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Nighttime Knitting. Or Not.

*If you are looking for the post about the Adventurous April Knitalong and the Yarn Giveaway, click here.

Harrypluck

I had plans to start the final repeat of my Tipperary Shawl tonight.  I spread it out on my bed and went off to grab a few things I needed.  

My cats typically ignore my knitting, but apparently there is an exception for Plucky Snug yarn — perhaps it's the bit of Alpaca in it?  Whatever the reason, Harry, my Maine Coon Cat, decided there were more important things to do than knit tonight.  Like snuggle all the knitting.

I really wanted to knit, though.  There are so many stitches in each row now that it's going to take me a while to get through the final repeat of 20 rows and the cast off.  I really wanted to get started.  So I tried to gently shoo Harry away with promises of kitty treats later on.  But he got feisty.

 

I had to buy him off with promises of a knit toy if there were any leftovers. Not much knitting around here tonight.  Hopefully tomorrow!

 

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Knitalongs: Give Aways & Progress

It is, perhaps, a bit confusing to be participating in one knitalong while planning another.  Confusing, but fun.  So, first things first.  The Sunday night yarn give away winner for the Adventurous April KAL on the Elliebelly Ravelry Group is Jamlknitter.  Lisa, message me on Ravelry and I'll get your yarn on the way to you in time for cast on!

If you aren't Lisa, don't worry.  There is still time to enter and win some Elliebelly yarn before the KAL starts on April 1, by leaving a comment to this post, before next Friday.

Yarnbath

In the meantime, any guesses about what color my yarn, in the dye bath above, is going to be?  This photo is a little bit reminiscent of the dress that took the internet by storm a couple of weeks ago.  What color do you all see?

Eyes

And, for the Malabrigo March KAL, my Monkey's eyes arrived today.  I've got three different options to choose from.  I'm almost done with the first leg, so perhaps we will be to the point where we can have an eye test soon.  The pattern calls for you to do the monkey's muzzle last — right now his face is just the big round blob you all saw last week.  But I'm glad to have the eyes ready.  I'm hoping to finish Monkey up next weekend.

 

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Monkey Back

**if you are looking for the post about the Elliebelly Knit-Along and yarn giveaway, click here.**

I’m back to knitting Monkey. And Monkey now has a back.

Head n body

I’m completely enamored with this knit and am starting to envision an entire zoo, full of knitted animals.

Fortunately, I’m not the only one. We’ve decided to include a group for knit stuffed animals and monsters as part of the Adventurous April KAL. I’m planning a cat or bunny to follow Monkey.

There are an amazing variety of fabulous knit stuffed animal patterns on Ravelry, many of them free.

If you’ve never knit a stuffed toy, you should come join us in the KAL. And if you have made one or more in the past, you should come knit with us and share your ideas and expertise. Toys are not something I ever saw myself knitting, but my best friend and I have a 30-year tradition of exchanging gifts, so when I saw the original Monkey Jacobus pattern, I couldn’t resist. And now, I’m hooked!

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Adventurous April KAL & Yarn Giveaway

As may of you know, in April, we have a knitalong on the Elliebelly Ravelry Group.  Adventurous April is a chance to knit with old friends, make new ones, and end up with a fantastic finished knitted object, because with the support of this group, you can get all the help you need with your knitting.

We knit for the fun of it and have very few rules.  Our start date is April 1, but you can and are encouraged to gather your yarn and needles, review your pattern closely, and swatch before then.  You can knit with any yarn you like, and since Elliebelly is no longer sold, there will be a few giveaways to make sure those who would like to try it have that chance (see more below).  We have an Adventurous April Chat thread here if you have any questions about joining, the KAL, the patterns, or, if you just want to introduce yourself.

image from images4-d.ravelrycache.com

This year, the KAL has three categories.  First, there will be a group knitting Antarktis, Janina Kallio's clever one-skein shawl pattern, which works in any weight from fingering up to a light worsted (I'm thinking about you, Plucky Primo Worsted).  The sign up thread is here.

Next up is the stuffed animal/monster thread. We started out talking about my March Monkey, everyone shared their favorite toy pattern, and in the anarchy that always characterizes our KAL, we've decided to have a "knit the stuffed toy of your choice" group.  The sign up thread is here and it includes lots of ideas.  I'm thinking about the Wild Thing, but am equally tempted by C is for Cat.

