Monday, November 15, 2010

Sock Club Signups are Open!

I'm very happy to announce that the signups for the Fearless Fibers Simple Value Sock Club Winter 2010/11 are now open! You'll find all of the details in the shop listing description.

Signups will remain open through the end of November (unless all slots are filled before then). The first shipment will be December 15th.

We're off and running!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Happy Halloween

No yarn news to share today, but thought I'd pop in and wish everyone a happy and safe Halloween weekend.

My husband and I are not "into" Halloween. We have no children but we do have a dog who goes a bit wild when strangers come to the door, so it's not the most pleasant of holidays for us. I also struggle with the whole idea of giving children mountains of candy.

My alternate-to-candy idea this year was to get some of the individually-wrapped prunes I've seen advertised on TV. Both my husband and my sister, however, squawked quite loudly about this. I was proclaimed a world-class "funsucker" by my sister and my husband was adamant in his belief that our house would be shrouded in toilet paper if we gave out prunes. (Although I must say the excess toilet paper might be rather appropriate for the whole prune-theme.)

I finally gave in to the complaints and opted out of giving prunes to the Trick or Treaters. I did, however, greatly enjoy spending the last few days trying to convince my sister that we and all of our friends should give out prunes. I told her repeatedly that I was trying to "start a movement." (I am easily amused. Prune puns are not beneath me.)

Today I found my alternative to prunes: Spiderman temporary tattoos! They are so cute. They come in little individual boxes with five per. I was quite pleased with my solution until I realized too late that Halloween falls on Sunday this week and that's my bowling night. I won't be home for the prime Halloween hours, which means I very likely bought far too many tattoos.

The neighbors should not be surprised if next week they see a middle-aged woman in the supermarket or at the gym sporting some Spiderman faux-ink.

Happy Halloween!

Friday, October 22, 2010

What's Shaking

Not too much shaking here at Fearless Fibers HQ, but there are a few things simmering. I'm focusing on dyeing to restock a bit, as well as to get the new Merino/Cashmere/Nylon DK Yarn ready to go. The early bird pre-orders are done now, so I'm dyeing up the initial stock for the shop. There won't be a ton of it for starters, so keep your eyes peeled for it. I'll post here, in the FF group on Ravelry, and will notify the FF mailing list when it's ready to go.

Once that's all squared away, it will perhaps be time for another sock club. It's been quite a while since the last one and I've received a few inquiries about when the next will be, so I think it's probably about time. It will take me a little while to prepare for that, but it should be coming before too terribly long. Perhaps in time for your holiday wish list?

That's what's shaking here. More to come soon.

Thursday, October 07, 2010

MCN DK Yarn Early Bird Special!

I am so excited to announce the introduction of a new yarn: Merino/Cashmere/Nylon ("MCN") in a DK weight!

I have a fairly limited amount of this yarn to start and so rather than try to guess which colors might be most desired, I've instead decided to begin by offering an Early Bird Special. In a nutshell, this is a limited opportunity to purchase this new yarn at a 10% discount, in your choice of twenty of the most popular color options from the Fearless Fibers line. The yarn will be dyed to order and shipped within three weeks.

The early bird special offer will stand through October 14th or until the quantity available in this special shop listing is exhausted (whichever comes first).

This is the same lovely blend of fibers as the MCN Sock Yarn introduced earlier this year, but this time it's in a heavier DK weight. This is a lovely yarn for a wide variety of projects. Knit with size US5 to 6 needles, the yarn creates a lovely fabric for sweaters, scarves and other items that benefit from a beautiful drape. It can also be knit on smaller needles to yield a denser fabric appropriate for fitted items, such as heavyweight socks.

If you'd like to take advantage of this special offer, be sure to read the full details in the listing description.

Great day to all!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Something's Coming

Could be!
Who knows?
There's something due any day;
I will know right away,
Soon as it shows.
It may come cannonballing down through the sky,
Gleam in its eye,
Bright as a rose!

Who knows?
It's only just out of reach,
Down the block, on a beach,
Under a tree.
I got a feeling there's a miracle due,
Gonna come true,
Coming to me!

Could it be? Yes, it could.
Something's coming, something good,
If I can wait!
Something's coming, I don't know what it is,
But it is
Gonna be great!

Alright. Enough singing for this morning! For those who don't recognize it, the above is from West Side Story. I just can't get it out of my head. Why, you ask? Because, of course ...

Something good is coming! A new yarn!

Just a bit longer and I'll have my ducks in a row to tell you more.

Something's coming, something good . . .

Friday, September 24, 2010

Final Clearance Yarn

Just a quick post to let everyone know that the last of the to-be-discontinued Lightweight Merino is now listed in the sale section of the FF shop. Stop by and took a look before the final 20% discounted clearance skeins of this yarn are gone!

