Phat Fiber - Home for the Holidays

With moving and "The Upheaval" as I like to call it, I took a break from contributing to Phat Fiber. It feels good to be back! This is a great group of artists and definitely have a great sense of community! I love being a part them.

So yesterday my box came!! It is one of the best yet...I think I say that every time, heheh.

So I was on top of it and took my pictures and am ready to post 'em!

Fiber:

• Frosted Spruce: 2 samples in one! A little bit of white Alpaca, and some beautiful spruce SW Merino. Silver Sun Alpacas
• Timmy Knocked Over the Christmas Tree! - Ok I can't help but love this one - the blend is great and the name just describes it perfectly! Wild Hare Fiber Studio
• Through the Woods (To Grandma's): Wool top, Flax (so cool!), and Firestar. The firestar is the perfect christmas colors and gives the greatest sparkle! Giffordables
• Turkey Stuffing: I was so excited to get one of Brittany's samples! I have never gotten one before and it does not disappoint! It's a merino and silk blend. Boho Knitter Chic
• Green Beans and Cranberries: A great bodied domestic longwool. I love the colors in this sample and the name describes it perfectly!! Natchwoolie
• Next Day Leftovers: This delicate yet rich colorway is beautiful and soft with a great variety of fibers. Beesybee Fibers
• Glowing Embers: I have been dying to see what this luscious fiber blend is like and I can't wait to get it on the wheel. 80/10/10 Merino/Cashmere/Nylon. The colorway is just gorgeous it has a lot of depth. The Sassy Sheep
• Fall on the Farm: Beautiful. It is just a classy and lovely batt. I admit I teared up when I read the sweet family story that had inspired the colorway. a reminder of why it is so great to buy from the artisans themselves! Knit It Up

Yarns:

• A upcycled yarn, in a really pretty purpley pink color. Jag's Funky Fibers
• Gobble, Gobble. A gorgeous BFL handspun in fall colors. I LOVE the way she packaged it. The yarn makes the "tail" of the turkey. My whole family thought it was great!! Melissa's Kre8tions
• Sugar Plums, yummy sock yarn in 70 sw merino/30 Seacell (LOVE) I have been eyeing this shops yarns...they are all so pretty and this one is no exception! Anzula Luxury Fibers. Oh and I really like her logo!
• Peacock Feathers, sw merino sock yarn. Lovely blues, purples, and turquoises. Shelby B's Designs
• Mom's Harvard Beets, I loved her tag and colorway. I am not a fan of eating beets, but I LOVE the color. Great naturally dyed yarns in BFL or Organic Merino. A really lovely yarn! Vibrant Fibers
• Spin Girl Fiberarts socks sample is a really beautiful dusty autumnal colorway. I think it would make BEAUTIFUL socks.
• Winter Colorwheel, a lovely 2ply sock yarn. I was really hoping to get this sample! I was so happy to see it nestled in my box. It is a self striping sock yarn and I can't wait to knit it up! Also Nancy from Fireweed Dyeworks is another Alaskan!
• Gingerbread was another sample I was really hoping to get. It is just beautiful!! Wool, Camel, and tussah silk. Seriously yummy yarn!! By Rebekah with Love. Plus I gotta say I love her name :) My sister is a Rebekah also...

Extras:

• Got a cute block printed bag from Ruddawg with her logo on it...super cute doggie!
• A beautiful glass button from Sea Air Arts, really would add a lot to any project! Seriously huge value here!! This is a (rightly so I might add!!) $21 value.
• The Luxury Spa Cloth Pattern - Gonna have to try this one out! I have some cotton yarn with it's name on it! Rule Out Fiber Addiction
• Very nice no snagging stitch marker with a shoo-fly charm AND! a Super awesome shoo-fly pie recipe!! Not to mention the awesome froggy thanksgiving pic on the card! Lampyridae
• No snagging very pretty stitch marker from Susan's Kitchen.
• A nice variety of business cards and discounts

Whew! Check out these shops! They are amazing!

Socktoberfest Wrapup!

