Another successful man sweater. I’m very very happy with this one. I mostly followed the notes I made when I knit his first sweater. Some modes though, cardiganized, obviously, with zipper, a little longer in the sleeves, high collar, a tiny bit snugger in fit. He loves it, and can now rotate two hand knit sweaters!

He loves the zipper, and says this is a great layering sweater. I’ll think this will get quite a bit of wear. I knit a zipper facing, which is a zipper treatment I love to death, as it hides the ugly side of the zipper, even if it is a crap load of extra knitting. Brandt is quite impressed with it too-

It’s actually pretty easy. You pick up and knit the right side band, like a normal facing, sort of like knitting on a button band, then you pick up and knit the same amount of stitches from the same side, but on the wrong side, and sew the zipper between the two layers of fabric.

So nice. I finished it last Friday, and he wore it out Friday night. It took alot of hours to sew in that zipper, and weave in a million ends. Totally worth it though. I cast off the last sleeve at 11:58pm Thursday night, having started the first sleeve sometime on Tuesday. I whipped through this sweater, in three weeks, one day, but honestly, if I hadn’t put a self imposed deadline on this one, I’d probably still be knitting away on it. I did have one false start, I had started it a day or two after Thanksgiving, but after knitting a handful of inches, it was too clear that it was too small, so I ripped it all out and had a restart 3 weeks ago.
It is knit in Rowan’s felted tweed, in Conker. Love this color, I think it’s a discontinued shade though. US 3 and US 5 needles. I do so love felted tweed.

I did a bit of knitting at my parents house this last weekend, including starting my next sweater. I’m very excited about this one. I like this sweater knitting thing, I haven’t even knit on a sock in months!

Filed by Julia at 10:48 pm under Brandt's Sweater,FO!,Knitting
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Finished it on Friday! More photos, and a FO post tomorrow, today, Merry Christmas to all!!!

Filed by Julia at 2:10 pm under Brandt's Sweater,FO!,Knitting
12 Comments

Whew. I’ve been a marathon knitter lately, I’m knitting one thing that I want to have done by Christmas, it isn’t a surprise, but I would so like Brandt in this Christmas day.
As of last Friday, I had knit this much of the body, knit flat, the fronts and back all in one piece. Two hundred and some odd stitches per row.

After seriously assessing my progress v. time left to knit, I got a move on. As of Wednesday, this is where I stood, a good chunk of knitting done, but so much more left to go!

I’m picking up the collar tonight, then zipper facings, and then sleeves. I have all weekend to knit, zippers are ordered ( I got more then one, to better insure a good color match) from Zipperstop, and should be here tomorrow or Monday. Now usually, I order custom cut zippers from Zippersource, and they’ve always come through with a perfect zipper, and you can even send them a yarn sample for a good color match, but they take longer, and time is crunched here, so I ordered a couple of YKK ready made zippers, and am hoping for a good match. No prob, right? Just keep telling me that!

Gladys really likes it, and I think that she’s secretly hoping it doesn’t fit, so it can be her new cat bed. Keep dreaming, Gladys.

Also! The next shop update is up! Just a little one for today, but I will definitely have another little one up on Monday!

Filed by Julia at 6:20 pm under Brandt's Sweater,Get Your Yarn!!,Knitting
4 Comments

I finished Spinning the yarn for Terri, my thousandth customer, and boy, is it ever purdy.

4oz, Superwash Merino, dyed by me, to Terri’s specs, she told me she liked my brights, like the turquoise blues, and lime greens, but also the pinks, and yellow, and maybe some black. So I dyed up a couple of rovings, and this was the one I liked best, a bit heavy on the green, but I you know I like the greens, I just hope Terri does!

More? Okay!

Check out that barber pole action! Love. It. Terri, I put it in the mail today, and you should have it soon!

Also, for the rest of you like minded fiber addicts, I put up a small SHOP UPDATE today, just a little while ago. Ther will probably only be one, possibly two more before I go out of town for Xmas, so get it while you can!

Filed by Julia at 6:48 pm under General
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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
14 Comments