Category — Business Updates

It’s cold. Really cold. Unbelievably cold. I’m a Vermonter, I know all about cold. But this is beyond what we’re used to. This is positively frigid.

What can we do when it’s this cold? Not much, really. We can thaw and repair frozen water pipes (that’s what my poor husband was doing at 6:30 this morning) pray that our cars will start, and that our furnaces won’t quit. Luckily for us, we have a woodstove that we heat with, so no danger of that quitting on us. However, when you heat your house with a single central source, the rest of the house stays pretty cold.

We’ll be doing a lot of huddling and snuggling today, I think.

my handspun thorpe

It will come as no surprise, given the weather, that I have been focused on hats. Warm hats that cover delicate ears and the backs of necks. I, my friends, have been on a hat knitting frenzy! It all started (as things often do with me) with a photo in my flickr contacts. One of them was working on a thorpe. Now, as I mentioned in my last post, this particular hat has been in my plans but seeing hers looking so lovely and warm made me want to cast one on immediately. Which I did. That evening, I had a beautiful, warm new hat!

This hat was made with some of my very first handspun. I honestly wasn’t crazy about the colors in the yarn but I think they’re lovely in the finished hat. That little coil beside it is all of the yarn that was left after the project- about a yard. That’s my idea of a well- planned project! (Coming clean here- I didn’t plan at all. I just figured if I ran out I’d pick up with some natural bulky I had in my stash!)

So when my boys (all three including my husband) saw my finished hat, they all wanted one too! That evening I cast on for the littlest one (who turns 6 tomorrow!) an orange and brown one that followed the colorwork pattern. It is so adorable. And of course the best part is that he loves it too! He insisted on wearing it to school and didn’t want to take it off when we got there. How that warms a mother’s heart. I haven’t had time to get a good photo, but I will absolutely try to get one this weekend. It’s too darn cute not to share!

I’ve got a green and blue on the needles for oldest boy, then a black and blue in plans for my husband. This really is a terrific pattern- functional, nice-looking and super-quick to knit!

In other news, I have a Schacht Flip 20″ rigid heddle loom on its way to me as I type. With any luck, it will be here tomorrow and I’ll have the weekend to get acquainted with it.

Stay warm, everyone!

Happy Saturday! We’re having a cozy stay-inside day of playing games, reading books and making cookies because it’s too darn cold to go outside and play! I wanted to let you all know that I’ll be updating my shop tomorrow, probably some time in the morning most likely in the late afternoon.

Other than that, I’ll be working on my socks (I’m at the heel now- yay!) and working on this:

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

fiberphile shop update 1-5-09

I’ve been working on some new dyeing techniques and I’ll be adding the first new yarns to the shop tonight. Here’s a brief description of each method and what you can expect from it when knitting:

Glimmer™

Fiberphile Glimmer™ is a semi-solid yarn that has random light to dark areas of one hue. It is a good choice for patterns that feature complex stitch patterns.

Because colors are applied randomly and are allowed to blend during the dye process, projects made with this yarn will not have repeated patterns or regular pooling. If pooling does occur, it will be random and will not repeat throughout the project.

Mosaic™

Fiberphile Mosaic™ is dyed in regular color blocks that repeat throughout the entire skein. Three to four harmonious colors are combined and blended between to create a variegated color palette with lots of depth.

Because this yarn is dyed in regular color repeats, pooling can occur. Many times, pooling can be eliminated or made less noticeable by going up or down a needle size, or by using a different stitch pattern.

Alchemy™

Fiberphile Alchemy™ is dyed in random overlapping layers of three to four harmonious colors. This technique creates beautiful blending effects and results in a rich, multi-dimensional colorscape for your finished project.

Because colors are applied randomly and are allowed to blend during the dye process, projects made with this yarn will not have repeated patterns or regular pooling. If pooling does occur, it will be random and will not repeat throughout the project.

Eclipse™

Fiberphile Eclipse™ begins with randomly dyed areas of one or two harmonious hues. The eclipse is created by adding black or brown which results in a rich, dark hue with incredible depth.

Because colors are applied randomly and are allowed to blend during the dye process, projects made with this yarn will not have repeated patterns or regular pooling. If pooling does occur, it will be random and will not repeat throughout the project.

I’m working on repeatable colorways in numbered dye lots so that you can use your fiberphile yarn for larger projects.

I’ve also added a new yarn to my line- Superwash Merino Heavy Worsted. This yarn is every bit as soft as my Super Squish Sock Yarn and perfect for next-to-the-skin wear. You’ve got to feel it to believe it!

While supplies last, I’ll be celebrating the new year by including a free Eucalan wool wash sample with each yarn purchase.