Well the end of October is looming (must start and finish the boys costumes!) and it was my first "Socktoberfest" which I eased into by participating in The Through Loops KAL (old news if you've been reading) but! I finished them! Pretty in love with them though I am suspecting that I could have gone down a size. This was a very stretchy pattern. My first time doing any sort of "cool" heel and toe and overall thought it was a great experience, here's my pics....

Also I am working on a pattern, it involves this yarn that I just finished dyeing and I am hoping it will debut with my other samples in the Phat Fiber November box, so just a little taste :)


I am on a sock roll and will be starting my next pair as soon as I hit "Publish".

Oceanic Handspun

So I have spun my set of samples from June's box! They fibers just jumped into my hands and I really had a finished yarn before I knew it! I took the samples from Into the Whirled, Mad Angel Creations, H.A.Y., Silver Sun Alpaca's, and Smoky Mountain Fibers divided them into 5 strips each and spun them end to end. So I should have a nicely striping yarn of each sample! I just spun a single and ended up with around 290 yards! I am very excited to make something from this, and I will be keeping it all for myself!

June Phat Fiber! - My Box is in!

So after a long wait and many schedule items getting in the way I finally was able to dive into my June edition of the Phat Fiber Sampler Box! I have never managed to do a great run down of what's been in my box, but that is about to change! When I opened my box this is what I saw!

Isn't it just lovely!?!? I think Jessie (the mastermind) does such a fantastic job of keeping the box fresh and using the themes in great ways! This months was Oceanic - I was pretty excited to see what everyone came up with!

Here's the fiber!
Starting with the lovely grey batt in the lower left corner & working in a clockwise swirl - here is what I received fiber-wise...

1. Dawning Dreams Murano Granite - It is a lovely & squishy wool batt in all natural colors
2. Into the Whirled (I love their name!) Mercer's Pier wool roving - LOVELY deep color
3. H.A.Y. "Oceanic" Batt - made with delicious luxe fibers and in bright and tropical ocean tones (think Merino, BFL, Corriedale, Tussah Silk, bamboo, milk fiber, Angelina, and recycled Sari silk - it just doesn't stop!! :)
4. Silver Sun Alpacas "The Great Barrier Reef" Batt is another sumptuous blend of luxe fibers, Mohair, Bamboo, Superwash wool, wool, and glitz. Just beautiful colors!
   
5. Mad Angel Creations "Oceania" Batt was packaged in a sweet little organza bag, but when it was pulled out it almost grew to twice it's size in fluffiness! I have been hoping to get one of Paula's samples for awhile and I am so glad to try this batt out! It has hand dyed wool, white silk noil & silver angelina!
6. A generous .5oz sample from Gale's Art of Deep Blue Sea on Black Blue Face Wool - I haven't tried this wool before and am anxious to get it on the wheel, pretty sure I am going to like it! It is a beautiful, deep jewel toned colorway!
7. Smoky Mountain Fibers "Frosted Sea Glass" on Merino is a lovely soft color and would be fantastic for hats or baby items (in fact this is one of the samples used in the newest hat I made...)
8. WoolyHands Tropical Fish on wool mill ends is a refreshing colorway with an exciting combination of colors. I might save this for some needle felting embellishments that I have been wanting to do!
9. Natchwoolie's "Blue Hawaii" on Silk Milk & Bamboo is just amazing! Dyed beautifully with natural plants I have been "dyeing" to try this stuff! (Bad pun I know...). Plus she win's packaging in this months box! I love her hawaiian printed fabric and flower that ties up the package!
10. Twisted Fiber's un-named (but delightfully bold!) superash merino sample. I love color combos like this one and know it is going to look fantastic spun up!
11. It's not included in the above picture but it is in the last pic at the bottom (doh!) but I was super excited to get super shiny and soft Mohair lock from Goat Goat Sheep (another riduculously cute name!) They are amazing bronzey colors and I can't wait to use them!

Onto yarns!Starting again with bottom left and working clockwise....

1. Moonlight and Laughter submitted a 50 Superwash Merino/25 Alpaca/25 nylon blend I had never seen before and oh my YUM! I forsee this yarn being in my near future!!
   
