yarn – ELY Knits

If you’re familiar with the Electric Eel Spinning Wheel, you might know that Maurice Ribble of Dreaming Robots, the mind behind the magic, recently released an electric cone winder!

I backed the project on Kickstarter in 2022. I have only backed three or four Kickstarter projects, but I have to say, Dreaming Robots was great about keeping backers in the know about the state of the project and allowing input. I forgot to fill out the address form when it came out, so my winder arrived in December, but that’s all on me! (Facepalm) I paid the Kickstarter backer price of $189 plus shipping. The cone winder now retails at $259 and is in stock as of the time of writing.

each block is ~1 inch for size reference

The winder was packaged securely and nothing was damaged in shipping. I opted for 10 cones with my winder.

The manual is straightforward and comes with a template to show you how to lay out the tension unit and winder unit. I love that. I’m not great at eyeing measurements, and even though my blocking board lays things out by square inches, I can still measure things incorrectly. It’s a skill.

The cones are 27 grams according to my scale, and I like that they come in different colors. It’s fun. They look pretty cool on the inside once they hold yarn, too.

Assembly was straightforward and well laid out in the manual. There are excellent videos and written instructions on how to use the EEW Cone Winder on the Kickstarter page and FAQs on the product page. I avoided watching anything or reading anything but the initial Kickstarter campaign and the user manual before testing the winder for this post.

Initial Test-Winding Yarn from a Hank

I decided to cone up some of my friend Suzy’s yarn, Woolyboogers Felts. She works out of a studio next door to Get Stitchin’ and exclusively sells at craft shows and Get Stitchin’, so she’s just another great reason to stop by if you’re in the Tulsa area.
(You can sign up for one of my classes while you’re there! Standing classes the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays and Saturdays of the month!)

I used knitting machine clamps and the included tension unit clamp to hold the units in place on my counter, and I initially had my yarn swift (this thing) on the counter next to the winder. That meant the yarn was coming down from the swift to the counter level tension unit.

Using speeds 1 and 2 with the loosest, straight tension setting, I wound the 438 yards of sparkly goodness onto the cone. Well, the winder did all of the work. I supervised.

On the lowest settings and loosest tension, it took a few minutes to wind, but I wanted to be cautious learning the winder. I had a couple of issues with feeding into the tension unit from the swift when I had it sitting so much higher than the tension unit intake. It worked much better when I moved the swift to sit on a chair and the yarn intake was more level with the tension unit as it fed yarn in. The yarn winder had plenty of power to wind from the swift, but I found on the lowest tension it had to work a bit harder if the hank on the swift was held too tightly or the yarn was caught underneath itself.

After the slow speed test run with Woolyboogers, I decided to cone up four skeins of Berroco Modern Cotton DK. (I’ll be reviewing it soon, so be on the lookout for that post in the future!)

I wound each skein at a higher speed than the last, with the final at speed setting #5. I was catching a breeze from the swift at that point! I used the higher tension winding setup as shown in the manual for this yarn.

It looks great coned up! The cone has two small holes at the top for you to attach the yarn label and then store in the center of the cone.

I prefer a more tightly wound cone of yarn, especially for fibers like cotton. The looser tension setting is probably more ideal for delicate yarns. I didn’t experience any yarn breakage, and I did “jam” the winder a couple times. More on that in a bit.

Turn up your audio to hear what the EEW Cone Winder sounds like at speed #5 in my Instagram video below. My pictured setup isn’t ideal, but what I had worked just fine!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ELY Knits (@ely.knits)

I wouldn’t say the cone winder is loud, but it definitely isn’t silent. You can hear it working rhythmically, but I didn’t find it unpleasant.

If you’ve wound a lot of yarn into cakes before, you’ll appreciate the electric cone winder doing the hard work for you. Your arms can get tired after a thousand yards, but with the winder, you’re just turning a dial after a little yarn threading. Easy peasy!

Experimenting and User Error

Ah, the aforementioned jam.

The only issues I ran into using the electric cone winder stemmed from user error and experimentation with yarn swift placement for intake through the tension unit.

At one point, I was pulling additional yarn lengths from the swift because the winder seemed to struggle with pulling directly from the swift.

I shouldn’t have been pulling additional yarn out. The winder didn’t need my help. It operated fine, albeit slowly, when I stopped feeding it yarn myself at low settings as well as after I increased the speed dial setting.

While I was pulling that additional yarn from the swift, knots and loops developed in the yarn and happened to hook themselves around the metal guide spiral. The winder kept going for a tiny bit (of course, it is set to ON and rotating) BUT then it stopped.

When I read the FAQs on the product page, I found the motor stopping is by design, and I appreciate that it stopped and didn’t break my yarn!

This is by design. It is bad for the motor to continue trying to spin when it is not spinning. At low power this can happen when it’s trying to spin slowly but there isn’t enough motor to actually spin the drum. In this case the motor will turn itself off until it sees no attempts to spin for 3 seconds. To work around this turn the speed dial to off and then wait three seconds and it will resume normal operations.
from the FAQs at https://www.dreamingrobots.com/eew-cone-winder/

This is one of the reasons why you don’t set the winder and leave it. If something happens, that delay gives you time to fix things.

