ravelry – Page 2 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

Malabrigo March KAL Begins

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

I'm not sure what it is about Malabrigo March — the idea that you're up casting on in the middle of the night with knitters all over the world? Whatever it is, I stayed up past midnight and cast on my projects.

I want to go to Marz – Hannah Fettig's Featherweight Sweater

It's going to be a finicky knit, alternating three skeins (because these skeins look nothing alike!) in a light fingering yarn. But I think it will be worth it in the long run. The very long run — because who am I kidding? This is going to be a long slow knit. Do the tight little M1R and M1Ls in this yarn slows me down!

March Monkey – The Monkey Jacobus Pattern

I'm already in love with his cute little Intarsia in the round face, and I've got eyes (I hope they're the right size) coming in the mail next week. The body is in my favorite Malabrigo colorway, Arco Iris.

Blue Mittens - Super Bulky Mittens by Diane Soucy

I knit a pair of these last year for Malabrigo March. They were quick and fun, and I've worn them a lot. I thought a solid colored pair might be a good addition to the family stash of mittens. Here is last year's version.

I'm looking forward to all the good knitting support, inspiration and fun that always comes along with this knitalong.

Another Knit Nevermind Hat. Subtitle: Why I Love The Plucky Knitter’s Snug Yarn

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

I'm sure I sound like I have lost my marbles to anyone who is not passionate about knitting. But, I have a new favorite yarn, and I really don't care who knows about it. Snug. I love you Snug. I love you for your cashmere content and for your beautiful, smooth, round, bulkiness. And I love how you take color. All of them. I loved you right out of the box, even before the first time I put you on my needles.

I love you even more, now that I've knit a second hat out of Snug, my second using the Nevermind cabled pattern. It is what you were meant for.

Forgive me for the glamour shot. I'm rather partial to the model as well. But she still doesn't get to keep the hat!

The colorway is Fisherman's Wharf, a neutral with just a hint of a purpleish undertone in the right light. So subtle that you're not even sure it's there. So beautiful that I'm kicking myself for not getting a sweater quantity.

Here is the obligatory cat photo. I was chided, after the lovely photo of our baby cat Juliet earlier this week, for not including our cats in more photos. So here is Harry, who is skilled at photobombing, but agreed to pose just this once.

In case I haven't been clear, if you don't have any of The Plucky Knitter Snug in your stash you need to RUN not walk and get some. You can buy it at her periodic updates or through destash on Ravelry if you're lucky. It's amazing yarn. You need to knit with some now!

Hanukkah, Knitting and Elliebelly Yarn

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

What would the first night of Hannukah be without gifts? Specifically, yarn. Because what else does a knitter want for the holidays?

Every Tuesday on the Elliebelly knitting group on Ravelry, we post on our Take A Picture Tuesday thread and share what we're working on. All projects are welcome, no matter what yarn you're knitting with. Since the first night of Hanukkah this year coincides with our Take a Picture Tuesday thread, this week, I will do a few random drawings to send Yarny Hanukkah gifts to posters next Tuesday.

So come post your works in progress or even your works on hold. Post a picture of yarn you haven't cast on yet and what you're thinking about knitting with it. Or post your recent swatching.

The holidays give us a chance to be our best selves and knitting is definitely a part of that for me. Invite your friends to our party and post up all the Yarny goodness for inspiration, motivation and just plain fun. We can't have dreidles and latkes on line, but there will be yarn!

Knitting Nae, Continued.

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

Diane, whose beautiful photoblog is well-worth checking out, commented that she wanted to knit a Nae, but was confused by the pattern. It can be hard to visualize before you get about one-quarter of the way into it, so here are some thoughts and pictures to help.

The start is the point on the left in this photo, with the cast on of a few stitches. At this point, you begin work on what will be a 3" band of moss stitch, and it will run across the top of your shawl. To orient yourself, visualize the start of the shawl as the top left-hand corner point of a triangle, where the base edge will be along the top of your knitting, and the point will be bottom center as your knitting grows. This is surprisingly hard to explain — I'm not so sure that helps, so here's a bit more.

