Holly and Ella Knits

Website Issues :(

ieholly — Thu, 13 May 2010 11:03:06 +0000

We are currently having problems with our the Holly and Ella Knits Website.
Please be patient and we will either have our regular site back in a few days or we will be developing a brand new site!

You can still access our patterns through Ravelry and most questions can be answered there.

Thank you for your patience!

Donna and Holly

Weekend knitting with mom!

ieholly — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 22:34:50 +0000

I visited my family last weekend. It was super relaxing. My husband and I don’t get much time together while he is in school. Due to some complications with a well I was working on I got 3 days off in a row!!! Jason and I got to see a movie and take our dog to the park. No leashes and a pond:) She looooves the park because she gets to meet other dogs. We are working on teaching her how to swim. As long as we hold her favorite toy hostage she is almost willing to to anything.

I also got to squeeze in some knitting time with my mom over coffee. She is working on Ysolda’s scroll lace scarf for a gift. The yarn is worsted malabrigo and is deliciously soft. ( I think you look pretty mom!)

I am still working on my shawlette in a silvery debbie bliss silk. A version, the one I am working on in this picture is finished and blocked. I need to tighten up the pattern because I made a few modifications as I went.

Where I knit the most…

ieholly — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:13:21 +0000

I was reading my mom’s post about knitting while she traveled and it got me to thinking about where I end up knitting the most. Without a doubt I knit at more at work than home and travel combined.

My husband and I are both petroleum engineers. He is in graduate school right now and I spend alot of time on wellsites out of town. This is my mobile office. Its basically an nascar trailer outfitted with computers. Check out the super professional trash bags! The next picture is of the actual well we are working on. You can’t tell but it stands about 20ft high.

I started knitting in college to deal with stress. I never knit in public. At the time it wasn’t popular and people would give me weird looks if I did. Then I graduated and started working in a male dominated field and continued to secretly knit in my down time. But after a few years of that I finally gave up. Now I knit everywhere. My husband does make me put it down at the dinner table though.

I’ve even knitted a few things for my coworkers to give as gifts. As soon as my husband graduates I will have a lot more time to knit at home. For now it makes my days go by much faster!

Right now I am working on my shawl. I finally figured out the edging! I will post a picture when it is blocked.

Spring Time in Texas

iamellab — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:56:16 +0000

P and I made a quick trip to Katy on Monday to visit family. Between Hempstead and Brookshire we were surprised to see the amount of wildflowers in the pastures. P pulled the car over so I could take this pic with my iphone.

Bluebonnet Heaven April 12, 2010 Larkin's 21st Birthday

No, that is not water, but tons and tons of bluebonnets!! When I rolled down the window the entire car filled with the heavenly scent of Texas wildflowers!

Also, Happy Birthday to Kit! I miss him so much but am happy that he is spending his 21st in a place that he loves. When we spoke he said that London was having sunny spring time weather, as well. Hope he’s getting plenty of study time in for exams in May!

-Ella B

A little dose of “the cutest dog ever”

ieholly — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 19:11:56 +0000

Seriously she is just as silly as she looks. I miss her. My husband is away at grad school and he has her while I am at work. At least I have good pictures. I think I am going to knit her a little sweater. Maybe like this. She really needs a hat tho…

-ieholly

Projects On the Go!

iamellab — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:01:30 +0000

Traveling in itself can be somewhat hectic, but for a knitter taking a little project along can make for some very productive knitting! 2 of my 4 sisters are fabulous quilters and for my birthday in February, my sister Conni made a little quilted project roll that is just beyond perfect for me! With needle pockets for plenty of knitting accessories, I roll up my yarn, needles and pattern, tie with the cute little ribbon, throw it over my shoulder and I am out the door! Now when running errands or going to lunch - waiting time is knitting time!

I have had so many compliments on this little cutie and was recently approached in a restaurant by a lady asking where I got it from. Well, I happened to be lunching with Conni at the time and she was so happy to hear the compliment first hand!

If anyone is interested in purchasing a little quilted project roll – give me a shout! I know Conni would be happy to make more! – Ella B

Designing My Own Shawl

ieholly — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:41:50 +0000

I have been taking an online course at Stefanie Japel’s online knitting studio for the last few weeks. The course has videos and hand outs that walk you through designing lace shawls. Ever since i finished knitting Ysolda’s Ishbel for my sister this winter I have been wanting to try my hand at designing my own. When Stefanie announced this class I decided to give it a go.

I started with a simple sketch. I wanted something in silk. Something that I might like to have at the beach in early summer. The little shells lace pattern in the lace harmony guide seemed to fit.

From there I did a couple of swatches ( a square and a triangle) to see what it could look like.

Seems like I do a lot of knitting on my couch. Right now i’m finishing up the pattern and working on a border edge.

In all this is a fantastic class with great materials and guidance if you need it. I totally recommend it.

-ieholly

Date Night Scarf

iamellab — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:34:02 +0000

I know, I know, enough already about the Citron Shawl, oy! But I just had to let you know that I wore it to the movies last night and it kept me perfectly comfy in the chilly theater. P and I Saw ‘Date Night’ starring my favorite Ripka Girl - Tina Fey and funny, funny, Steve Carrell. While not critically acclaimed – there were some laugh out loud moments. Kind of like a grown-up version of ‘Adventures in Babysitting’.

Anyway, I wore the shawl tied tight at my neck and to the side, with the little ruffly edges showing. So cute with my dark gray Gap tank, my light gray Talbots cardi with rhinestone buttons and a little Gap diagonal stripe swingy skirt. Shoes were Sperry , and of course a Judith Ripka cuff and ring!

The Citron was so much fun to wear that it gave me a great idea for a small summer weight lace shawl that would be perfect for future summer date nights!

-Ella B

Citron Love!

iamellab — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:18:52 +0000

I wove in the ends of my Citron and then blocked it.

Citron Shawl in Noro Sekku

When Holly comes back next I will get a pic of it on an actual person!

Blocked Citron

What a great day we had yesterday at WC Mercantile! Thanks, Holly for making the trek to Navasota with me. And thanks to supersteph for making us feel so welcome!

Picked up some soft and shimmery bamboo and an interesting textured yarn from Italy. The textured yarn will be fabulous for the new bag I am designing. Swatching now using the linen stitch pattern. I’m not sure if the texture will be heavy enough so I may have to double the yarn for a more firm fabric. Look for swatch pics in the next few days.

Filatura Di Crosa Tempo Italian Yarn

Teaching Myself How to Spin Yarn on a Drop Spindle

ieholly — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:40:55 +0000

My mom and I visited WC Mercantile in Navasota today. It has a really cool selection of wool roving, spindles and wheels. I’ve seen a couple of people using a drop spindle at a knitting retreat a few years ago. It looked neat but I never really thought about doing it myself until today. I was looking through their selection of yarn, which was very good, but nothing really spoke to me. Then I browsed the spinning stuff and found this:

The color totally pop-ed and said “buy me”. I know it sounds crazy but sometimes yarn just jumps out at me and I have to buy it even if I don’t have a plan. Lately coral and teal yarns have been irresistible to me. The color combo just reminds me of summer. I snagged a drop spindle too. Guess now I have to learn. I think I am going to start here.

This might be totally crazy! I’ll keep you posted…

-ieholly