Fearless Fibers Yarn

2011-10-25T14:37:00.000-07:00

Sock Club Signups Now Open!

Just a quick post to let you know that signups for the Fearless Fibers Winter Harvest Sock Club are now open. You can find full details in the shop listing here. More about the club's inspiration is included in my post below from yesterday.

2011-10-24T05:53:00.000-07:00

A Year Gone By

I can't believe a year has gone by since I stopped posting here. I blame Ravelry. And life.

For a long time one purpose this blog served was to share photos of finished objects made with Fearless Fibers yarn. Many of you shared your photos with me and were kind enough to let me post them here. It not only provided inspiration for others but over time also became a great reference to see how a particular color might look once knit. Now, Ravelry provides this resource but in a much broader way and of course, searchable as well. Asking people to share project photos and then posting them here became duplicative and unnecessary, even boring. The "groups" function on Ravelry also provides a place to post news and information, so to an extent even that function is covered elsewhere. Although not very active, there is a Fearless Fibers group on Ravelry. And so that's why I say (jokingly, of course) that I blame Ravelry in part for the year long death of this blog.

The greater reason that this blog has gone dark for so long is really just life. My life, that is. Although it's no secret that this is a business blog and is meant to promote Fearless Fibers, it's also a personal blog where I share my own knitting, along with occasional stories about things that happen in my life or commentary about whatever may be on my mind. For the first several years of this blog, there were plenty of stories and commentary that related to knitting and yarn for me to share. Not only was dyeing yarn my business but knitting was my hobby and passion.

Now, dyeing yarn remains my business and knitting remains a hobby but now it is one among a wider selection. I find myself with little time to knit and other than an occasional quick gift knit now and then, I must admit that I've barely knit in the past year. I still love everything related to knitting and yarn, still find myself browsing patterns and making mental plans for new projects, but the reality is that I haven't followed through with much of anything. A scarf for a friend, a hat for my husband, perhaps a pair of fingerless gloves for myself now and then. I need to get on the sticks already and make my mother her annual hat and scarf.

Now I know some knitting enthusiasts may wonder what on earth could draw someone away from the greatest pastime ever. Valid question. I myself at various times in my knitting career have reached a fever pitch of enthusiasm during which it seemed completely impossible to go a day without knitting, much less stretches of a month or more at a time! But things change. I still love to knit, but at the moment I also love to train and garden.

If any of the old FF blog readers from way back when are reading this, you may remember that over two years ago my husband dragged me kicking and screaming to the gym. A woman in my mid 40's, I had somehow gone my entire life without ever going to a gym. The whole thing made me uncomfortable and anxious and I truly hated it. My husband, however, pushed me because - as he so kindly put it - if we didn't get fit soon, it was going to be an accelerating downhill slide for us both.

It took some time, but I learned to accept the dreaded gym as part of my life. It was a long and winding path to find what kind of exercise and food intake worked best for me, but I've got things pretty well figured out now. I could write for hours and hours about my experience and opinions on the subject, but this is a knitting and yarn blog after all.

The other new passion that has taken much of my time is vegetable gardening. Again, for those who read this blog over the years, you may recall that I had a brown thumb. Other than one half-hearted and utterly unsuccessful attempt to grow a few things, I most definitely was not a gardener. That all changed this past year. Once my husband and I decided to give gardening a more serious go, we never looked back. In our usual go-big-or-go-home fashion, we jumped in headfirst. We built a greenhouse. We created five raised beds, each roughly 4X15 feet. We installed hoops over the beds so that they can be covered with plastic and serve as mini hoophouses in the fall and winter. We had our successes and our failures this spring and summer, but most importantly we fell entirely in love with vegetable gardening. I signed up for the Master Gardener class through Oregon State University's extension office and am taking that now. When the class is over I hope to find time to volunteer with the Extension Service and officially earn my "Master Gardener" title.

And so finally we come to what this post is all about. Since it's about time to launch another sock club, I've decided to use my newfound gardening interest as a source of inspiration and so I am planning a Winter Harvest Sock Club. The club will be inspired by vegetables that harvest in the winter. I've already got the colors lined up and I have to say that I find them to be nothing short of delicious!

Signups for the club will start very soon, perhaps even as early as tomorrow. I'll be sure to post all of the details here when the time comes.

2010-11-15T10:49:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-10-29T11:48:00.001-07:00

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!

2010-10-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-10-07T12:39:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-09-29T06:51:00.000-07:00

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 . . .

2010-09-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-09-18T07:02:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-09-15T19:33:00.001-07:00

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 ...

2010-09-07T07:03:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-08-31T06:15:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-08-26T06:28:00.001-07:00

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!

2010-08-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

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)!

2010-08-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-08-02T05:03:00.001-07:00

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.

2010-07-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-01-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-12-29T07:29:00.000-08:00

Good Things Coming

With the New Year just around the corner, what better than a new yarn just around the corner as well?

This is a Merino/Cashmere/Nylon blend sock yarn that will soon be available in the Fearless Fibers shop. I have a limited quantity of this yarn, so I've whipped it up in a range of the most popular colors I carry.

In the photo above the yarn is clad in "Blue Raven" and here it is showing off its beauty in "Inner Sanctum."

Keep your eyes and ears open for the listing of this new yarn. It's almost ready to go, so perhaps I'll target listing the new yarn on New Year's Day. What better way to kick off 2010?

If you are not yet on the Fearless Fibers mailing list and want to be among the first to know when the new yarn will be available, just send me an e-mail and I'll be happy to add you to the list.

I hope everyone is having a lovely holiday season and looking forward to a wonderful New Year!

2009-12-14T09:44:00.001-08:00

The Things Knitters Do

What on earth is that in the photo, you ask? Some sort of pile of scraps organized in plastic bags? Hmmmm ...

Why, they're swatches, of course! And lots of them. Each of those bags contains quite a few swatches.

At first glance you might think that I'm an organized knitter who has carefully retained my gauge swatches over the course of many, many, many projects. Of course, if you happened to know me you would know that I am anything but an organized knitter. I am the sort of knitter who makes critical notes in the form of indecipherable scribblings and hash marks on the backs of envelopes and post-it notes. I am the sort of knitter whose needles are scattered about the house, tucked away in a dozen different places, most often with matching pairs separated from one another. I am the sort of knitter who tosses yarn labels away with reckless abandon, leaving a trail of odds and ends of unidentifiable yarn in my wake.

No, what you see in the photos are not retained and categorized gauge swatches.

Despite my casual and occasionally reckless approach to knitting, I will say that I am reasonably organized about one little hobby of mine. That is what you see in the photo. They are swatches, yes. But they are not gauge swatches, with purpose and intention. They are random stitch swatches, whipped up at various times with odds and ends of yarn.

When I see a stitch that interests me, I often get the urge to knit up a swatch. I want to see firsthand how the stitch looks. I want to feel whether it has a good bit of give or whether it's more structured. I want to know if the resulting fabric is thick and sturdy or fluid and drapy. I want to see what it looks like on the reverse.

For a long time, I satisfied my desire to swatch stitches by knitting a swatch, examining it and satisfying my curiosity, and then unraveling it. Some time ago, however, I became more organized (very unlike my usual knitterly style!) and began making note of where I found the stitch and tucking the swatch away for future reference.

And so now, on days like today, I can rummage through them searching for a stitch or two to meet my needs.

My need today is a new hat design. I recently shared with you the Hot Waffles Hat I knit for my husband. He quite liked this hat. He wore it daily for a few weeks.

And then the devil possessed my little angel, who proceeded to tear the hat to shreds when it was left sitting on the sofa.

Much as I love the Hot Waffles Hat, I've made three now and am not much in the mood for another.

And so off to the swatch pile I go.

2009-12-07T08:08:00.000-08:00

Free Sock Pattern with Purchase of Sock Yarn!

Just a quick post to let you all know about a special offer I posted in my shop this morning.

For three days only, I'm offering a free sock pattern of your choosing with the purchase of every skein of sock yarn!

Before ordering, please read the details in our Shop Announcement.

Great day to all!

2009-11-18T15:50:00.000-08:00

Once Per Year

For the most part, I've given up on knitting for my husband. He used to wear the socks I knit for him, but over time the allure of handknit socks faded and he rarely seemed to wear them anymore. No point in knitting them if he won't wear them. I've knit him two sweaters, but he rarely wears those either. He's just not a sweater guy.

But hats. Hats he wears.

And so each year I knit him at least one new hat. I can count on him to either lose one or destroy one each year, so there is always room for a new one in the lineup.

This year's hat is Anne Hanson's Hot Waffles pattern. I knit him one of this pattern a couple of years back and it's his first go-to in the hat lineup, so I thought he'd like another.

I used FF Superwash Merino Wool Sportweight Yarn in the Metaphor colorway. The pattern calls for a heavier weight yarn, but it's an easy pattern to adjust with a few added repeats.

So darn cute that I've got to get another shot:

I couldn't resist. Much as Bruce likes his new hat, the pup is still much cuter!

Everyone have a great evening (or day or night as the case may be)!

2009-11-09T10:18:00.001-08:00

Mmmmmm ... Yarn

It's been quite some time since I've done a batch update of yarn to my shop, but I'll be rectifying that soon.

The update will include a bit of this and that, with some Tight Twist Superwash Merino Sock Yarn, some much-needed replenishing of Laceweight Merino, a sampling of a few colors on the BFL Superwash Sock Yarn that I've offered only once in the past, as well as likely a few items added to the shop's Sale Section.

I have no firm date yet for the update, but it's coming soon. I'm just waiting on a few more things to dry in my workshop, then I've got some photos to take, listing descriptions to write, labels to put on, and other such minor details before we're off to the races.

Mmmmmm .... yarn :)

2009-11-01T13:01:00.000-08:00

Knit, Sweat or Sleep?

I still haven't found my missing knitting motivation. From time to time, I pick up the sticks and fiddle around for a while, but the end result these days is usually just a few minutes of swatching followed by some frogging. Occasionally, I get a small burst of knitting inspiration and finish a quick project, like the Ivy Vines Neckwarmer I showed you in my last post. (And to answer the question posed by a couple of people, the yarn in the project is my FF Sportweight Cashmere. The cashmere is pretty much sold out right now, except a few odds and ends, but will eventually return for another appearance.)

My spare time these days has been spent - now steady yourselves here, for if you know me at all this will come as something of a shock - at the gym. Yes, that's right. The gym!

My husband talked me into joining a gym a month or so ago. Perhaps "talked me into" isn't the right phrase. "Guilted me into" might be more appropriate. He basically told me that it will all be downhill for him from here forward, he is rapidly ageing and becoming increasingly decrepit. It will be one quick downslide toward death if he doesn't do something soon. All of this comes from him, mind you! This is the same man who is only 42, plays softball and bowls, works in the yard and on the house constantly, and - although admittedly overweight - is as strong as an ox. (I can't tell you how much I appreciated hearing about his inevitable and accelerating slide into death's door, given that I'm three years older than he is and in worse physical condition as well despite his being more overweight than I.)

Anyhow, the guilt got to me and I reluctantly agreed to join a gym with him. Reluctant is an understatement actually. It was more of a dragged kicking and screaming and whining sort of a thing. I've never gone to a gym and the whole thing was so foreign to me that I had it worked up in my mind to be some sort of torture chamber. Oh my, that first week or so was so awful!

Now that I'm getting used to the drill of going to the dreaded gym, I'm finding I rather enjoy it. Well, again I think perhaps I've chosen the wrong word. "Enjoy" isn't really right. But I don't hate it anymore and I am feeling pretty motivated to try to get into better physical condition.

And so now when I have free time, I'm off to the gym rather than to my recliner for a bit of knitting. Even in the house, I find myself flicking on the TV for an On Demand Exercise TV workout when I've got a half hour to spare.

According to this website, I could burn off around 90 calories an hour knitting. Then again, it also says I burn off around 55 calories an hour when sleeping. I guess I better stick to sweating it out at the gym.

Perhaps I can learn to knit while on the treadmill or stationary bike?

2009-10-18T13:22:00.001-07:00

A Quickie

As soon as I saw Anne Hanson's finished Ivy Vines Neckwarmer, I knew I had to knit one. And knit one I did . . .

This was just what the knitting doctor ordered. A quick, but satisfying knit. It only took perhaps three hours of knitting or somewhere thereabouts (that excludes the hour of rummaging around my house in search of needles that I know I have in duplicate or perhaps triplicate, muttering under my breath about how on earth the exact needles I need always manage to hatch a plan and execute a great escape right when I need them, and finally finding the needles hiding in plain sight).

