What a Sweet Gift

A lovely surprise came in the mail the other day.  For a few years I have been a member of a fiber marketing initiative called 'Phat Fiber.'  Indie fiber producers contribute to a sampler box and each month these are made available for purchase.  If people like your yarn or roving or stitch markers, they might buy from your online shop.

Along with this, a community has formed along with the fiber exchange.  We decided this year to move the gift exchanges away from the traditional holiday season to a less busy time.  After all, who need more to do during the holidays?  We decided to move it to early February - a time that can be a bit quiet both in the fiber business and people's lives.  Although I don't always join in gift exchanges, thought this one might be fun. 

When I got home from work the other evening, a decorated box was waiting for me. It's from Melissa at Hello Purl.

When I opened it  up, there was a note...

And it was full of goodies...

Jammed full...

I found a fabulous art batt in Hello Purl's 'Fire Pit' colorway, hand dyed silk hankies, an ounce of charcoal grey Lincoln locks, 2 hand made walnut buttons, a box of Tazo tea and a package of way cute chocolate truffles in the shape of bears! With lots of cool stuff in her Etsy shop, Hello Purl's work is fun and creative.  I can't wait to Spin up the art batt the mix of fibers, colors and textures is so rich!

Thanks Melissa!  I am happy to be part of this amazing group!

Leap Day!

Isn't it interesting that every 4 years we have a bonus day.  Seems like I should do something special, though I'm not sure what it is.  Oh, wait - I'm blogging!  Later I'll go to yoga and then it's spinning night at Friends & Fiberworks, so I guess that doing some of my favorite (though perfectly normal) things is a fine way to spend the day.  Since one of the things I'm doing at work is some interesting graphic design work, that counts too.  I am just so happy that I love my life enough that I don't have to look for extra things to make it special.

Last week was slammin' - - one of those weeks where there is something to do every evening - - workshops to teach, meetings to attend, contradances to call.  I also went to a wind symphony concert here at the college in which several of my students were playing.  Each of the events were delightful, in its own way, but this week it's nice to be home most evenings-  cooking, dyeing, putting my house to rights as the dining room table was stacked with mail and the coffee table was smothered in knitting detritus.

Yesterday, my Etsy shop was featured on the Phat Fiber blog, as I participated in the February sampler box with two hand dyed samples from my 'Skin Tones' multi-pack.  I enjoy participating in the box and am so impressed with the work that other fiber artists are doing.  If you read this post in the next day or so, and then go on over to the Phat Fiber blog you can get in on the drawing.  There are always nice prizes  - donated my fiber artist as a promotion for their shop.  Don't blame me if you decide to support these fine people.  I have found some lovely yarns and fibers this way!


 How are you spending your Leap Day?

Herbs and Spices

I love greens!  Mossy green, deep forest green, the color of leaves and frogs.  Greens on the blue side and greens on the yellow side. So although the May Phat Fiber theme is Spice Market, I have to tell you that I went a bit herbal myself.  I dyed both Merino and Falklands roving in 2 shades of green - one kind of olive; another more on the bronze side - both beautiful.  The colors should be just right for leaves of you are a felt maker.  I will likely spin some yarn from this colorway.  It definitely belongs in the permanent line for my Etsy shop.


Perhaps green is my favorite color at the moment because my garden is looking so pretty right now.  The peas are in blossom, so I'll be munching on Sugar Snaps by the end of the week.  The Red Russian kale is coming up nicely and we can eat all the green onions and parsely we want.  It's time to start to plant warmer weather crops, with the most tender after mid-May.  No garden pictures yet, though I definitely should.  With everything weeded and mulched, it doesn't look too much better than it does right now.

I did a fun little weekend project.  As my faithful readers know, I knit a lot of hats that are sold in a number of local shops, so I need to start knitting about now so I'll have enough.  So over the weekend I pulled out lots and lots of yarn to make 'kits.'  Match yarns and patterns to knit later, put them in bags and then in totes.  One tote is already in my office for lunch hour knitting.  I just cast on a (green!) hat, then decided to write this little post instead.  But my knitting is ready and waiting for me.  I have a final to give today.  Perhaps I'll knit while my students write!

Phat Fiber's Sweet Shop: Caramelo

I have been sitting out the Phat Fiber Sampler box for the last few months.  The day job and dance calling responsibilities have precluded adding anything to my workload, even something as pleasant as being involved in marketing opportunities for my Etsy shop.

I did dye some samples for the February box, whose theme was gems and minerals.  As a rockhound, I could get around that.  I had lots of ideas, just not enough time to make them happen.  March's theme is 'Sweet Shop.'  Of late I have been interested in working in brown-copper-olive families.  So it was a short hop to 'Caramelo,' a caramel-colored merino roving that looks and feels just yummy. 

