Thought I was going to show up with a Aprés Hoodie FO post didn’t ya? Nope, it’s been too hot for modeled shots around here. Today it cooled off immensely, and I’m going to try to get some nice photos tomorrow. To say that I love it would be a great understatement. I adore this knit. It fits to perfection, the fabric is to die for, the lace couldn’t be more lovely. It is a great knit, a great pattern, and a great yarn, and I highly recommend it. Don’t let the small guage get you, it isn’t as bad as you think.

Instead, look what I’ve been spinning!! More of my Hand Dyed Superwash Merino. This is “Zombie Flesh” it’s two of four oz of fiber. The other half is pre-drafted and waiting. Just need to find the time. I’ve spun it for socks, and I have to say, I’m loving the color, and am excited to see how it knits. Handspun Handknit socks, my fav!

Sock Clubbers, I’m putting June’s shipment in the mail tomorrow, so you should be drooling over it by weeks end. I can’t wait to send these out, I love the colorway very much! I may even have had to dye some for myself!

I updated my Shop a day earlier than usual, and will next week too, I’m gearing up to go out of town for a few days, and want to make sure everything gets shipped as promptly as possible. There as lots of Wee Kits, and a good amount of my Signature Vesper Striping to be had. Enjoy!

Filed by Julia at 7:25 pm under Aprés Surf Hoodie,Spinning
8 Comments

Hey, Happy New Year!! In the end, this will probably be like any other year, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try to make it a great year. So let’s start things off with a good dose of Random.

*Last year, on January first I ate my last bit of chocolate. Intending to make it one year without, cause seriously, I couldn’t go with out it for very long, I am now 369 days chocolate free. Now I have a dilemma. I made my one year goal, so now do I start up again? Or do I keep the streak going? I think I might just eat chocolate when it’s in ice cream. I like my ice cream to have a lot of stuff in it, and I found out only too late that all the good ice cream has chocolate in it. Go fig.

* On Christmas Day, I started my Aftur Sweater, from Lopi #25. It’s a fairisle yoke sweater, and just now I joined all the parts into one big ass round. I had a goal of 3 weeks for this one, and I think I might just have it done way sooner. Yay.

* Before I left for Michigan for Christamas, I dyed up some very pretty superwash merino roving to spin into sock yarn. It’s so pretty, I intend to start spinning it this Sunday, to celebrate Rock Day. I’ve been itchy to spin this!!

Maritza, these are for you!!!

* I’m trying to get back into the swing of work things. I’ll find the motivation eventually. Today I did quite a bit, but get this, I cleaned today, as a way of putting it off. I keep things pretty tidy around here, but to take a day and clean alot is rare. Also, shop update sometime at the beginning of this week, superwash merino baby!!!

That’s all for the moment, hope you all had a great start to the New Year!

Filed by Julia at 10:20 pm under Knitting,Spinning
11 Comments

A little while back, I announced that my little shop would soon reach its 1000th order, and to the customer of the thousandth order would go a fantabulous fibery prize! It took a little while, but reach it it did, and in the first week of November it was placed by Terri from Texas. A big Congrats from me to Terri!

I had bounced around a few ideas as to what to do for my Thousandth Customer. It had to be something special. A one of a kind special. Something a devoted sock knitter would lovelovelove!
Finally I decided. It would take time, but I knew it would so be worth it, and besides, a Thousandth Order only comes around once. So, to Terri, would go my handspun sock yarn. Just like the yarn I dyed, spun, and knit these Fab socks from. Dyed to her color preferences, of course!
Sundays I usually take off from my work from home business, and I use it to play, to knit all day in my jamas if I want to, to dye my own personal yarn or rovings, or, like last Sunday, to spinspinspin! (oh, and watch the Steelers games too!) I filled the first bobbin,

and started the second,

I promised to have it ready by Christmas, and it should be done well before then! It’s nice to sit down and spin away, usually I spin a little here, and a little there, so it seems to take forever to finish a skein or two. I’m so excited to ply this and see the finished yarn! Terri, I hope you like it!!

