Joyce Makes Art

Elliebelly Yarn: In That Awkward Stage

You know that awkward stage where the ugly little fledgling bird starts to spread its wings and becomes a more confident version of itself?  I'm feeling a bit like that at the moment, as the barebones version of my new website is on its way to being fully redesigned and functional for Elliebelly Yarn's January 2017 reopening.  One side effect is that my blog is in limbo as I learn to blog directly through the new site.  I haven't yet figured out exactly how we integrate the blog, which has been hosted on Typepad for over a decade now, into the new site.

What does that mean for you, Dear Reader? With the exception of today's post, which is "navigational" in nature, the blog should look the same whether you come here to Typepad or go directly to www.elliebelly.com/blog to read it.  The Blog has now been moved to the www.elliebelly.com/blog  I'm sad to be saying good bye to Typepad, which is a great platform for blogging, but no fears, I'll be keeping all of the old posts here so you won't have any issues with bookmarks and such.  All new posts, everything from December 22, 2016, will be on the new site. Please do let me know, through either the comments or the contact form on the website, if you experience any issues.  And, in the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy this video, which gives you a glimpse of some of what will be on the new site, along with all of the knitting and dyeing that has been going on ahead of the reopening.

 

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Mueller team's Manafort focus spans

Mueller team's Manafort focus spans 11 years http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/19/politics/mueller-manafort-pressure-decade-investigation/index.html

Indie Untangled

Have you run across Indie Untangled?  It's Lisa Chamoff's brilliant effort to help you find indie yarn and knitting related swag and I've been relying on it to keep up to date on yarn-world happenings ever since I found it.

Lisa noticed that I was getting ready to reopen Elliebelly in January and was nice enough to ask if I wanted to be part of her holiday giveaway this year.  You can find the details here. She has some great yarn & swag in the works for you!

In non-knitting news, this happened in my house yesterday.

Total and utter madness will ensue.

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Something New In Elliebelly Cashmere

 

I've got a lot to do today. And, I shouldn't. I really shouldn't be plotting a new knit.

But this Cashmere is calling me. It's Elliebelly Coventry Cashmere. The colorway is Lady Mary and its calling to me like a siren's song.

Resistance is futile. I'm going to try and get a little work done, but then I'll be back with the project I'm plotting for this irresistible yarn.

My Life As Garter Stitch

I'm still plugging and plugging along, knit Stitch after knit Stitch, with no apparent progress. I see the balls of yarn (I'm alternating skeins) decreasing, but honestly, I can't detect any growth in my scarf.

A friend suggested putting a locking stitch marker in the stitch I start with every morning and I'm going to try that as soon as I get home and can get my hands on one. Until then, it's the neverending garter stitch project for me.

This is not to complain, though. It's cashmere! It's a joy to knit every stitch. But, although I'm usually a process knitter, this is for me and it has a sort of spectacular finish coming. I can't wait to be able to wear it!

Four Elliebelly Projects

Are you looking for something to knit?  Something pretty for yourself or a quick last minute gift? I've got you covered today, sharing four projects that have been knit with Elliebelly Yarn recently.

The project on the top left is knit from handspun yarn -- I dyed the fleece and my incredibly talented Cousin Ann spun the yarn.  But then, it sat around in stash for a long time because it was too pretty, too valuable and I wasn't sure what project would be sufficient to honor it.  The Demiluna shawl turned out to be the perfect answer to that conundrum.  The pattern is versatile -- you can adapt it, even late in the game if necessary, to use your yardage.  And its shape makes it very wearable.  Use your handspun!

Pictured on the top right, the I Want You shawl is knit in Elliebelly Rainey Fingering. This is one of my newest yarns, a Silk/Linen/Alpaca blend.  It's wonderful and the perfect weight for wear all through the year.  I adore the sweet edging on this scarf/shawl, and because it's a one-skein wonder, you can knit one fairly quickly as a gift, or spoil someone (yourself?) by knitting it using a sinfully luxurious skein that you would hesitate to buy a sweater quantity of.

In the lower left corner, Trieste Mitts, knit in Elliebelly Big Blue Bulky BFL.  Quick because they are bulky and really warm, squishy, and pretty.  I'm sure I'll be knitting a pair of these on Christmas Eve for one last gift.

© Pizza-Ghost

Last, but not least, Anticlastic was written for a worsted weight silk blend, but this project used Elliebelly Seasilk DK and came out perfectly.  If you aren't sure what to do with variegated yarns, this pattern definitely has an answer for you.  It's like a fisherman's net made of silk, which, when wrapped around your neck, is stunningly pretty whether you're wearing jeans or off to something formal.  I'm a huge fan of Seasilk at any weight and I think Anticlastic is the perfect pattern for showing off its many virtues.