I’ll say it again: winder does have enough power to be able to pull yarn off of a swift through the tensioner unit, but at low speed settings with looser tension it seemed more likely to knot up or loop around the metal guide spirals on the tension unit, especially if the yarn wasn’t feeding in quite even with the tension unit (that pesky user messing with it…). It may seem counterintuitive, but I didn’t experience the same looping when I upped the tension and the winder speed (and left well enough alone). Pulling extra yarn from the swift to feed into the tension unit just gave the yarn opportunities to form knots and loops and catch on the tensioner.

Yarn placement is important, and getting it right makes your experience with the cone winder much smoother.

Why Buy a Cone Winder

As someone with hand and arm issues, I am so excited to have a way to wind that doesn’t depend on my arms functioning well that day. And, since cones are the most ideal yarn put-up for machine knitting, I can say goodbye to my awkward cake yarn winder. It served me well, but I’m happy to move on, and I won’t miss the occasional loops across the top and bottom that sent my yarn rolling.

At $259, the electric eel cone winder is not cheap. That’s a chunk of change for anyone, but if you want to use hand knitting yarns by machine and your ball winder isn’t cutting it, I think it’s worth the investment, especially if you have years of knitting in front of you, or if you are like me and have issues with your hands, wrists, and arms in general. Cutting out the winding motion lets me use my body’s limited energy to work on actual knitting.

All opinions are honest and my own. Purchases are made with my own money. Links may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase something using my Amazon affiliate link, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. If you don’t have somewhere local to purchase your machine knitting needs, please consider using my links to support the site!

Thank you for joining me on my machine knitting journey! How do you prepare your yarn for machine knitting? Will you invest in a cone winder? Let me know in the comments!

yarn review

CONE Yarn Review: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport

October 13, 2023October 11, 2023 elyknits

It’s fall, y’all! …well, it is autumn according to the calendar.

Sweater weather hasn’t fully arrived yet in Northeast Oklahoma, but I am here for you with a seasonally appropriate review of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport 100% wool yarn ON CONES!

Before we get into my knitting experience, here are

The Details

Fiber Content	100% Wool
Yardage/Meters	1682 yards / 1598 m
Ounces/Grams	16 oz / (1 lb) / 452 g
Yarn Weight/Size	CYC 2 / Sport
Made In	Mitchell, NE, USA
Availability	BrownSheep.co m, Brick-and-Mortar Local Yarn Shops
Construction	3 plies
Put Up	Cone
Hand Wash	Yes
Machine Wash	NO
Flat Dry	Yes
Machine Dry	NO
MSRP	$55.80
Price Per Yard	$0.03

Additional Info
•This yarn will felt if you do not follow proper care instructions.
•NatureSpun is treated with a moth proofing agent at the time of dyeing that makes the wool “unpalatable to the wool moth larvae.” (See their FAQ page for more details.)
•The main wool breeds used are Corriedale, Rambouillet, and Columbian.
•This construction is available in fingering, sport, worsted, and chunky yarn weights.
•Sport and Fingering are the only options that come in cones.

mid-work on a standard gauge knitting machine

Machine compatibility

4.5mm Standard	Yes
6.5mm Mid-Gauge	Yes
8mm / 9mm Bulky	Yes

Mid to high tensions felt best on a standard gauge machine. Low-mid tensions felt appropriate for the mid-gauge machine. Low tensions are appropriate on a bulky machine unless you plan on using specific techniques that require looser gauge.

(If you’re wondering, I knitted the pictured sweater at Tension 5/5 for the ribbing and Tension 10 for the colorwork.)

What I’m Looking For

I’ve laid out what I’m looking for in a book in recent reviews, but I haven’t really talked about what I want in a yarn. The completely unhelpful answer is “It depends.”

It’s about purpose.

Am I indulging myself in a luxurious, expensive specialty garment, or am I making a jacket I am going to wear every single day? Is the item for someone who will take the time to properly wash it, or is it for a busy new mom who barely has time to think, let alone check the care label on some knitting she got from Auntie Em?

I want to say I’m a bit of a yarn snob because the yarns I end up choosing for personal projects tend to be hand dyed from indie dyers that are specific wool breeds. I want that handmade, one-of-a-kind element to be there from start to finish.

But I can also appreciate acrylic and will argue that has its place in your stash alongside your finest, rarest fibers.

My considerations boil down to
•Will this work on my machine(s)?
•What is its purpose (everyday workhorse vs luxury) and does it meet it?
•How does it feel on my skin?
•Is it easy to care for as a gift?
•What are the color options?
•Is it sustainable/renewable? (This can be difficult to answer depending on the amount of information available)
•How does it block?
•Does it match the claims it makes? (i.e,. “just like silk!”)
•Is this going to be discontinued just because I like it?

I’m kind of kidding with that last one, but I’ll admit I’ve started to stay away from brands that are always introducing new yarns and then discontinuing them after a year. If it’s gone by the time I get to knit with it and I can’t find more, why bother even trying it? That’s a major yarn peeve!

Speaking of yarn peeves, you may not mind these things, but I sure do!

•Knots in low yardage skeins
•Knots in general
•Donut put-up
•Quickly discontinued
•Splitty construction
•Loose/easily lost labels (especially those wrapped but unsecured labels on those dang donuts)

sweater on a wildflower bed of saltmarsh asters

Knitting It Up

I bought this yarn to knit the Sweet and Simple Block Jumper by Kandy Diamond from her new book, Discovering Machine Knitting. (Check out my review here!)