The starting point of the project is still on the left. As you continue to knit the moss stitch border, on the top here, you also begin to knit the stockinette stitch triangle below it. You do this, starting on the right side of the project, with what at first is just a couple of the stockinette stitches. See how few stitches are on the row over on the left side? You grow the triangle with one increase, after the first knit stitch on every right side row (every other row). I followed the advice of some knitters who suggested increasing every fourth row, to get a less steep line. You can see my big blue marker, reminding me to increase. From that point on, you continue, doing the stockinette portion first, followed by the moss stitch border, and then you turn your work for the wrong side row.

You get a better idea of it once you see it in progress. This is about one-third of the way in.

And here, you can see the start of the project on the left, with the moss stitch border first increasing to its full 3" width, and then the stockinette portion beginning to increase once the border is in place.

Diane, I hope this makes it all clear. It's a lovely pattern, and although summer trips have cut into my knitting time, I want to finish this up before cooler weather hits.

Nangou: What To Knit Next?

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

Before I start this post, I need to say: I have too many works in progress (WIPs). I know this. But it doesn't change my desire, at a certain point every summer, to start casting on new projects. I get one started and then suddenly, like June lightening, a new pattern calls me with an irresistable pull and I'm off again. Fortunately, I tend to have a fall spate of finishing up all those projects, but still, I view this riotous approach to knitting as something of a character flaw and envy those who are more restrained.

That said, I have fallen in love with Nangou.

Nangou is a simple garter stitch with simple eyelet lace patterning rows scarf that was written for a fingering weight silk-merino blend yarn, so think light and delicate but gently warm.

This version, by German knitter Blauregan, is knit in the pattern yarn, with the clever twist of using an undyed skein for the lace eyelet rows. It's one of my favorites.

Lismete's gold on gold variation is really eye catching as well, and I like the looser gauge she used for her project.

And AniaBKnits' version in a rich purple with darker eyelets looks like something I could toss around my shoulders every day.

Since I'm trying to knit from stash these days, I took a look on Ravelry, which let me know I had a number of possibilities already in my stash.

My Tosh Dandelion has a lot in common, color-wise, with several of the projects I like and the addition of 10% linen to the merino woud give it a nice drape. Plus, I've been dying to find something to knit with this yarn.

A lot of knitters have used Tosh Merino Light, and it just so happens that I've got three skeins of Spruce tucked away.

And then, I could always dye some yarn just for this project. I've been impressed with the BFL/Silk sock yarn I've been dyeing for the last month, so I may dye some in a brown-gray colorway just for Nangou.

Currently, Ravelry includes 333 projects and Nangou has a rating of 4.7 stars out of 5, so it looks like it has made a lot of knitters happy. I'm looking forward to joining them!

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!

I Have Sleeves

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

I don't knit a lot of sweaters, so everytime I do, I tend to see something new.

Modern Garden is no exception. In this sweater, you knit the sleeves from the bottom row up to about chest high. Then, you knit them into the body of the sweater, keeping up with the patterning on the sleeves and in the yoke (and remembering to place your buttonholes, which has been an issue for me on this one) and complete the sweater.

The sleeves are bulky and I'm knitting them on DPNs, instead of magic loop because I don't have an additional circular needle in this size. They were a little too cumbersome to take along with me on vacation, so I put the sweater aside and worked on hats while I was away.

But I picked the sweater back up last night and am working on sleeves. The first one is ready to incorporate into the yoke and my hope is to have the second one there tonight so I can put everything together and move on to the yoke next week.

And, a reminder. We are starting a Knit Along on the Elliebelly Group on Ravelry on April 15. You're welcome to join us — you can knit with any yarn you choose and there is no official date you have to finish by. We would love to have you, whether you are a new knitter or a more experienced one.