March 2009 Phat Fiber Sample Box

I know, I've been remiss and not shared the contents of my Phat Fiber Sample box. Let me first state that I can't express the delight I felt as I opened the box. The closest I can think of is birthdays when I was a child, and I didn't know what I was getting, and almost every present was wonderful.

I will state I have mixed feelings about sharing this. Part of me says, what are you waiting for? Go sign up with Phat Fiber immediately. The more greedy part of me thinks, don't do that! Then it will be more difficult to buy the next one. (Which, truth be told, I won't be buying one again anytime soon, but only because I'm not earning much money right now. Not because I don't want to. Believe me, I do want to. Very much so.)

Bear with me, there are pictures and a lot of links in this post.

In the first photo, you see how it was packed. The second is my haphazard repacking to get it all back in so you can somewhat share what I was when the tissue paper was removed.



Since I knit and don't spin too much, I ordered the yarn box.

It was chock full of yummy yarn samples. Starting from the top in the first yarn photo are:

Northern Bay Handspun in an amazingly soft camel and silk blend,

Abstract Fiber's very generous sample of merino and tencel fingering weight, Desired Haven Farm's mohair and wool blend, Dragonmaille's angora and wool blend, and Liberty Fibers yarn and fiber.

The orange and gold yarn at the top is from Bohemian Knitter Chic, and is a worsted weight wool. The second is Hedgehog Fibres silk and merino blend in a color called Burned. It is gorgeous, but I love a great brown. The green is Oriri Draco Designs Koi, a 100% bamboo yarn. I love the way bamboo looks. I think she needs a wishlist on her site. I'd drooled over there a few times before the sample arrived. The handspun at the bottom is from Cool Climates. It's a mixed fiber yarn of wool, mohair, angora and merino.

Phew! Linking all this is hard work. I can't let myself go look at yarn right now! Must be strong.

Ok, weak moment over. Thinking of sewing I want to do instead.

Third picture, from the top, Fire Lizard Studios Joy, an 80% merino and 20% nylon sock yarn. (I'm biased - I love sock yarn, and this one is good'n'squishy.) The bright lime and yellow is from Danido, and it's 100% superwash merino, dyed with organic dyes. Third down is a handspun from Melissa's Kre8tions in shades that remind me of Black Watch Tartan. Ok, I must admit some love for the cottons that came with the Irish Breakfast Tea. (I love that tea!) At some point, in that time when my stashes have been knitted and sewn down, I'm buying some of Sheeps of Egytian Cotton's Isis. I don't know what it is about that yarn, but I've got to get some. It may the colors, for all her yarn samples delight me. (Am I being too poetic for yarn? I don't think so.) Last, but not least, is a tantilizing handspun yarn from Wilde Thyme. It has sparkles and beads and fun colors that don't show well in that photo at all. (Today is a dim, grey day, and the halogen light in my kitchen always seems to make things look funny. I'm well aware it is human error since I've not figured out all the setting on my camera, but let's not talk about that right now. I'm still working on my first cup of coffee since we overslept in the grey dimness.)

Onto the mostly non-yarny surprises that I found in my box. In accessory photo number 1, some stitch markers from winemakerssister. Once again, I'm biased, because while I would love an incredible necklace of emeralds and diamonds, I'm a sucker for emerald green glass and beads too. Maybe I was a magpie in a past life. You know, collecting things, especially shiny ones.

There is also a shawl pin from Dawning Dreams. Dare I tell you that I'm also a sucker for curling, organic shapes?

In the upper left of this picture is a shamrock stitchmarker from Wooly Hands. In the upper right is a row counter from In Stitches. I've only recently started seeing this style of row counter, and I'm wondering how it will work for me. On the bottom row is stitchmarker from Black Tie Fiber Arts with pink jasper.

This next picture all came from the same crafting family! Mom, Dad and Son all work together for their store. How cool is that? The swag they sent includes a pair of earring, a Scrabble tile pendant (I recently purchased some from another etsy seller), stitch markers, handdyed yarn and a pattern of which I didn't take a picture. The store is Calizona Designs.

There are other yarnies who didn't send samples, but sent business cards and discounts to Phat Fiber Sample Box purchasers, so I'll include them for you to peruse their shops too. Natchwoolie, Woolie Bullie, Knitting Note Cards, My Fair Bag Lady, Mad Angel Creations, and Ballee.

All in all, that was the best $33 I've spent in a long time. So much fun and surprises.

Next, just a couple of shots of sewn binding. Just a few appliques, and I'll be finished with the hard work. So exciting to see a nearly finished project. Even more exciting when it's all finished.