Nature Spun has a great selection of colors. The two colors I used, Autumn Leaves, an olivey chartreuse, and Pomegranate, an autumn red, had very nice depth of color due to a tiny bit of added black. It really made the colors pop.

With more than eighty vibrant colors spun in four different weights, the possibilities are unlimited for creating something beautiful with Nature Spun.
BrownSheep.com

When I think of 100% wool yarns, I think “scratchy,” but that isn’t the case with Nature Spun. It is a bit more textured than a chemically treated superwash wool yarn version, but that is normal.

Nature Spun is pleasantly soft and squishy with a bit of a size bloom in the twist as it comes off of the cone. Brown Sheep Company classifies Nature Spun Sport as a CYC 2 yarn weight, but I wouldn’t call you wrong if you said it was a light DK or CYC 3 weight, as it is on the heavier end of “fingering” weight yarns.

This yarn flowed very nicely through my machines. I didn’t encounter any breakage or splitting, and when I needed to un-knit a few rows due to a punch card mispatterning, it didn’t cling to itself or create fiber halos around the strand of yarn as I unraveled it. It did shed a slight bit of fuzz as it went through the knit carriage, but others wools I have worked with shed the same amount.

I lightly steam blocked the sweater pieces before putting the sweater together. After a bath in some Eucalan, I wet blocked the finished sweater.

The yarn bloomed a tiny bit more after a steam and a soak, but the stitch definition is still nice and clear.

This wool is WARM. Much too warm for Oklahoma in general, but I had to try it on even if it was 82F outside when I finished. If you’re at higher latitudes, this should keep you very warm in the winter.

If you’re picky about your yarn’s sourcing, Brown Sheep Company says it sources its wool from local growers, and the entire process save wool scouring, carding, and combing is done at their Nebraska location. Plus, they are family owned.

Final Thoughts

This yarn is much nicer than I expected it to be, especially as a nonspecific wool blend at $0.03 per yard. Brown Sheep Company’s product listing claims “breathability, resilience, vibrancy, and warmth,” and I haven’t experienced anything to contradict that.

I joked with my husband that we needed to buy a building downtown and open up a yarn shop just so I can get a wholesale account with Brown Sheep Company. I really enjoyed working with this yarn, and I plan to purchase more of it. I personally don’t mind its care requirements, but if you plan to gift an item made from this, make sure your recipient knows how to wash it. It’s basically a one-season/winter only garment yarn in Oklahoma, but I think it’s worth it. I give it a solid

Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport on Cones is a workhorse yarn you’ll want to add to your stash.

Thanks for joining me on my machine knitting journey! I hope you’ve enjoyed my review. What factors do you consider when judging yarns? What do you want to see next on the blog? Let me know in the comments or contact me through my site form.

Disclaimer
I purchased this yarn myself. All opinions are honest and my own.
Amazon product links may be affiliate links. As an affiliate, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you if you choose to use my link. If you don’t have a local place to support, please consider supporting the site and using my link.

Tips and Tricks

Organizing My Studio: The Main Room

August 11, 2023August 25, 2023 elyknits

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something using one of my links, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. If you don’t have a local place to support, please consider using my link as it helps me continue to provide you with quality free content.

We moved to our new place last year, and I have a studio! Yay! It’s a small building around 400 square feet just steps from our garage.

It’s been a dream come true having a large, dedicated machine knitting space and not just a small craft room, but it’s a lot more chaotic than I hoped.

I rushed to move my things in and managed to paint the paneled outer workroom wall before I had a couple surgeries. I’m not fully unpacked yet.

Wall Storage

I painted the paneled outer workroom wall and covered it with 2×4′ pegboard panels.

All of my cone yarn was finally on the wall… until I found some new old stock yarn and brought in nearly a hundred more cones. (Find some tips on how to find cone yarn in this post.) I had to move my hanks to make room for the extra cones, so I needed more pegboard and more hooks.

I ended up using 16×16″ metal pegboard squares for the rest of the pegboard wall so I could work around my thermostat.

If I had to go back, I think I’d opt for using the 16×16″ size for the whole pegboard wall since I had to wait until my husband had time to help me with the large pegboard and I could install the smaller squares myself.

Here’s what I used:

Triton 2 x 4′ Pegboard 4 Count	6″ Pegboard Hooks (better for cones)
Metal 16×16″ Heavy Duty Pegboard – 4 Pack	8″ Pegboard Hooks (better for hanks)

Cube Storage

My wooden cube storage is full of my knitting books, my vintage magazine collection, and my personal yarn, so, you guessed it, I needed some more storage after finding more vintage patterns.

I opted for a wire mesh cube set that I could reconfigure as needed since I have been rearranging machines and yarn every few months to test layouts. It currently sits under a window, so it was nice to be able to work around the frame.

I had to quickly drag the wire cube stack out of the way after an HVAC condensation issue, and surprisingly it stayed together! I didn’t expect that. I wouldn’t suggest moving it like that under normal circumstances, but I wanted to make sure nothing dripped on my yarn.