I haven't blocked it yet, but I still think it's oh so pretty just as it is.

This was such an enjoyable knit that I might just have to make another or two!

2009-10-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

Read Any Good Books Lately?

I haven't purchased any new knitting books in a while and I'm starting to get the itch! One that I know I'll want to buy is the soon-to-be-released Sock Club: Join the Knitting Adventure by Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrott.

The topic in general, of course, interests me but regardless of that fact I simply have to own a copy just the for the fun of seeing my yarn in print :)

Remember the Acorn Sock from my first sock club, The Seven Deadly Sins?

This sock pattern, knit in the colorway called "Greed" and designed by Anne Hanson, is one of those included in the book!

Very exciting to see my humble little yarn in print (and in a book by such luminaries of our industry!). I brought the Greed colorway back into the lineup in honor of the upcoming book.

As always, I HUGE thank you to Anne for gracing my yarn with her immense talent!

2009-10-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

Sometimes You've Just Got to Laugh

Before I dive into today's post, a huge Thank You to all of the kind folks who welcomed me back from my blogging hiatus! You truly have no idea how good it made me feel. After suffering such pangs of guilt for my long silence, I feared I would be met with stony silence upon my return. You are all too kind to forgive me :)

Now on to my laugh of the day. Have a look at this.

Now, don't think me cruel. I'm truly not poking fun at anyone's choice of what they knit (or in this case crochet). Nor am I poking fun at the designer. I just have a thing about these snuggies. If ever I'm feeling blue, all I need to do is picture a snuggie and I'm all smiles again.

In reality, a snuggie is quite practical. I'm always chilly and am often wrapped in a blanket curled up in my favorite chair. Getting up for a trip to the kitchen involves a whole production of flipping and flinging the blanket around, walking with it flung around me cape-style, often tripping on edges along the way. Knitting while wrapped in a blanket is another challenge and certainly not ideal. And so I truly don't mean to diss the snuggie.

But it's funny. It just is.

Have you seen the commercials that introduce the fashionable snuggies in animal prints and such? They kill me. The best commercial, however, I've only caught once. If you've not seen it, you simply must stay glued to your television until you do. It includes video snippets of people enjoying their snuggies in public places. There's one shot of a group of people all wrapped in snuggies at the bleachers of a ballgame. Again, I entirely understand the practicality of this. Being a frequent attendee at my husband's softball games, I can vouch for the fact that half the people there are wrapped in blankets. The vision of a group of people all wrapped in snuggies though just tickles me to death. I think I've embellished this memorable commercial in my mind a bit. I see them not only in the bleachers, but also doing the wave, rising from their seats in a row, snuggie-covered arms rising to the heavens. Oh my.

And then there's the absolute best part of the commercial. An older couple sits all snuggled up in their snuggies in the midst of a crowded movie theater. Again, my mind may be embellishing here, but I believe they are snacking on a bucket of popcorn. Oh my. Just thinking of that picture of them sitting in the movie theater crowd all wrapped up in their snuggies just kills me. I get tears in my eyes just thinking of it. Do they go to the snack bar or restroom in their snuggies?

Again, I shouldn't laugh. It's really not funny at all. Many of us knit or crochet blankets (myself included), so why not a more practical snuggie? I suppose as a yarnie I should hope that the knitting world collectively decides that nothing would be better than a snuggie made of luxurious hand dyed yarn. Forget the Red Heart! A hand dyed snuggie craze could lift our little industry out of the dumps.

Who needs another poncho craze to ignite a knitting frenzy when there's the snuggie?

Great day to all!

2009-10-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

Going Dark

If anyone is still around, lurking in this corner of the cyber world to read this, my apologies for going dark for such a long time! It started innocently enough with a Monday that slipped away from me. Although I had no regular schedule for blog posting, Monday was the one day that I tried never to miss, but one Monday slipped past me and it was several days before I realized it!

I had every intention of returning to blogging soon thereafter, but time slipped away from me, the sunny days of summer called out to me, and personal affairs drew me away. Before I knew it, I had officially gone dark (you know, like a spy who is suddenly incommunicado).

I'm back now and trying to get myself geared up for regular posting again. I must say, it isn't easy though. I've had little time for knitting lately and my personal life is far from the stuff of fascinating reading. With so much time since I last posted though, I do have a bit of knitting to share and will do that in the coming days and weeks.

Anyone else a Seinfeld fan? Remember the episode in which George pretends to be a tourist in NY while dating a gal who works for a visitors' association of some kind? He eventually pretends he's moving to NY and tells the gal that he got an apartment and a job in a day or two. In telling Jerry about it, he says something about how if you take all of his accomplishments in his life and boil them down to one day, "it looks decent." That's how I feel about my summer knitting. Along the way through the course of the summer it was far from an impressive amount of knitting, but looking at it now all at once, it looks a bit better.

Again, my apologies for my silence. I've had bouts of guilt about it on and off all summer. It's given me that squishy feeling I get when I haven't written to my mother recently.

After a summer of crazy work on my never-ending project house, along with minor but quite annoying illnesses and injuries, I am at last back now and will do my best to get back on track with my sadly neglected blog.

I hope everyone has had a glorious and happy summer (or winter, as the case may be in your locale)!

2009-07-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

New Sock Club Now Open!

I am very happy to announce the opening of signups for membership in a new sock club from Fearless Fibers!

This club is designed for simplicity and great value. The club includes yarn only and the price reflects a substantial discount below the price of the yarn if purchased individually.

You can find all of the details about this upcoming club in the shop listing. Signups will remain open through the end of July or until all available slots are filled.

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful day!

2009-06-29T07:09:00.001-07:00

One of My Own

Remember the Woodsmoke Socks I had in progress some time back? You know the ones - in the color I not-so-fondly called "Sewer Sludge." The socks are at long last done!

The yarn is FF Tight Twist Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn and the pattern is Woodsmoke by Anne Hanson. Only such a lovely pattern could save this ugly color from the fate of languishing its life away in my stash, never to be touched or knit.

In the end, the pattern did the trick and turned this ugly duckling into something at least passably attractive. Leave it to Anne to design a pattern good enough to save the life of a poor, sad little skein! (In case you're wondering how on earth this awful skein came into existence, it was part of an army-related project I did as a favor to a friend. This particular skein was so putrid that I couldn't even bring myself to force a soldier to wear it and so I hid it away in my own stash where it endured months of teasing and cruelty from the other skeins.)

Great day to all!

2009-06-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

Tudor Grace

This beauty was knit by Kyrie with FF Laceweight Merino Wool Yarn in the Rubicund colorway. The pattern is Tudor Grace by Anne Hanson of KnitSpot.

How lovely is that?! Not only is it beautiful, but it's going to a very worthy cause as well. Kyrie knit this to donate to her riding club's raffle for breast cancer research.

You can see lots more of Kyrie's beautiful work on her blog. A big Thank You to Kyrie for sharing her work!

On a side note, I know I've been an absolutely terrible blogger for some weeks now. All you've heard from me are these Monday posts. Perhaps I overdosed on blogging in the Spring when I was updating almost everyday for a while there. Or perhaps it's the chaotic state of things around here right now, as we work to put in a new HVAC system to replace the funky old baseboard heat that was all this house had when we bought it. Regardless of what excuse I find, my apologies! I'll try to rectify that later this week with a long over-due post.

Great day to all!

2009-06-15T05:58:00.000-07:00

Sloth

From time to time someone will ask why on earth I named one of the colors in my line "Sloth." Such an unattractive name for such a pretty color! Those of you who have been around a while know that the color was part of the FF Seven Deadly Sins Sock Club all the way back in 2007. Light blue is the symbolic color for laziness.

These socks were knit by Vickie in FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in Sloth. I love the way the photo shows the socks enjoying a moment of quiet lounging and reflection. Perhaps not sloth or laziness, but certainly they are enjoying a bit of relaxation and the pure joy of doing nothing but enjoying a beautiful day.

The pattern Vickie used for these beauties is Stansfield 196 by Charlene Schurch. You can see more of Vickie's lovely work on Ravelry where she is VickieK.

Great Monday to all!

2009-06-08T17:47:00.001-07:00

Worth the Wait

Here it is Monday evening and I only just realized that it is in fact Monday (Monday, of course, being the day for posting customer projects here)! My apologies for my tardiness, but isn't this worth the wait?

This beautiful piece is Opal's version of the Shetland Triangle by Eveyln Clark (published in the book Wrap Style). Opal used FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Lust colorway.

Check out the gorgeous details and perfect stitchwork:

You can see more of Opal's lovely work on her blog. A big Thank You to Opal for sharing her work!

2009-06-01T08:19:00.001-07:00

Rite of Spring

The lovely sock above is the Rite of Spring Sock by Tess Mattos of Polar Bear Patterns. It was one of the patterns from my recently concluded lace club. (The pattern is now available for general purchase both in the FF shop and from Tess on Ravelry.)

Not only is this a beautiful sock pattern, but it has a fun twist: it's written to be customized with ease. You can knit the pattern just as written or you can mix and match the stitch motifs to create your own version.

This is Angela's version of the Rite of Spring Socks. She used FF Tight Twist Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Spellbound colorway.

In Angela's version, she added her own touch with an extra repeat of the beading after the cloverleaf eyelet panel and extra repeats of the little leaf stripe at the end. She also ended the foot with transition rounds and beading.

Lovely work! You can see more of Angela's work on her Ravelry project pages.

Great day to all!

2009-05-25T06:54:00.000-07:00

Springtime in Italy

These are Vickie's rendition of the Primavera Socks by Natalja. Vickie used FF Tight Twist Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Peace of Mind colorway.

What a beautiful job Vicki did on these socks!

It's also great to see the Peace of Mind color holding up to the stitch detail. It's a fairly new colorway and although the colors are gentle, they are highly varied.

It's nice to see that the pattern details shine through, despite the complexity of colors. (The Peace of Mind colorway is out of stock at the moment, but it is a new one and so won't be going anywhere anytime soon. More is drying now and will be available in the shop soon.)

To see more of Vickie's fabulous handiwork, you can find her on Ravelry where she is VickieK.

Everyone have a lovely Spring day!

2009-05-18T07:36:00.001-07:00

Charade

These lovely socks were knit by Kathy using FF Merino/Tencel Sock Yarn and the Charade sock pattern by Sandra Park.

The color is one of the exclusive color choices from the FF Sock Club last year, so if it looks unfamiliar to you, that's why.

So lovely! A big Thank You to Kathy for sharing her work. You can see more on Ravelry where she is antinova.

Great Monday to all!

2009-05-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

SALE + Changes Coming

For the first time ever, I am having a store-wide sale in my shop! Here are the details of how this will work:

- Sale starts now and will end midnight pacific time on Friday, May 15th

- Prices reflected in the shop are regular prices

- All purchases less than $50 (excluding shipping) will receive 10% off the purchase price (excluding shipping). Purchases $50 and over will receive 15% off!

- You may proceed with your purchases and payments through the usual process. I will then refund the 10 or 15% discount. If you prefer to wait for a revised invoice to pay, simply note that in the Message to Seller field at checkout and I will send you a revised invoice through PayPal.

This is the first time I've ever held a store-wide sale! With all of my yarns regularly priced to provide great value for your money, discounting items across the board is simply not generally feasible. This sale is a bit different: I'm holding this unusual sale event to prepare for upcoming changes for my Fearless Fibers shop.

Many of you know that I've made occasional mention for some time now of my plans to eventually offer a bit of spinning fiber in my shop. Well, I'm not much closer to ready to do that than I was some months ago. In more than three years in business, I've always worked towards ensuring a good selection of a core number of products, with consistent availability. Although I still believe in this basic premise, it does limit my ability to offer new products and new color options.

The changes I have planned are to scale back on the core inventory I carry and to offer more variety on a periodic basis. I plan to continue to carry a scaled down but still reasonable selection of four core items: Lightweight Superwash Merino Sock Yarn, Tight Twist Superwash Merino Sock Yarn, Laceweight Merino Yarn, and Superwash Merino Sportweight Yarn.

In addition to these core items, I will be updating the shop with a selection of a wider variety of items. Sometimes there will be new colors that may or not be added to the core selection going forward. Sometimes there will be entirely new base yarns, offered in smaller quantities here and there. Occasionally (I hope!), some fiber will be thrown into the mix.

It will be a while still before I can shift to this new model. The first step is to move out some of the inventory I've worked so hard to build over time.