Filed by Julia at 8:43 pm under Spinning
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Somehow, I went from this,

To this,

To these,

In a little less than a week. I don’t know where I found the time, but I couldn’t put these down.
The yarn turned out sport weight, so I knit these on 2.75mm (US 2). So really, these were almost the fastest socks I ever knit. The best part? I spun 6 oz of yarn, and these socks only took 3 oz. Anybody keeping score? That means I have a whole extra skein for more socks, or just whatever. Good, cause I really like this yarn. I love how they stripe kind of like trekking, which I knew would happen, and it’s great.

Filed by Julia at 11:46 pm under FO!,Knitting,Socks!,Spinning
47 Comments

Finally! This photo is the first of 2 skeins, before I set the twist. I lurve it. I can’t stop petting it. Or looking at it. This may be my most favorite handspun of all time.

Here’s the twins. The cake is the first skein off the bobbin, it is 3oz, 210 yds. The 2nd skein is also 3oz, but I haven’t measured out the yardage yet. I started with 6oz of Superwash Merino, and somehow, magically, I managed to get each skein to be 3oz on the nose. That makes me happy.
Dime for scale. I’m getting 15 wpi, so this about a sportweight yarn. I’ll be knitting my socks on 2.75mm (US2) needles.

Filed by Julia at 1:56 pm under General,Spinning
29 Comments

Talk about a marathon spinning session! Last night and this afternoon I finished the last 3oz of Superwash, and it’s so ready to ply!

Filed by Julia at 9:05 pm under General,Spinning
10 Comments

Two weeks later, I’ve just started spinning the second bobbin, the second 3oz. I’ve been super busy latey. Which is very good. It just means I haven’t had much time for personal fiber stuff.

I did predraft the rest of the roving though, so that when I get a few minutes I can sit and spin a little bit at a time. I tell you what though, this superwash merino is awesome to spin. I’m really enjoying it. The lack of the fibery barb hair stuff really makes this have a totally differant feel when I draft. Nice stuff.

I can’t wait to finish this. I’m excited to ply it, and even more excited to start knitting my soon to be fabulous socks!!!

Filed by Julia at 11:28 pm under Spinning
8 Comments

60z Superwash Merino.
To be a 2 ply fingering/sport yarn for the baddest. ass. socks. evah.
Dye job inspired by the handspun socks on the cover of the Spring 07 SpinOff.

It will be awhile before I get the spinning finished. There seems to be no time to sit and work on my own projects right now. Summer = not wanting to be indoors. Um, that and the 5 differant socks I have on the needles right now, only two of which will complete pairs…….

Filed by Julia at 4:04 am under Spinning
19 Comments

Check this crazy stuff out!

This is Party Roving. It’s full of random fibery stuff. Like thread, and silk, and some yarn, and unspun mohair locks, and bright crazy carded fibers, and sparkly stuff, and even more! I bought it at the Pittsburgh Knitting Festival, back in Febuary. It’s from a place called Puckbrush Farm. They do some local shows, here and in Ohio. There website does not appear to be working, or I’d link to it.

They had two huge baskets of the stuff, one mostly browns, and the other brights with alot of yellow, I bought almost a pound of a mix of both.

I started spinning some up the other day, it’s been sitting in my fiber stash since I got it. I had that need to spin lately, which I hadn’t done in awhile. This stuff is good for me, I think. Usually I spin nice and uniform yarn yarn. This stuff is so crazy I just had to let go, and just spin for fun, letting the roving tell me how it needs to be. It’s a thick/thin, lumpy bumpy crazy yarn, with lots of sparkle!

Fun Stuff. I’ve been spinning some other stuff too, sometimes I need to break from knitting! I swatched for Bohus, and I’m going to go up a needle size and swatch, just to see what happens to the fabric. This is so going to be a long term project, I even had a bit of anxiety working up the swatch, I mean really, a whole sweater, on sock needles!! That’s intimidating. I’m excited to do it though, it’s going to be fabulous!

Also- I’ve been addicted to Flickr lately. I just really started using it. So much fun stuff to look at over there. I’m finding myself photographing the yarn like crazy so I can put it up over there.

Filed by Julia at 12:29 am under Spinning
22 Comments

Filed by Julia at 9:20 pm under Spinning
22 Comments