So over that last week or so, I played with dyes & I just finished making up and packing my samples.  They are all a bit over 1/4 ounce and will be shipped to the queen of the fiber sampler on Monday.  Now the Phat Fiber blog and Facebook page are worth following as the contributors frequently donate full-size rovings, batts or skeins of yarn and they are given away to people who comment on the blog.  I've donated rovings a few times and it does seem to generate a good bit of shop and blog traffic.  I've also won a couple of times - that's kind of nice.  There is a supporting Ravelry group that is quite active.

Now I do this to get my samples of my work into the hands of future buyers; but a fringe benefit is that contributors get a sampler box of their own so that I get to see what other fiber artists are doing.  I am so inspired by the work that I see people doing. Join in the fur and you can be inspired too!

Also on the list this weekend:  Knitting on Mossy Cardi II, finishing the tiny sweater for my tiny nephew and getting it sent off, working on the books for Smoky Mountain Fibers, dyeing & photographing fiber, making bean soup (it's gray and chilly out there) and plenty more. 

Another Treasury!

 My Saturn Roving was featured in another Etsy Treasury.  All about the yellows and golds of fall, this red-gold roving fits nicely with the other handmade and vintage items in this treasury.  I've been on a gold binge lately.  Take yesterday's African Sun Phat fiber roving - I dyed a couple more batches yesterday and this morning to ensure that I'll have full size rovings in my shop when the Phat Fiber box gets into the hands of the purchasers.

I've also been playing with my 'Rose Gold' colorway.  One batch was very pretty, it's 'twin' - not so much.  It went into the drum carder with more pink and some sparkly firestar to become a much prettier yarn that anyone would have thought based on the roving.  This it one of the reasons I like to dye and to spin - the transformative process sometimes tales my breath away!

I picked up a new hat customer yesterday in Black Mountain, NC.  Time to get knitting!

August Phat Fiber Contribution

After sitting out a month or two, I am contributing to the August Phat Fiber Sampler Box.  Along with lots and lots of fiber artists, farmers, & designers, I am part of a collaborative effort to provide buyers with sample sizes of indie dyed sock-yarn, hand spun yarns, amazing carded bats and hand-dyed roving for spinners and felt makers along with lovely patterns.

This month's theme is Africa.  My immediate thoughts were of the hot African sun and the jungle - so that is what I dyed.  Here is the roving in the dye pots:

 Here is the roving in the made-up samples:.  The African Sun is Merino wool - soft and sweet and wet-felts super fast.

 The Jungle colorway is Falklands wool - a little bit coarser but easier to spin and great for needle felting.







I love them!  This week and next, I'll be dyeing full size rovings in the same colorways for sale in my Etsy shop.  I've been playing with the packaging.  I think I like the banding idea, but the labels are too small.  I'll do better next time! 

Blossoms and Bark Phat Fiber Box

Yes, I know it's nearly the end of the month, but my Phat Fiber contributor box was delivered while I was traveling, so I really just explored it last evening.  As always it was full of goodies.  I blogged about my samples a few weeks ago and I'm happy to see that my work stands up well.  Not as glittery as some, but high quality dye work and fiber.
I'll start with the yarns.  There are a number of very pretty yarns this time.  Beginning at the upper right, I'll just go around the circle. Absolutely beautiful hand dyed & handspun merino in about a sport weight from ByRebekahWithLove. Also in the pink family is Wildwood Flower by Moonlight and Laughter. Next is a variegated purple sock yarn from Little Bit of Heaven Fibers.  From Jag's Funky Fibers, I received a small unmarked skein in an Iris shade.  Cotton? a silk blend?  A sweet multi-blue sock yarn from Neurotic Knitterz with a great name: Happy Hydrandeas! The last yarn in this group is a bright sock yarn - Poppy - and cute glass bead from Color Bug Yarns.

Lastly, in its own picture is a sweet sampler from Brown Hare - I love this little folder.  She really puts a lot of care into creating these sets - each of the fibers on the right are identified and described.  The large sample in the center doesn't seem to be labeled.  Feels like cotton.

Let's start on the spinning fiber - Always my favorite part.  When I first opened my box, I thought Nice bark!  Where are the blossoms?  But as I later explored it, I really began to like the shades of brown.  They are all subtly beautiful and all different.

Starting at the upper right again this is Moss Covered Bark from It's a Colorful Life - a soft blend of red/brown and green with a bit of bronze colored glitter.  I want to spin this NOW!  The soft green and white roving in the lower right is from Lampyridae  - I'm guessing alpaca, wool, firestar, bamboo.  Next, another goodie from Moonlight and Laughter - this time a wool blend batt called Adirondack Hemlock. And to finish the circle, the bright & glittery green batt is from Hippie Penguin Fibers.  They are all great fun!

