Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works > Articles by: Joyce Makes Art

Author: Joyce Makes Art

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What Did You Knit This Year?

Posted on by Joyce Makes Art

KnittingMosaic2014

 

[Click on the photo collage to see the larger version]

This is my knitting year in review, or at least most of it.

2014 was a really good year for knitting in my house, likely because our Iceland trip spawned the need for lots of warm things early on and once my hat and cowl mojo got into gear, it never left me.  It was also the year I conquered lace, starting with Pale Pink Shells, knit during the Olympics, and continuing onto Rainbow Fish and Lida.  I started Lida during a trip to South Carolina in May and didn't finish her until September.  She became my constant companion, knitting a row here and there in the carpool line or the doctor's office, and I love wearing her as much as I loved knitting her.  I also knit a Citron, the oldest unknit pattern in my queue, from my favorite yarn of all time, Elliebelly Moth and Goat, a silk/cashmere blend that I dyed into a sunshine-y color, just when I needed some sunshine in my life.

Speaking of favorite yarns, late in the year I discovered The Plucky Knitter's yarns and fell in love.  Some people got up early to shop on Black Friday.  I sat in front of my computer and bought Plucky.  Lots of it. My first project was a Nevermind hat in the Plucky bulky cashmere blend called Snug.  My second project, which I only speak of with great difficulty, was a pair of beautiful merino mitts that were almost done when I stupidly left them in the Atlanta airport, never to be seen again.  I've got an Olivia shawl in the works in a worsted Plucky yarn and plan to cast on several more projects this week to get me through January and February in Plucky yarn.  Because I am in love.  Plucky has great yarn, beautiful colors and the most incredible customer service.

2014 has been a great knitting year.  Looking at my collage, I've decided I need to up my photography game in 2015, so my poor knitting models darling children can all have that to look forward to.  2015 will be a year filled with cashmere, sweaters, happy knitting, and it will, of course, be the year I start my Christmas knitting early.  I'm starting in January this year.  Really.

 

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Knitting Gadabout

Posted on by Joyce Makes Art

My Gadabout cowl started out as an experiment.  I had some aran weight Debbie Bliss cashmere yarn in a natural color, leftover from a hat I knitted years ago.  I had just under 300 yards of it left and it was so soft that I wanted to knit something to wrap around my neck.

image from images4-d.ravelrycache.com

So I dyed it blue and went off in search of a pattern.  I swatched for a simple scarf, but didn't think the yarn had enough structure. I tried a Black Death shawlette.  It was a great pattern, but I wasn't feeling the love.  Then I saw , cowlThe Plucky Knitter's Gadabout and fell instantly in love.  I adore cables, and these are clever but simple to knit.  Best of all, you can memorize the pattern during the first 16 row repeat, making this the perfect portable knitting project.

Gadabout

This is a pattern that whispers to you "just one more repeat, your bed will wait."  It's almost impossible to put down.  

I'm about half way finished — my six 50 gram skeins limit how large I can make it.  The pattern itself has three panels of cables running up its length, but I wisely cut back to two out of fear of yardage and think this should work, as my gauge indicates I'll still be as wide as the pattern calls for, given the bulk of my yarn.

I love this pattern, and let's face it, I live for cashmere.  This is one of those rare patterns I feel sure I'll knit a second time.  If you're looking for something to cast on for this new year, this is it!

 

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Hanukkah, Knitting and Elliebelly Yarn

Posted on 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?

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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!

Hanukkah, Knitting and Elliebelly Yarn

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Bad Things Happen When I Go Away

Posted on by Joyce Makes Art

I should have known it was going to be a bad trip, right?  For openers, within minutes of my getting on the first plane, husband sends a series of photos that demonstrate that my months of careful training of the puppy are all going out the window.  Immediately.

Figtable2

He taunted me with photos all week: dog on table, dog on bed, dog in the trash.  I should have known it was going to be a really bad week.  And it was, at least in a knitting way, because this is the last photo we're every going to see of my Ferryboat Mitts, knit in my beloved Plucky Knitter Trusty yarn in Corduroy.

Cordmitts

I finished the first mitt and started on the second the night before I left, hence the fabulously bad hotel room lighting photo.  But they were lovely.  I couldn't stop trying them on in progress.

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(Airplane lighting, even worse than hotel room lighting).  

I answered a work-related call in the Atlanta airport as my flight home was boarding.  Typically, I would have had better sense than to combine those two, but it was an important call.  By the time I sat down on the plane, I realized I didn't have my knitting.  A kind stewardess told me I had time to run back and get it. The gate agent wouldn't let me off, but said she would go get it.  Predictably, she came back 30 seconds later, telling me it wasn't there and that I had to get on the plane.

Despite the efforts of some kind Ravelers and other friends to track it down, my knitting is nowhere to be found.  So RIP wonderful mitts that would have kept me warm, along with my favorite copper stitch markers.  Somewhere around gate T3 in the Atlanta airport, my knitting is cold and lonely.  I feel sure it misses me.  And I feel really sad.