I'm excited about these future plans and I hope you are also! I hope to strike a balance between the consistent availability of core products that you've all come to expect from Fearless Fibers together with a more varied selection. There are so many base yarns that I'd love to offer, but I've been limited by time constraints in the past as I focus on ensuring the wide selection of current offerings remains fully stocked. When it comes to colors, I've also had some limitations, as consistent and repeatable colors have been central to how I operate. This new model will allow greater flexibility to work with complex recipes and techniques that may not work well for repeatable colors.

Again, it will be a while before you see these changes begin to occur in my shop. For now, you can advantage of the scaling back on current inventory with this store-wide sale!

Enjoy!

2009-05-11T06:38:00.000-07:00

Foot and Eye Candy

How's that for a gorgeous photo? Lynne's socks are even more fabulous against the glorious floral backdrop. (If only I had such a green thumb!)

Lynne knit these socks with FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Sock Yarn in the Coral Pink colorway. The pattern is Hearts-A-Plenty by Monica Jines.

You can see lots more of Lynne's gorgeous work on Ravelry where she is LynneE. Go have a look at Lynne's project pages and you'll be in for a treat.

A big Thank You to Lynne for sharing her work, both knitting and gardening!

2009-05-04T06:25:00.000-07:00

As Cute as Can Be

Is that not about the cutest little cardigan for a wee-one you ever saw? So cute in fact that I'd like one in a full size for not-so-wee little me!

It's Micki's rendition of the Cardigan for Merry, adapted by AnnyPurls from the pattern for a Cardigan for Arwen by Kate Gilbert.

Micki used FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Inner Sanctum colorway.

Another homerun project by the talented Micki, whose work you can see on her blog or on Ravelry where she thing4string.

A big Thank You to Micki for sharing her work and starting off the week with a healthy dose of knitting inspiration!

2009-04-30T09:58:00.000-07:00

Lest You Think I'm Down for the Count . . .

Thank you all for your well-wishes yesterday about my little foot injury. I'm on the mend and very much appreciate your kind words.

Just because I'm stuck in a chair these past days, that doesn't mean I don't have any new yarn to show you!

The timing was fortunate with my mishap, as I had just finished up a batch of new yarn that was already drying in my workshop when my clumsy nature put a temporary halt on dyeing.

If this looks familiar to you, that's because it's not actually "new" but rather a throwback to days gone by. The items I listed this morning are ten of the most popular colorways I've carried over the past three plus years in business. These colors - originally available on my Lightweight Superwash Merino Sock Yarn - eventually ran their course and were put on the backburner. This was before I carried the newer Tight Twist Superwash Merino Sock Yarn.

After several requests for these olders colors on the Tight Twist yarn, I decided to bring out the old recipe book and whip up a small batch of ten of the most popular ones, this time on the newer Tight Twist yarn base.

I listed four skeins of each of ten colors this morning. You'll find Thoroughbred, Sizzle, Midnight Blue, Smoke, Glorious Green, Gentle Peach, Midnight Passion, Peace, Chocolate Pink Cherry, and Raspberry.

Whether you find an old favorite in the group or something new to you, I hope you enjoy this latest shop update!

Great day to all!

2009-04-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

Happy the U.S. is Not Japan Day

Last week, I fell in a hole. A trench actually. Two feet deep. I stepped backward while navigating with a wheelbarrow and stupidly forgot the trench that I'd warned my husband about a million times over the preceding days. SLAM!

Left foot went straight down. Right foot stayed planted on the ground two feet above. Body swayed backward. All weight slammed down hard on that left foot.

@#*$%*%%$**(%!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, it hurt. It hurt a lot. It hurt enough to send me to the emergency room. It hurt enough to force me to agree to be wheeled into said e.r. It hurt enough that I passed out cold while sitting in said e.r. waiting room. (Tip: If you want faster service in an e.r., it helps to pass out.)

I'm fine. Really. It's OK. Nothing is broken. I just strained the tendons and muscles in my foot something fierce. My poor little foot -- usually so cute and delicate and happy and pink -- has been quite ugly and balloon-shaped and unhappy and green for the past six days.

It's getting better, but my oh my, am I a cranky girl! I just don't do well with the whole sedentary thing. It's been particularly frustrating because I've been on such a great course with the daily exercise routine, as well as the hard labor I've been doing together with my husband on the landscaping of our yard.

No exercise. No yardwork. No dyeing. No bowling. No housecleaning (yes, even that sounds like great fun right now!).

Mostly, I've been sitting on my rear, foot packed in ice, knitting in hand, eyes glued to the television.
And thus we come to the title of this post. Something I've likely never mentioned here before is that I'm a wee bit of a financial news junkie. Not a big one, particularly the last few years when the business has dominated my time and yarn has dominated my thoughts. With the forced downtime this past week, however, I returned to my old ways and found myself flipping between CNBC and Bloomberg all day.

And so I wish you all a very happy first ever "The U.S. is Not Japan Day." Today was dubbed with this title by Cramer of Mad Money on CNBC. I like Cramer quite a bit. His ... shall we say boisterousness, perhaps ... can be a bit grating, but he's a smart cookie and he's right, we're not Japan.

Go and eat some cake and celebrate this Cramer-dubbed holiday.

And do some knitting!

2009-04-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

Two Whispers

For today's Monday project feature, I have the first two finished Whisper of Spring Lace Shawls from the FF Lace Club!

This is Guru Nam's version, so pretty and delicate in pale pink.

Angela's whisper is done in the Designer's Choice club color. Here's a closeup during blocking that shows a bit of the different stitch motifs up close.

Such fun for me to see these project emerging! I can't believe how quickly some folks whizzed through the project. This club pattern is also now available for general purchase, either in my Etsy shop or Ravelry pattern page.

You can see more of both Guru Nam and Angela's work on Ravelry where they are gurunam and kachelmeier.

A big Thank You for sharing the photos of your work!

2009-04-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

Long Time No Progress

It seems like ages since I've posted any of my own knitting or spinning! I suppose that's simply because I haven't had much time for any, but at long last I managed to knit a single sock:

This is the first in what will be a pair of Woodsmoke Socks (that is, if I can sit myself down long enough to start the second one!). When I originally mentioned my plan to knit a pair of socks with this yarn, I proclaimed the color quite ugly. You all disagreed with me, but in this photo you can really see the truth. It's just gross. In certain lighting and when feeling in particularly good spirits, it looks a bit olive green and not all that bad. Most of the time, however, it looks like this photo. I've fondly named it Sewer Sludge.

It's taken me forever, but I've also finally finished a little something on my spindle.

This is superwash merino and it's kind of a mess. I took off the training wheels of park & draft and drafted this as I spun. The first time I tried that, the results were better, but with superwash being so darned slippery I had a hard time controlling how much fiber I drafted through. The result is pretty inconsistent in thickness and also has some flat-out fuzzy messes. Ah well. It's part of the learning process and plying did help to even it out and hide the flaws at least a little bit.

I haven't decided what to do with this yet. There's about 175 yards of 2-ply, roughly sportweightish (probably will knit on a size 3 needle). I'm thinking fingerless mitts, mostly because those are what I seem to actually wear most of everything I knit. If I find it knits up into too much of an ugly mess, I might just whip up a pair of ankle socks that can be hidden away where nobody can see them.

That's about all the progress I've made on the knitting and spinning front. I've been itching to do some stranded colorwork soon, but right now it's dyeing, yardwork, and other such mundane things taking up my time.

Happy Knitting!

2009-04-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

Elm and Orchid

Remember a couple of months ago I showed you these lovely Orchid Mitts knit by juniperjune in FF Laceweight Merino Wool Yarn in the Brunette colorway?

Now these beauties have a mate in the form of the Elm Row Scarf (also a KnitSpot pattern).

How's that for a lovely matching set (and how adorable is their creator modeling them)!

You can see more of juniperjune's lovely handiwork on her blog or on Ravelry where she is juniperjune. Lovely work and Thank You for sharing your photos!

2009-04-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

Digging and Digging

I can't believe it's Friday already! My apologies for my relative silence this week. I've been digging in and working hard, quite literally.

With the weather turning nicer each week, my husband and I found ourselves suddenly bitten by the bug to attack the landscaping our front yard so desperately needs. We've been in this house for a year and a half now and have been very slowly making some of the seemingly endless improvements needed. The yard was low on our priority list, but with the sun shining and the birds singing it became irresistible.

I wish I'd taken a "before" picture of the front yard, but alas, I didn't think of it. It was basically a mess of shabby plants and flowers that I doubt were ever particularly attractive but were particularly shoddy because of our neglect. There were a lot of various bulbs planted everywhere, which I personally just don't understand here in Oregon. Why anyone would want to go the flower route is beyond me. They're beautiful, of course, and great fun to watch grow and bloom, but Oregon is so green and lush year-round that I can't understand planting things that will only look nice during a short period of the year. My husband and I are both of the mind that Oregon's made for evergreens. (Low maintenance is appealing as well!)

We set about with a bit of planning and then dug right in. And we dug and we dug and we dug. We basically dug up everything except a few of the nicer bushes. We then dug and dug and dug some more, as we removed a perimeter of grass all the way around the front yard. It's about 8 feet deep in front and 6 feet or so deep at the sides and toward the house. Then we tilled and tilled and compacted and compacted. We pretty much just have some edging to go and then we'll be ready to plant. We found an amazing and huge nursery nearby that specializes in evergreens (no flowers at all, just shrubs, bushes, trees) and spent an afternoon browsing and planning. We hope by this afternoon to be ready to go make our purchases.

Once this is done, we still have a walkway we'd like to add and a little trim fence toward the front walk. Then it's on to the side yard. (Can I stop here and say that I am sooooo glad I started an exercise binge 6 weeks ago? I could never have done this if it weren't for that. Several days this week, we literally spent more than 5 hours with shovels in hand, digging and pushing wheelbarrows around and such. I feel like Superwoman!)

Anyhow, all of this - combined with my usual daily dose of dyeing - has drained all of my time this week and thus my relative silence here. Perhaps you'll forgive me when I share with you the latest in the series of Sale Items that I've been listing in my shop:

There are four skeins of this "Classic Merino Sock Yarn" listed in the Sale Section of my shop this morning.

Everyone have a glorious day!

2009-04-13T06:15:00.000-07:00

Bzzzzzzz

Spring is in the air, flowers are beginning to bloom and the bees are starting to buzz about.

What better time to show you Rachael's completed Honeybee Stole! It's a KnitSpot pattern, done here in FF Laceweight Merino in the Notorious colorway.

Check out the perfect little bee details:

Fabulous job, as always, by the talented Rachael! You can see lots more of Rachael's lovely work on her blog.

Thank you so much to Rachael for sharing her beautiful work and helping to usher in the long-awaited Spring!

2009-04-10T13:39:00.000-07:00

Cashmere is Here!

Just a quick note to let you know that promised cashmere is now up in the Fearless Fibers shop! There are all new colors available on laceweight and sportweight.

Here's a little taste for you:

Enjoy!

2009-04-09T06:00:00.001-07:00

New Sale Item

This is the latest in the Mohair/Wool Yarn added to the Sale Section of my shop. There are just four skeins available of this lovely Raspberry color.

I've still got a fair supply of this yarn as well as a bit more of the Sock Weight Classic Merino. I'll be continuing dyeing the remainders of these yarns in April and moving them out in the Sale Section of my shop.

Everyone have a great day!

2009-04-08T06:23:00.000-07:00

Milestone Check

Today marks week five of my little effort to lose a bit of weight. I've been weighing in once weekly, each Wednesday morning, and this week was a weigh-in I was particularly anxious to reach. My initial goal was to lose 10 pounds and I knew there was a chance I would make it this week.

Yeeha! I did it! Ten pounds on the nose lost as of this morning. Woohoo!

Now that I've reached this goal, I'm ready to up the ante and go for at least 15 total, perhaps 18 (which would bring me back to my fighting weight that I've rarely seen since I was in my early 20's).

I have to give you all a big Thank You and virtual hug for your supportive words!

I just have to say one more time again: I feel so good! The combination of super healthy eating and exercise has spiked my energy level through the roof. It's truly amazing to me the change I've seen in only five weeks.

Now that I've lost a good portion of the weight, I'm much more focused on the fitness aspect. I've been using the free exercise videos on the "On Demand" section of my cable tv to workout. When I started, I kid you not . . . I felt as though I was going to keel over after limping my way through a 10 minute cardio routine. Now, I'm doing an hour of cardio and strength interval training each and every day, plus another 15 minutes of upper body strength work. Not all at once mind you. Usually two 30 minute cardio sessions a day, or sometimes three 20 minute sessions.