The next  picture includes a sample of adult alpaca fiber from Wonders Mohair, some brilliantly hand dyed mohair locks from Blue Mountain Handcrafts.  The artist used the Greener Shades dyes on these locks and I want to try them - very clear colors.  The next roving is from Fiber Fancy - a pretty pinky brown called Pistachio Rose in wool with Mohair, llama, alpaca and silk - soft and lovely!  The last roving is a batt from Bohemian Knitter Chic.  It's an interesting blend of merino and soy with flax.


But wait!  There's more...

The extra goodies include 3 patterns, a particularly charming stitch marker from winemakerssister and a number of very sweet gift tags.  In keeping with the Blossoms and bark theme, Amy Klimt developed a sweet hat pattern that takes advantage of hand dyed sock yarn.  Kira K gives us a simple, yet attractive crocheted hat pattern that lends itself to all kinds of yarn fun - I can see this in a hand dyed yarn as well.  From Katherine VAughn, there is a pattern for a StarFlower hair ornament or maybe a pin.  In the 'why didn't I think of that?' department, lovely gift tags for knitters, weavers, quilters, crocheters and spinners.  I'm glad that fibergifttags.com did!  

And in her charming way, Jessie's finishing touch was to wrap the business cards and stitch markers in paper embedded with wildflower seeds! So although it was more bark than blossoms, The blossoms are hiding - in the seeds, in the stichmarker and in the earth waiting to come out.  So much like my real garden in May.  Still plenty of dirt, lots of bright green leaves and the blossoms are just getting started!

Giving it Away!

I'm the feature artist today on the Phat Fiber Blog. Phat Fiber is a sampler box of very cool stuff from independent fiber artists.  When you purchase a box you can sample lots of different hand painted yarns, hand-dyed roving, sparkly batts, beautiful stitch markers and lots more.  Artists who contribute to the box frequently give away a full-size skein of yarn, wheel of roving, or in this case, a bag of mohair locks. I've been a contributing artist for about a year, every other month or so.  I'd do it every month, but that would give me about six more deadlines than I need. 

If you want to win a full-size 3-ounce bag of mohair locks in the Fire colorway, you just have to head on over to Smoky Mountain Fibers; then share what you like on Phat Fiber's blog.  The picture you see here represents the samples I sent into the March box - both roving and mohair locks dyed in my 'Fire' colorway.  No purchase is required, but it will only be up for a day or 2.  But things change, so come back later.  It just won't be me!.

I love to dye this colorway - even though they are seldom exactly the same and reds are notoriously hard to photograph.  Last weekend I dyed a batch of roving that came out too pale, but still beautiful.   I love to spin this combo, so if I have to keep it, I don't mind. So, Get fiery!

To Infinty and Beyond!

The December Phat Fiber sampler box was actually themed Aurora Borealis and Beyond, but why stop there?  Yes, I know it's already January, but with holiday travel and the back-to-school season, I'm just getting around to blogging about it.  What can I say, I'm a busy woman!

I always get excited when the box comes, but I don't open it until I have a few minutes to actually enjoy it, take pictures as I open it.  Later I go back to see what is really there.  Although every month is good, some of them totally blow me away.  December made me very happy - you'll see why...

  Sparkly black tissue paper greeted me with a striped coupon pack right on top.  Part of the fun of opening the box is seeing Jessie's packaging - It's always fun!  Just below the tissue, the goodies kicked it.  I'll do the fiber first, then the yarn.  Starting with the gold fiber you see in the 12:00 position, I'll promenade the circle. 

Kalpaca Farm sent a generous baggie of carded alpaca that was Kool Aid dyed in similar colors of salmon and yellow with a bit of lavender showing through.  From Ewe to Ewe’s sample was Merino roving in a colorway called ‘Fir’ – a saturated dark green.  Spincerely Yours gives us a sunny roving of blue, turquoise and yellow in superwash merino.

It was hand dyed locks from Farm Girl Chic – the blues and greens of 'Neptune' interpreted in color on Border Leicester locks – curly and shiny.  Moose in Socks interpreted the theme as ‘Northern Lights with a superwash merino/bamboo blend.  The lavender, green, grey, bronze, pink roving has that bamboo sheen and merino softness that makes me want to spin it NOW.  Both of these seller have more of their sampled colorways available in their shops.

WC Mercantile sent a lovely ‘snowball’ of superfine merino artisan dyed in shades of lavender and grey.  Very pretty fiber and clever packaging.  Misty at Desired Haven Farm used a photo of a nebula as her inspiration and included the photo with the roving.  In colors of blue, purple, salmon and black with a good bit of white showing through, this roving is bright and colorful.

