Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Box Day Contest Winner!

A big thank you to everyone who visited Talitha's website and entered the box day contest! Talitha and I appreciate all your thoughtful and enthusiastic comments!

Congratulations, karmaperdiem, aka #21, you won!

I emailed the Moses pattern to you. Just reply to me with your mailing address and let me know which hank of yarn you would like from my store.

Happy Chinese New Year Phatties!



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Research Randomizer Results
1 Set of 1 Non-unique Numbers Per Set
Range: From 1 to 26 -- Unsorted
Job Status: Finished
     
Set #1:
21



Sunday, January 16, 2011

~ ~ ~ ~ Box Day Contest ~ ~ ~ ~

Note: This contest is open through Tuesday night at midnight, EST.

Happy Chinese New Year and happy box day, Phatties!

If you didn't manage to snag a box today (or even if you did), you can still win a "Moses" (the mouse) pattern from Talitha Kuomi and a hank of luxury yarn of your choice from my Etsy store,

Just visit Talitha's Web site and take a look at her stylish and artful patterns. (Many of them are free--and you'll love the beautiful, evocative names she gives them.)

Come back here and comment on your favorite pattern.

One person's name will be drawn by random number generator. Winner will be announced on Wednesday, January 19.

Talitha is on Knitscene's hot list of designers to watch for in 2011. Talitha is very cool and because she created a design using my yarns, I feel very cool by extension :)


Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Talitha Kuomi, Me and Moses

Several months ago, I was doing my favorite Saturday morning activity--leisurely surfing the web for patterns (aka postponing housework).  I ran across a designer on Ravelry who had given such lovely names to her designs. Names like "opposite shore", "line upon line" and "pleasant places". I commented to Talitha that I liked the pretty names and she replied that she also admired my unraveled yarns and had been wanting to create a design based on recycled yarn.

A few hours later we had hatched a plan to work together!  I sent Talitha the yarn from an LL Bean wool sweater that I found at Goodwill for $4 (with the $49.95 price tag still attached!).

Talitha used the yarn to design and create "Moses"--the cutest little mouse you've ever seen! When I make mine, I'm going to stuff him with lima beans and lavender.

The pattern for Moses and enough yarn to make him will be included in 50 of the  Phat Fiber January Sample Boxes which will go on sale January 16  at 9 a.m and 6 p.m. CST (for about 2 minutes--you have to be quick to snag one!). The theme this month is Chinese New Year and it promises to be a spectacular collection of gorgeous fiber, yarn, patterns and accessory sampling!

I'm thrilled that Talitha wanted to work with me. Her bold and beautiful Wild Olive Beret was featured in this winter’s gift collection by Interweave Knits. And, Knitscene named her one of the top ten designers to watch for in 2011! 

It’s been a lot of fun getting to know Talitha. She’s such a creative and beautiful stay-at-home young mother. We corresponded a lot over the last few months and I  love the way she writes about her children and family and how she enjoys artistic, natural and beautiful things like gardening, designing, cooking and singing and sharing those joys with her children.

I wasn’t as accomplished when I was a stay-at-home mom, but I surely loved it. If I had a thousand lives to live, I’d live them all as a stay-at-home mom.

Check back here on Box Day, January 16 for a contest to win a copy of Talitha's Moses pattern and any hank of yarn from my Etsy store.

Happy new year! Happy knitting!

Monday, January 10, 2011

My 100th Ravelry Project ~ An online collaboration in 12 easy steps

First let me say the online knitting community is just so much fun. You get to know knitters and fiber artists from all over the world, learn new techniques, be inspired by their creativity, and LOL at the pictures they take of themselves in front of the bathroom mirror in their jammies and new hat.

One of my favorite projects of 2010 was one I created with the help of designers, dyers and spinners from all over the place.

It started with this 111 State sweater that my daughter found in a thrift shop in Chicago. Not a name brand, but the 100% wool was merino soft.

But yikes, when I unraveled it, the yarn was a a thready mess.

You can knit with thready messes like this; you just have to be careful not to split the stitches. It was such nice yarn though, I wanted to see if it could be improved. I posted a notice on the PhatFiber contributors Yahoo group and asked for pricing to re-ply all 1,200 yards.  Several wheel spinners from across the country offered, but Roo's offer from Moonwood Farm was the best. "Let's barter" she said, "Surprise me with some yarn from your shop."  What a sweetheart!

I sent her a hank of 100% camel and some other wools along with the thready mess and a few weeks later, voila! . . .  I get this beautiful stuff back! (Along with a sweater for unraveling that she happened to have lying around, and some wool wash and rinse. Just love Roo's free-wheeling generous spirit!)

At my request, Roo spun some blues and greens into some of the white wool. She said she used a braid of roving called "Ice Queen" from Erin (of Vines) which was part of the very first Phat Fiber Sample box. It's a 100% rambouillet (which is a French merino). Roo added sparkle (undyed firestar) because she said Ice Queen deserved some icy sparkle. I agree!


From these yarns, I made myself this Ripley hat (my daughter modeling, thank you Beth) and am still working on the scarf to go with it.



The online knitting community is full of people who bend over backward to help their fellow fibery friends. It's fun seeing that....and the lovely golden thread running through it--people sharing and creating from their own little corner of the world.   

Saturday, January 8, 2011

How Sweet the Sound

I love him.

Strong and sure words

That broke my heart

For they were as strong and sure as when I spoke them about my father

Who was as close to perfect as a dad could be.

Her dad wasn't always there for her.

She had to choose to love.

And love never fails.

He is home now.

And loved perfectly, as always, by his Father

And our Father

Whose grace is amazing.