When I started this, I would have thought that it was not only impossible for me to physically handle that level of exercise but also that I simply didn't have the time. The thing is, with so much energy now, I have more available time each day. It doesn't take me a half hour to wake up and get going in the morning. I don't need to sit for a half hour break after lunch before getting a second wind. I don't konk out at 5 o'clock and slow down to a crawl for the evening. I just go, go, go from 6 in the morning until 9 or so at night, when I finally try to sit down for a while to relax a bit. Fitting the time in for exercise is no problem; I feel as though I've gained a couple of hours in each day!

Alrighty. Enough of my rambling, but I'll shout it one more time from the rooftop: I feel SOOOOO good!

Lest you think this focus on healthy eating and fitness has taken away from the yarn, I'll leave you with this:

And this:

These are the first tastes of cashmere in brand spankin' new colors that will be coming to my shop soon. There are more waiting in the wings, with the last couple drying now. Once I get all the photos and listings ready, we'll be off and running. I'll be sure to post here and send a note to folks on my mailing list when they're listed.

Great day to all!

2009-04-06T06:42:00.001-07:00

Three Beauties

For this week's dose of customer project features, I've got three to share with you, all knit by Viki.

These are Go With the Flow Socks (pattern by Evelyn Clark in Interweave Knits Summer 2005) in FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Imagine colorway. Could they be any prettier?!

And how about these Mystery Socks in the same yarn this time in the Blue Rain colorway? The pattern is by Kirsten Kapur of Through The Loops. Remember ... I told you about her designs just a few weeks ago. Here's proof positive of how just how pretty Kirsten's patterns are, particularly in the hands of a skilled knitter like Viki!

Finally, there's this Ribbon Scarf (pattern by Veronica Avery published in Knitty Spring 08) that Viki knit once again with FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn, this time in the Lust colorway.

Wow! What a collection of beauties! A big Thank You to Viki for sharing her work. You can see more of Viki's lovely knitting on Ravelry where she is Viki.

Great day to all!

2009-04-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

New Acquisition

I'd heard several times through the the knitters' rumor mill that a Japanese supermarket in Beaverton (one town over from where I live) has a bookstore in back that includes a good selection of knitting books. I've been to this particular market several times, but never noticed the bookstore. When an urge for sushi struck my husband a few days ago, I learned that the rumor is true.

The store is called Uwajimaya and there are also a couple of locations in Washington. The bookstore, however, I think is a separate entity. It has a different name, although for the life of me I can't remember what it is or find the receipt.

The books are, of course, in Japanese, but I was most interested in the elusive Japanese stitch dictionaries that I've heard so much about. As it turned out, they had quite a few crochet stitch dictionaries but only two knitting stitch dictionaries in stock. One was devoted to cables and the other was actually half and half crochet and knit, with a bit of everything. Although the cable book looked really interesting, I don't knit cables all that often and so I found it difficult to justify shelling out $33. I settled for the other book.

Since the stitches are charted, I figure it won't matter that the text is in Japanese (despite the English cover). My husband, of course, had to point out that many of the charts have asterisks that refer to notes at the bottom written in Japanese. I've chosen to assume those aren't important.

I love the type on the cover title. Here it is in close-up (please excuse my over-exposed photo):

As I type this, it reminds me that I still haven't gotten through the spindling book I recently purchased. I read about halfway through in the first day or two I got it and then promptly set it aside and forgot it. Off to hunt for that now. Great day to all!

2009-03-31T10:01:00.000-07:00

Cashmere Coming!

Spring is here and as promised, I'll have cashmere to reintroduce to the Fearless Fibers line very soon!

In preparation for the introduction of new cashmere colors, I've taken the last remaining skeins of cashmere in my shop and discounted them by more than 15%. There will also be a small increase in price when the new cashmere is introduced in a couple of weeks, making these an even better deal. What remains of the old cashmere is now in the Sale Section of my shop.

I also added a couple of new colors of the Mohair/Wool Worsted Yarn to the Sale Section. They both are variations of teal, but one predominantly blue that leans toward teal and the other predominantly green. Sadly, they are not particularly photogenic.

The yarn in person has a lovely sheen that adds richness and depth to the colors.

That's all the news for today. Hope everyone is having a lovely day!

2009-03-30T06:22:00.001-07:00

Flaming Crochet

How beautiful is that?! It's "Eva's Shawl" crocheted by Suileach using FF Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Flame colorway.

I love the generous size and the lovely openwork of the crochet.

Beautiful job by Suileach! You can see lots more of her work on Ravelry where she is - you guessed it - Suileach.

A big Thank You to Suileach for sharing her lovely work! What better way to brighten up a Monday morning?

2009-03-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

My Ugly Yarn

You should see my personal yarn stash. It's hideous. At first glance it might appear enticing, but on closer inspection you would find that it's full of rejects. There are knotty skeins, frayed skeins, botched skeins, and just flat-out butt-ugly skeins. My stash is 99% comprised of rejects not fit to be sold.

Here is one that fits into the worst category: just plain old ugly.

Don't ask me where I was heading when I dyed this monstrosity. I can't even recall. Perhaps I've blocked it out of my memory as one sometimes does with a particularly traumatic incident.

I decided earlier today that I would resolve to sit still for a while this evening and do some knitting. With no project in mind, socks seem about right as a fallback. This poor ugly soul (that will become an ugly sole) is the only Tight Twist Superwash Merino Sock Yarn I found in the reject stash and since the pattern I'm leaning toward is one that requires this weight of yarn, my hand naturally fell to this.

The pattern I'm considering is Anne Hanson's Woodsmoke Sock. If any pattern can hide - or at least slightly mask - this yarn's pure ugly-osity, this might be the one. We shall see.

2009-03-26T09:47:00.000-07:00

Why No Knitting?

As I sat down to write a blog post today, it suddenly struck me that I haven't shared any knitting in a while. The reason is simple: I haven't been knitting!

You may recall a couple of weeks ago I posted about my rather sudden realization that I had put on a good bit of extra weight in a short span of time and my plans to rectify that before it turned into a real problem. I wrote about it here not from any belief that anyone really cares to hear about my weight-control efforts, but rather just to force myself to make it more real. I thought it might give me a bit more motivation to stick with it.

Yesterday marked the three-week point for what started as a "diet." I'm very happy to report that I have stuck with it 100%. In the past three weeks, my diet has consisted of fresh fruit, steamed vegetables, small portions of lean proteins, a bit of whole grain and rice, and an occasional small serving of low fat dairy. The only moment of cheating I had was when I gave in to the allure of a little piece of crispy chicken skin from a lovely little roast chicken that was tempting me with its alluring smell. The piece was about a square inch and no joke, it left me lightheaded and weak in the knees. Oh my. So good!

As I progressed through the past three weeks, what started as a diet/weight loss plan morphed into more of a healthy eating program. Nutritious low-fat food, lots of water, daily vitamins - you know the drill. I also began to layer on more exercise. I went from extra walks with the pup and more bowling in the first week, to the addition of a 10-minute morning cardio routine in week two, to a second 15-minute cardio routine and 10 minutes of free weight work for the upper body in week three. I've been working in the yard and doing more housecleaning as well. Now it's gone from a healthy-eating goal to more of an overall fitness goal.

In just this short three-week timespan, I've gone from feeling ten years older than my age to feeling as good as I did when I was ten years younger. My energy level is much, much higher than it has been in a really long time. I'm sleeping well and waking up easily.

So what does this have to do with knitting? Well, the thing is, I find it really hard to sit still. I spend a little time at my computer each day of course, and then there's mealtime, but other than that I've been going non-stop from the moment I wake up until shortly before I'm ready for bed. Everytime I think about sitting down for a while to knit, I get a little antsy. I sit down and flip through a book for inspiration for a new project and before I know it I've set the book aside and am heading off to clean the garage or some such thing.

I'm sure I'll get back to knitting soon; I can't imagine going too long without it! I have been spindling for a few minutes here and there and will have some new handspun to show off before long. I've also got the cashmere I've been promising for this Spring underway and so before too long there will be new colors to show off and new items coming to the shop.

I must go now. I've been sitting here way too long. Gotta keep moving!

2009-03-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

Got the Blues?

Newly listed sale item above! This is FF Mohair/Wool Worsted Weight in a color I call "Got the Blues." Just a few skeins available, now in the Sale Section of my shop.

Also newly added is some FF Laceweight Merino Yarn in the Slate colorway. I whipped up the Slate color a couple of weeks ago on a few skeins of Mohair/Wool and liked it so much that I couldn't resist doing some in the laceweight as well.

That's all for the new items today. Hope everyone's happy, healthy and enjoying life!

2009-03-23T06:59:00.000-07:00

Jim's Socks

Marjorie's husband Jim is the happy recipient of these little beauties:

Marjorie knit these socks with FF Tight Twist Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Earthenware colorway. She let him pick the color himself and I think he did a splendid job, considering that Marjorie reports that most of his socks are just black or brown. The subtlety of the color shifts in this yarn apparently persuaded him that a bit of color in one's life is not such a scary thing! Marjorie kept the pattern simple to suit his tastes and did a basic ribbing with the added detail of a single cable repeat a couple of inches down from the top.

You can see lots more of Marjorie's work on Ravelry where she is mmarker.

Before I sign off for the day, just a quick note for anyone who missed it . . . scroll down to yesterday's post for the latest in the parade of sale items I've been listing this month.

Happy Monday to all!

2009-03-22T08:13:00.001-07:00

A Bit of Green

This is another sale item I've just listed: FF Classic Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Verdure colorway. You can find them while they last in the Sale Section of my shop, along with a few remaining stragglers of other sale items.

I'm still slowly getting through the remaining quantities of the yarns that I'll be discontinuing, so keep your eyes open for more sale items soon.

Hope everyone is having a glorious weekend!

2009-03-21T06:54:00.000-07:00

We're Off!

It's here at last . . . The first day of Spring! Although there's no magical switch that's been flipped that will bring Spring weather today, it still feels like a turning point. Before long the sun will shine, the birds will sing, the flowers will bloom, and all will feel right with the world.

Yes, I always love the first day of Spring. This year there's an added reason to feel sunny today:

Those are the packages for the first shipment of the FF Whisper of Spring Lace Club, all set to head off to the Post Office this morning. Yippee! I'm both excited to get these first packages in the club members' hands and also relieved to have the first shipment done. (Whew ... that's a lot of work, but still great fun!)

Happy Spring to all!

2009-03-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

For the Love of Yarn

I believe that our beloved yarn industry is facing a perfect storm. The horrible economy combined with the fact that many folks have built yarn stashes that could easily last for many years to come is not a good thing. No. It’s a very bad thing indeed for the yarn industry we all rely on so much. And yes, that industry includes me.

I first want to say that Fearless Fibers is alive and well and weathering this storm. I second want to say THANK YOU and THANK YOU and THANK YOU again to all of you. You are the ones who are making it possible for my little business to survive in these times. It has always meant a great deal to me to think that you choose to spend some of your yarn dollars in my shop, but the fact that you do so in these difficult times – while spending so carefully and thoughtfully and selectively – is something for which I am and will always be eternally grateful.

With that said, I will openly admit that it’s not easy. It’s never been easy to make it in this industry, but in these days, it’s harder than ever. Yarn dieting is all the rage. For many, it is a necessity.

So what is the answer? How do we save this industry we love from a potential downward spiral (or worse yet, freefall)?

The answer, my friends, is simple: Teach someone to knit.

What if every LYS around the country hosted a special “bring a non-knitter friend” night? (What if the rowdier knitting clubs hosted a “Pop a knitting cherry night”?) What if an instructor or two at each shop gave up an evening free of charge and held impromptu knitting basics lessons for these folks? What if we all taught our nieces and nephews and cousins? What if we posted notices on bulletin boards at work and coordinated with our local instructors to hold on-site lessons at the workplace? What if we held informal learn-to-knit sessions at foodcourts and coffee shops? What if we all brought a friend with us to our next fiber show or shop crawl and introduced them to the siren’s call of the yarn?

Not all would catch the fever, but many would I’m sure, because after all, knitting is about the best activity ever known to mankind, is it not?

It goes without saying that when I say “knitting” that is simply out of habit, since I am of course a Knitter, but I certainly mean crochet as well. Or tatting. Or weaving. Or spinning. Or whatever your fibery pleasure may be.