Look right in the center of the picture.  The Sassy Sheep sent her merino/cashmere/nylon roving in a pretty little gift box.  But the real gift was the supersoft (as you can imagine!) roving dyed in a colorway called Galaxy – black, purple and teal.

And now the yarns...a particularly nice selection of yarns for December.  This time I'll go from left to right in an orderly manner.  Melissa’s Kre8tions sent a lovely sample yarn in deeply saturated blues that she calls, A December Evening. Blue Mountain Handcrafts sent a similar singles of handspun merino in a colorway aptly named ‘Alien Sun’ – red, orange, gold and burgundy.  Very rich!  Similar in weight, these yarns will stay together in my mind and in a future creation of my own.

The Cool Climates sample is an intriguing art yarn of wool, mohair, bamboo, tencel and what  looks like firestar plied with beaded thread.  She calls it Aurora Borealis1 and it rocks!  What an amazing spinner - watch for this in a stripe of a hat near you!

Two lovely sock yarns.  #1 is ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ from Twiggi Knits is a merino/silk blend in dark grey nd purple highlighted with yellow and orange.  #2 is a  superwash merino/ nylon blend from WabiSabi Yarns in a deep purple medley.  With the number of sock yarn samples that I have been accumulating, I think a pair of ‘fraternal twin’ striped socks is in the future.  I’ll just have to decide on a base color that will show off these and other sock yarns that the talented Phat dyers are sampling.

SteeleSpun Yarns sent 5 yards of a bulky single in Superwash merino and alpaca dyed a color called Meteorite – a deep rich grey.  Jag’s Funky Fibers continues recycling yarns for creative re-use, this time a polyester ‘terry cloth’ yarn in beachy colors of sand and sea.

The non-fiber samples in this month’s box includes 2 very lovely, snagless stitch markers from MyFairBagLady and Lampyridae   Skein Snake sent a repurposed cord lock to be used to hold your knitting on your needles.  Since I am currently knitting a sweater on a circular needle, it was immediately pressed into service.

There were two patterns in my box this month:  DaniDo Crafty’s lovely Verge cabled neck warmer design and a ‘Mood Lifter’ Slouch hat pattern from Kelsey and Northern Lights Fiber Company.  Both are knits that will be satisfying to knit without being overly complicated.  The slouch is in a slip stitch pattern that should be excellent for hand dyed yarns.



There were also a number of coupons and business cards, but this post has about done me in!  Thanks again to Jessie and Marcus for making this Phat Fiber thing happen!

We have a Winner!

As part of my participation in the Phat Fiber Sampler box, I occasionally give away roving.  The queen of Phat Fiber, Jessie puts a notice on her blog and people will come to my Etsy shop and comment on what they like.  It gives me very good feedback about colors that people like (and why).  The folks who comment have an opportunity to win fiber or yarn or stitch markers - whatever is on offer.  I once won a lovely journal, still too precious to use!

Jennifer of Landen Road Designs won the Saturn roving - the red/gold colorway that I featured in the December Phat Fiber box.  Her clay work is lovely and as a beginning spinner she was very tickled to receive it.  Perhaps she will send a photo of the project that will come out of it and I'll share it here!

As I looked at her blog to see where to send it, I realized that she lived in Canton, Ohio - the city where I spent my childhood and adolescence.  Now I admit that I went away to college and never returned and have only visited to attend a class reunion a few years back.  The city has grown immensely and my urban neighborhood looked a bit rough around the edges, with the suburbs seeing positive growth that was only starting when I left.  But the park that runs through the NW section of the city was still lovely, bringing back memories of wading in the creek, walking on the trails and skating on the lake.  The Pro Football Hall of Fame is still there too!

Fifteen More Minutes of Fame

Over in the fiber subculture we have the Phat Fiber Sampler Box - a monthly box of samples that go out to several dozen lucky buyers.  They do up on the Phat Fiber Etsy shop and are sold out in minutes.  To drum up excitement, Jessie, the queen of Phat Fiber blogs about different contributors throughout the month and people go check out your shop and talk about what they like. It's a fun community and since I am a contributor I get a box each month.  It's a great way to keep up with what other fiber artists are doing.  At our SAFF meetup back in October, I got to meet a number of the Phat Fiberistas - a fine group we are too!

I'm on the blog today, giving away a full size version of my December sample, Saturn.  I love to make this colorway - a vermillion red with gold - and all the colors in between.  In fact I blogged about it just the other day, but this is a different picture. And I admit it - I like reading the comments to hear what people like about my work.  Besides everybody says nice things!  They want to win!  No place here for that dreaded 'feedback.' No constructive criticism for my own good.  I'll just bask in my own personal glory for a little while longer!  I'll come down to earth soon enough.