Our last KAL sign up option is for people who want to try a new technique, but with a friendly, supportive group around them.  I have always sworn I would never attempt steeks, but with Adventurous April, you never know. Any technique of your choice is the order of business here — a new cast on, first attempts at lace, beading, magic loop — challenge yourself and have an adventure.  Sign ups are here.

image from images4.ravelrycache.com

To get you started with KAL yarn, we've got a little giveaway.  First up is yarn for Antarktis.  Sign up for the KAL, and then come post here in the replies.  We'll have one drawing Sunday night and then two more on Friday the 20th.  Winners will get their choice from among the new colorways I've been experimenting with — I can't wait to see some of them knit up! (And yes, the deep blue colorway, which is a new one, Homemade Dress, is dyed on the return of Elliebelly's Angel sock yarn if you're after some luxury.)  In addition to those pictured above, there is a glazed gray colorway called Crake, and an edgy gold called Oryx.  If you need a little encouragement to take the plunge and sign up, I hope this will do it.

Graygold

In addition to this giveaway, there will be at least one more with yarn for the stuffed animal category. Come along and adventure knit with us!

 

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Knit.Knit.Knit.

I had to interrupt my Malabrigo March KAL knitting to take some more portable projects along on two back-to-back trips.  Monkey is not meant to be knit on the road, and knitting from multiple skeins while dealing with splitty yarn meant my Marz sweater wasn't going to accompany me on my travels, either. So, I took two other projects along with me.

image from images4.ravelry.com

The Tipperary Shawl I've been working from is written for a bulky yarn. I'm using Plucky Snug.  It's a quick knit and great for keeping your hands busy while reading or working at night, because it's such as easy pattern. I've got 1.5 repeats left and then I'm done.  I'll be interested to see how this blocks out, as it's quite tight around the edges.

image from images4-b.ravelrycache.com

This is my Vodka Lemonade sweater.  You may remember the seed stitch collar, which took me eons to knit because I'm slow like that.  This project has been on the back burner, but I'd like to be able to wear it come spring, so it's my designated airplane project.  Even though I'm alternating skeins, it's very portable, and since I'm midway through the raglan increases, there is no need to look at the pattern, making it a good companion on a plane.  And I love the yarn — a gorgeous Plucky Crew that is an 80-20 Merino/Cotton blend and behaves like the best of both fibers.  And have I mentioned that I really like knitting Baby Cocktails patterns?  She writes them in such an easy to understand manner and they make so much "body sense."  I think several more of her sweaters are in my future.

This weekend I'll be back to working on my Mal March patterns, but it was fun to pick these two up.  I'm looking forward to finishing both of them.  And, I've started getting ready for the Elliebelly Adventurous April Knitalong (anyone is welcome to join with any yarn — see the info here).  

*The first yarn giveaway for the KAL is live, if you've com here looking for it.

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Monkey Has A Head!

Monkey head

Look at Monkey's cute (although sort of creepy since it's disembodied) head.  I decided to stuff it, even though the pattern doesn't direct me to at this point, because it seemed like it would be easier now, without having to navigate up the body through the tight neck.

There are a lot of comments about the Monkey Jacobus pattern from people who had difficulty knitting it, I'm finding it to be very straightforward and easy to follow, at least so far.  It's also a lot of fun.

The purl ridge across Monkey's face is the starting point for picking up stitches and adding on a big sock monkey-esque snout.  And the little bars on the side of the head, I am guessing, are where the ear stitches will be picked up.  Can you see the vertical ridge of purl stitches below?

Mokeyear

You can follow along as I knit my "March Monkey" project here, as part of the Malabrigo March Knitalong.

Although Monkey is my first knit stuffed animal, he is not going to be my last.  There has been an outbreak of stuffed animal ideas on the Elliebelly Ravelry group as we discuss our Adventurous April KAL. There are cats and bunnies and all sorts of wonderful things, and I don't think I'm going to be able to keep myself from knitting all of them.  If you're interested in joining us, we would love to have you.  It's always a fun KAL in April.

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First Finished Object — Malabrigo March KAL 2015

image from images4-b.ravelrycache.com

It's my first finished object for this year's Malabrigo March Knitalong.  Or does it count as two?  Tardis Blue mittens, knit from Malabrigo's Bulky weight Rasta yarn.  

This is a great last minute gift project, as they knit up in just a few hours at this weight.  The yarn is so soft!  This is the kind of project that makes you glad you're a knitter.