Could we add 10,000 to our numbers? 100,000? How many?

I suppose my lone little voice in the vast wilderness of the online knitting world is just a faint whisper in the trees. Quick . . . someone who knows the Yarn Harlot - or any other luminary in our world - go tap her on the shoulder and ask her to read this request. Ask her to issue a challenge to the knitting community. Ask her to have people report their numbers taught. Ask her to add a tally (you know the kind, like a fundraiser thermometer) to her blog. Imagine the frenzy of activity and energy that could be created: the birth of a new wave of knitters.

A girl can dream, right?

2009-03-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

Another Great Pattern Source

I have it in mind to knit a pair of mittens soon to tuck away in the closet for next year. Every year, by the time I realize that I could use a new hat or mittens or scarf, half the winter is already gone.

The mittens above are All the Water Mittens by Kirsten Kapur aka Through The Loops Designs. These look like they should fit the bill perfectly: both a finished product that I'll really like and also a fun knit. What could be better?

If you haven't seen Kirsten's designs before, you really need to go have a look. Not only are they very lovely, but she's got a really nice variety of project types to inspire. There are, of course, socks for those diehard sock knitters. Here's her "Anna" sock pattern:

There are also hats and sweaters. There's lace and cables and even stranded color work (you know how I love that!). Here's a little summery sweater called Linea that I think is just darling. It looks like the sort of simple, clean design that would work well on a variety of body types as well.

You can also find Kirsten's patterns in her shop on Ravelry where she is throughtheloops.

Go forth and browse!

2009-03-17T17:44:00.000-07:00

Please Play

"Please play with me. Pleeeeease. How about we play rings? Look how sweet I am!"

"Yeah, that's right. You fell for it. I'm soooo bad. I'm a tough dude. Haha! Look at me now!"

(Just a brief puppy interlude. Back to business now.)

2009-03-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

New Sale Items

Just a quick note to let you know that I've added a couple of new items to the Sale Section in my shop. The March inventory spring-cleaning continues!

The one above is FF Mohair/Wool Worsted in a colorway called Slate. I'm so fond of this one that I set aside a skein for myself, perhaps for a pair of mittens.

There's also FF Classic Merino Wool Sock Weight Yarn in Dijon.

You'll find these new items, as well as a few stragglers from earlier this month, in the Sale Section.

Stay tuned for knitting progress (yes, I've actually done a bit of knitting!) coming soon.

2009-03-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

What Timing!

A few days ago I added some FF Classic Merino Wool Sock Weight Yarn in the Hendrix colorway to the Sale Section in my shop. This is a past colorway not offered for quite some time, but since I'm discontinuing this yarn I decided to whip up one last batch. What perfect timing, as photos of these beautiful socks came my way just at the right time:

These little beauties were knit by Kelly. The pattern is Mona by Cookie A. Just gorgeous!

A big Thank You to Kelly for sharing her lovely work! You can see more of Kelly's work on Ravelry where she is valkryie and also on her blog.

There are still a few more skeins of this yarn in the Sale Section of my shop, along with several of the Hendrix colorway in the Mohair/Wool Worsted Weight Yarn.

Everyone have a great Monday!

2009-03-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

Heaven Sent

You may recall that not too long ago I referred to this as an instrument of the devil:

Well, if that's an instrument of the devil, my Golding Solid Lignum Vitae must be heaven-sent! Just look at how sweet and angelic it looks sitting next to my first beginner's spindle.

The two beginner's spindles (one bottom and one top whorl) that I bought to give spindling a try for the first time are certainly adequate for that purpose, but I do find having something really well made and also suited to my tastes (that is, for finer yarn) makes spinning much more enjoyable. Unfortunately, I haven't had a whole lot of time for it lately but I've been try to squeeze in a few minutes a day at least. I even bought this:

I'm a few chapters into the book and am finding it an enjoyable read. I haven't gotten to anything particularly meaty yet nor learned any great tips to help improve my still sorely lacking spinning skills, but I have found it an interesting read and also found the section about characteristics of a good spindle helpful. I'm sure I'll want to buy another spindle or two before too long.

In the meantime, with this lighter-weight tool (.65 oz) I'm able to produce a finer yarn. I spun the blue yarn that I showed you previously with this spindle. The Feather & Fan scarf I was knitting with that yarn is now done and just waiting to be blocked. I have some more of the same wool fiber dyed in a very similar shade of blue that I'm spinning now, but this time a bit finer still. Here's a blurry photo for you:

I have a long way to go, but I've come a long way already from those first whirls (eek!):

I'm off to make a nice lunch of cod and brocolli (still holding steady on the diet path!) and perhaps will take up the spindle for a little while after that.

Hope everyone is having a glorious weekend!

2009-03-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

An Old Favorite On Sale

The yarn above is FF Classic Merino Sock Weight Yarn in the Hendrix colorway. This was one of the most popular colorways I used to carry on this yarn and so I thought it was appropriate to bring it back once last time as I move out the remainder of inventory of the Classic Merino Sock Weight Yarn before discontinuing it entirely.

There are several skeins of this yarn freshly listed in the Sale Section of my shop.

Along with the Classic Sock, I also whipped up some of the Hendrix colorway on the Mohair/Wool Worsted Yarn (which is also deeply discounted and available in the Sale Section) as I clear it off the shelves in preparation for new things coming. The colorway is a little darker and less heathery on the Mohair/Wool:

That's all for today. Everyone have a lovely Friday!

2009-03-12T09:21:00.001-07:00

Sock Pattern Source

I know many of us are always on the prowl to discover new sources for sock patterns and I've got a great one to share with you today!

The sock pictured above is Rapunzel's Braid by Ruth Greenwald. Beautiful, isn't it? You can find a really great selection of Ruth's patterns available in her shop page on Ravelry.

And I mean it when I say there's a great selection! This one is called Over the River Socks and it's another beauty:

I will give you the disclaimer that I haven't yet knit any of Ruth's socks, but I can say with the certainty that the designs are just lovely and Ruth also has a few free patterns peppered in her Ravelry shop, so you can get a good idea of whether her particular style of pattern writing fits your preferences.

And on a side note ... Ruth is a friend, a delightful gal and all 'round good egg! Have fun browsing!

2009-03-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

Life Beyond Yarn

To read this blog it might seem as though my whole life is nothing but yarn and knitting. Perhaps a little spindling these days as well. That's mostly true. Yarn is my work; knitting is my primary leisure activity. Add a bit of time for errands and housecleaning, plus my weekly bowling excursion, and there you have the majority of my life.

A little something new has creeped into my consciousness these past few weeks and I thought I'd post it here to try to force it to become a reality. So here it is. I've been secretly working on something for the past couple of years. It's been a very big secret. Even I didn't know I was working on it. I think my husband has known for a long time, but he kept it a secret too.

So here it is ... I've been working on gaining as much weight as possible. It's been easier than one might imagine. All it really took was eating as though my body and metabolism were the same as they were when I was in my teens and twenties. I knew in my thirties that things were starting to change and also could not help but notice that when I passed the forty mark it was a whole new game. Any extra weight I carried began to land squarely - or more accurately, roundly - across my middle.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not one of these thin women who run around whining about being fat. I know how much some people struggle with their weight and I am neither so callous nor so ungrateful for a relatively weight-struggle-free life as to minimize that. No, I know I'm not fat. Not yet, that is. When I stepped on the scale a week ago for the first time in many, many months, the reality struck me that I have reached a threshold. If I allow myself to go beyond this threshold, I could face a really big battle in the future so best to bite the bullet (no calories in a bullet, right?) and try to get rid of this relatively small amount of weight right now.

I've gained about fifteen pounds over the course of the past two years. I'd like to take off at least ten of those. We'll see if I can get rid of the other five once I get there.

Why am I telling you this, you ask? I think it's just to force myself to stick with this plan. Once I say it aloud, it's more real. Once I post it here, if I don't follow through I will have failed. I can't quietly work on it and give up without anyone knowing of my weakness. And let me tell you, I do have weakness! I think that a life without cheese may not be worth living. I would lie, cheat and steal for a good maple-flavored bacon. "Give me mayonnaise or give me death" could perhaps be my motto!

My journey began one week ago today. I know I don't lose weight easily (what woman, particularly over forty, does?) and so I set a realistic goal: one pound per week for ten weeks. Weigh-ins once weekly. None of that daily discouragement when the scale doesn't miraculously show improvement on a day to day basis.

I am proud to report that at the close of week one I'm ahead of schedule with two pounds lost. (Don't laugh. Two pounds in a week is fine by me. Two pounds is 20% of ten pounds.)

The week behind me was both difficult and easy. It's most definitely difficult for me to resist fattening food. It was easy at the same time though because I'm keeping it simple. No fancy "diet" with special foods or recipes or rules to follow. Rather, I'm just eating mostly fresh vegetables and fruit, small quantities of lean meat, poultry, and fish, with the occasional slice of whole grain bread or bit of rice in the mix for variety. Add to that a few extra walks with the pup here and there, plus lots of extra bowling, and that's my simple plan.

The thing that I think has made this seem more feasible for me is to have a good variety in what I eat. We grilled up a ton of zucchini, mushrooms, onions and peppers on the barbecue and kept lots in the fridge for easy meals with a bit of chicken or turkey to round it off. We bought tons of oranges (my favorite), as well as some grapes and cherries to satisfy the sweet tooth. We've got some soy nuts when a crunchy snack is needed. Tuna packed in water is also in the house, with plenty of pickle relish in the fridge to moisten it up without using mayo. (Oh, mayo, mayo, how I miss you!)

And then there are my miracle foods: Canadian Bacon! Ohhhhh. Those Canadians are pure genius. 4 slices, 60 calories, almost no fat. Heaven. Oh happy day. And then there are the fat-free version of the old classic Saltine cracker. Perfect when tuna alone isn't enough or to give a little life to a low fat soup that isn't quite filling enough.

Wish me luck, my friends! If you've got a favorite low-cal, low-fat snack that tastes too good to be good for you, please do share. I'll take all the help I can get!

2009-03-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

The Parade Continues

This is the latest addition to the Sale Section of my shop. It's FF Classic Merino Wool Sock Weight Yarn in a one-time colorway called Vivacious. I'd love to pull a few skeins of this aside for myself for a shawl, but I think I have quite enough yarn waiting in the wings so I will resist!

I've also still got a few more sale skeins of the Classic Merino Sock in the Desert Pink colorway remaining from the last update . . .

. . . along with a few of the Mohair/Wool Worsted Weight Yarn, all in the Sale Section. I'll continue adding more of these throughout the month and hope to have those shelves cleared out to make room for the cashmere coming later in the Spring.

Also, for those of you who have been keeping an eye out for the "Hoarfrost" Tight Twist Superwash Merino Sock Yarn for the sock design that Anne Hanson is working on, I've got the first batch of that yarn listed now.

You'll find Hoarfrost as one of the featured items on FF shop homepage.

Great day to all!

2009-03-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

Punch & Monkey

How's that for a silly blog post title? It's really "Punch & Judy and Monkeys," but "Punch and Monkey" tickles me for some reason.

This is Suzy's rendition of the KnitSpot pattern, Punch & Judy. She knit this little beauty with FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Sock Yarn in Christmas Red. The bold color combined with the strong, bold lines of the pattern really pop:

Lovely work, as always, Suzy! You can see more of Suzy's work on her blog and on Ravelry where she is dragonschest.

On the primate side, we have these lovely Monkey Socks knit by Lynne using FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Sock Yarn in the Thoroughbred colorway:

The photo's a bit small to see the detail of the stitchwork, but you can see lots more of Lynne's lovely work on her blog and on Ravelry where she is Lynnio.

A big Thank You to Suzy and Lynne for sharing their photos!

2009-03-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

Bruce Speaks

I mentioned to my husband, Bruce, the other day that I was on a mission to correct my slight neglect of my blog over the past few months, and post as much as possible in March. Much space is filled, I explained, with info about the sale items that I’m clearing out this month, but as much as everyone loves to hear about a good sale, that doesn’t make much for a very interesting blog.

It was at that point in the conversation that Bruce offered his services to provide some tips for the husbands or partners of knitters. Hmmmm. This should be interesting. Well alright then. Today, Bruce speaks:

“You know that movie, When Harry Met Sally? Everyone’s seen it, right? Remember the scene in the airport where Billy Crystal says that you should never drive someone to the airport at the start of a relationship because then later in the relationship the person’s bound to ask why you never take them to the airport anymore?

