Congrats to Jessie, of Jessie + Bear! Jessie, I have just emailed you with the details. Thanks so much everybody, for playing!

Filed by Julia at 10:45 pm under General
1 Comment

Some of my Fav photos. I had a great, happy, yarn filled, busy 2008, and I hope for much more of the same in 2009.

Filed by Julia at 6:26 pm under General
4 Comments

Phew! I don’t know about you guys, but I had a great holiday, and I am also glad they are over. I hope all of you had a good one too. Brandt and I drove up to see the Fam in Michigan, another quick trip, just Tuesday to Friday. Holy cow did we ever have a white Christmas! 10″ of snow was already on the ground, and when we drove up Tuesday, we hit some seriously nasty winter weather about an hour from the house, that took 4HOURS to get through. Ugh.

Saturday, back in Pittsburgh, we enjoyed 68 degree weather. It was like spring, and I loved every second! Brandt got salty though, he likes the kind of winter snowed in weather we had in Michigan. He is CRAZY.

Enough of the weather though, I have news! If you picked up a copy of the new Knit.1, you might have noticed that my yarn, Vesper Sock Yarn, in “Muddy Waters” was featured in a products feature along with 9 other awesome indie dyers. I’ve known about this since August, but kept mum, in case, you know, they decided not to go with my yarn. I’m still jumping up and down about it! This part concerns you all, because I want to spread the happy. So. I’m having a little blog contest, just leave a comment, and this Friday I will randomly number generate a winner. The winner will receive a copy of the new Knit.1, AND a skein of Muddy Waters for their very own.

MORE news! I know that there are a few of you out there who are very excited about the next round of my Vesper Sock yarn club, and you are in luck. I have just now made renewals available, and they will be so until Wednesday at noon, after which new subscriptions will be available. REMEMBER though, this is just for RENWALS, non current member who try to sneak in will have their money refunded. I have to be mean about this, though I wish I could have yarn available to all, I am too tiny an operation to do this.

And one more bit- I am indeed organizing a Vesper Fiber Club, which will start in March, sign ups will be February. Stay tuned for more on that!

Filed by Julia at 1:49 pm under General, Get Your Yarn!!
76 Comments

So yeah, after the success of Brandt’s Scarf, I decided to go stash diving for yarn for another project. I unearthed 2 skeins of Mountain Colors Barefoot, in “Juniper”. I bought them who knows how long ago for I can’t even remember what. Probably just because they were green, but such a pretty green!

I wove just a plain little scarf, and I’ve been wearing it alot. This weaving process thing goes so quickly. It does take a little while to warp the loom, maybe an hour, more if things get tangly. The weaving is quick too, with this simple pattern, maybe just an evening to finish it.

Over the weekend I did some stealth weaving, and I am SO excited about it. It’s a Christmas gift, so I can’t show it just yet, but the exact idea I had pictured is what I got and I love it so much I’m going to make one for me too.

Don’t think I’ve forgotten Brandt’s sweater in all this weaving! I had a project I wanted to warp the loom with yesterday, but I told myself not until his sweater is done. So most of the day yesterday was devoted to finishing the zipper facings. They are now done, and after I block them and the collar, all it needs is the zipper. Which it will get tonight. That makes me so happy, after this sweater, I have a few little projects I want to do, sort of to cleanse my palette before I start another sweater.

Filed by Julia at 1:23 pm under General, Weaving!?!
7 Comments

We are tweedy.

If you’ve been reading over here long enough, you might remember a couplafew summers ago I took a weaving class at a local Pittsburgh Art Center.

The fabric on the loom.

The following January, I don’t think I told the blog about this, I bought a loom. A great deal came up, and even though I am not passionate about weaving like I am knitting, spinning, and dyeing, I could not pass it up. I am a fiber artist, after all. A women who had owned it for years and years and hadn’t really used it, except a couple of times, had just moved, and wanted to finally sell it. It is a Schacht Baby Wolf and she was asking less than a third of the buy it brand new price, so I went to check it out, and cut a check right then and there.

Threaded Heddles.

I’ve only used it a couple of times, but recently I’ve been thinking about it, folded away in my closet, and then I saw this, which really got me started thinking, and then, Brandt said he could really use a scarf, and that totally pushed me over the edge.

I had been wanting to use Harrisville Tweeds for a long time now, and this was such a perfect opportunity. I had ordered color cards from them awhile back, (they’re not on the sight, but you can call and order them, they were $15, which is discounted off your first purchase) so I got them out, set them in front of Brandt, and asked him to choose a main color. This is a man who has an opinion, and usually voices it, but I always make sure when I make him something, he is involved from start to finish, which ensures a perfect end product, and will be something he will wear alot.

Warp and Boat Shuttle (my fav)

I got online before Thanksgiving, and ordered a few cones from webs, they got here the Monday after, and I immediately calculated for the warp, and warped the loom. At that point it was late, so I didn’t start weaving, but oh did I want to. As luck would have it, I woke up with a headache on Tuesday, and despite all the asprin and water, got worse as the afternoon went on. So. I took the day off and wove. That night I had a beautiful tweedy plaid scarf. I blocked it in hot soapy water, and I roughed it up alot so that it would full and get soft and a bit fuzzy. The difference between the unblocked and blocked scarf was amazing.

