yarn – Page 8 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

The First Week Of The Elliebelly Knit Along

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

Two weeks ago we casted on for the first ever Elliebelly Knit Along. In the two weeks since, there has been masterly knitting, some early finishers, a lot of talk about pattern selection, tasty yarn pictures, and, exactly what I needed, encouragement for getting my fall knitting out and going strong.

Today I thought I would share some of the projects with you. They are all so beautiful, but I've got a few at random (the knitters who I was able to catch up with and insure it was okay to share their pictures and projects), so I will start with these few and show off the rest over the next couple of weeks.

You are in for some serious eye candy in this one!

Siobahn is knitting mitts for her Mom, a nurse. Actually, I should say past tense, knit, as she is so amazingly quick that despite using a sock yarn, Elliebelly Ellie-Blue BFL Sock, she is finished. Isn't her Mom lucky? The pattern is Alexandra Brinck's Fishtail Wristwarmers and the colorway is "Purple Rain."

Cricket is knitting this amazing sweater and bloomers set. She is using Carina Spencer's convertible bloomers pattern and Elliebelly's Ellie-Blue Aran BFL yarn in Cupcake.

My cousin Ann is knitting a Shoulder Scarf using some yarn she spun from Elliebelly Alpaca Roving.

She is an amazing spinner and knitter and my best role model. Isn't that scarf an artwork in its own right? It is so simple and so beautiful. I cannot wait to see it completed.

Clarissa is knitting the Storm Cloud Shawlette by Hanna Breetz. I'm particularly interested in seeing how this turns out as I have some yarn earmarked for the same pattern. She is using Elliebelly's Sea Wool in "Chihuly."

Tina knit Cappuchine for an incredible little model, using Elliebelly Ellie-Blue Bulky BFL. I've never noticed this pattern before, but now, I can't wait to knit it. Tina managed to show the yarn off to perfection.

The last bit of knit-porn for the day is Jenn's Citron, using Elliebelly's Juliet Sock Yarn in Marmalade.

Jenn's knitting is so pretty that I feel like she has captured a piece of the sun and is knitting it.

There is a lot of very cool knitting going on these days. I'm really grateful to everyone who is participating in the knit along for all of the fun and inspiration it's bringing me!

What Do You Do When You Are Out Of Yarn?

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

I never cease to be amazed by the ways in which people convince themselves that something that is clearly not right is actually okay or even good.

You might think that this is a very successful knitting project in the works for a very sweet young man.

But you would be wrong.

I spent the better part of the week not knitting on this sweater, while telling myself I had plenty of yarn to finish the sleeves and the ribbing at the bottom. Briefly, I entertained the possibility of finishing out the sweater with a solid gray yarn — a moment of deep practicality. Then I pushed the notion aside and reminded myself I still had three partial balls of yarn and everything would be, well, okay. Or even good.

Last weekend I hedged my bets by starting in on the sleeves early. I knitted the body of the sweater just far enough to do the last button hole, leaving a couple of inches of ribbing at the bottom to be done. I started one sleeve, and then I told myself that just to be sure, I would start the second one. At this point I had three circular needles and three balls of yarn attached to the sweater, and knitting the third sleeve was an interesting dance of needles and tangling balls of yarn.

And then this happened:

Two partial sleeves. Two rapidly diminishing balls of yarn in ziploc bags.

I can "catch up" the shorter sleeve on the left to the length of its mate is on the right with the remaining yarn. But that is about it, as you can plainly see.

Really, I knew. I knew this day was coming. After I exhaust these two little stubs of yarn, I'm going to have to bring out the gray — I have some lovely Alpaca — and pray that I can get gauge. And that it doesn't looks stupid, a sort of a "hey, I ran out of yarn but I'm trying my best" sweater. I'm hoping I can embrace the mistake and that it will look like an intentional design element or at least that it won't look like a total disaster and become the kind of sweater all children fear their mother may knit them some day. In the future, I will try to keep myself from ignoring the impending train wreck, or maybe just recognizing that when the math on yardage is a little bit tight at the outset of a project, it likely won't improve with time.