It’s the same for a knitter and a yarn shop. I learned the hard way. When we first got together, I would drive Deb an hour to check out a new yarn shop without blinking an eye. I’d hang around for an eternity while she looked at every skein of yarn in the place. I didn’t mind. It was kind of fun. She’d get all excited about the trip, like we were going to Disneyland or something. Mistake. Don’t do this. Deb doesn’t go so far as asking me why I never take her to yarn shops anymore, but she does mention some yarn-related destination or other once in a while, acting all casual and innocent, and then kind of looks at me out of the corner of her eye with a questioning and sort of pleading look. A slightly disappointed look replaces the pleading look when I change the subject really fast before she gets any wild ideas.

Another tip: When she talks about knitting, try to listen once in a while. Not all the time or anything. That would be crazy. Most of the time, just go ahead thinking about that Wii you want to buy or whether there are any cookies left anywhere in the house, but it’s worth it to tune in a little sometimes. It can come in handy. I don’t think I ever earned so many Good Husband Points as the day I told Deb that I like things simple and stockinet is my favorite stitch. You’d think I’d just written and recited a love sonnet for her. So listen now and then. Save up a good word or two. Use them when shares in Husband Common Stock are low and you’ll see an instant upswing.”

Those are Bruce’s two tips for today. Pass them on to your mates as you see fit. Perhaps I’ll invite Bruce back again to share his grand wisdom.

Oh and by the way . . . I should clarify that when Bruce told me his favorite stitch was stockinet, he actually said his favorite stitch was “stocking knit.” That, of course, made it all the more endearing.

Good man, my husband.

2009-03-07T11:19:00.000-08:00

A Little Something for the Weekend

I've just added a new color to my FF Laceweight Merino Yarn offerings. The color is called Desert Pink:

In addition to adding this new color to the Laceweight choices, I also whipped up a small batch on the Classic Merino Sock Weight Yarn that I've been dyeing up and selling at a deep discount to clear out inventory. While they last, these discounted skeins are in the Sale Section of my shop.

There are also still a few more skeins of the Worsted Weight Mohair/Wool Yarn I added to the Sale Section a couple of days ago, including this lovely green named Verdure.

Keep your eyes open in the coming days as I continue to move out remaining inventory of these two yarn types.

Everyone have a glorious day!

2009-03-05T09:19:00.001-08:00

The Fun Continues

My pre-Spring inventory cleanup continues today with another yarn type that I'm planning to discontinue. This one is the Worsted Weight Mohair/Wool Yarn. I've carried this yarn since the start of FF more than three years ago, along with a DK version of it. The DK has always been more popular, so I've decided to let go of the worsted to make room for new things coming later this year.

That, of course, means a great opportunity to pick up on some more deeply discounted (by 30%) yarn now listed in the sale section of my shop. The ones listed now are the remaining skeins of this yarn that I had in stock. There will be more coming in the future as I dye up the rest of my stock of this yarn and clear off the shelves for new items!

The one pictured above is the Stormy Night colorway and one of my all time favorites. The yarn is a 55% mohair and 45% wool blend, which gives it a nice subtle halo without all the fuzz of a pure mohair yarn.

This colorway is called Morocco. There are several others as well, all of which can be viewed in my shop in the Sale Section.

That's all for today. I've got a day of dyeing planned and am looking forward to my weekly night out for bowling (stop laughing . . . I know I'm a geek :). It will be out for an early dinner first and then off to league night.

Everyone have a lovely day!

2009-03-04T13:43:00.001-08:00

See Deb Knit Pyarn

I have no new sale items to highlight today, but I do have a bit of knitting progress to share. Before I dive into that, just a quick note: I still have two deeply discounted skeins of FF Classic Merino Wool Sock Weight Yarn left from yesterday. A fabulous shoulder wrap for someone, perhaps?

There will be more sale items coming soon, so stay tuned. Now on to the knitting fun ...

Remember this?

It's my latest spindling attempt and probably the best one so far. I didn't ply this one, as I thought I'd like the shifting colors more if left as singles. I chose a basic Feather & Fan pattern and have gotten about halfway through the scarf now.

Not half bad for pyarn. I still have a long way to go with my sad spindling skills, but in this spindling attempt I think perhaps the p in pyarn has gone silent.

I very much like the way it's knitting up (gotta love Feather & Fan for making almost any yarn shine!). It will likely improve in appearance a bit as well once blocked.

The Feather and Fan scarf is a bit dull knitting though, so I think I'll pop a hat on the sticks soon to give me a bit of relief and variety. It's a bit late in the season for hat-knitting, but it can happily sleep on a shelf until next winter when my husband will surely need it. The hat I made him that he wears most frequently it starting to look rather shabby.

That's all the knitting goodness for today. Check back again soon for more sale items, new items coming soon, perhaps a contest (sound good?), and other fun things coming throughout March!

Great day to all!

2009-03-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

New Sale Items Now Listed

The yarn pictured above is FF Classic Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Brunette colorway. I just listed four skeins of this yarn at 30% off the regular price! You'll find it while it lasts in the section marked "Sale Items" in the FF Shop.

There are two more skeins of this yarn also available, one in Spring Breeze:

and another in Sunny Peach.

That's all the bargains for today. Stay tuned for more sprinkled throughout the month.

Great day to all!

2009-03-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

Heads Up

Just a quick heads up note to let you know that later today, I'll have another small batch of deeply discounted Classic Merino Sock Weight Yarn listed in my shop. I'll post here to let you know as soon as they're listed.

2009-03-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

Not Just for Children

The Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern by Nancy Bush is clearly not a pattern just for a child's sock.

These beauties were knit by Marisa using FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Thoroughbred colorway. I'm seriously in love with these socks! The pattern is lovely, Marisa's stitchwork is flawless, and the stitch pattern really shows up in the color she chose. All in all, a perfect pair of socks!

A big Thank You to Marisa for sharing her work! You can see more on Ravelry where she is risala.

Before I sign off for this morning, just a quick note for anyone who didn't visit yesterday: See post below about plans to use this blog during the month of March to announce new and sale items and the like. The ones featured yesterday are gone now, but they'll be lots of interesting things dribbling in throughout the month.

Great week to all!

2009-03-01T11:25:00.000-08:00

My Resolution for the Month

Today marks the start of a new month, along with a new resolution for me. I've resolved to update my blog more frequently in March than I have been in the recent past. Fact is, my life is not particularly interesting and so I always figured that filling a blog with constant updates would serve no purpose other than to drive any potential readers running for the door! This month, however, will be a bit different.

During March, in addition to my weekly highlight of customer projects and my usual blog posts about this and that, I'm going to use this blog to provide news of special items that will be posted to my shop throughout the month.

Constant blog updates with new products is not my idea of what makes for an interesting blog, so I've avoided that in the past, but this month I'm going to have a sprinkling of noteworthy special items and I think the blog will be an easy way to share those updates with you without constantly bombarding the FF mailing list with tiny bits of news.

If you want to stay informed of these small updates with discounted items as well as perhaps some new items, you may want to subscribe to the blog (see link on right sidebar) or just plan to visit often this month to see the latest news.

The photos you see above are the first of these special items I want to highlight to you. The yarn is FF "Classic" Merino Sock Yarn. I used to carry this yarn as part of my regular line, but it's been on the backburner for quite some time now. The yarn is not a superwash yarn and so I know some folks would not choose to use it for socks. It is, however, a sock-weight yarn and labeled as such.

I think the fact that this is a sock-weight yarn is one reason it never gained a great deal of popularity when I previously offered it. Folks saw "sock yarn" and also saw that it wasn't superwash and so passed it by. The thing is - if you're not one to handwash socks - this is an incredibly versatile yarn that's great for a wide variety of projects. A single skein will make a great hat, scarf, mittens, gloves or other small project. A larger quantity would be fantastic for a shawl, particularly a lace shawl. Picture knitting lace but from a slightly heavier yarn that will yield more warmth and will also knit up more quickly, yet will still block out beautifully and really show off the stitch detail. What could be better?

Since I've pretty much decided to discontinue this yarn some time back (at least for now), I think it's about time I round up the remaining skeins and dye up the remaining undyed stock and get it out of here.

As much as I love this yarn, I really need to get a move on and get it out of the inventory room to make room for new things. The price on this yarn will be $14 per 4-ounce skein, rather than the standard $20. That's a really huge discount, so a great opportunity for folks to pounce on a bargain and take advantage of my early efforts at Spring inventory-room cleaning!

The very first of these items -- the three colors of the FF Classic Merino Sock Weight Yarn pictured above -- were listed in my shop this morning. Pop by if you're interested. You'll find the yarn added to the Sale Section of the shop. You'll also find quite a few new items in the shop that I listed last week in the two Superwash Merino Sock Yarns and Superwash Merino Sportweight Yarn.

Thanks for sticking with me through this long post! We'll see how well I do with my resolve to post more frequently this month :)

2009-02-25T11:44:00.001-08:00

Perspective

As I dyed up a batch of laceweight merino this morning, I did something very uncommon for me. I worried.

I'm not a worrier by nature, but in these gloomy economic times it's difficult for even the most carefree spirit not to worry at least a bit on occasion. Perhaps "worry" is too strong a word, but my mind was certainly focused on the economy.

Today, a letter arrived in the mail to put things in perspective. For some reason, I immediately thought to share this with all of you. I'll cut out the personal bits, but the letter began with some family news and went on to mention a concern another family member was having over money problems. I'll pick up at that point in the letter:

********
... but I don't know if she is overdramatizing. After all, I lived during the Depression and I know what it's like to have NO money, not even the 2-cent fine for an overdue library book. We had electricity cut off because there was no money. A quarter-meter was installed in the basement, and when electricity was a must, we'd insert a quarter in the slot and we were given 17 cents worth of juice. The other 8 cents went toward paying the bill that we owed. We used oil lamps for light. We had no refrigerator, just an old-fashioned ice box. We had no washer, no radio and no telephone. That's what NO money means.

I've just finished taking a bath. A FULL tub of hot water. In those old days I was talking about, we had no hot water. We had to heat up a pailful in the kitchen stove and lug it upstairs for a skimpy bath. Now I luxuriate in the whole tub of hot water right from the faucet! I think nobody knows what the "Great Depression" means, except us who lived through it.

How I pray - Not again - not again!
************

This letter comes from my mother, who was born in 1923, a little girl during the Depression, living in Rhode Island with her parents and five siblings, eeking out a meager survival.

My father (long gone now) also lived through the Depression, although he was older than my mother and so was already a teenager when the Depression began. About two years before the Depression hit full force in 1929, he quit school at age 14 to go to work and help support his family. He lied about his age and got a job as a messenger for a Wall Street brokerage house. He worked for that same brokerage firm - moving slowly up the ranks to a lower level management position - almost continuously for 46 years, with the only time interrupting that employment being when he left to fight in World War II.

My parents' experiences certainly shaped the people they became, but at the same time, so much is dependent on one's own nature and perspective and view of the world. My mother is an eternal optimist. My father was an eternal pessimist. I am more like my mother in that respect and right now I think more than ever I must make a conscious decision to remain on that path. Staying in touch with reality and what's going on in the world is important. Evaluating and understanding one's own financial situation, and living responsibly within one's limits, is important. Worrying, however, is not. It is not productive, it is not useful, it is not helpful.

And, of course, when I worry too much, it interferes with what matters: Enjoying time with my husband. Knitting. And writing to my mother, to whom I owe a letter.

2009-02-23T07:08:00.000-08:00

Orchids

From all of my mentions about how Spring will be coming soon, one would think I live in the depths of the most frigid cold. I'm actually here in Oregon, where the temperature is relatively mild and the spurts of true cold are few and far between. Regardless of the moderate winter temperatures here, I still long for Spring. I think it's the need to feel the sun (at least on occasion during the rainy Spring of Oregon) and to hear the birds sing. I suddenly and quite happily realized this morning that we're actually less than a month away from the official start of Spring now! (Official, since the weather likely won't reflect it for a while beyond that, but hitting the milestone date of March 21st is still something for which I'm anxious.)

Why this talk of Spring, you ask? Here's why:

JuniperJune knit these fabulous Orchid Lace Mitts (pattern by Anne Hanson) using FF Laceweight Merino Yarn in the Brunette colorway. Aren't they glorious?! Of course, it's not the color that sets my mind to Spring, but rather the pattern. Lacey fingerless gloves are so perfect for Spring and these are just so beautiful!