Back to knitting:  Calorimetry 1 & 2 completed.  Scarf 1 begun, all of 5 inches knitted.  Still choosing yarn for the fingerless mitts.  Solid or multicolored?  Life is full of difficult decisions!

Phat Fiber Meetup at SAFF

It was a fun day a SAFF, particularly as six of the Phat Fiber contributors got together on Saturday morning.  We met at Moonwood Farm & Covy Cove Farm's Shared booth, just across the aisle from Knitty and Color. CptSnoopy [Rav Link] was there with her hubby as well as KTLV with her family.  We chatted and laughed and talked like we have known each other for a long time.  I brought a bit of  'Show and Tell' - a lovely pink yarn that I made by carding everything in the August box that was pink and sparkly with some pink roving  and spun up a sweet and sparkly yarn! I also brought the genuine original PhatStripes Hat and SMF samples for eveyone. 

While all the fiberistas and their support people were terrific, Roo has great energy! All of the vendors were doing well, even after a rainy Friday.  But Saturday was bright and clear and busy, without being frantic.  Here we are, photo courtesy of CptSnoopy's husband, nice guy Major Snoopy(?)
Back Row:  Capt Snoopy, Roo (Moonwood Farm), Kathering (KTLV),  Cozette of Cozy Cove Farm
Front Row:  AnneMarie (SmokyMountainFibers), Sarah (Knitty and Color)

I've had a great time at SAFF, with my volunteer duties going well, my short booth-sitting vending acceptable.  I met a number of folks I have only known online in addition to seeing old and new friends from many of my different lives.  I bought a lovely mohair fleece, but did not pick it up yet - it was still being judged.  Back tomorrow for more fun and games!  

Phat October

As the time come near for the next Phat Fiber Sample Box, I have been dyeing roving and making up little 'twists' - small skeins of merino roving that are my contribution to the sampler box for the the Month of October,  This month's theme is 'Harlequin Ball.'  The somewhat mysterious theme and fall weather has encouraged my creative side to dye a dark autumn colorway based on one of my favorites - Carnivale.  I started with orange and purple dye with plenty of white space so the colors would not merge to muddiness.  Then I overdyed the whole roving with a garnet shade to bridge the two colors.  I was very happy with the results and saved out a roving to list in my Etsy shop once the box hits the streets. Watch for 'Dark Carnival.'

The Mars Hill show yesterday was great fun. My students are always surprised to see me and I get a chance to chat with members of my various communities who seem to come together at this event.  The college faculty, staff and students (as well as a few parents), fiber people, traditional music and dance crowd and just plain friends stop by.

Buying Less Fiber - with a Minor Exception or 2!

This morning I was looking at a Yahoo group digest email (Spin-Sales; yarnandfiber; FleeceforSale - one of those) and a seller was offering a delightful fleece for sale. The picture looked delightful - lovely gray color, good breed, right price - but I was not seriously tempted. In my earlier spining days, I would have jumped all over that fleece. But this morning I lingered briefly thinking, that would be very nice. I have some shows coming up, so I'll need real live fleece to demo carding and spinning. A lovely fleece to process and spin. Then I clicked off.

Like most spinners I have too much fiber - washed fleece, roving in white, natural colors & hand dyed. And because I am in the fiber business, buying unnecessary fiber cuts into the bottom line. But somehow, for the most part, it's enough. The Mountain State Fair (near Asheville, NC) is just around the corner with SAFF just a few weeks after that. I can wait untill I can see, touch, smell the fleece. Online pictures are tempting, but not enough. The real sheepy deal is just around the corner. I'l leave that beautiful fleece for somebody else. My fleece is waiting for me at the fair or SAFF.

Then I saw a note about the PhatFiber giveaway. Today the featured seller is Rachel, of My8KidsMom and Counting Sheep Farm fame. When looking at her shop, I didn't just decide what I liked, I bought it! Mulberry silk undyed roving. I don't have that - at least not undyed. I can dye that. I can blend that. She had 2. I bought then both! I paid retail! Yikes. I can't wait to get it!

Phat Fiber Box -Take Me to the Fair!

My Phat Fiber Sampler Box came last weekend, but I am just now getting a few minutes to post about it. As excited as I am to get it, I should be WAY quicker to show off a little, but back-to-school can be a busy time here at the world headquarters of Smoky Mountain Fibers.

Just opening the box is always fun & Jessie always packages it so that you really feel like you are getting a lovely present. Note the coupon pack - a popcorn bag in keeping with the Take Me to the Fair theme.

I love seeing how different fiber artists interpret the theme. I admit that I think about color more than packaging, but the more creative types really do a fine job. The box was chock full of fiber and, yarn and patterns as well as a number of other goodies, so as I worked through each layer I was delighted, surprised and sometimes a bit puzzled!