Hello, I am unblocked.

I am very happy with this, and want to weave a million more. I could too, I ordered 5 cones of this yarn in 5 different colors. Each cone is 8oz (half a pound) that’s 40oz total. The finished scarf? It weighs 4.5 oz. The scarf + the waste yarn? It weighs about 7oz. So I have SO. MUCH. left. Darn.

Success!!

Filed by Julia at 12:05 pm under General, Weaving!?!
21 Comments

I think I’ve entered some kind of sleeve time warp. Srsly. It took me two weeks, TWO WEEKS, to figure out and be happy with the first sleeve. I can and have knit ENTIRE sweaters in that time period. I’m absolutely annoyed by this. On the upside, it only took one day to knit the second sleeve. *sigh*.

Last Wednesday Brandt and I headed up to Michigan for Thanksgiving with my fam. It was just a quick trip, and we came back on Friday, though I wished we could have stayed another day. But when you have to work, you have to work. It was really really nice, just my immediate fam, the family pooches, and a seriously delicious Turkey. Oh, and football, gotta have football on T-Giving. That’s when I worked on the second sleeve. Now it’s all blocked and awesome, and I’ve picked up the collar. Then just the icord edges and zipper. I’m practically done. Yay. Though I do want to figure out some kind of Icord + inner zipper facing, like the ones I’ve knit in the past. It makes sewing in the zipper SO much easier.

Filed by Julia at 1:06 pm under General
14 Comments

Let’s play sweater catch up. On Nov. 4th, I finished my Cassidy sweater in time to wear it to go vote. That same night, I started the above sweater for Brandt, and have been working steadily on it.
The Cassidy sweater, is fantabulous, and I have worn it so. much. since I finished it. I am slacking on modeled photos. Actually, not true, I had Brandt help with some, but didn’t like them, and now it’s cold and snowy, and I don’t want to set even one little toe out the door.

Brandt’s sweater is coming along, today is the three week mark, and as of Friday, I had finished the body, and began working to figure out the sleeves. Fast forward to today, and I’m ready to throw the thing out the (newly replaced) windows. I have ripped the first sleeve out 4 times now. I blame the firmness of the fabric, and my wanting a more fitted drop sleeve.
I’ve searched and searched my EZ books, and now believe I have an idea that may work. If it doesn’t Brandt’s gonna have to learn to knit and finish it himself. Okay, not really, but grr.

I need to get moving on this thing (though not for lack of trying). I have one more sweater, and two Christmas stocking to knit before Christmas. Ack and Grr. Happy Things though, I did manage to figure out how to get Ravelry progress bars up in my sidebar. It’s not hard, but it isn’t all that simple either. Go here to figure it out.

Filed by Julia at 7:15 pm under General
9 Comments

THANK YOU all SO MUCH for you words and hugs about our poor boy. My family and I are going to feel the sting of his passing for quite some time. He had a great life, we gave him a great life, and we all miss him like crazy. He lived in Michigan with my fam, but I can not begin to tell you how odd it is that he isn’t just there any more.

Recently, I’ve been completely taken with Bonne Marie Burns “Cassidy” pattern. I have wanted desperately to knit it since I first saw it in August, about a week before she officially released it for sale online.
I started the first sleeve on Oct. 11th, while in Boston, and from there on out it has been ON. I want to do nothing but knit this amazing sweater. I freaking love it. Tonight, I seamed the shoulders, and am cranking on the hood. I knit the body in one piece, and oh, how I want to wear it now. It will be done this week. It will.

Also, knitting a red sweater is so not good for blog fodder. The photos all look like crap. Freaking red. Even though it is the perfect red.

Filed by Julia at 12:11 am under General, Knitting
13 Comments

Vinny Vesper
April 20th, 1995 ~ October 29th, 2008

This is so. sad.

Filed by Julia at 4:03 pm under General
80 Comments

Brandt’s birthday was yesterday. This is what he picked out at Rhinebeck for his present. I’m totally geeked to start knitting his new sweater. I’m not quite sure the design yet, but I do know it will be another zip up cardigan style sweater. He wears the one I made him last year all. the. time. So he’s getting another.
This is Maine Organic, from Green Mountain Spinnery. It is awesomely sheepy, and also something I wouldn’t have picked out myself. I knitted a swatch immediately. Though I think a 7 or 8 needle would be best for this yarn, I’m going to go with 6’s, so this will be a more sweater-jacket type thing. Perfect for layering. We’re big layer-ers over here.

And these are for me! I was so very good at Rhinebeck this year. Just these yarns and a pattern for my Mum is all that I bought. I think these will be mittens of some kind. They are from Zeilingers Woolen Mill, and I love them.

~~~~~
Shop update tomorrow! Lots of Halloween yarns!

Filed by Julia at 8:31 pm under Stash Enhancement, RhineBeck
13 Comments