Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Yes, another post! (Look at me, being a responsible blogger!)

And now you can literally look at me, interviewed in a video podcast from Lets Knit2Gether. I'm the first person interviewed, giggling nervously and blushing like mad.


Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I won! I won!

My second shawl out of my own handspun (if you want to see pictures of my finished Swallowtail I posted progress pics of before, you'll have to go to my ravelry projects page) won the Phat Fiber Spring Competition. I was soooo excited, I bounced around the house like I was thirteen, giggling like an idiot.

IMG_0491

IMG_0452

IMG_0462


This was fingering-ish weight singles I spun out of a Coopworth/Llama blend I got from Wild Hare Fiber Studios. This fiber practically spun itself and the singles came out so shiny! I literally finished the shawl and blocked it hours before the deadline. As soon as it was dry and the pins were out I presented it to a friend of mine who had been admiring it the whole time I was spinning/knitting it. She's so funny, she wanted to wear it that night but had to be prodded into it because it was supposed to rain and she was afraid of getting it wet.

One of my prizes arrived this week. A free Phat Fiber box! This was the main reason I was so excited I won, because I wasn't going to be able to afford one for the second month in a row and getting a box is just so much fun.

IMG_0491

I'll try and write about everything, for the people who didn't get a box this month, or who maybe haven't been able to get one at all.

First off, the fiber:

IMG_0492

(left to right, top to bottom)

-A generous 1/2 ounce Giffordables batt. This was the first time I've gotten a sample from this shop, although I ordered a few full size batts about a month ago. These batts are just giant! Even the sample is huge.

-Another generous sample, a full 1 oz Merino/Bamboo blend roving from Portland Fiber. I can't wait to spin this stuff up, its so soft and beautiful.

-A muslin bag full of washed, dyed, and precarded Texel Wool from Desert Garden Farms. The colors are fabulous and the little bag is adorable.

-A sparkly batt from BeesyBee. containing Wensleydale, Mohair, Suri Alpaca, and Angelina. Gorgeous shades of pinky purple.

-Merino Wool in shades of blue from Maude & Me. I have never seen such gorgeous shades of blue all in one piece of roving.

-A Merino sample from Feeling Sheepish, which is as usual, gorgeous. If you scroll down to my entry about my last box, you'll see this was the fiber my cat found absolutely irresistable. In fact I also won a gift certificate to the Phat shop of my choice, and this was the shop I picked. :)

-Hand Painted Organic Wool Top and felted flower from Wild Hare Fiber Studios. This super cute flower is destine to become a button on a cardigan one of these days.

Next up, the yarns:

IMG_0494

-Handspun (? I think?) wool and nylon blend from Sheepshape Spinning. Very squooshy.

-Purple BFL from Snicklefritz Yarn Co. The colorway is Blueberry pie and as soon as I read that the yarn started looking yummy as well as beautiful.

-Sooper Squoosh (their title, not mine) Handspun and hand dyed Corriedale from Black Tie Fiber Arts. They named it right, there's a lot of squoosh in this skein.

-Dyed By Danido Ramboulliet Handspun. The colors are so beautiful in this yarn. She really has a talent for spinning thick and thin yarns, mine never look this good!

-Superwash Wool and Bamboo sock yarn from Polyartgirl Designs. The color saturation and softness is just awesome. Plus, I'm not quite sure why, but however she twisted her skeins, they look so perfect and almost braided. I'm going to hate to untwist this one!

-Chance sock yarn in "Tulip (verigated)" from Serendipitous Ewe. There's something about these colors that I'm so in love with. Maybe it's the retro avacado green.

-Last but definately not least, luxury handspun from Fiber Friendzy. This has merino/cashmere/CAMEL!/and silk noil in it. This yarn is shiny and soft beyond belief. Plus it's pink. 'Nuff said.

The miscellaneous:

IMG_0495

-A beautiful needle case was holding all my business cards and coupons.

-Double Helix fingerless gloves pattern. I'm definitely going to be knitting a pair or two of these up for the fall.

-Small KIP bag from Rudawg. I'm totally fascinated by how a simple plastic pony bead works so well with the drawstring. (I'm so easily amused)

-Stitch markers from Black Tie Fiber Arts, Twice Sheared Sheep, Baby Dragon Jewelry, and Girl on the Rocks. All gorgeous and destined to be used with future projects.

Phew! I'm really tired now, so I'm going to be lazy and not link everyone's shops. Just google them. Maybe I'll fix it later, but right now I'm outta here.