2. Holiday Yarns Flock Sock Yarn (75/25) was lovely shades of purple and green (very close to my wedding colors ;) a definite nice choice for sock knitting, would produce very crisp stitch work!
3. Sneaky Pig Yarns (just can't help but LOVE this shop's name!!) sent in a great worsted sample (don't see many of those and it's nice when you do!) of 100% wool in a great semi-solid tonal yarn in rich deep greens. Always a favorite color for me!
4. WC Mercantile sent a FABULOUS Panda Sox yarn 60 Superwash Merino/30 Bamboo/10 Nylon. Amazing sheen and a beautiful colorway named "Sea Glass", very vibrant!

Last, but definitely not least the yummy accessories (& one fiber sample that escaped my first photo!)

1. I got one of the ceramic buttons!!! I was SO hoping to get one of these and her workmanship is even more beautiful in person! Heartstone Ceramics had a fantastically packaged product and I loved reading her touching note on the back! This will definitely be used on something special!
2. Winemakerssisiter made up a super cool Koi stitch marker that I love!
3. Miss Becca Designs included a stitch marker as well. I liked the bead colors as they reminded me of sandy shores with water I also got her Phat Pacific Octopus Pattern and will definitely be knitting up a couple of these! I know my boys would love them!!
4. The other pattern I got was the Fish Pattern which can help me work on my crochet skills (which is much needed). It's a cute little pattern that will be great for using some samples as well (think sneaky pig!) It was submitted by Sunnie Fairy.

Whew! I made it!!! Talk about a lot of fibery goodness! That's not even including the amazing pirate treasure map!! My family was over as I was going through and photographing my samples and they were pretty in love with that part! (They are yet to be fully converted to the fibery way! My mother for example thought it was very odd that I was photographing my box to share with you all...) If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me!!

and....I feel like a broken record but, if you haven't entered my contest you really should! I am drawing the winning number on the 23rd!

A hat and vest

Finishing a project is always so satisfying! Here are two of my latest....



Wow even more great moving suggestions keep popping up! I love reading them all! I will be staying in Anchorage - so it shouldn't be too big of an upheaval. Though I have never moved with children before, so ask me after the move for a more accurate description ;P

So many great pics have been popping up on the Phat Fiber Rav boards! I have loved seeing everyone's boxes and I really hope that the next post you read will be a description and pics of my box!! I can't wait for it to show up!!

Oh yeah, and I am feeling a little lazy tonight about project details....I have more info on my ravelry page....sorry about that!

Carding, gardening, and Phat Fiber! Oh MY!

As mentioned yesterday I went to a pretty amazing garage sale with lots of fiber & yarns. I got several pounds worth of dyed fiber and yarns for under $50! I immediately got to hand carding the luscious dyed raw wool and I can't wait to start spinning it (though I still have a lot of carding to go!). These aren't the best pics (it is overcast and kind of gloomy today) The first is before, the second the after - the white is some angora that I have been carding in.

I am a bit late but here are some progress pictures from the garden. I have columbine, forget-me-nots, and poppy's blooming with many more getting close! I still have lots of weeding to do - but am hoping to get to that maybe sometime tomorrow! The lawn was mowed by the hubbs including the newly planted grass and I think it is to the point of being ready to play on so I am sure I will be out there lots with the boys this week.


Last but not least Phat Fiber June's boxes go on sale today!!! I am doing my Phat Fiber Day sale again as well, offering 20% off everything in the shop for today only!!

June Phat Sneak Peek...

As promised....though there is one set of samples missing from the pics...they'll just have to be a surprise! Clockwise starting from the top left.....Big Blue World on Seawool, Citrus Siesta on Seawool, Big Blue World on Cashnyro (this is already in the shop), and Kelp on Yakino. Due to some shipping error and a big storm I will actually have double the samples this month! So most of the people should a get a sample from me!! Which works out nicely as I am taking off the month of July from Phat Fiber....letting the truly non-woolly sellers shine!

When the knitting world shook....