I think I bought my oldest wooden cube storage unit at Target, but they only come in the 6 cube option there. This one has options from 3-12 cubes, even though I chose to stick with 6 cube units. I have four of them lining a wall now.

What I used

Wood Cube Storage

Wire Cube Storage

More Work to Do

The studio building was built in the late 1970s or early 1980s, but it is very well insulated. The HVAC has a couple of issues that we discovered after a severe storm-related, days long power outage, some windows need replaced, and some of the lighting fixtures have gone out with no replacement bulbs to be found. I’m using my seed-starting lights as a temporary fix so I can see to knit.

The floor is bare concrete in the main room for one glued down piece of red carpet, and the workroom is tile on top of concrete. I’d like to put in padded flooring eventually.

Oh, and I still have to finish unpacking and organizing my books….

I don’t feel great about how things look in my studio right now, and I really miss my small craft room at our old house sometimes. It had such a cute aesthetic and I really felt creative in that space.

I have to remind myself that I curated the old craft room over the course of the years we spent in that house.

One year I did the walls. Another year I added more storage. The pegboard closet wall came close to the end.

I did all of the organizing in this post gradually over the year or so we’ve been in this house. That’s not bad progress for a busy year at all!

I’ll continue tweaking and optimizing as my budget and time allow. Slow progress is better than no progress!

I hope sharing the slow progress on my studio gave you some inspiration or encouraged you in your own organization progress. If you choose to try out some of the products that I linked, thank you, and please let me known what you think!

I’d love to see pictures of how you utilize your space.

Thanks for reading and joining me on my machine knitting journey!

Tips and Tricks

Finding Cone Yarn

June 27, 2023 elyknits

Knitting machines can use a range of yarn from all kinds of put-ups like we saw in my last post, but the easiest and best put-up for machine knitting is cone yarn. Cones don’t need extra preparation before use, have more yardage in general, and often feature unique textures or colors that you might not find in hand knitting yarns.

If cone yarn is so great, why is it harder to find?

In the USA, machine knitting isn’t as common as it once was. While the hobby is growing again, it’s kind of seen as a niche within a much more popular one or even as “cheating” at hand knitting. Yarns made and wound on cones specifically for machine knitting aren’t really a thing here anymore.

On the retail side, cones are larger and more difficult to display compared to other put-ups. Most shops don’t have the shelf space to dedicate to a few 1-2lb cones that would otherwise be filled with 10-15 skeins or hanks. Many hand knitting or crochet projects don’t need the thousands of yards that can come on a cone. Additionally, shipping cones generally costs more for the number of products you get than other, smaller put-ups.

The downsides of retail shouldn’t keep you from using cone yarn in your machine knitting.

Let me butter you up a bit, reader. If you’re a machine knitter, you already work harder to find your materials, parts, and resources than other yarncrafters have to because of that niche! A little work to find cone yarn is nothing to you, right?

Finding Cones Locally

I’m a big believer in shopping at local small businesses whenever possible.

So please,

Check Your Local Yarn Shop

Maybe they have cone yarn and you missed it! It’s easy to get distracted among the beautiful colors and textures in a yarn haven. Trust me, I understand.

If your local yarn shop doesn’t stock cone yarn, ask them about it!

Most shops are happy to accept special orders.
**Please keep in mind that many distributors have a minimum dollar amount to place an order for new accounts, so it may take your LYS time to reach that amount depending on their size. Pay up front and work with your local shop so you both benefit! Convert your yarn friends so more of you need cones! (No downsides to that one, right?)

Get Stitchin’, the shop where I teach lessons, recently became an Ashford dealer. Now they have 0.5lb Ashford cotton yarn cones alongside their Ashford spinning wheels and looms! Those gorgeous yarns work wonderfully on 4.5mm standard knitting machines. The owner is happy to order other yarns in, too. I just have to ask!

Oh, speaking of looms,

Ask the Weavers!

Ask your weaving friends or your region’s weaving guild where they source their coned yarns. Many of them will use hand yarns, but those who work with finer yarns will often use cones. (If you don’t have any weaving friends yet, try to make some! Weavers are fun!)

Chat with the Regulars

I live in rural Oklahoma. Most people probably think of Native Americans and buffalo when they think of the state. They definitely don’t think of yarn.

That doesn’t mean hand or machine knitting doesn’t exist here, it just means I had to look a little harder than someone in a big coastal city or European town might’ve had to.

As some of you know, I used to work at a yarn shop in the suburbs that focused on hand knitting and crochet. When my hands started to deteriorate (I talked about it in this post), I had to start looking for other yarn craft options.

I saw Addi circular machines online, but I had never heard of a flat bed knitting machine. I mentioned my machine research once at the old yarn shop with the other regulars, and wouldn’t you know, one told me about the Fiber Christmas In July festival, a wonderful local fiber festival, and a vendor there who specializes in machine knitting!

Who knows how long it would’ve taken me to figure things out if I hadn’t stuck around and chatted with the yarn shop regulars?!

My teacher and mentor Pamela Carrico is the fiber artist specializing in machine knitting that customer told me about. Her shop has both hand knitting yarns and machine knitting cone yarns! She has new old stock vintage yarns as well as quality acrylic 2/24 yarns that she sells by the pound, which is really helpful if you want to do a colorwork project but you don’t want to pay for pounds of yarn colors you may only use once.