The item that drew my eye first was the charming cone of pink Cotton Candy. From Spincerely Yours, it is a sweet mini-batt of superwash merino with tencel, inego (corn fiber) and a bit of nylon. Spincerely is a fine dyer - I admire her work very much.

The Black 'cupcake' is called Midway Magic, also superwash merino & bamboo, this time with angelina for a bit of sparkle. It's hard to see the teal & fuchsia in the photo, but its very exciting! It's from eXtreme Spinning - I've been hoping for her samples in earlier boxes, so I'm particularly excited to get this.

Another fair staple, the taffy is a bit blue and gold bamboo fiber, hand dyed by bananamigraine - more spinning fun for me! The purple supreme champion rosette is a two-tone purple blend of llama, alpaca, mohair & Border Leicester wool and perhaps a bit of angelina - It has a great sparkle! Clever packaging - Why didn't I think of that?

Tucked in its little brown bag, is a wool/silk blend from FromEweToYou - Just delightful!

Mmmm...Caramel Corn! but even better than that sticky treat (at least in the calorie count department) is caramel colored superwash merino hand dyed in yummy multi-dimensional colors by Jela's Fibers. In the interest of connecting this post to the picture, I'll proceed in a clockwise direction. The natural bag contains ginned cotton from Plum Crazy Llama Ranch.

It's a Colorful Life sent a black sparkly batt called Tarmac that's a blend of merino, alpaca, kid mohair, carbonized bamboo, rambouillet and angora. Can't wait to spin this one.

Gift wrapped in an organza bag is a wee pink batt of BFL from After the Sheep. At 6 o'clock you'll see another puff of deeper pink Border Leicester locks from FarmGirlChic,in her colorway, Pink Lemonade.

Rocket Yarn sent another black sparkly batt, this one called 'Black Hole', a blend of superwash merino, angelina, firestar. I am loving the black & pink rovings. These colors are really calling out to me. Not my usual choices, this is one of the reasons that I love the Phat Fiber box. It really challenges me to move out of my comfort zone and try approaches that I may not do on my own.

In the next picture you'll see a puff of honey colored fiber from Hands and Notions. In the colorway Jubilee, these are lamb locks - soft and lovely. Just 3 skeins of yarn this time.

As much as I love yarn, I much prefer getting fiber samples. Sock yarn samples will end up in socks, other yarns become stripes in hats or mittens. All in all, these are quite beautiful. The dark brown/green hand spun yarn is aptly named 'Mint Fudge' and comes all the way from Sheepshape Spinning the UK. Fabulous colors! The sweet variegated red sock yarn is called blue Ribbon Strawberry Pie from My8KidsMom and the dark green mini-skein of hand spun shetland is from Melissa's Kreations.

In the last group, you'll see patterns for a tinfoil hat (keeps the voices down!) & a corn dog puppet, a sweet apple stitch marker made of polymer clay, and a wee sample of bee balm from Clear Hill Honey.

The puzzling item is a zipper pull made of felt by Calizona Designs. But I can't tell what it is. Somebody? Anybody? Mr. Bueller?

I am looking forward to a weekend without travel, so I can card and spin and knit with my new fibers!

I Won!

I won a lovely prize on the PhatFiber blog! This was a while back, but my worklife has been getting in the way of my fun, so I have been a bit late blogging about it.

I am a contributor to the Phat Fiber Sampler box, a monthly box of samples from independent spinners & dyers, shepherds & fiber animal folks of many stripes & other artisans who work in the fiber arts. This helps shoppers try out different fibers, interesting colors, patterns and all kinds of fiber-related goodies before they buy. Many contributors (including SmokyMountainFibers) also give away full size items to generate interest in their Etsy shops and other websites.

I recently won a lovely handmade book from Becky's Paper Creations. It is a small (3" X 4") knitting journal - just the right size to slip into my knitting bag - assuming that it is not too lovely to actually write in. That is one of the problems with lovely paper - particularly handmade books. And this tiny book is quite lovely with it's hand stitched binding and lovely covers. Becky blogs here. Are my thoughts, projects, notes to self 'good enough' to write in such a lovely book. Somehow I feel I must be smarter, more reflective, more knitterly, a better designer to deserve such a lovely book to record my thoughts.

Perhaps this is why my most successful journaling has been recorded in spiral notebooks from the campus bookstore, although I do decorate them. I made a felted cover that fits nicely around a 5X8 notebook that has been my journal for a few years , though I have probably not written in it for about a year. Does this blog (written for semi-public consumption) take the place of private journaling? Hmmmm....I think it is quite different as we discussed in my class last week (How are the pioneer journals kept during the westward expansion era different than today's blogs?).