Yesterday morning was a momentous day! It was the day that Sock Summit 09 opened up for regisration. It was crazy (but fun)! The Ravelry Sock Summit forum was hopping - giving a crazy play by play of each moment. I felt fortunate to even have the opportunity to try for classes and even now there are a few choices open! I ended up with one of their one hour wonders on ergonomical knitting, which I definitely need. I am also super excited as I was also able to snag tickets to the opening reception, sock hop, and luminary panel. It is going to be amazing!!! I am already making plans for a rockabilly Swing style dress and some cool lacy knee socks (Sodera - Rav link) to be exact. I am going to hopefully get out to pick out the pattern, fabric, and yarn today.

In other news Noah is just about to hit the 8 month mark and is pulling up, crawling, and scooting like a madman - no more immobile and safe baby. It sure is fun to watch him though!

Corbin is cracking me up constantly. For example going to see Night At The Museum II is on the agenda for today. After telling Corbin this, he was super excited. Acouple minutes later, as he was eating breakfast, he told me that "He wanted to stay home and eat Daddy's cereal - the movie was too scary...." Though of course a couple of seconds later he was back on for heading out! His latest terror has been the mosquitos though (not that I for one blame him....). He is terrified of them and starts crying as soon as one lands on him. :( All he talked about last night was how "the moaquito's were walking on him" - I think I am just thankful that he doesn't react to bites as I did, in fact I don't think they itch him at all.


My next post should include a sneek preview for my June Phat Fiber Samples!!! Stay Tuned!!

A series of collages...

Thank you ahead of time for putting up with the excessive amounts of collages, and not just in this post, but in the last few as well. They take up much less room however and I am a little infatuated with them.

I finally got all of my desired pictures taken and edited and voila! Here they are (make sure you're comfortable this might take awhile!).....

The first collage is the contents of my Phat Fiber Sampler Box from February. I will describe a few in detail.... Fiber (Left Side):

• I will start with bottom left first. Angora bunny fiber....I had never felt this fiber before and I am so in love. I ordered more that night....12oz more.
  
• I was thrilled to have gotten a sample from Moonwood farms of hand carded alpaca and she included a great informational card with pics of her animals and ways to use the roving!
  
• My fave wool is BFL and I got a generous sample of it from Abstract Fibers in a colorway that instantly drew me to it!
• Wildhare Fiber Studio (whose name and logo I just love) had a light as air and fluffy roving that just lit up once the light hit it (red firestar). I think it would make such a great yarn and can tell just from looking at it that it would be a joy to spin! I love bright colors and
• From Ewe to You delivered a great example of that! Their roving sample had depth that is hard to capture in photos and I think it would be great for felting, I was instantly wanting to pull out my needlefelting supplies! It had great spring to it as well! They had also tied their sample with what looks like the same fiber spun and it is a lovely crisp yarn that would wear well.

Yarns (Bottom Right Corner):

There were a variety of yarns, some pure silk worsted from Hedgehog fibres (YUMMY), the beautiful pinks & chocolates fingering from sis yarn was lovely too. A generous sample included was from Fire Lizard Studios and while I probably would have never picked this colorway for myself has become a favorite and I keep thinking how nice it would be to have a pair of socks in that colorway. I knit the sample into a phone cozy (pictured in a collage below). Another sample, or set of samples I should say, that stood out were from Oriri Draco Design and it was great to see three different yarns that they carry, my fave was the Sea Squish Lace a luxurious seacell and silk blend.

Other (Upper Right Corner):

• I felt so lucky to have recieved one of Seven Yaks needle guages! I have already used it several times and am planning on picking up some of their sock blockers in the near future!
• I also got one of the notecards from Knit it Up, It's a beautiful card and I love just having a beautiful picture of yarn to look at! I also have several friends that I know would like to receive it.
• A very cute conversation hear stitch marker was in my box from Designs by Tami and I know it will be getting some good use!
• Another sample was Teat Treat Salve from Desert Garden Farms, it came in an awesome tin and it feels great on the hands! Love!
• I also received Two patterns, "Under the Rose", a very pretty fingerless mitts pattern and a sock pattern "Berries" that uses a worsted weight yarn, which I could easily see myself making!
  

Next up are the yarns I spun from a friend's Phat Fiber Sampler (She doesn't spin, so I luckily got the chance to play with that many more samples.)