Asking around helped me find an instructor and materials in one place!

Things worked out wonderfully for me, but what if you don’t have a local yarn shop or yarn community? Making your own is always an option, as is joining an online one.

If you don’t have a local yarn shop, please consider finding a small business online and supporting it before you turn to a big box store. You’re more likely to find someone who can really help you find what you need at a small specialty shop, too!

Call (Yes, Call) Other Yarn Shops

I have the Millenial Aversion to Phone Calls. If you’re not a close friend or family, I much prefer text or email, so I understand there can be some discomfort in this tip.

But remember, many machine knitting shops have been in business for decades, meaning they have operated without texts and emails for a long time, so a phone call is going to be your best option, especially as they take care of things in store. Don’t forget to leave a message if you need to. Save the shop’s contact information so you know they aren’t spam when they call you back. (Yes, you’ll have to answer the phone, too!)

At the bottom of this post, you’ll find a list of shops that I know stock machine knitting cone yarn in the USA. If you know of more, let me know in the comments!

Some of these shops don’t have cone yarn listed on their websites but can tell you what they have when you call and ask. Many have “dead stock,” or discontinued cone yarns that are still perfect for knitting. They just aren’t made anymore.

Online Marketplace Listings

If you weren’t able to find anything with info from your LYS or yarn friends, try using Google, Craigslist, and Facebook searches for “<your location> cone yarn” or “<your location> machine knitting.” Don’t forget to check Facebook Groups that may meet locally or regionally, either!

Cone yarn is often listed in large lots from estate or garage sales. Since it takes up so much room, many people are happy to meet you somewhere and give you the yarn for an extremely low price or even free. I’ve found yarn like this several times. It’s worth checking regularly.

Set a search alert using machine knitting and cone yarn terms so you’ll know when something near you pops up. When you pick up your yarn, ask the seller about their source or where they learned about machine knitting and cone yarn.

If your local search doesn’t pan out, try some of these smaller businesses online:

Cone Yarn Stockists

Carrico’s Creative Corner	https://www.cmodesignerknits.com/	Cone Yarn by the Lb, old stock, and more!
Knitcraft	https://knitcraft.com/	SilverReed Importer
The Knit Knack Shop	https://knitknackshop.com/	Tamm Yarns
Peter Patchis Yarns	http://peterpatchisyarns.com/	Email list of Specials
The Yarn Depot	https://yarndepot.orderpromos.com/	LARGE cones
Rocking Horse Farm	https://www.rockinghorsefarmknitshop.com/	Machine Knitting Camp
Get Stitchin’	https://getstitchin.com/	Ashford Dealer
Ashford Yarns	https://www.ashford.co.nz/	Find local dealer!
WEBS Yarn Store	https://www.yarn.com/	Valley Cone Yarns
YARN ITALY	https://www.etsy.com/shop/YARNITALY	Great Variety
Silk City Fibers	https://www.silkcityfibers.com/	“Wholesale” price
Paradise Fibers	https://paradisefibers.com/collections/coned-yarn	Free Shipping after $150 Lower 48
The Woolery	https://woolery.com/	Weaving Yarns

Have you tried machine knitting with cone yarn yet? Were you able to source it locally? What are you planning to make? Let me know below in the comments!

Disclosures:

I teach hand and machine knitting classes at Get Stitchin’ in Tulsa, OK. I’m not paid to promote the shop, but things that benefit the shop often benefit me as people may purchase my work from the shop or sign up for one of my classes!

Carrico’s Creative Corner is my mentor’s shop. I’m not paid to promote her shop, but I happily mention it to support her and her work.

Shops listed are provided for informational and educational purposes and are not affiliated with me.

Thanks for joining me on my machine knitting journey! I hope you learned something useful today.

logo created by the lovely Mimolette Monster

Seminar

Spring Seminar Coming Soon! April 1, 2023

March 14, 2023September 18, 2023 elyknits

That’s right! It’s nearly time for our next seminar!

Hand and machine knitters, you won’t want to miss this!

We’re learning how to design a custom fit knitted sweater!

Attendees will learn measurement tips and tricks to accommodate various body type needs and draw a body block schematic based off of their own measurements.

We’ll discuss ease—what it is, what it means for fit, and how you may not actually wear the “size” you think you do because of it.

That’s not all! We’ll talk about how material choice affects garment fit and design considerations you should consider when adding elements to your sweater.

Hope to see you there on April 1, 2023 from 10:00AM – 4:00PM at Get Stitchin’ in Tulsa, OK.

Visit Get Stitchin’s website to sign up today!

https://www.getstitchin.com/machine-knitting-seminar

News

What a year!

December 24, 2021December 21, 2021 elyknits

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year, everyone!

I hope you’re spending the end of the year how you want, where you want, with whomever you want.

From launching ELY Knits as a site to attending my first in person market in years, a lot of things have happened this year. I didn’t accomplish everything that I wanted to, but I was able to do some unexpected things like team up with a local store to become a machine dealer and team up with some local fiber artists to make some exciting projects for 2022.

I’m looking forward to next year. If you’d like to see specific techniques or yarns, as always, drop your suggestions in the comments below or send me a note through the contact page.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join me on this machine knitting journey.

