Dyeing – Page 21 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

The Start of School (and other oddities)

Posted on August 18, 2007 by Joyce Makes Art

My two youngest children started school this week.

They are so very sweet! For our youngest, it was the start of kindergarten, so the Judge and I walked over to pick him up and have lunch after the first day of school. He was exhausted and in my arms. We said good-bye to his teacher, she said he had a great day, and as we walked off, he suddenly picked up his head and exclaimed "I REALLY LIKE HER!" Usually, it doesn’t get much better than that.

But, it did, this morning. He came downstairs at 6:30, dressed in his bathing suit, with a knitted wool vest over a tee-shirt and his backpack on his back, proudly proclaiming he was ready for school (on a Saturday morning). We are profoundly lucky to have such a wonderful little guy in our life, even if he stumps us with questions like "Do Zombies know that God is up there?" (he pointed) and "Is Dick Cheney really a zombie?"

We’re pretty sweet on our other children too. The Judge split open a coconut this morning, while I cleaned up an incredible yardsale find — a bookcase for Miss Ellie’s room — and we enjoyed watching their reactions and their efforts to pry the meat out of the inside of the nut.

It is definitely the dog days of summer here in Alabama, and after close to two weeks of over 100` I feel like I’m the dog part. We’re off this afternoon to buy ballet shoes and leotards (Nutcracker auditions are looming, which makes me incredibly happy, among other reasons, because Nutcracker rehearsals mean lots of knitting time for Mommy) and then I’m going to make lots of lemonade and spend the rest of the day sucking it down.

There is no art news today because my new scanner, after three weeks, still doesn’t work and I can’t scan a blessed thing. And, I’m not a good enough photographer to take pictures of it. But, a friend mentioned I have some Halloween ATCs in the newest edition of Somerset Studio, which I haven’t seen, so I hope if you get Somerset, you’ll take a look in the Expressions section and see some of my work there. I hope I can get the whole scanner debacle resolved by next weekend and be able to scan art again!

Rockin’ Girl Bloggers

Posted on August 8, 2007 by Joyce Makes Art

My dear friends from the Altered Workshop, Karen & Christy both nominated me to be a Rockin’ Girl Blogger this week. I’m beyond honored to be in such amazing company, and especially happy to have been nominated by two such uber-cool bloggers! We need to put together a Rockin’ Girl Blogger net ring now!

I get to nominate some new bloggers, and I’m picking Carla Naron, Maija Lepore, Julie Dowd, Katie Loucks. You girls are all rockin’ bloggers now! I love all the inspiration I get from fellow bloggers and this is such a great way to get the word out about great new blogs to read.

I’m off for the night now to work on a collage series I’m in the middle of, but before I go, I want to tempt you with some of the yarn I’ll be stocking on Thursday at Noon at Elliebelly. I’m getting into the new fall colorways now — this week in Blue Faced Leicester, Organic Merino, and Silk.

Over the next couple of weeks, look for Superwash Merino, Bulky Merinos, Sock Yarns in lots of different fibers and more yarn to get you in the mood for fall knitting to start showing up. Please drop by for a visit!

Thursday Yarn At Elliebelly

Posted on August 2, 2007 by Joyce Makes Art

I’m surfacing (briefly, but I’m surfacing) from Ravelry (and one of THOSE weeks at work) to show you pictures of yarn. This is yarn you can buy at Elliebelly this week.

I promise that this absolutely my last post rhapsodizing about ~~Nirvana~~ Ravelry, but the coolest thing is how you can have great yarn, yarn you adore, yarn you do not know what to do with. And, you can go to Ravelry, and twenty minutes later (ok, four hours, 15 minutes and 26 seconds later), you are all full of new ideas about what to knit with your yarn. You’ve got links to patterns, comments on modifications, and you’ve made three new friends, one of whom lives two streets away from you and invites you over to her knit night the next week. It is a cool place.

Elliebelly Yarn. I think the first thing you might want to look at this week is the new sock yarn. It’s a bamboo/merino/nylon blend with the beautiful shine of silk and the sproginess of merino ( you know what I mean by spronginess — it holds its shape and has some stretch to it.) This yarn takes up color in a really beautiful way. There are two colorways this week, Arianne and Cleo.

There is also a range of Blue Faced Leicester this week, some in an aran weight and some in bulky (the BFL bulky is not a true bulky, however. It is heavier than the aran but more around 3 stitches to the inch than a true, 2 stitch/inch bulky weight). I have added the option to puchase one-color coordinating skeins of two or four ounces this week. You can purchase solid yarn for a sweater or vest and trim it in the multicolor if you like!

There is also some Cashmere, in the Treasure colorway.

There is lots more including a silk cashmere blend and some Peace Fleece. Please drop by and check it out!

Squirt Is The Only One Who Gets It

Posted on July 31, 2007 by Joyce Makes Art

I think Squirt is the only one who gets it. He really gets yarn. He is ever grateful for the small private stash I keep in our bedroom, where he can cuddle in it. I think he secretly yearns for the joys of the wood-lined closet in my studio, where yarn for sale is kept, and where cats are strictly forbidden to trespass.

Squirt also gets Ravelry. I’m having a lot of fun checking it out and he likes sitting on my lap and purring — batting at the occasional strand of alpaca — while I get familiar with everything.

I don’t think the rest of my family gets it. They don’t seem to understand getting up at 4 a.m. to sign in, coming home from work and going straight to the computer (forgetting to cook dinner), and endlessly photographing stash.

I feel sad for them. Squirt and I are having lots of fun, looking at patterns and checking out yarn. Ravelry is Nirvana. If you’re a knitter and you haven’t signed up yet, trust me. You should.