I worked Sunday at Locally Grown, the crafts gallery at the WNC Farmer's Market and had a fine day of decent sales and very good spinning. I often spin natural color roving - no brainer spinning that I can stop and start at any time, watch the booth while I spin and talk to the people who come by. But this week I carded a good bit of dyed fleece to make some rather colorful yarns. I spun most of the day, until the belt gave way on my Louet S-10. Afterward I knitted a lovely hat out of some sweet blue merino that I had dyed and spun for the Yarn Everyday challenge. Pictures to follow.

Phat Stripes Hat Free Pattern

This hat is easy to make and does a great job of showing off small amounts of hand spun, hand dyed yarns, particularly ones that you make from your Phat Fiber samples. Make your stripes subtle or wild, smooth or textured - what ever suits you! How ever you color it, you don't need a lot of yardage to make a great hat that looks good on women or men.

This pattern is written for bulky weight yarn (6-8 wraps per inch) and size 10 1/2 needles. You will need a total of about 65-75 yards. This hat fits an average adult, but can easily be sized up or down by casting on more or fewer stitches and adjusting your decreases. Experienced knitters can also adjust the number of cast on stitches to a finer gauge yarn and needles.

Materials:
Basic color (brim and top) - 30-35 yards of bulky weight yarn
Stripes - 3-4 stripes - 8-15 yards per stripe

Needles:
Size 10 1/2 (6.5 mm) 16" circular needle & one set of double pointed needles
Yarn needle; stitch marker

Gauge: 3 stitches per inch

Instructions:
With basic color, cast on 56 stitches. Join in a ring, being careful not to twist stitches.

Knit 3 rows.
Purl 1 row.
Knit 2 rows.

Attach Stripe #1. Knit 1 row.
Purl 1 row.
Knit 2-4 rows.

Attach Stripe #2. Knit 1 row.
Purl 1 row.
Knit 2-4 rows.

Attach Stripe #3. Knit 1 row.
Purl 1 row.
Knit 1-3 rows.

Reattach your basic color. Knit at least 1 row, or until the hat is 5 1/2-6 inches tall.

Begin decreases. Place a marker to show the end of the round.

Knit 5; Knit 2 together (K2T). Repeat around.
Knit around.
Knit 4; K2T. Repeat around.
Knit around.
Knit 3; K2T. Repeat around.
Knit around. Change to double pointed needles.
Knit 2; K2T. Repeat around.
Knit around.
Knit 1; K2T. Repeat around.
Knit around.
Knit 2 together. Repeat around.

Cut yarn, leaving a 6 inch tail. Thread yarn through stitches and weave in tail. Weave in all ends.

Variations:
Instead of the rolled brim, try a K2P2 ribbed cuff, using a size 10 (6mm) needle.
Keep adding stripes all the way to the top.

Yarn credits:
Base yarn & pink stripe hand dyed and hand spun by Smoky Mountain Fibers.
Orange stripe: Merino wool & SeaCell roving by Knit It Up (www.knit.etsy.com), color English Garden; plied with Smoky Mountain Fibers apricot handspun.
Teal Stripe: Breeze Merino and Bamboo roving by 1,000 petals (www.lotusjulie.etsy.com), color Hydra; plied with Smoky Mountain Fibers teal handspun.

Copyright 2009 by AnneMarie Walter for SmokyMountainFibers (www.smokymountainfibers.etsy.com) & Phat Fibers (www.phatfibers.com). You have my permission to make as many of these hats as you wish from this pattern. Sell them if you like; giva a few to charity. You may not sell this pattern, but you may link to it on Ravelry (I'm SmokyMtnFibers) or my blog, http:\\smokymountainfibers.blogspot.com/.

Sweet Baby Zukes

I'm glad that tiny baby vegetables are no longer the coolest thing in foodie-land, because there are too cute to take away from their mamas. Tiny baby zucchini only about as big as my little finger, and that was 24 hours ago. This morning they are about the size of my index finger. Tiny baby Butternuts are on their way to being the size of a ... what... the size of a skein of Cascade Ecological wool? We grow 'em big here!

Saturday was a carding day as well as sort-through-old-stuff day. I used old wool I will NEVER spin up to mulch the garden. I laid down batts and covered them with pine bark mulch. The wool should felt & block grass with a bit of help from the pine bark. Some areas just got cardboard or plastic to kill the grass where vegies will soon roam.

Yesterday was a spinning day. Both at home and at the WNC Farmers Market I spun off- white natural, 2 color change yarns and a multicolor pastel yarn. The jury is still out on that one - maybe a bit girly-girl for my taste.

