggesting a Prince commemoration. So, when you’re a knitter, you knit, and when you’re a fan, you fangirl (yes, that’s a verb….my 12 year old daughter knows.) So, this is me fan-girling in an utterly mortifying way, no doubt!

This must be made while watching Prince videos or listening to his music. But you knew this, anyway. If there’s any desire for a KAL, let me know…although I’m probably one of only 3 Prince knitting fans!

There are 6 elements that commemorate Prince in this design, from bottom to top:

1 – Purple Rain drops
2 – Diamonds and Pearls
3 – Doves
4 – Doves again because this is my favorite song.
5 ”X’s” for “Kiss”
6 Seed stitch…it works round and round and is a a cool kitty. And I love it.
7. As an afterthought, the shawlette is skinny, just like Prince!

What Would You Knit With It?

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

I've been doing some dyeing for myself, as well as some for prizes at the close of the Adventurous April Knitalong. I thought it would be fun — and helpful too — to show off the yarn and ask what you would knit with it if it came to live with you. You can respond in the comments here or in this thread on the Elliebelly Group on Ravelry.

The first yarn is BFL Silk Sock — It’s a 55% superwash Blue Faced Leicester/45% Silk yarn with 438 yards to the skein. It’s a fingering weight, and I’ve dyed two skeins of it.

The colorway is Strawberry Roan — inspired by our trip to Iceland and the “Little Horses” (we were told it’s an insult to call them ponies) that populate the island. The Strawberry Roan horses were so pretty and particularly sweet.

Also inspired by our Iceland trip, this is the Gullfoss colorway on aran weight Blue Faced Leicester. There are 183 yards in a 100 gram skein, and again, I've dyed two skeins.

Panda is a silk and bamboo blend, roughly 50/50 that has 150 meters to a 100 gram skein. This is a new-to-Elliebelly yarn that I'm testing out for the first time. I am very fond of the sheen so far — the yarn seems to glow from within. There are two skeins of this and I wish I had dyed more as it would make a lovely large summer weight Clapotis for wrapping up on the beach at night or for movies in the park!

Pink Loves Brown is a classic Elliebelly colorway that I've dyed here on 8-Ply Coventry Cashmere. Each two ounce skein has 130 yards, and I've dyed two in this colorway.

As yet unnamed, this new colorway was my effort to replicate some of the rich blues and greens we saw on our Iceland trip. The three dye bath process was definitely worth it. I've dyed four skeins of this colorway on 8-ply Coventry Cashmere, again with 130 yarns per skein.

Finally, another classic Elliebelly colorway, Lakehouse. This is on aran weight BFL, with two skeins of 183 yards each. It's been a long time since I dyed this colorway, and it took all the strength I could muster to avoid casting on with it immediately. I love how the golden strands peak out from between the variety of blues and greens in this colorway.

So, friends and knitters, what would you knit with this yarn? What patterns have you been dreaming over? Inspire me. Motivate us all. It's so much fun to see different knitters' take on the same yarn!

Fiber to Yarn

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Joyce Makes Art

I have a lovely little stash of unspun roving, both Merino and BFL, in my studio. As much as I always thinks I'm going to find some time to spin, it never seems to happen. My sweet friends at Hyena Cart, one of my favorite places to buy hand-spun and dyed yarn and other handmade goods, suggested a number of spinners to me, so I'm sending some of my fiber off to be turned, as if by magic, into yarn.

This first batch is going off to the lovely Laura at Splendor. Her yarn is so beautiful and I hear such nice things about her, that I can hardly wait to see it!

My fiber is off to Washington state, one of my favorite parts of the country. I can't wait to see what it is going to look like when it comes back to me!