Great day to all!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Rosebuddie

Have you seen Anne Hanson's latest design? It's a baby blanket, called Rosebuddie.


How beautiful is that?! Even if knitting a baby blanket isn't in the cards for you at the moment, pop over to Anne's blog anyway as you're sure to get a big smile perusing the baby-with-blanket photos. If you haven't visited the KnitSpot pattern shop lately, stop by there too and you'll be amazed at the fabulous array of new patterns that have been added recently!

A huge Thank You to Anne for choosing FF MCN Sock Yarn for this lovely project!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Soon, Soon . . .

I've received a few inquiries about the timing for availability of the final skeins of Lightweight Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn (base yarn to be discontinued from the FF line for the foreseeable future). I don't have a firm date just yet, but I think I'll have the remaining yarn ready to go at some point next week.

As with the last batch, the remainder of this yarn will be discounted by 20%. When the yarn is listed I'll post here, in the Ravelry FF Group, and to my mailing list (if you'd like to be added to the mailing list, just pop me an e-mail with the subject line "Mailing List").

The last batch won't be very large, but will include some old favorites:



As well as a few of the more recent additions to the lineup, not previously available on this base yarn:



More info to come soon ...

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Congrats to the Winner!

Congratulations to Lisa C., whose name was selected in the random drawing to receive a copy of Brave New Knits and the yarn for the cover sock project.

Many of you expressed an interest in the book, so you might want to check out the schedule for the book tour. Perhaps Julie will be visiting a yarn shop near you soon!



Thank you to all for entering the drawing!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Giveaway, Sale Items, New Colors!

I have so many cool things to share with you today. Let's start at the top with the coolest of the cool!



Brave New Knits is a just-released book by Julie Turjoman. As Julie says on her blog (where you can find a list of links to purchase the book): "Brave New Knits celebrates the convergence of knitting, blogging, and online social networking, with 26 gorgeous original patterns by the world's most talented designer-bloggers."

And Julie's not kidding when she talks about the work of the most-talented designer-bloggers being included in this book! You'll find Shannon Okey (Knitgrrl), Clara Parkes (Knitter's Review), Ysolda Teague (Ysolda.com), and a host of others equally notable. Of course, I can't fail to mention that the fabulous Anne Hanson (KnitSpot) whom we all love so much is also present!

Best of all, however, is the inclusion of the wonderful sock pattern from the cover photo of the book, by Kirsten Kapur (Through the Loops). Why is this my favorite among all of the lovely patterns in the book? Well, not only is it an absolutely terrific design by an absolutely terrific designer, but that's also Fearless Fibers Tight Twist Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn used to knit the socks. A very big Thank You to Kirsten for choosing to work with my yarn and also to Julie for choosing to include my yarn in the book.

To celebrate the release of the new book, I'm having a small giveaway. One winner will be selected at random to receive a copy of Brave New Knits courtesy of Julie, along with the yarn used to knit the cover socks by Kirsten Kapur. That's a skein each of FF Tight Twist Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Spellbound and Sloth colors.

To enter your name in the giveaway for a chance to win, just send me an e-mail (fearlessfibers @ comcast.net) with the subject line "Giveaway Entry" or leave a comment here (be sure to include your e-mail address, not in the comment body but rather in the e-mail field when submitting the comment).

The winner will be selected randomly and announced in one week, on Tuesday September 7th.

If all of that wasn't enough, I also want to point out a couple of cool things in the FF Shop. First, the new colors of Laceweight Merino Wool Yarn are now listed, along with several choices on the Mohair and Alpaca blend yarns.

Additionally, I've decided that the Lightweight Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn that I've carried for several years has run its course and it's time to move it out of the permanent lineup to make room for new things. I've put all of my on-hand stock in the Sale Category of the shop, marked down by 20%. There will be one more round of this yarn coming in the near future, once I dye up what remains.

Whew! Now that's a lot for one post! Great day to all!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

More New Things Coming



Above is another new colorway on Laceweight Merino coming soon. If it looks a bit familiar, that's because it's "Hoarfrost" which is also available on Tight Twist Superwash Merino Sock Yarn. I've had several requests for this color in laceweight, so it will be part of the next batch update.
Hoarfrost will also be coming in 50/50 Alpaca/Wool blend in a DK weight. That's a yarn I used to carry regularly but haven't had in a while. You'll see a few options of colors for that base yarn in the next update, along with a couple in Mohair/Wool blends in DK and worsted.

I have a few more waiting in the wings that need to be photographed and labeled and such before the update (perhaps in a few days to a week, we shall see).

Stay tuned not only for availability of these new colors, but also a little giveaway coming soon to the blog.