The last photo is the 'field of poppies' all self-seeded from last year and soon to be pulled for something more edible. Flowers are lovely, but that is supposed to the the chard bed and the poppies are crowding out - or it it dimming?- my 'Bright Lights.' Note the peas in the left foreground.

This weekend the Phat Fiber boxes went on sale with my oceanic samples and my Phat Stripes pattern went up on the 'Secret Site.' Gotta get that on Ravelry!

Phat Fiber Sampler Box -Spoiler Alert!

June marks the 2nd month that I have been a contributor to the Phat Fiber Sampler Box, a project that assembles boxes from a number of fiber artists and is sold through the Etsy Shop. It's a way for consumers to try lots of different samples and fiber artists to get their work in the hands of shoppers who are looking for handmade work by indie spinners, dyers, knitters and other artists.

This month's theme was 'Oceans' - a theme I can really relate to. Since blues and greens are two of my favorite colors to dye, I had a lot of fun with this one.

I chose to make 1/3 ounce samples of 3 of my best selling colorways. On the top is Muted Sea Glass, a creamy pale blue-green merino. The lower right is one of my all time faves, Beach Glass a mid-toned blue/green/lavender, which in this case is very green - think 7Up bottle. On the left is Oceana, a bright blue-teal. I also sent a number of business cards with small swatches of handspun yarn & a discount code (20% off) to go in the business card pouch. Maybe the coolest item in the box I shipped was the lovely spiral of 'Deep Blue Sea' Falklands roving. This is for Jessie (the Phat Fiber Queen herself) to blog about and give away. Since the way she does the giveaways is to send people to the Etsy store and ask them to comment on the things that they find there. This drives traffic to my site so that fiber people can do a bit of shopping.

I decided to get involved in this promotion for a couple of reasons. OK, should increase sales - that's obvious. But it also builds community. The more people work together, the better it is for all of us. I know that people are shopping from the vendors who contribute to the boxes. I did! I bought 2 (not 1!) GREAT knitting bags from Ruddawg, whose work I sampled in the April box, the first one I contributed to. It's a great little bag - just the right size with lots of interior pockets. Today I am using the Medium size to carry the secret hat project that I am currently working on.

Speaking of the Secret Hat Project, last night I spun up some roving from the April box + my own stash to make the yarn for a pattern that I am writing for the Phat Fiber site. Works nicely for small amounts of handspun. I'd best stop before it is no longer secret!

Getting Ready for Summer - the Way it is Supposed to Be!

This is yet another walk in the garden. I realized while I was out edging the rose garden on Sunday morning, that it has been a number of years since I have had a summer slow-down season. Now granted, I always teach some kind of summer program for in-service K12 teachers. This year it will be 2 weeks of my 'Children's History' program as well as a lot of prep work for a longer term project I've been working on. I began last summer thinking that my job was going away, so I taught the Ed Tech class in the short summer session. The 3 previous summers I was in grad school in addition to working full time, plus two of those summers I spent a good bit of time in Minnesota with my late parents.

This summer is a whole new thing. Granted, I am working full time, but intend to burn unused vacation days by taking Fridays off whenever possible. My calling gigs have fallen off for the next few months, and it's a fairly slow time in the fiber business. I have always spent this time building inventory - dyeing fiber, spinning yarn, working on patterns and knitting hats. But not a lot of pressure. I plan to participate in the Phat Fiber Sampler Box again in June - the theme is 'Oceans' and my watery blue greens should be just the ticket! Most, if not all of that fiber is already dyed.

My garden is my new passion. Getting it tidy, edging beds, moving plants, digging a few new beds. Really making it look and act as I want it to be. And with the rain we have been having, it's easy to weed!

Last evening I tilled the sunny bed on the western side of the house. It's hot and sunny, but easy to water. It is also just outside the reach of the Black Walnut trees. Last evening I planted peppers (hot banana, habanero & jalapeno), basil (Genovese and purple), parsley (Italian and curly), cilantro, one tomato which shall remain nameless. On Sunday evening, I set out seeds and plants of zucchini and cucumber; last night I planted nasturtiums in the same hills. Still to come: sweet peppers & at least one more tomato; green beans when the peas come out, & probably okra.

The earlier spring crops are quite happy with the Sugar Snap peas in bloom & kale full up and delicious (I braised some thinnings with green onions for Sunday supper). The chard is spotty so I may fill in with plants. I also spotted a single volunteer tomato in the same place where a mid-sized red tomato grew in abundance last year, so I intend to nurture it.

In flower world, the roses are just getting started and the rhododendron looks better than it has for years. I just hope the rain continues! The back perennial border is just getting going, but the then-tiny plants didn't get quite the spacing they need now! Some plants need to be on wheels, because they will be traveling!

Day 3 of South Beach redux. Still no cheating, but I have not gotten back on the scale. A bit too soon.