Page 38 – Elliebelly Knit & Dye Works

Knitting Surgery: Successfully Repairing A Missed Cable Cross

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

Those of you who have been reading along know that I missed a cable cross in my Heritage Hat. And then I kept knitting, never noticing it, for another 13 rows.

It looked even sadder up close.

I REALLY did not want to have to rip it all out. And I thought I could fix it. I had a vague recollection that the Yarn Harlot had puzzled it out. One of my friends, who saw me post about my problem on Ravelry and who will remain nameless, encouraged me.

All the way back in 2006 I found the Yarn Harlot’s succinct advice on dropping down rows to fix a cable problem without the need to rip out all of the rows themselves. I won’t try to characterize her advice because she delivers it in such a clear, succinct fashion that it’s perfect. If you need her help, here it is: http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2006/06/20/all_is_not_lost.html

Here’s how it worked out for me. I ripped down to the missed cable. You can see it more easily in black and white.

Then I began the process of knitting back up on double pointed needless, carefully knitting in turn with each loose strand and even more carefully inserting first the cable cross I missed and then the three others that had to be put back into place.

Here we are, almost back to the top. The tension is a little bit wonky but not nearly as bad as I feared.

Surgery was a success. And, too my surprise, it only took about 20 minutes. It was a tense 20 minutes, but at the end of it I felt like I could take on just about any challenge.

Look at that! It’s virtually as good as new. I couldn’t be any happier!

Ouch!

Posted on September 15, 2015December 21, 2016 by Joyce Makes Art

This gorgeous piece of cashmere is the Heritage Trail hat I showed you at its start a few days back. It's a lovely pattern and since I enjoy cables and seed stitch, it's my kind of knit.

This photo was taken while I was flying home from the Plucky Shindig. I was tired. Really tired in the way your mind is exhausted from the late night, knitting in the hotel lobby in your pajamas while eating See's Candy, scene. I shouldn't have been knitting something that required cabling and increasing on different rows.

Look closely at the third in cable block from the right. I missed a cross. It wouldn't have been much of an issue had I noticed it at the time, but I'm now several inches and five or six cable crosses further along. I'm going to attempt surgery tonight. Although I love this yarn, it is very slippery and wouldn't be my first choice for this dicey little operation. Stay tuned and keep me in your knitting prayers!

Overshopping At Shindig

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

Everyone says you have to go to Plucky's Shindig with a firm shopping list. You need to know what patterns you're buying for and have some ideas of the colors you want. So I did just that. I spent days working my list so I had just the right mix of sweaters and accessories to get me through the next six months of knitting. I was committed.

Then I saw the Shindig Marketplace in person. And all of my plans flew completely out of my mind.

I thought I would share a couple of my favorite purchases with you. I'm too embarrassed to confess to all of it. Definitely overshopped, and really happy with every last skein that came home with me!

Truth or Dare on Primo Aran was the first yarn that caught my eye when I wandered into the Marketplace and I was unable to leave without it. The Olivia Shawl was my gateway drug for knitting with Plucky, and I'm contemplating another in this extraordinary colorway, but keeping my eyes open for other possibilities.

This color is called Bedrock and I have no idea where it has been all my life. It's a dusky shapeshifter with grays and greens and browns and it's perfect. At the end of the day it reads as a gray. Why yes, that's Cashmere Aran. I didn't see Bedrock on any other base and I was unable to resist. A hat? Stripes in a sweater or shawl? No clue. I'll be happy to keep this one out and pet it several times a day for the next few weeks.

The Village on cashmere sport was another colorway so irresistible I couldn't put it down once I saw it. Again, I have no plans. But I consider myself lucky because this was a singleton skein. I'm afraid that if there had been more, I would have shamelessly bought them all. Maybe some fingerless mitts for me. This color is one I'm going to want to keep close.

Last but not least, this charming skein of Bellini on Traveler Sport. This may become the accent color in my Hexed shawl. But it would also be great for the Norie hat that has been on my queue for a long time. It's such a sweet color and it begged to come live with me. I was unable to tell it no.

Shopping at Shindig was a lot of fun. I think I'm done for a while, but half the fun of the whole gig was seeing what people picked out and finding out how they planned to use it. I'm hoping a lot of other people will share their new stash ups — if they do, I'll share some links at the bottom of this post (or feel free to add your own links in the comments below).

Shindig and Airplane Knitting

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

Plucky Shindig, in Grand Rapids, Michigan was a very fun time. Knitting classes with Amy Herzog and Lorilee’s Beltman were light year advancements in my knitting knowledge and sitting in the hotel lobby, knitting with new friends until late into the night was fabulous. Kudos to the drunk 20-something in the mini skirt who wandered up to us one night and tried to convince us she “used to knit” even though she could barely stay on her very high heels. It was all good. The world would be a better place if everyone was as friendly, open, and accepting as knitters!