Good luck on your last minute knitting, and may you always win at yarn chicken.

yarn review

Yarn Review: Lion Brand Touch of Yak

November 12, 2021November 11, 2021 elyknits

I bought this yarn in 2020 to review, and, well, 2020 (and now most of 2021) happened. Now it’s on clearance, but if this yarn seems like it’s for you, you might find a good deal on

Lion Brand Touch of Yak

Touch of Yak in Water Lily

All opinions are honest and my own. I am not affiliated with any company or individual mentioned or linked unless otherwise noted. I purchased this yarn myself and did not receive compensation for this review.

About

Fiber Content	90-% Acrylic / 10 % Yak
Yardage/Meterage	219 / 200
Ounces / Grams	3.5 / 100
Yarn Weight	4 / Medium / Worsted
Made in	China
Availability	Local Yarn Store, Online
Put up	Skein

This yarn is on clearance for $6.99 at the time of this post, so if it’s something you’re interested in, grab it while you can. The clearance price brings the price per yard down from $0.06 per yard to $0.03 per yard.

Originally retailing for 13.99, Touch of Yak is part of Lion Brand’s “Touch of Luxe” collection. The listing mentions “Yak fiber is as soft and warm as cashmere, with wonderful drape,” but with 90% of this yarn being acrylic, any drape you achieve will be from steam blocking or “killing” the acrylic.

Colors are soft, muted, and generally neutral. Now that it’s on clearance, three colorways remain.

Care Guide

Hand Wash	Yes
Machine Wash	Yes
Flat Dry	Yes
Machine Dry	No

I machine washed and dried this yarn with no problems. To be honest, I couldn’t tell any difference made by the minimal presence of yak fibers compared to any other decent machine washable and dry-able acrylic.

Knitting Machine Compatibility

4.5mm Standard Gauge	No
6.5mm Mid-Gauge	Yes
8mm / 9mm Bulky Gauge	Yes

This is a worsted weight yarn. I wouldn’t put it through any standard gauge machine, but it worked fine on other gauges.

Touch of Yak in Waterlily in a warm light
Pattern: Mirror Cable Mitts on ravelry

Performance

This yarn knitted up fine. It wasn’t anything special, but it wasn’t terrible to work with. When I transferred stitches to form cables, the yarn was annoyingly splitty, but plain knitting was fine. The stitch definition was fine for cables and the finished project looked nice.

There’s really nothing to point out if you treat this like any decent acrylic. The yak is nowhere to be found, especially if you’ve worked with 100% yak fiber before. If you haven’t, you might be able to convince yourself this yarn is softer than another mid-range acrylic, but really, it’s not anything special. There is a slight halo of potential yak fiber if you squint. Maybe?

Blocking

This yarn is 90% acrylic, so block it as such. Too much heat will “kill” the acrylic and freeze it in place. “Killing” acrylic is literally melting the plastic it is made of. You’ll achieve a great drape with this but lose any other properties acrylic might offer.

Careful steam blocking is my blocking method of choice for all yarns, even acrylics, but you should make sure you do not leave your steamer in one location for too long.

Touch of Yak in Water Lily wound into a cake

Final Thoughts

This yarn is fine. That’s it. It’s fine. The “touch” of yak is barely noticeable. It feels like almost any other mid-range acrylic. It’s soft, it works, it’s machine washable, and even though it says not to, it really is machine dry-able. The color range is limited, and the yarn is now on clearance. If you like a slightly softer than normal acrylic and you snatch it up, this could be a good yarn for you provided you aren’t picky about colors. Just don’t expect anything that actually touched a yak when you purchase this.

I give Lion Brand LB Collection Touch of Yak a 2 out of 5 score.

Have you used Lion Brand Touch of Yak before in your machine knitting? What about in your hand knitting? What kind of projects did you use it for, and what did you think of its performance?

Are there other properties you think I should include in my yarn reviews? What yarn should I review next? Let me know in the comments!

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Fiber Christmas in July – Fifteen Years of Oklahoma’s Fiber Festival

August 6, 2021August 5, 2021 elyknits

Happy Friday, everyone!

I’m thinking about changing the posting schedule up, so if you have a favorite day to read posts, please vote in the poll or let me know down in the comments.

As always, if you have a yarn review or post suggestion, you can send it to me via the contact me page or just write it in the comments below.

Now back to your regularly scheduled post.

Last weekend, July 30-31, 2021, was the Fiber Christmas in July festival’s FIFTEENTH year!

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I first visited the festival in 2019, so I’m still a bit of a baby Christmas in July attendee, but they’ve already moved into a new, bigger building since my first visit and even used the old building for classes this year!

Classes included spinning, weaving, felting, and dyeing, so you’re sure to find an educational fiber fix if you’re not just attending to shop.

(And now that you know it’s educational, you can plan next year’s visit guilt-free!)

On their Facebook page, Fiber Christmas calls their vendors “Fiber Enablers,” and I’m happy to support my favorites and find new enablers each year at their festival. It’s less than an hour’s drive from Tulsa out to their Creek County Fairground location, so it makes a great Fiber Friends trip.

Fiber Christmas’s Fiber Enabler Vendors came from across Oklahoma and neighboring states–Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, and there was even a vendor from Mexico!

I highly recommend browsing their vendor list and visiting each vendor’s site. The skill and creativity of each artist never fail to amaze and inspire me.