I hope you find something fun here to help with your holiday knitting.  Elliebelly will be back in January, but until then, please sign up for announcements about that (and perhaps a giveaway or two) in the box in the upper right hand corner.  Happy Knitting!

True Love: Cashmere

I am knit, knit, knitting away on a cashmere scarf.  The yarn is Plucky Cachet in Dreamy, and it is my second favorite yarn, only because Plucky's newest cashmere, Groovy, a felted cashmere yarn, became an immediate favorite when I knit this hat a couple of weeks ago.  The truth is, I love them both.  I have a thing for pure cashmere.  And Cachet, which is somewhere between a worsted and aran weight is a really wonderful yarn to knit with.  So wonderful that I don't mind the endless knit, knit, knit (because this entire pattern is in garter stitch) that will produce a wonderful scarf, based on a shop pattern at my local yarn store In The Making, when I'm finished.

It's A Gansey (Sort Of)

I'm a little bit obsessed with Amy Miller's new mini-sock patterns, and have been working on a pair of Jimmies in between other projects.

Because knitting Jimmies made me even more obsessed with the other three mini-sock patterns, I sent off yarn to Ravelry knitter, Mommajnine, for a pair  of It's A Gansey, another of the patterns in the set.  Ganseys are sweaters with distinctive local patterning, which this sock pattern mimics, and to kick up up just a bit, I sent four different colors of yarn to use for the sock, rather than knitting it as a solid. 

© Mommajnine

The yarn is Elliebelly Blue Faced Leicester (BFL) Constant, dyed in Dear Theodosia (Green), Muslin (Neutral), Lady Mary (Blue), and Lost Coast (Salmon Pink).

© Mommajnine 

Janine, who is the most amazing of sock knitters, turned the yarn into a pair of It's a Ganseys, quicker than I can turn the heel on a sock!  Here they are in all of their loveliness.  I adore how she aligned the colors.

I'm enjoying knitting my Jimmies and encourage you to pick up some sock yarn and knit a pair of Amy's socks.  They are the perfect quick little knit to make sure that you don't forget yourself in the middle of holiday knitting for friends and family.

Elliebelly is Coming Back

So....This is definitely a thing, and I'm doing it.  Elliebelly is coming back in January 2017.

 

It's exciting and nerve wracking!  There is lots and lots (and lots and lots more) work to do on the Elliebelly Website, which is pretty bare bones at the moment.  The fun part, of course, is the dyeing, which is happening at full speed right now.  And, a little bit of plotting: those of you who remember the old Elliebelly know that it contained a lot of guidance on yarn selection and "What Can I knit With It" kind of help.  I'm going to amp that up.  A lot.  And, I have a special collaboration with one of my favorite designers in the works too. Knitting brings a lot of joy, friendship, and support into my life and I hope the new site will do that for you too!  Please make sure to sign up to receive the newsletter in the box at the top right hand corner of the page, so you'll know when we're ready to reopen. 

One of my favorite parts of the new site is the photography of sample knits. If you're not sure whether you're a yellow person, meet Oryx.  Pretty in the skein, but amazing knit up in this Andromeda shawl.  Oryx also looks great paired with other colors, like Crake and Lady Mary, in Ashburn.

This is Carino, knit in Elliebelly Angel Fingering in the Mystic Tangerine colorway. Angel is incredibly soft, spun from Cashmere, Silk, and Alpaca for the perfect luxury yarn.

The last sample knit I'll share with you today is Isabel Kraemer's Lemmy K Shawl. It's knit here in the heirloom rose colorway in Elliebelly Cloud Soft DK, a cashmerino blend. This is a fluffy scrumptious shawl.

As I work on the new site and prepare to reopen, I'm incredibly grateful to the cohort of knitters who worked with my yarn and supported my ability to select the best base yarns and tweak colorways.  The community of knitters is a wonderful place and each and every one of the sample knits makes me think of a friend, sometimes a new friend who I have never met in real life, but a friend nonetheless.  For me, knitting is all about community.  I'm excited about reopening Elliebelly and helping to give to that community, and I hope you'll come along with me and be a part of it!

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Cables And Cables

 

I've been working on Rob Roy this afternoon. The cables were hard to figure out for the first few rows, but now they seem to be making sense. I'm a few rows shy of halfway through the first repeat of the cable pattern, and although it was hard to get a photo that shows much of anything, I did want to capture how pretty the yarn, Elliebelly Lyric in the Catherine, Are You Weeping? colorway, looks in progress.

This yarn is incredibly soft and the finished hat is going to be lovely and squishable.  Like all of Thea Coleman's patterns, Rob Roy has just enough of a challenge to it that you feel good about conquering it.  The quirk here is that on a few rows, the cable crosses start at the end of the last row, which sounds somewhat confusing until you get there, but her directions are so well written that all you need to do is trust the pattern and follow them precisely.