Joyce Makes Art – Page 26 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

Finished Soxies and a Hat

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

Who knew Soxies would turn out to be such an intriguing little pattern? They were a quick knit, which is always gratifying. But, with their cables, they never got boring and I found myself knitting late into the night just for the fun of watching them take shape.

They knit up so quickly, that I also managed a quick Barley Hat, knit from Malabrigo Worsted that I dyed myself. I know a little boy who is going to be grateful for this hat when the weather turns chilly, although he looks less than pleased about it now.

Barley has also been a hit with the newest member of our family, a Boxer name Fig, who was a birthday present from my husband earlier this year. For those of you keeping count, that would be two dogs and four cats in our family. I'm trying to teach sweet Miss Fig that yarn is not a toy!

Soxies on a Plane

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

I’m onto the second Soxie. I managed to start on the same color repeat as the first one, so I’m hoping there will be similarity to the way they look-or at least a pleasing harmony.

As you can see, I’m knitting the second Soxie on a plane, just like the first. I’m getting some funny looks from my male neighbors who aren’t quite sure what to make if the woman with the pointy sticks.

Soxies in Progress

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

Soxies have gone from this

to this

to this.

And, one more view of the loveliness that is a complete Soxie.

The second Soxie is on the needle. They are a quick knit, and I'm trying to hold back and only knit while flying and in carpool lines so they won't go by too fast. Since I have another week of flying, followed by carpool lines, ahead of me, I think they will be done by next weekend. They seem to have already been adopted by Ellie, who was won over by their comfiness after agreeing to be my model.

This pattern may be the winner for the perfect, cushy, quick-to-knit gift. I want to knit a pair for myself, but could also see doing a few more for Christmas presents.

The Self-Indulgent September Knitalong

Posted on September 6, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

The Self-Indulgent September KAL for the Elliebelly group on Ravelry started September 1. We picked the Soxie pattern for the KAL and there are a number of projects in the works already.

I'm having an enormous amount of fun with this! At first I wasn't sure a simple pair of slippers would hold my interest, but I love knitting this pattern and especially seeing how this yarn patterns for it.

As you can see, the colors pooled. I don't usually find this to be appealing, and considered ripping it out and starting in a different place in the skein to force the colors to break up differently. But after a few rows I began to like the color placement, and now, despite the likelihood that I won't be able to make the second slipper look the same (I can be matchy-matchy obsessive like that), I'm committed.

One of the great things about this pattern is that it's a quick knit. After the provisional cast on, you do six six row repeats and then transfer the stitches onto DPNs on round 6 of the next repeat to do the toe. Quick and happy!
I'm about to put my first slipper onto the DPNs and can't wait to get the first slipper finished. I'm hoping my love of the color pooling holds up!

Happy Birthday Ellie

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

This has nothing to do with knitting, but my darling daughter turns 16 today (or snarky 16 as we call it around here), and we've got some photos of her over the years that I wanted to share. Feel free to skip this if you aren't family and only come here for the knitting 🙂 Although, there is some knitting related content if you look carefully.

Happy Birthday Ellie!

*Make sure you click on 720p before click start to watch it in high definition*

Different Methods of Dyeing

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

Following up on yesterday's photo of the Elliebelly Crayon colorway dyed up three different ways, I've got some photos to give you an idea of how different approaches to dyeing give you nuanced results in your finished project.

(1) Handpainted – As you can see in the skein, this method gives you crisp color definition. The colors are pure and saturated, without any toning because there is no mixing of the dye on the skein.

(2) Kettle Dyed – This approach gives you organic color transitions that blend from color to color as well as the ability to create "lowlights" in the yarn for projects where you want to tone the impact of the colors.

(3) Paintbrush – This method, which is the most labor intensive, randomizes color placement to prevent pooling and uses blending to create soft colors and a variety of hue and saturation. Ashley's Clapotis is a great example of this yarn knit up.

The differences are subtle, but understanding different yarns and how they are dyed can help insure you get the best yarn for your project. Ultimately, I like all of them.

Crayon

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Joyce Makes Art

I haven’t had much chance to knit for the last couple if weeks, but I have been able to do a little bit of dyeing.

This is my basic Crayon colorway, dyed using three different methods to get different effects. You’ll see it more clearly when they are reskeined, but the middle skein is done in my Paintbrush technique. The skein on the right is hand painted for crisper colors, while the skein on the left is kettle-dyed for more organic color transitioning and a halo of a deeper shade to set off the bright colors.

Crayon has always been one of my favorite colorways to dye. It’s demanding and both the dye mixtures and color placement have to be just right. But it always makes me happy to see it hanging in skeins and I can’t help but want to knit something with it right away.