You can see more of JuniperJune's work on Ravelry, as well as on her new blog.

Before I sign off for today, I want to give you all a quick heads-up that I'll be posting lots of new items in my FF shop this morning. Stop by for a browse if you have a moment.

Great day to all!

2009-02-19T10:00:00.003-08:00

Catching Up

I had one crazy week last week, without much time for blogging, so I've fallen a bit behind on posting my silly little knitting endeavors. (Pardon me for sounding as though I'm minimizing knitting. No, no! I only minimize my recent projects because they've mostly been using my handspun pyarn, which is still pretty sad and not really worthy of being knit just yet.)

To catch up . . . remember this?

It turned into this (actually two of these, but the other one still needs ends woven in).

The pattern is Anne Hanson's Hot Waffles. Although the finished mitts are really rather pathetic, the pattern did help to raise them from pure trash into something not so bad. The textured waffle pattern lends itself fairly well to a less than perfect yarn, so I think it was a pretty good choice for this pyarn, which was one of my very first attempts at spindling.

Remember this?

This one turned into this:

This is an Almost Scarf. The finished piece ended up only long enough to serve as a muffler, draped around the neck and crisscrossed in front beneath a jacket. I seem to have some sort of delusion about yardage with the spindle. Even if I do a rough yardage measure when making it into a skein, it's as though my brain just will not accept that it took me so much time to create so little pyarn and so I just pumped the yardage figure upward and tried to convince myself it was enough for a scarf.

Although not enough for a real scarf, I have to say that I really love the way it looks. The colors are among my favorite and I like the way they knit up, with lots of variation but still a reasonable amount of subtlety. I also think the stitch pattern works nicely to blend with the imperfections of the yarn. The stitch is a super-simple faggoting. Although I normally associate faggoting with lace, it worked really nicely to create a highly textured fabric and also one that's reversible. The faggot stich I used on this is the world's simplest: Even number of stitches cast on, and then every row - right and wrong side - is K2TOG, YO. A selvage stitch at each edge caps it off.

Then there are these:

The teal green one is another handpsun that I forgot to photograph before knitting it up. The other is FF Merino/Tencel Sock Yarn. I used Anne Hanson's Spiraluscious pattern, but without the edging that goes around the bottom. I had only a small quantity of the handspun and a bit of leftovers from the sock yarn to work with and so I just made simple neckwarmers without the edging detail. As I look at the photo, it looks as though I actually screwed up the green one. Looks like I missed a row or something in the pattern and didn't even notice it (how on earthy could I not see that while knitting?). Ah well. These things happen (well, to me anyway ;).

There's some new handspun waiting in the wings now:

This one I didn't ply and will see how it goes to knit as a single. I chose not to ply it mostly because this was a failed dyeing experiment, with long stretches of fiber in semi-solid shades of blue. I think it will look better knit up without plying, so that the long stretches of color can fade in and out rather than having mostly dark yarn with the occasional barber pole of light blue plied in. We shall see.

The yarn itself is again just pyarn. It doesn't seem much better than what I've spun previously (although it is far, far thinner, spun on my newly acquired lightweight spindle). What you can't know from looking at the photo, however, is that there was a big leap in progress with this skein. I forced myself to stop the "park and draft" method and actually drafted the fiber as I spun on this one. It was a difficult transition and I still have a loooong way to go for that to be comfortable and for the results to be even, but it was still a big step forward just to manage the juggling act of drafting as I went.

Lest you think that these little projects have kept me from dyeing, here's a small sneak preview of just a couple of new things coming.

And this:

There are more as well, all patiently waiting in the wings for their pictures to be taken, names assigned, labels put on, and listing descriptions written. It will then be their turn for their day in the sun, as they will be added to my shop very soon.

That's about all the news that's fit to print here. Hope everything is going wonderfully for all of you!

2009-02-16T07:08:00.000-08:00

Baby Fern

These socks were knit by Marjorie with FF Merino/Tencel Sock Yarn in the Insouciant colorway. The pattern is Baby Fern Socks by Charlene Schurch. Such beautiful detail!

It was a particular treat for me to see these socks, as they are the first ones I've seen knit in the Insouciant colorway. It's always great fun to see how a colorway translates from the skein to a finished project. Marjorie's beautiful work really shows this one to its full advantage!

A big Thank You to Marjorie for sharing her lovely work! You can see more of Marjorie's work on Ravelry where she is mmarker.

Keep those finished project photos coming! You can send them to me by e-mail or post in the Fearless Fibers Fan Group on Ravelry.

Everyone have a great day!

2009-02-09T07:11:00.000-08:00

Manly Monday

These are Vickie's rendition of the Lacunae Mitts by Anne Hanson, which she knit for her husband.

Vickie's thoughts mirrored my own when it comes to most fingerless mitts. "The mitts don’t look special off the hand, but on the hand the pattern comes to life"

The yarn is FF Superwash Merino Wool Sportweight in the Deepest Forest colorway.

I just love these and I'm sure Vickie's husband must as well. Who wouldn't?! You can see more of Vickie's lovely work on Ravelry where she is VickieK.

A big Thank You to Vickie for sharing her work and a great Monday to all!

2009-02-05T12:33:00.000-08:00

Ham and Socks

These are the socks I showed in progress last week, now all finished and ready to keep my feet happy and warm. As you can see in the photo, my husband had a bit of a hard time getting a decent picture because a certain ham wanted so much to be in the photo.

Indie is both a ham and rather hopelessly attached to me. Any chance to nuzzle a bit - even just my feet - and he's all over it.

Here's a closeup so you can see the stitch detail a bit better.

I made these socks with handspun superwash merino. Of course, not handspun by me! My own spinning attempts with my trusty spindles are progressing a bit, but I'm a million miles away from spinning anything like the yarn used for the socks!

Here's my latest pyarn, spun from the superwash merino roving that I dyed and showed in a blog photo last week:

Getting a little better with each attempt, but still a long way to go. I do love how the colors worked up though! I've got a second smaller skein done as well, for a total that I think will be enough for a rather narrow scarf.

I also knit up my last handspun attempt into a pair of fingerless mitts, but I've got a long list of things on my To Do List this afternoon, so no time for photos at the moment. I'll save those for next week.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

2009-02-02T06:19:00.000-08:00

Blue Ribbon Socks

Before I dive into today's project feature, I want to give a quick heads-up that the signups are now open for the FF Whisper of Spring Lace Club! Woohoo! We're off and running at last :)

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming . . .

These lovely socks are Amy's rendition of the Slippery Socks by Olivia M from the Winter 07 edition of Knitty.

Amy knit these with FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Shades of Teal colorway. (Shades of Teal is now on the backburner, but it was retired due to its similarity to the popular Spellbound colorway, which is still available.)

Not only can Amy be proud of these socks because they're just plain smashing, but she also has a Blue Ribbon from the South Carolina State Fair for the Textile Craft category to prove it! Way to go, Amy!!!! And it's easy to see why these lovely little socks took the blue ribbon . . .

You can see more of Amy's beautiful work on Ravelry where she is socialconstruct.

A big Thank You to Amy for sharing her lovely work!

2009-01-29T11:00:00.000-08:00

My Mission Continues

I've spent some time over the past week continuing my mission to learn to spin with a spindle and to practice dyeing up some roving. All of that focus on handspun got my fingers aching to finally knit up the lovely yarn that Anne spun for me oh so long ago.

I've had this gorgeous skein for ages now, but never seemed quite ready to knit it. Part of the reason is that I just loved looking at it and squeezing it in its skeined state. It's a little work of art just as it is! Or just as it was actually . . .

The other reason I hadn't cracked into this yarn yet is that I couldn't decide what to do with it. It kept crying out to me to become socks, but that just didn't seem grand enough for something so lovely and made with such care. In the end, I decided that it was best to listen to the cries of the yarn and allow it to become what it wants to be. These won't be socks that are squeezed into sneakers and mercilessly ground at the heels until they are worn and old. These will be socks that will glide onto warm pink feet fresh from a hot bubble bath. These will be socks that will pad along into the living room where they'll curl up with me for those rare evenings when a long stretch of indulgent and glorious relaxation while knitting and watching TV is on the agenda.

I also chose to make the socks pretty short in the cuff, since I'm pretty sure that I'll have enough leftover to perhaps whip out another small project. It's quite a hefty skein!

You can't see the stitch pattern terribly well in the photo, but I'll be sure to show you a modeled shot when they're done. I chose a simple lacy rib stitch that I think really strikes the right note for the handspun yarn.

For my own spindling adventures, I've moved on to my next attempt.

It's nothing to get too excited about, but I'm definitely making progress with my pyarn. (Side note: A few folks asked me what the heck this "pyarn" this is. That's just my name for my own handspun. The P is hard, as in "pleather" and the meaning is about the same. It's almost yarn, looks a bit like yarn, but is not quite worthy of the name yarn.)

I've got about 125 yards or so of this two-ply roughly light worsted to worsted weight in tones of heathery plum and gray. I'm thinking of whipping up a pair of fingerless mitts with this. It's still not really deserving of the time and effort to knit it up into something that will likely look quite a bit too handmade for my taste, if you know what I mean, but with the blood, sweater and tears that I've poured into my spindling attempts I feel compelled to see the pyarn through to its final destiny. (Okay. Perhaps there was no blood, but the sweat and tears aren't too far from the truth. I'm definitely not a natural at this spindling thing!)

I chose the colors for the fiber I dyed for that pyarn mostly based on a desire for something light enough to give me good visibility to the twist as a I spun. My next attempt will be with something dyed more along the lines of the style and colors that I enjoy so much.

This looks pretty messy in my hastily taken photo (no post-dyeing grooming and primping done, no pretty braiding), but you can see a bit of where I'm heading with the style of dyeing. I want to achieve lots of lovely variation of color but in a way that will spin with more subtlety than many of the more colorful rovings I've seen. I'm also leaning away from the use of undyed/white portions in the roving. As I learn a bit with my little spindling attempts, I can see the allure of that type of roving. The natural white sections provide lots of variation as they sometimes mesh and sometimes remain in tact as one spins. I can imagine that an experienced hand could also control how the colors mix and mingle quite well. The swirling colors with lights and darks mixed together is also great fun to watch emerge. But with that said, that's just not really my personal style. In the end, what is created is yarn (or, in my case, pyarn) which is meant to be knit and since my personal preference for knitting involves more detailed stitch patterns, I tend to gravitate toward more subtlety of color. I do plan to keep a good amount of variation of color in the roving, as you see in my first little sample here, and that will likely show up pretty strongly in the spun yarn (particularly if singles are plied together), but I'm not looking at this point to go for the really wildly varied shades that I so often see. They're very enticing and lovely and spin up into some gloriously beautiful yarn, but a gal has to follow her own voice and much as I admire that style of dyeing, it is not mine.

Well, I think I've rambled on enough for today. I'll leave you with this final note . . . Get ready for next week's big event: my Whisper of Spring Lace Club will be launching for signups! Here's one last reminder from the teaser photos I posted last week:

Everyone have a great day!

2009-01-26T07:29:00.000-08:00

Morning Surf

For this morning's project feature, I have a lovely scarf to share with you, knit by Debi.

The pattern is the Morning Surf Scarf by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer. Debi knit it using FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Brick House colorway.

Such a lovely scarf! A big Thank You to Debi for sharing her work! You can see lots more of Debi's knitting on her blog or on Ravelry where she is Phretys.

Great Monday to all!

2009-01-21T13:43:00.000-08:00

Whisper of Spring Lace

Everything appears to be on track for signups to open for the upcoming FF "Whisper of Spring Lace Club" in early February.

That's the finished shawl which is the first project for the lace club. I'm really pleased with how it turned out in this special club "whisper" color on my FF Laceweight Merino Yarn. (There will be a few alternate color options as well.)

The colors are all done and ready to go for the second and third projects as well, but I'll save those to show you when it's time for signups. The patterns themselves will remain a surprise for those shipments, but I can tell you that the second shipment will be a lace sock designed by Tess Mattos in FF Tight Twist Superwash Merino Sock Yarn and the third and final shipment will be a lace scarf designed by Anne Hanson in FF Laceweight Cashmere.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a couple more photos to whet your appetite for a bit of Spring lace!

Ahhhhh .... Spring!

2009-01-19T06:16:00.000-08:00

Monday Eye Candy

I have two great projects to share with you today to get those Monday morning yarn juices flowing!