I started out taking pictures of booths (with permission) but quickly lost myself in the wonderful textures and colors each vendor offered.

OK, fun fiber words aside, full disclosure, I got overexcited and completely forgot I wanted to write a post about the festival. I was having so much fun petting and choosing yarns and roving that I just plain forgot to take care of business! Shame on me!

I promise to do better for next year’s Fiber Christmas in July write-up, so hold me to it.

As an apology for skimping on the booth pics and write-ups, here’s my Fiber Christmas 2021 project.

Just don’t ask about 2020’s project. It’s still stuck on the needles…

Color Quadrant Crop by James N Watts in 316 Dye Studio Tweed DK

Have you ever attended a fiber festival before?

What festivals are in your region?

Are you planning your trip to Fiber Christmas 2022 yet?

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Yarn Review: Universal Cotton Supreme DK

May 14, 2021May 13, 2021 elyknits

Universal Yarn has been offering up yarn of all kinds for more than a decade. I first experienced their yarns in 2012 when looking for washcloth cotton at my old Local Yarn Shop. Their Universal Cotton Supreme worsted weight yarn was just too nice for a dishrag, so I ended up using it for a baby gift.

Today’s review focuses on Cotton Supreme DK but is also applicable to Cotton Supreme (worsted) and Cotton Supreme DK Seaspray.

“Knit, Relax, Smile, Repeat!”

About Universal Cotton Supreme DK

Fiber Content	100% Cotton
Yardage	230
Ounces	3.5
Yarn Weight	3 / Light / DK
Made in	Turkey
Availability	Local Yarn Shops, Online
Put up	Hank

Universal Cotton Supreme original/worsted weight comes in 45 solid colors, Supreme DK in 32 solid colors, and Supreme DK Seaspray in 13 marled/ombre color options.

Cotton Supreme DK solid colors wound into yarn cakes

MSRP is $10.50 per hank, but it is easy to find this yarn on sale online for as low as $5.49 per hank depending on colorway. Many LYS offer deals on bulk purchases like online stores will do, so be sure to contact your LYS and support your local area’s businesses when you can!

Care Guide

Hand Wash		Yes
Machine Wash		Yes
Flat Dry		Yes
Machine Dry		Yes

Cotton is an easy-care material, and Cotton Supreme DK follows that. It may be washed warm and tumble dried on low heat. You can iron and steam this material safely. Expect some shrinkage in the wash, as with all cotton yarns and fabrics in general.

Even after washing and drying, Cotton Supreme still has good stitch definition.

This gentle cotton is a good choice for individuals with allergies or other sensitivities.

Knitting Machine Compatibility

4.5mm Standard Gauge	No
6.5mm Mid-Gauge	Yes
8mm / 9mm Bulky Gauge	Yes

As a plant-based fiber, cotton yarn has much less give or stretch to it than animal fibers or synthetic options. While some standard gauge machines function just fine with DK weight yarn, I did not want to risk bent needles or other problems due to using a less forgiving yarn at the thicker end of yarn sizes that might work.

I do not recommend this yarn for standard gauge machines.

This yarn functions wonderfully at mid-gauge and above. My machine did not struggle with this yarn at lower tensions on the SilverReed LK-150, but I did notice a slightly harder push due to less elasticity in this yarn than animal-based fibers. This is normal and not unexpected with cotton yarns.

Don’t be surprised if pushing your carriage feels different to pushing a wool or acrylic yarn, but remember never to force the carriage across the needles if it is struggling. That is not the type of resistance I am referring to in this instance.

Cotton yarn also sounds different on the machine to me, producing a slightly deeper rasp as the needles fly through the carriage.

Swatches, Performance, and Blocking

This yarn is wonderfully soft and gentle to the touch. I spent a bit of time rubbing it against my face. Purely for review purposes, of course. This yarn would make a wonderful washcloth in a spa-themed gift basket.

I have hand-knitted with Universal Cotton Supreme before and noticed it tends to shed a bit of fluff as you go. Initially I believed Supreme DK to shed almost double its worsted weight sister, but now I believe that is due to moving through the machine at a much faster rate than it will ever fly through someone’s fingers as they hand knit.

You should dust and maintenance your machine after each project (and I will guiltily admit to not doing this as often as I should), but you definitely want to make sure to brush out the carriage and needle bed after using this yarn. Fluff and yarn shed from any yarn can gunk up a carriage, so it’s best to perform frequent cleaning.

If you’re curious about how I swatch yarn, please read this post.

Mid-gauge SilverReed LK-150 swatch at Tension 5

	Before	After
20 stitches	4″	4.0625″
30 rows	4.5′	4.0625″

Cotton generally shrinks in the wash, but as long as you are working from the gauge of a “finished” or washed and dried swatch, you should not run into problems. (I cannot stress the importance of working from a finished swatch enough!)

I experienced about 10% shrinkage in row-gauge, so I know how much shrinkage I can expect in projects as I wash and dry them.

Pattern Ideas

This yarn is a great choice for spa gift basket washcloths, baby items, and spring or fall sweaters. I think it’d make great tops for summer wear, as well.

This yarn could make lovely kitchen sets for housewarming gifts, but the cotton is so soft that I kind of dislike the idea of using it for dishes when it could be something soft and sweet on the skin.

