Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works > Blog > one-skein

Tag: one-skein

woocommerce-placeholder

What is Your Favorite One Skein Pattern? (Blog Give Away)

Posted on by Joyce Makes Art

Last week, I wrote about knitting small projects and enjoying the meditative value of simple knitting. So, now I'm curious: what is your favorite one skein knitting pattern?  If you tell me about your favorite pattern in the comments, you will be entered in a drawing to win yarn for your pattern choice!

Best

One skein patterns can be quick and satisfying. (Pictured above, Ellie, knitting a Cherry Branch Hat out of Elliebelly Basilisk).  Especially during the hottest part of summer, one skein knits are great projects.

In the comments below, tell me about your favorite one skein pattern.  It doesn't matter if it's written for Elliebelly yarn or not, because, patterns can be adapted to different yarns as long as the weight and drape is a good fit.  On July 1, we'll have a drawing to pick one lucky winner from the entrants.

Here are some of my other favorites one-skein projects from Ravelry knitters to get you started:

ShellBelle76 knit Malabrigo Hand Thingies in a skein of Elliebelly Coventry Cashmere.

Handthings

Angelicasays did a Rainbow Wave from Elliebelly Angel Sock.

Sedona_Wave

Squeakybeans knit some Toast armwarmers from a skein of Elliebelly Ellie-Blue Blue Faced Leicester.

Toast

What beautiful projects by a group of amazing knitters!  Post your comment below to enter the give away.  I'm looking forward to seeing what your favorite patterns are!

woocommerce-placeholder

In Defense of Single Skein Projects — Why We Knit

Posted on by Joyce Makes Art

We can't all be the girl who knits incredibly intricate Estonian lace in her spare time, producing immaculate shawls of haunting beauty.  And we shouldn't feel bad about it.

Redeux

I love knitters who are accomplished and precise, and I enjoy celebrating their work.  But that doesn't, and shouldn't, in any sense take away from the accomplishments of new knitters, intermittent knitters, or knitters without time for larger projects.  There is virtue and integrity too in smaller, simpler, single skein projects.

My Redeux hat, pictured above, was a relentlessly simple knit that any beginner could finish in a day or two since it calls for a single skein of bulky yarn.  It has given me an enormous amount of pleasure, to say nothing of the warmth it leant my husband during our trip to Iceland.  It was easy, it was simple and it is red and beautiful.  I value this hat as much as any project I've ever knit.

Twisty

Similarly, this Rainbow Twist Cowl is easy enough to be the perfect first attempt at cables for a knitter who has never done them before.  Plus, it has the advantage of color.  Anything knit with Malabrigo's beautiful Arco Iris colorway is guaranteed to become a cherished favorite.  Again, a quick simple knit that was infinitely satisfying and produced a remarkable result.  I know this to be true because my teenage daughter stole it away as soon as it came off of my needles and will not return it.  This must mean it is a thing of grace and beauty.

Ollie hat

This is a basic ribbed knit hat, Rib-a-Roni, knit from a single skein with the addition of a few leftover scraps to form the stripes.  This hat brought me such a feeling of accomplishment.  I googled and mastered jogless stripes so that the joins look even.  The ribbing was meditative.  The recipient was ecstatic.  He is still wearing it in summer.

We all know that as knitters, there is a tremedous amount of pressure to constantly innovate our craft. And I like that.  Last year I picked up lacework for the first time and enjoyed the results. But there is a special virtue, and no shame in working with these easier, baby-bite sized kind of one-skein projects.  They take skill too.  We sometimes forget that to non-knitters, we all look like rocket scientists. Don't be afraid to turn off the pressure and enjoy a simple knit.