• The first is a woolen spun (my first) yarn that weighs in right at 25g with 75 yards (top right pic). I loved spinnging this yarn and know that I will be ordering more batts from Giffordables Folk art and Fibres. It is probably the most enjoyable yarn I have spun in a long time! Her prices are insanely good too.
  
• The bright yarn on the top left is a 3 ply(which I done in a long time) with about 60yards, was so much fun to see the variety of colors intermix. It was spun from roving dyed by Kangaroo Dyer, which specializes in unique color combinations, which I think she has a great eye for. I really can't wait to see what Sally knits with it as I think it will look fantastic knit!
• Bottom left was spun from a Copperpot woolies roving, which was so soft and fun as it was a merino and bamboo blend. It's colorway was rockin' robin, which I thought was a great name for it! I did a two ply and ended up with about 36 yards.
• Liberty Fibers included a very creatively named Raspberry Truffle Dark Chocolate With Wasabi Cream blended roving and I LOVED it. The named fit it perfectly and it really stretched me as a spinner and I felt there were so many ways to have spun up this fiber. I am happy with how it mixed up and it had a great amount of sparkle! Here is her link for the fiber, I forgot to take a pic before spinning it.

Below are the other projects that have been keeping me busy this week! More about them later!


Wow! You made it all this way! Thanks for sticking it out!

Running....

I have so much to post about, but I still haven't gotten my pics off my camera (or my thoughts together enough to make it cohesive) so again this will be a somewhat lackluster photoless post.

I am watching the end of the Academy Awards as I type and thoroughly enjoyed much of it this year, it had many great mini-performances through out and I have to say that I love Hugh Jackman! I am looking forward to the new X-Men movie, though I still can't believe that I haven't seen Australia yet either.


But, back to fiber, I have thoroughly enjoyed some good knitting and spinning this weekend, including working with batts, rovings, wraps, phone socks, and booties....I will try to have pics of it all as well as a review of a couple of my phat fiber items. I am so amazed at the creativity and talent in the fiber community....each new sample I pick up proves that more and more.

Ah well the awards are over and my bed is calling.....congrats to Slumdog Millionaire!

Jumping back on the horse

I am doing it. I am blogging tonight so that I don't feel my blog hanging over my head. I keep meaning too, but when my hubby is home for his four days off I have a hard time getting my thoughts together for posting. But, I have been busy!

Monday: Sock blank dyeing! Some friends and I got together to try our hand at dyeing these for ourselves and they turned out great! Leah beat me to the punch at getting a photo of her up on her blog! I will hopefully get some photographs up tomorrow when my dear hubby isn't around again.

Tuesday: Rough start to the day, but I did do a spinning demo at an elementary school. Spinning in front of children always reminds me how much I really wished I could spin straw into gold! (Number one question I am usually asked)

Wednesday: I had a rather quiet afternoon and evening as I mostly got to knit. I cast on the November Ruffle Wrap in a luscious natural cream alpaca yarn that I have been saving. I am taking a break from my list as it was making me crazy instead of helping, and I just really want to knit something for me! I have about 5.5in done, not too bad.

Today: Shipped out several orders, waited in vain for the mail man to deliver my Phat Fiber box, and got some good cleaning done! I also am planning out the next couple days worth of dyeing! So I should have lot of fresh stock in the next week or so.

I feel so much better now! Hopefully Saturday I will be raving and posting lots of pics from my phat sampler!

Phat Fiber Sampler Box

Whew I finished all my samples for Phat Fiber for the next two months and they will be going out in the mail today! What is Phat Fiber? An amazing sampler box containing all manner of yarn & fiber goodness by indie artists. I am super excited to be a part of it! Especially since I am sending enough samples to get my own box! Jessie (the powerhouse behind Phat Fiber along with her hubby Marcus) even put up a YouTube video of what the upcoming samples were for January. Sixty-six boxes sold out in a manner of minutes and Jessie has set-up a sign-up list through which you can find out the secret stocking time on Etsy! Check out her website for more info and to see who's participating!

February's Theme: Romance & Chocolate
March's Theme: Celtic

I updated shop today as well