I’m currently working on Crux by Kindred Red from the Spring 2021 issue of pompom magazine. This is a hand-knitting pattern that translates to the machine with very few modifications.

Final Thoughts

I’m a cotton kind of girl. Most of my favorite yarns turn out to contain at least some cotton, so I’ll get that bias right out in the open. Cotton is a really nice fabric to wear year-round here in Oklahoma.

I appreciate the color options available to Cotton Supreme DK. It would be nicer if it had all the solid colors its worsted weight sister offered, but since the weights are so close, if you are desperate to use a color offered in worsted weight and not DK, you could probably fudge your way along just fine.

The fluff shedding during actual knitting can be a bit annoying, especially if you breathe one into your nose. Sneezing fits aside, it’s hard to find much wrong with this yarn. It’s a good staple cotton to have in your stash, and its easy care makes it a great choice for knitted gifts.

At just under $0.05 a yard, project costs aren’t too bad. You can find a similar cotton in Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Cotton Yarn, a lighter weight worsted yarn that costs around $0.01 per yard when it rotates through their 30% off sale cycle. ILTC doesn’t have the color availability in stores or come anywhere close to Cotton Supreme’s softness, but Hobby Lobby’s version is the closest comparable yarn I’ve used.

If you’re looking for a quality cotton yarn, you’ll find it in Universal Yarn’s Cotton Supreme line. I give this super soft but stable cotton a 4.7/5.

Have you used Universal Cotton Supreme DK before in your machine knitting? What about in your hand knitting or crochet? What kind of projects did you use it for, and what did you think of its performance?

Are there other properties or categories you think I should include in my yarn reviews? What yarn should I review next?

Let me know in the comments!

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The Basket of Shame

April 30, 2021April 29, 2021 elyknits

It started out with good intentions as “the finishing basket” when I was working on inventory before a craft show.

I’d knit a few washcloths then finish out the day with a cowl or shawl. I’d put them in the finishing basket and weave in the ends later as I watched the news. Then they’d go off to the wash and eventually be blocked and inventoried away.

It was a good system.

Then that cute little cardigan needed some buttons, but USPS was delayed, so it went to the basket.

Then I didn’t feel like finishing the fringe on a self-fringing shawl, so it went into the basket.

Then something interrupted me as I was weaving in ends, so that project went into the basket. Just for a little bit.

Then the craft show was cancelled and other shows followed suit.

The finishing basket was moved to the completely easy-to-see-and-not-forget corner of the yarn closet, and there weren’t any shows coming up anyway….

It was fine, right?

Here I am, a year later, with an overflowing finishing basket. The Basket of Shame.

Oops?

Is it too late for “oops?”

I want to call myself as a professional knitter.

And professionals finish their work, right?

So what am I doing with this pile of stuff?

I’m honestly more than a little embarrassed about it.

How did I let it get this bad? I was home all the time for over a year. There was time to get this done!

That’s not to say that I didn’t finish some things, because I did. But that basket pile still grew….

If you’re like me and some of your works-in-progress have transformed into UFO’s (un-finished objects), I’m here to tell you that it’s OK. It happens. You’re not alone here.

It’s OK to put things down for good reasons, silly reasons, or even no reason at all.

But.

It is important to pick them back up again.

Try not to be too hard on yourself. The UFOs were put away. It happened. Can’t change it.

Now, what I can do, what you can do, is pick up one of those UFOs and work on it.

Little by little, it’ll get done.

If you have some WIPs-turned-UFOs, why don’t you join me in finishing things up? Accountability helps, you know. 🙂

UFO sighting! Nearly finished curly-fringed shawl and Kelso tank top

I’ll go first.

Here’s my UFO list and what each one needs to join my list of finished works.

Teal Gradient Shawl – 25% left of curly fringe, final block
Flame Gradient Shawl – initial block, straight fringe, final block
Turquoise Socks – mattress stitch ribbing of 2nd sock, weave in ends
Green Baby Surprise Sweater – edging, ends, buttons, final
Grey Baby Surprise Sweater – ends, buttons, final block
Grey Tank Top – armhole ribbing, side seams, ends, final block
Black and Pink Scarflette – ends, final block
Yellow and Orange Ear-flap hat – felting
Coral skirt – elastic waistband
Clapotis Scarf – blocking
Washcloth 1 – ends
Washcloth 2 – ends
Orange Mittens – seaming, ends of second mitten
Lavender Mittens – seaming, ends, actually make the second mitten
Faux ‘Fair Isle’ Socks – make second sock, seaming, ends
Fingerless Mitts – second thumb gusset, ends

Whoa. Sixteen projects with varying degrees of completion. A couple of them go more than a year back. Yikes. Others are SO close to the finish line it’s silly to think I stopped where I did.

On top of that, I found four completed projects in that basket! I don’t remember even making them!

I’m not proud that these projects ended up this way, but this is do-able. The Basket of Shame kept growing because I felt overwhelmed and anxious, and I just froze and tried to ignore it.

But that’s OK! Because I’m here now doing and improving, and I’m not going to stop. Now that basket can go back to just being a basket.

nearly finished UFO – Baby Surprise cardigan, machine knit version

What UFOs are floating around your house? Why don’t you join me in taking care of them?

Thanks for reading. See you next time!