First up is this cowl knit by Kimberlyn using FF Superwash Merino Wool Sportweight Yarn in the Smoke colorway.

The pattern is the Stacked Eyelet Cowl by Ami Madison. Suitable for keeping warm or - with a tug upward - for hiding your identity for a bank heist.

You'll find more of Kimberlyn's beautiful work on her blog or on Ravelry where she is knitpickins.

I also have another tatted project by Pam to show you.

As with Pam's last project, this is made with FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Speak Softly colorway.

Pam made this as a custom item for a customer in her Etsy shop, where she has a beautiful array of tatted items, including lots of unique tatted jewelry.

Thank you so much to Kimberlyn and Pam for sharing their work to start us off on a happy note this Monday morning!

2009-01-15T10:19:00.000-08:00

We're Getting Close!

Here it is the middle of January already. The time for signups for my upcoming Spring Lace Club is getting closer and closer. I'm planning for signups to start in early February. If you're not on my mailing list and want to be added, just pop me an e-mail with a request (or send me one through an Etsy conversation message, including your e-mail address) and I'll be happy to add you. The mailing list folks will be the first to be notified when signups open.

Since the time is drawing near, I'll give you a bit more of a taste of what the club will be. It's going to be similar in format to my last sock club. There will be three shipments, one per month beginning on the first day of Spring. There will be three projects with yarn + pattern, with each pattern from a different designer. The lineup will be the same as the sock club: one original FF pattern, one by Tess Mattos of Polar Bear Patterns, and one by Anne Hanson of KnitSpot.

The three projects will all involve lace, but each will be quite different and each will use a different base yarn. The FF pattern will be a triangular shawl using FF Laceweight Merino. Tess' pattern will be a lace sock, using FF Tight Twist Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn. Anne's pattern will be a lace scarf using . . . drumroll please . . . FF Laceweight Cashmere. That's right! The cashmere is returning. The first taste of it will be for the sock club, with a general reintroduction of the cashmere coming not too long after that. I'm going to wait until the dust settles on the club signups before working on new colors for the reintroduction, since I want to be sure to set aside enough of the precious cashmere for all of the club members.

The club will be called the Whisper of Lace Club, with each of the three projects having one "Designer's Choice" color with a gentle, whisper of color theme uniting them. There will also be a few back-up color choices available for each project, so everyone can be sure to get something that appeals to them.

The patterns by Tess and Anne will remain a surprise, but there will be photos available at signup of the first project -- the Whisper Shawl -- that I'm designing. As some of you may recall, I actually finished the design, pattern, and had the test knitting done for this shawl quite some time back. Rather than releasing that, I set it aside with the secret little plan for this club already brewing. I am now just knitting the shawl yet again, so that I will have a version of it to show you in the actual club colorway. It's very close to the finish line!

The pattern is in three sizes and this is the large one, so what you see in the photo is just a section of one side. This baby's got a pretty large wingspan! In the photo above, the edging is all curled and bunched, but here's a little better shot of that:

It will, of course, transform considerably once blocked. It's rather nice to have this pattern completely done already. I have no lingering questions about how it will look when done and blocked. Been there. Done that. Just waiting to see it in this minty green "whisper" color.

On a completely separate note, I've continued to try to work on my spindling and have come up with a small quantity of pyarn number two. This second attempt is using a basic Australian wool roving that I dyed myself in a semi-solid dark blue. I did my best to spin this thinner and more evenly. Although the results aren't great, there is definitely much improvement. I then took the singles I'd spun and tried my hand at plying.

It's definitely not a work of art, but I'm getting closer to making that p go silent in the pyarn.

I think it was a mistake to dye the yarn in a dark color (it's actually darker than it shows in the photo), because it made it hard to see the twist and since I don't have a clue what I'm doing that made the process more difficult. I have another batch of this same wool drying now in some heathery shades of raspberry and gray that should be easier to see.

I've also got some superwash merino roving drying now that is my first experiment in applying some of my favorite dyeing techniques and my usual dyeing style to fiber rather than yarn. That's a really interesting experiment for me and one I'll tell you more about in a future post.

Right now, I'm off to whip up the last bit of edging on the Whisper Shawl. I should have blocking photos for you next week. I'm so looking forward to this club!

2009-01-12T07:06:00.001-08:00

Four Feet

This Monday morning, I have two pair of socks knit with FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn to share with you.

These are Linda Jo's men's Christmas gift socks knit with the Deepest Forest colorway. I'm personally a big fan of various types of broken and spiral ribs for socks, as it really helps them stay put. The detail is certainly very pretty as well.

You can see more of Linda Jo's lovely work on her blog and on Ravelry where is BeadKnitter. You'll also find details of the stitch pattern for these socks in her Ravelry project post.

Next up are Emily's Basic Socks knit with the Discipline colorway.

These delicious socks were also knit as a holiday gift, this time for a deserving grandmother. In my mind, even the most beautiful and intricate sock pattern in the world will always have a tough time competing with a plain ol' vanilla stockinet sock. I just love how every little stitch lines up in knitterly perfection!

Emily also has a blog where you can view more of her beautiful work and she can be found as Cringer on Ravelry.

A big thank you to Linda Jo and Emily for covering four feet this Monday morning!

2009-01-08T07:38:00.000-08:00

A Hat Only a Mother Could Love

I've continued following the advice many of you gave me to continue trying to learn to spin with a spindle by practicing for brief periods every day if possible and I'm beginning to see the first glimmer of hope. Your tips on trying "park and draft" also helped quite a bit. Thank you so much for your help and support!

After my first attempt with the "practice" fiber included in the beginner's kit, I moved on to the dyed fiber that was also part of the kit. (This was pretty funny to me. Does anyone "practice" with a tiny bit of undyed fiber and then decide they've nailed it and are ready to go?) Keep in mind that I only had about a dozen yards of pyarn from practice, so these next photos are still very, very early in this little spinning endeavor of mine!

It's still rather a monstrosity. Some sections are so thin that the twist gathers there and creates little piglet tails of tightly coiled pyarn, while other sections are so thick that the twist can't possibly travel through them which results in puffy sections that look like a snake that just swallowed a gazelle.

Despite not seeing much improvement in the results at the stage when I spun this last week, I did see marked improvement in my comfort level handling the spindle and the fiber. That alone was a big step. I'm also starting to feel just the tiniest bit more comfortable with the whole drafting process. My drafting skills are still sorely lacking, but I've at least reached a point where it is no longer a violent game of tug o' war (which is what seems to have caused my earlier problems with fiber flying everywhere; that problem is pretty much gone now).

Since this pyarn I'm spinning (I use that word loosely) is so very thick, it didn't take more than a few sessions before I had blown through most of the 3 or 4 ounces or so of fiber in the kit. I never planned to do anything with this pyarn, but once I saw it all sitting there looking so pathetic I found myself overcome with the desire to make it into something.

And so I present A Hat Only a Mother Could Love:

I'm going to send this sad little hat to my mother, who I know will enjoy the story of its creation. Whether she will actually attempt to wear it is another matter altogether!

You may say, "Hey, it's not all that bad. It's even kind of cute, in a home-grown sort of way." Well, let me tell you that looks can be deceiving. Although it doesn't look that horrifically bad in the photos, the hat is actually very inflexible. It feels more like cardboard than fabric. Much of the pyarn was thick enough to knit on a size 13 or so needle, while other sections were so thin that a size 2 might have done better. I settled on a size 10, fearful that going any larger than that might leave holes and gaps in the sections where the pyarn becomes very thin. The result is a very rigid hat, which is particularly thick and cumbersome through the crown where the decreases are.

Once this was done, I continued my adventures with the spindle by using the final bits of fiber to attempt to spin a slightly thinner and more manageable version of pyarn. I very stupidly forgot to photograph the finished pyarn! It's still not good at all, but I have to say that I did see some improvement and was also surprised to find that I found it easier to spin thinner. Anxious to see how the knitted fabric would look, I started up a little swatch with the new pyarn before I thought to take a picture of it in its unknit state.

This is knit on size 5 needles, so considerably thinner than the first rounds of pyarn. Knit up, it doesn't look half bad (despite the slightly out of focus picture).

Phase Two of Project Spindle is to dye up some fiber myself. I've got a small quantity dyed now in a semi-solid rich blue, but I haven't done anything with that yet and I think I've rambled on enough for today. More to come on that next week, along with an update on the Spring Lace Club that's coming (signups will be in early February, so not far away at all!).

Everyone have a lovely day and a wonderful weekend!

2009-01-05T06:11:00.000-08:00

More Beautiful Things

It's Monday again. Time for more finished projects to show off!

First up are Leilana Socks knit by Angie using FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Humility colorway.

Aren't they glorious with their winding, twisting details?!

Angie also knit this scarf using FF Mohair/Wool DK Yarn in the Astronomy colorway. The pattern is Irish Hiking Scarf from Hello Yarn.

This is handpainted colorway and if you step back and look at the photo you can see a criss-crossing X pattern created by the dark charcoal color repeats. It's fascinating the way that handpainted yarns play out in different patterns. A change of a couple of stitches in the row length or a slightly looser or tighter gauge and the effect would likely have been quite different.

A big Thank You to Angie for sharing her work! You can see more of Angie's work on Ravelry where she is kachelmeier.

Everyone have a wonderful start to another week!

2009-01-01T08:38:00.001-08:00

New Year and Things to Come

It's officially 2009. How is that possible? I remember my mother saying that time seems to go faster as you get older. I scoffed in my youthful way. Now I understand. Sigh.

Rather than dwelling on the quick passage of time, and the new wrinkles and grays, aches and pains that come with it, I'd prefer to look forward to something special I've been planning and that's coming soon: a Spring Lace Club!

It may seem that Spring is a long ways off, but in yarn terms, it's really just around the corner. I'm tentatively planning this club for signups in February, with the first shipments to go out on the first day of Spring. I'll be posting more details here as the time gets closer and will also be sure to notify my mailing list when it's time for signups.

The plan for the club is similar in format to my sock club that ended recently. There will be three shipments, three projects, three different base yarns, three club-exclusive colorways (and a few back-up color choices to be sure everyone gets something to their taste).

The designer line-up will also be the same as the sock club: one FF original, one by Tess Mattos of Polar Bear Patterns, and one by Anne Hanson of KnitSpot. My FF original will be a lace shawl in my Laceweight Merino, Tess will be doing a lace sock in my Tight Twist Superwash Merino Sock Yarn, and Anne will be doing a lace scarf in my Laceweight Cashmere. (Yes, you heard that right! The cashmere is returning at some point in the Spring, with the first taste of it going out to the club members.)

The sock and scarf patterns will remain a surprise, but I will have the shawl ready for viewing before signups. You've actually already seen a good bit of it. Remember this?

It's a shawl that I designed and knit last year. I finished up the pattern and test knitting was complete, but then set it aside as the thoughts of a lace club began to brew in my mind. For the club, the colorway will be a new one exclusive to the club and different than the original. That means knitting a new version, which is well underway now.

Of course, not the best photo with the stitches all crowded together on the needle and the fabric bunched up and unblocked, but still proof-positive that I'm well underway and also a sneak preview of the color.

I'll have more info on the projects and colors coming over the next few weeks. I'm really excited about this club and hope you are too!

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and amazing New Year!

2008-12-29T06:34:00.000-08:00

Mmmmm ... Butterscotch

You've likely all seen the Lace Ribbon Scarf from the Spring '08 issue of Knitty. It seems to be quite a popular pattern with 2,585 projects posted on Ravelry as of this morning. It's easy to see why it's so popular when you see Sonia's lovely version.

Sonia knit this with FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Sock Yarn in the Butterscotch colorway.

Here's a closeup while it was still on the sticks, where you can really see the detail. The color is perhaps a bit truer in this photo as well.

You can see more of Sonia's beautiful work on Ravelry where she is smaksimo.

Thank you so much to Sonia for sharing her beautiful work! Happy Monday to all!

2008-12-22T07:24:00.000-08:00

Tat Softly

For today's customer project feature, I have another lovely tatted piece by Pam.

Pam made this Victorian collar using FF Lightweight Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Speak Softly colorway.

Pam sells her amazing work in her Etsy shop (beware a visit ... you could get lost for quite a while browsing the beautiful and unusual pieces there!).

A big Thank You to Pam for sharing her work! As much as knitting will always be my favorite, it's so much fun to see the occasional tatting, crochet, and weaving project. Such diverse talent out there in the yarn-loving world.

Wishing everyone a very happy holiday season!