crayon – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

Ollie’s Crayon Sweater: Trying Out Trim

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

When last we left our story, I had run out of yarn for Ollie's Ragman, knit in Elliebelly Talia in the Crayon colorway, and was obsessing over how to deal with the trauma. I settled upon a solid color trim, and dyed two: one blue and one gray.

Ollie favored the blue, so I knit it up into cuffs. The 1×1 rib looks oversized to me, knit on the same size needles as the body of the sweater (size 9) and although the color has much to recommend it, I wondered it the gray wouldn't be a better match. So I'm trying out the gray on the bottom of the body, going down one needle size to get a neater fabric.

I think the gray is the winner, so once I finish the body, I'll rip off the sleeve cuffs and reknit them.

The inside of the sweater looks great to me too. At some point, I'm going to have to come up with a reverse stockinette project for the Crayon colorway!

Knitting Ollie’s Fall Sweater

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

I'm knitting Ollie's fall sweater for the Elliebelly Knit Along. I'm a little bit better than halfway down the raglan portion of the top of the sweater.

The sweater is Ragman and the yarn is Elliebelly Talia, a bulky Merino wool, dyed in the Crayon colorway.

What Yarn Should I Knit With?

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

I looked through my stash this morning, hoping to find just the right yarn to use for the Elliebelly Knit Along, which starts August 13 — next Saturday. And of course, I was immediately overcome with all the different possibilities. I forced myself to pull just a few out, and I'm going to spend the next few evenings looking at possible patterns for them so I can be all ready to cast on in time for the start of the Knit Along.

It was lots of fun doing a bit of stash tossing, and I thought I would share my candidates with you. I would appreciate any ideas you have about patterns they might work with, so please chime in with a comment!

I've got just one skein of this Silk/Merino heavy worsted weight yarn in Copper Patina. This was my first test skein for the colorway, and I love it — swatched it eons ago, but since I've just got the one skein, I've never found a good use for it. I'm not even sure what the base yarn is — I think I bought just the one skein from KnitPicks right when they opened. It's a nice yarn. I wish I could identify it! Possibly enough yarn here for mitts or a small baby/child item.

Next I found these four skeins of Premium British Merino in the Crayon colorway. This yarn is heavenly and I have never knitted with Crayon (one of those shoemaker's children going barefoot issues, I suppose). Perhaps a vest for Ollie, although I wonder if at almost 9, his dignity would be challenged by the bright colors and the purple? This yarn is definitely a contender.

Alpaca. One of the true loves of my life! This is "Eco" and I have about 3.5 skeins, having started to swatch it only to have the swatch commandered by Ollie who insisted on mitts. Maybe I should knit him a hat and a scarf to go along with the mitts, or a vest? This is a heavy worsted weight, so I don't think I've got enough left to do a sweater.

One skein of my favorite worsted weight Organic Merino, being held by one of my favorite people. This is likely enough for a newborn sweater, and I have a neighbor due with her third child this fall. It would also make a cute little shrug for a slightly older child. And, I love how the colors dance along this yarn.

This is a stunning, worsted weight blend of Silk and Seacell. It's dyed in the Paintbrush Variation of Crayon, which on this yarn developed as a soft, subdued colorway. It's been sitting on my desk since I dyed it a couple of months ago, because I couldn't bear to stash it away. I've got about 500 yards of this yarn — it's itching to become something beautiful and I can't wait to knit with it.

Here is my last option. Five skeins of undyed, aran weight 100% silk, waiting to be dyed. It could be anything from the most luxurious baby blanket ever to, well, I guess just about anything. I love how it feels. It would be an incredible pleasure to knit with.

There are the choices. What do you think?

I hope you will join me, starting next Saturday, as we cast on for the Knit Along. Use your Elliebelly yarn and knit any pattern you choose. You can find more info on my Ravelry Group or by following this blog, and, of course, you can always include any questions in the comments here. So, get your yarn and your pattern lined up, and let's get started!

A Big Box of Yarn

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Joyce Makes Art

Last month, one of my favorite online vendors, Necessitate, did an auction to benefit a charity that works with the families of terminally ill infants. How could you not want to contribute?

I found a listing from KimberlyR for a "Scrappy Rug." She was offering to knit a big bulky I-Cord spiral rug, using the winning bidder's yarn scraps. Yarn love. So I am sending her this.

I know. It's not exactly scraps. But I decided it would be fun to have a rug done up in my favorite Elliebelly colorways. I had some bulky superwash yarn — an American produced yarn that had never been part of Elliebelly (its a sort of superwash cousin to the Talia bulky weight yarn I did), but that I had purchased a large amount of to do some knitting for my kids — and I seemed to have a lot of random skeins. Perfect!

From L-R, Top to bottom, that's Pallas, Agatha Wants to Win, Moulin Rouge, Nightingale, Farmhouse, and Alphabet Block. (They look different because the yarn hasn't been reskeined after dyeing to mix up the colors. This is something many dyers, including me, do because it gives a better idea of how the yarn will look knit up).

Marble Angel, Sacajawea, Sunflower, Retro-Kitchen, Pretty Kim, and Sakura.

And finally, Treasure, Peter Rabbit, Guppy Creek, Crayon, Urban Myth, Cleo and Baba Yaga.

I'm sending Kim 26 skeins in all — there are two each of Urban Myth, Baba Yaga, Cleo, Agatha, Sacajawea, Sunflower and Crayon. Each of these skeins comes in at 105 grams/3.7 ounces, so there is a lot of yarn goodness in the box. I thought she would enjoy having a lot to play with. I'll use her leftovers in scrappy hoodies I'm knitting for the kids.

The box will be on the way to her in the morning. I can't wait to see the results!

Dyeing Alpaca Roving

Posted on June 5, 2010 by Joyce Makes Art

I saw this gorgeous handspun yarn on sale today. It wasn't really enough for any of the projects I have in mind, but it looked like it was so beautifully spun that I was unable to resist an offering for a "your fiber, my spinning wheel" slot. Although this appears to be a brand new spinner, or at least new to offering her yarn for sale, it was too beautiful to resist.

So, I'm spending some time tonight with this.

This is some Baby Alpaca roving that I've been saving for an extra special use. I've got about 13 ounces of it, and decided to dye it in the old Elliebelly Melted Crayon colorway, so I could have some special yarn to use for Miss Ellie's fall sweater. I can't wait to see the results!