Although I brought along (and managed to get a bit of work done on) my Glacier sweater, Drachenfels and Summer Moon, I cast on the new Heritage Hat pattern from the new Plucky Fall Back Collection and have enjoyed watching its cables grow in an Aran weight cashmere. Although the pattern assumes some knowledge that might make it difficult for a newish knitter, it’s lovely, and I’ve tried to include some comments in my pattern notes to make it a little easier.

The Big Cabled Afghan

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

2010 was the year of the big, bulky, and very definitely knit from cheap acrylic yarn, cabled throw. Pottery Barn had them. Restoration Hardware had them. Pretty much every store or designer showroom displayed them as the accent piece in model rooms that I, with four children and multiple pets, could only dream of having. Perhaps the cheap acrylic was even a response to people in my situation, but it surely wasn't coming to live in my house. So I started out with this:

Coming up with a simple cable pattern with a garter stitch border wasn't rocket science. And, I had gotten my hands on a fabulous silk/alpaca/merino super bulky yarn blend, which was a wonder to dye. I set aside a large batch of it for myself and set to work. I ended up with this.

It was very simple, but it made me very, very happy. It was perfect for cold winter days and snuggling with children. A lot of people asked about the pattern and I kept meaning to do a write up, but I never found the time, even though I had kept meticulous notes while knitting. Even if I had written it up, I was no longer dyeing yarn for sale, and wouldn't have a yarn to recommend. The first time I knit with Plucky Snug Bulky, this afghan came back into focus. It was the perfect yarn for it. A similar blend, with a similar soft but bulky quality to it. So, this:

A friend who is a much more technically savvy knitter than I am is knitting it up and making sure my pattern makes sense (I bet she'll put in a few bells and whistles before she is done). The color is called Happy Camper and it's a stunner! Before the pattern's release, we will put in tips to make techniques like the cables and alternating yarn skeins easy enough for even a new knitter to take on. It will be a free release. I'm hoping you all will enjoy it!

Favorite Knit Hats

Posted on September 1, 2015December 21, 2016 by Joyce Makes Art

'Tis this season.

Or, no. It's really not the season. September in 'Bama is definitely not hat season. But the mornings have been chilly, which gives me hope of sweater weather ahead and makes my thoughts turn to knitting that I can wear as soon as it comes off the needles. So, I thought I would recap some of my favorite knitted hat projects today and help everyone with some start up ideas for hat accessory knitting.

Deux by Lisa Mutch is such a simple knit that even a novice knitter can manage it. And, it's quick because it's knit in Bulky yarn. I did this version for our trip to Iceland last year and loved wearing it. In the world of quick, satisfying knits, Deux is the king.

Nevermind, by Melissa Schaschwary, also knit in bulky yarn, is a simple, addictive cable pattern. I've knit it twice and both times I enjoyed it so much that I didn't put it down until it was done. Have a couple of football games to watch? Knit a Nevermind. The Plucky Knitter's Snug Bulky is the perfect yarn for this hat.

My Lutz Jump Hat is such a marvel! Its cables are complex, but not too difficult to conquer for an advanced beginner. Monika Sirna's well-written patterns are always a pleasure to knit and this one was no exception. I used Malabrigo Worsted Merino. It was the perfect yarn for this hat. It's fluffy and the colors are rich.

Honegart by Stephen West is such a feel good knit! I dyed the yarn for it myself and enjoyed watching the honeycomb patterns take shape. The construction is interesting and the result is a hat you feel proud to say you've knit. It made me feel accomplished and kept a child going to school up north warm.

We are crazy Wes Anderson fans in our house. We love all of his movies, but especially The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. I had to knit my darling husband (the hat is modeled here by one of the kids), the ubiquitous Zissou hat that was worn by all of the crew members in the movie. My version is in a light weight worsted yarn that knit up more like a dk weight yarn. It's got a delicate swirl pattern in the decreases that's fun to knit. There are several interpretations of this hat on Ravelry, but I thought Lalla Pohjanpolo's version came the closest to what I wanted and it was easy to knit.

You can never have enough hats. Never ever. My Ravelry queue, which I try to limit to patterns I seriously plan to knit in the next year, has 15 hats in it. Four of them are in my short term plans for knitting, including Northport, Greystone, Happy Thoughts, and Howzat.

Are there hats in your future? I'd love to see your thoughts in the comments with links to hat patterns you've knit or are planning on trying out.

Summer Knitting

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Joyce Makes Art

Feeling low because you got pranked by the Mars hoax ? Here's a planet you can see, or at least a picture of my Summer Moon shawl in progress.

This pattern is everything I'm usually not. It's bright. It's chevrons. It's fingering weight and the first row consists of 500+ stitches. But I was drawn to Knitterella Jill Zielinski's pattern the more I looked at it and took the plunge. I've been knitting a row here and there when I have a moment and am in love with the color play!