In the meantime, there isn’t a lot going on here, other than the fact that I finished my work in Kathy McElroy’s incredibly beautiful Pock-et-ful round robin book, but I was so obsessed with going back to Ravelry that I neglected to photograph it before I packaged it up, and I’m hoping I can prevail upon Karen O to take pictures when it arrives in Atlanta.

I promise to surface by the end of the week, after I’ve thoroughly indulged myself by spending my non-working hours um, you know where. Please do stop by and take a look when I stock new yarn, including silk, cashmere, Blue Faced Leicester, and Bamboo sock yarn at Elliebelly on Hyena Cart, Thursday, at noon central time. Here are a couple of the new colorways, "Tonks" and "Cleo," that are joining some old favorites like "Treasure" and "Plum Pudding." The previews are up so you can see it all now. Please drop by for a look!

Successes Midway Through The Ten Week Plan

Posted on July 25, 2007 by Joyce Makes Art

I’m in the middle of week five of the ten week plan. The ten week plan involved my realization that the Colinette Ophelia Tank I was knitting from Giotto in the Paintbox colorway wasn’t going to fit me. It wasn’t even going to be close. Somehow, in under six months I had managed to gain a whole bunch of weight, about 25 pounds, which is a whole bunch when you’re only 5′ 1".

My plan was to finish the tank in ten weeks and lose enough weight to fit into it by the time it was done.

So, here’s the tank.

I’ve got about 10" done and I need to get to around 11" and then do the shaping at the top. Although I’m a bit ahead of schedule, I think finishing it will take me a bit of extra time, so I’m pretty much on target.

And the weight loss? Thanks to the miracle of low carb dieting, which lets me eat lots of cheese and fruit and drink an occasional glass of wine, I’m down about 12 pounds. I’m excited about all the money I won’t have to spend on new suits and that I can now devote to ~~crack~~ new yarn. Eight or ten more pounds in the next 5 weeks and I’ll hopefully both fit into the finished tank and feel a whole bunch better. It’s amazing what knitting can do for you.

Tomorrow is Thursday, which means I’ll have some new yarn stocking at Elliebelly. Please drop by and take a look! There is Treasure on Blue Faced Leicester,

Moonflower on Blue Faced Leicester,

Marseilles,

and lots more, including sock yarn on BFL Ultra in the Expelliarmus colorway.

Drop by Thursday at noon (central) when all the yarn will be available for you to purchase. I’m hoping I have enough in stock this week that it won’t all sell out in the first few minutes and you’ll be able to look around and buy yarn for the next few days. Make sure you sign up for the free lavender sachet lottery while you’re there too!

Getting My Art Muse On

Posted on July 6, 2007 by Joyce Makes Art

My art muse has been, well, lost. It happens every time I clean up my studio (you would think I would learn the lesson in that, wouldn’t you?) I’m happy that the muse seems to have returned, and although I’ve got a yucky virus (see picture of cute kids who gave me said virus below) I spent some time tonight in the studio, happily painting and layering my background for the piece I want to work on this weekend.

These are the sick babies who gave me the pesky virus. They always look awfully sweet when they’re not feeling well.

Since being sick makes me sort of random, I’ll progress on and tell you my happy skein-winder story. Several months ago I purchased a Mama Bear skein-winder. It was love at first sight and made winding so much more enjoyable. But, over time, my winder got a little bit of a bounce to it and didn’t seem to work as easily. I still loved it, but it just wasn’t the same way it was at first.

So here’s the amazing part. I emailed Tom, the really nice guy who makes the Mama Bear. He spent a whole lot of time emailing me to help me figure out what the problem was. It turned out that a big part of the problem was trying to wind from my umbrella swift, which was at a much higher level, onto the Mama Bear. Tom’s solution was to send me a second winder to experiment with, to see if it would help. You just don’t get that kind of customer service anywhere these days!

Here it is — winding side to side on two Mama Bear skein winders.

I’m in love! Thank you Tom. And in case you’re wondering, this is how the skein (buttery soft bamboo) turned out.

Next up? A brand new yarn for me. It’s a 50/50 blend of Suri Alpaca and Blue Faced Leicester. It’s incredibly soft.

I can’t wait to start dyeing it. I think I’m going to use the same colors I want to use in the collage piece this weekend and see if I can’t get a jumpstart on the muse.

Happy Fourth Of July!

Posted on July 4, 2007 by Joyce Makes Art

My little chickadees came down with some kind of nasty viral bug yesterday, so we’re having a low-key Fourth, without the usual family BBQ. We’ve been enjoying a visit from Grandma all week, however, and even when under the weather, the kids enjoy her company.

Ellie dressed her up like a queen.

Ollie was very amused by the whole thing. Teddy, with typical teenage disdain, wasn’t. He refused to come any closer than the stairs.

In the midst of it all, I’m also gearing up for the opening of my new online venue for hand-dyed yarn, Elliebelly at Hyena Cart. The store has some great new colorways and yarns, and also features my new "Knit Kits" with yarns paired up to work with different patterns.

Here are a few of my favorites. Blue Faced Leicester in Clever (named by the always perky Miss Ellie).

Then there’s a cute little hand-dyed and handpainted tee, with matching superwash Merino sock yarn.

And sock yarn, in Mr. Potter.

The store opens on Thursday, July 5 at noon. Please come by for a visit! I’ve got a few goodies like stitch markers that you can enter a raffle to win. (can I do that with my husband too?) I hope everyone will like the new store, as much as Queen Grandma and Ellie seem to.