Despite all of this, I am oddly delighted with this sweater. I like the bulky Elliebelly Talia Merino yarn and I love how the colors play together. The Ragman pattern is simple, but a joy to knit and not in any way boring. So I'm going to suck it up, start knitting with the gray yarn, hope for the best, and trust that another solution will present itself if the gray yarn doesn't work out.

Knitting & Knitting

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

The Elliebelly Knit Along is taking shape nicely!

The sweater I'm knitting for Ollie is coming along (although I'm getting a little bit edgey about the yardage and hoping I won't run out).

Some other Knitters are blogging too! You can read about Jen P. and Plath's knitting and see some great pictures.

Other knitters have finished their projects already. These people scare me!

There is lots of pretty knitting in the works, and I'm going to try to feature as much of it as possible on my blog over the next few weeks. Seeing it has inspired me to organize my yarn and my knitting plans for the fall.

Knit Along Progress

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

I have made great progress with Ollie's Sweater, having finished the raglan increases, put the sleeve stitches aside on waste yarn, and joined the body to knit down in one piece.

But my progress is not the knitting story of the day. That story belongs to Ellie, who made this totally amazing hat in two and a half days.

Isn't she a wonderful next generation knitter?

Now you will have to indulge me and ooh and ahh over the pictures of her knitting. I think it is the most incredible experience in the world to have lucked into a knitting child. (This is actually my second knitter, my first is here.) Isn't she wonderful?

Casting On: Ollie’s Crayon Ragman Sweater

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

The Elliebelly Knit Along starts today, and I'm on top of it.

This yarn

is going to become this sweater, Donna Higgins Ragman.

I'm off to a good start.

A very bad swatch indicated I would get gauge on size 9 needles (I've knit with this yarn before so I knew that and was too lazy to do more than just quickly confirm it.)

57 stitches, casted on using the long tail method.

And, on to the set up row for the raglan increases, followed by the insertion of pretty yarn jewelry (stitch markers).

The only hitch in the process involved our large black cat, squirt, who became enamoured with the "new toy" Mom got him, and suddenly wandered off with the ball of yarn, trailing my needles behind him.

He was very disappointed when I took it back. Poor kitty!

Getting Ready For The Elliebelly Knit Along: A Post In Which I Expand My Choices Instead Of Making A Decision

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Joyce Makes Art

I have a number of favorite patterns and potential choices for the Elliebelly Knit Along, which starts Saturday so I'm getting to the point where I really, really, really need to make a decision here. I hope you'll consider signing up and knitting along with me! You can knit any pattern of your choice in any Elliebelly yarn, with lots of fun along the way. Sign up here.

Instead of deciding from among the patterns I looked at a few days ago, I have a couple more possibilities to add to my list.

I adore Karin's Simple Ribbed Cowl pattern. I can't help but think it would be wonderfully warming on a cold winter's day, and I do have just enough bulky Cashmere to knit this one, although I would have to do some quick dyeing as it is still in its natural state. (This is actually not much of a disincentive, because I love dyeing and I love dyeing Cashmere).

Then there is Pinkobbit's shrug. She used the Shrug This pattern, which uses just 153 yards of an aran weight wool. I could probably get gauge double stranding some of my Eco Alpaca.

I also think the black and white colorway Pinkobbit used is fantastic, and it occurs to me something like that, or yarn dyed in my Urban Myth colorway would be nice for this pattern.

We are coming up on decision time here, and I don't seem to be any closer. I'm still eyeing the Sea Three (Seacell and Silk) as the yarn I would most like to dye with. But I haven't hit the perfect pattern for it yet, and the patterns I have found are so tempting, that I suspect a number of them are going to hit my needles between now and the end of the year.

Hopefully a few of you are doing a better job than I am of deciding what to knit. Remember to go ahead and sign up officially once you make your decision.

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!