Great day to all!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Blue Monday



This is a new colorway not yet available but coming soon: Blue Monday. It's shown above in FF Laceweight Merino Wool Yarn.

I love the subtle shifts of color, which you can see undulating here in this sample swatch:


In addition to the Laceweight Merino, I'll also have Blue Monday available in Worsted Weight Mohair/Wool Yarn.


Blue Monday is not yet available in the FF shop. It will be added in a shop update in a few weeks. I'll be sharing more sneak previews of new colors here prior to that update.

Hope everyone is having a great day (not a blue Monday)!

Monday, August 09, 2010

Dreamy Shawl

Some time back, a lovely customer named Jana inquired about the possibility of some purple and blue yarn she had envisioned. At the time I had nothing in my shop that quite fit the dream she had in her mind. It happened though that I had a new colorway set aside, waiting for a planned batch update in the future. I sent a picture of the yarn to Jana to see if it might fit her vision and sure enough the yarn was close to the dream color she had imagined. I named the colorway "Jana's Dream" and you can see it here in Merino/Cashmere/Nylon Sock Yarn, which is the base yarn Jana chose. (I need to replenish the current stock in the MCN base yarn, but I do currently have the color available in Tight Twist Superwash Merino Sock Yarn and Sportweight Superwash Merino Yarn.)



Jana has now turned the yarn into this dreamy shawl:



The pattern is Skuld by Anna Dalvi. Apparently the pattern is interesting to everyone ...



Lovely, isn't it? Here's a blocking shot where you can see the detail really well.



Thank you to Jana for sharing her work and lending her name to this yarn :) You can see lots more of Jana's work on Ravelry where she is JanaA.

Monday, August 02, 2010

Portofino



This lovely piece is the Portofino Shawl and Scarf pattern by Krista Werbil. Krista created this beauty with FF Laceweight Merino Wool Yarn in the Golden Olive colorway.


Krista has a great selection of other patterns also available, so be sure to check out her main pattern page on Ravelry.


A big Thank You to Krista for choosing FF yarn for this lovely piece.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Seven Months at a Glance

I can't believe it's been since the first of the year since I last posted here! I've been waffling for some time on whether to continue this blog. Somehow that period got longer and longer until I arrived here. After some consideration, I've decided to continue the blog for a while and see how it feels in a few months. I'll tell you more in my next post or two about my reasons for considering stopping the blog and my current thoughts on refocusing the direction just a bit and continuing going forward.

In the meantime, here are seven months of this dyer's life at a glance:

1. Some knitting: The past seven months have included spans of time with no knitting at all punctuated by brief spurts of frenzied knitting activity. One such spurt involved a burning desire to knit colorwork hats. The recipients of these hats I think were rather puzzled as to why they were receiving winter hats in Spring, but such are the mysterious ways of knitters.

2. Sweating and heaving: My quest for fitness continues. Unfortunately, lifting bigger and bigger chunks of iron led my muscles to get stronger faster than my tendons, which in turn led to a wicked case of tennis elbow that lasted three months and is only now easing up enough to allow me to lift heavy things again (taking it slowly and carefully this time!).

3. Busting down walls: More than 2.5 years after moving into my current house and after many other projects, my husband and I recently dove into the enormous task of remodeling the kitchen. The existing kitchen was a horrible remnant of the late 60's/early 70's. Here's one portion of the eyesore.



We aren't doing absolutely everything in the kitchen right away, but we're taking on the big job of putting in new cabinets and sorely needed new appliances and also reconfiguring the appliances to more logical locations. That means we needed to get right down to the bones.



We're knee-deep in reconstructing this mess now. I'm greatly looking forward to having a functioning sink back in my kitchen!

4. Slowly dyeing: Dyeing continues, slow and mellow in the summer months. I'm currently re-evaluating some of the yarns I carry and looking at some interesting changes to come. In the shorter-term, my next focus before too long will be some new colors on the Laceweight Merino. That's one yarn that remains a favorite and I definitely don't intend to remove it from the line anytime soon.

5. Gotta have some love: Husband and pup continue to be the happiest part of my overall happy life.



(The fact that I have a photo of Indie to share but none of Bruce is no indication of the order of importance of the two subjects. It might perhaps be an indication of the order of irresistible cuteness though.)

And there it is. Seven months in a nutshell.

If anyone is out there, still popping by and here to see this post, I hope all is well and you've had an equally peaceful and productive year thus far.

Friday, January 01, 2010

New Yarn Available Now!

The new yarn I mentioned in my last post is now available in the Fearless Fibers shop!

The new yarn is a blend of superwash merino wool, cashmere and nylon. It’s a sock weight yarn and makes lovely, luxurious socks, but it’s also a wonderfully versatile yarn for almost any project imaginable. I’m thinking of using some to make a sweater out of myself :)

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year!