. . . 3, 2, 1 . . . PATTERN + CONTEST . . . LAUNCH!

Guess what?! It's about time for another contest! This contest is to celebrate the launch of the Simply Elegant Sox pattern by Tess of Polar Bear Patterns, designed using Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn.



I shared a photo of Tess' Simply Elegant Socks with you a few weeks back, but the pattern was still in the test and finalization phase. It's available for purchase now on the Polar Bear Patterns website and I'm helping to kickoff the launch with a contest.

Before I dive into the contest details, let me take a moment to tell you a bit about the pattern. This pattern is just what the name implies: simple and elegant. For those of you who are very experienced at knitting socks with complex, minute and intricate cable, lace, stitch, and color details, this pattern is probably not for you. But for all of you who have been sticking with pretty basic socks or who are fairly new to sock knitting in general, this is a wonderful step toward more detailed and interesting sock knitting. The lace pattern is straightforward and easy to follow and is a great way to build your confidence in taking a step forward in more varied and interesting sock projects. It also comes with a handy tracking sheet, that I personally just love. No more hash marks and odd notes to decipher to keep track of where you stand in your pattern and to ensure the second sock matches the first! Instead, you easily track your progress as you move through the pattern using the nifty tracking sheet provided with the pattern. And, of course, the pattern is designed for Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn. (Any comparable, lightweight sock yarn may be substituted, of course.)

And now to the contest details:

First Prize:
One copy of the Simply Elegant Sock pattern from Polar Bear Patterns, one skein of Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the winner's choice of colorways, and this fun, reversible sock knitting tote bag.



Second Prize:
A felted bag kit that includes 8 ounces of Fearless Fibers Worsted Weight Mohair/Wool Yarn and 2 ounces of FF Small Loopy Mohair Boucle Yarn, both in the Stormy Night colorway, along with a pattern for this felted bag (shown here in the Fruit Pop colorway). If this looks familiar to you, it's because I gave one of these kits away in a contest many months ago. The winner, Melissa, contacted me a few weeks later to let me know she had not received her prize. I, of course, sent her another. Well, about SIX MONTHS later, the Post Office returned that lost package to me with the original kit in pristine condition. It was marked as "unclaimed" which leads me to think that Melissa was not home when it was delivered and her mail carrier neglected to leave a notice in her mailbox, leaving the package sitting at the Post Office for months. Anyhow, Melissa received the second kit I sent to her long, long ago and now I have the first one back in my hands and ready for someone to take as a prize. I guess the inefficiency of the postal system is your gain!


Here is the bag shown in the Fruit Pop colorway. It's an extremely simple design and pattern, but of course, many of you may choose to do something much more interesting than this with the yarn!




And here's a picture of the Stormy Night colorway which is the colorway that will be given in the kit for the contest prize:



Third Prize:
Two skeins of Manos Del Uraguay Yarn. These are extras from what I bought for the Red Sweater KAL a couple of months ago. I never did finish my project for that KAL, but I have plenty more yarn if I decide to complete it in the future and still have these two extra skeins. It's definitely not my favorite yarn, but it is very good for felting and the colors are beautiful. It would make a lovely hat or perhaps a small felted bag.



In addition, each prize recipient will receive one of these buttons. I had a batch of these custom made for FF as part of my plan to aid knitters in taking over the world and making it a better place.



Entering the contest:
In order to enter the contest, you must stand on your head in a public place such a shopping mall or perhaps the public library, for a period of at least 2 hours and 47 minutes chanting the words Make Gloves Not War. Of course, I have no way to verify that you've done this, but I'm just going to trust in advance that all of you will surely have no problem doing this. Hee, hee!

Actually, the entry is simple. No standing on one's head or guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar required. Just send an e-mail to fearlessfibers@comcast.net with a subject line reading "Contest Entry." The winners will be selected by random drawing.

Deadline:
All entries must be received by midnight pacific time on March 20th. I will announce and notify the winners on Wednesday March 21st.

Mailing List:
On a side note, I've been thinking of putting an FF e-mailing list together for some time. If you would like to be included on the list, please make note of that in your contest entry e-mail. I will NEVER use your e-mail address for any other purpose and will NEVER sell or share the e-mail list with anyone. The e-mail list will only be used in the event that there is hot news related to Fearless Fibers to share. I cannot imagine that I will ever use the list to distribute news more than once per month and likely much less frequently. Note also that entering the contest will NOT put your e-mail on the mailing list. I will only add folks to the list who specifically make note of that and request to be added. No spam coming from me, I promise!

Alrighty then. That's all for today. Everyone have a wonderful weekend and get those contest entries to me!

WooHoo! New Superwash Sock Yarn Colorways!

My exciting news for today is that I've added six brand-spanking-new Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn colorways to my Etsy shop! I have just four skeins of each colorway listed for starters. If you pop over to my shop and don't see any of these six colorways listed, it means that they've already sold, but never fear! I'll be whipping up more in the coming week.

The first - although new to my shop - will be familiar to some you who read my blog regularly. Remember the neverending lace shawl project I've been working on? You might recall that the colorway for that shawl was one that I dyed specifically for my own use and was not part of my Fearless Fibers line. Well, by popular demand, I've added it to the line.

It's called "Inner Sanctum." If you wonder why on earth it would be given such a name . . . well, I'll tell you why. It's just a little nod and a wink to those in the inner sanctum who read my blog. Nobody else will understand the name of the colorway, but you will!



There is a rich tone-on-tone purple called Royalty:



And a bright, lively blend of orange, tangerine and yellow called Vitamin C (no need to explain that name!):



Then, there's this delicious Butterscotch:



And how about a popping blend of tone-on-tone brilliant, rosy pinks?



Last is my absolute favorite of the bunch, called Venerable. It's a deep, dark, rich, subtle blend of royal purples and almost-black charcoal shades. In poor lighting, it might look like a solid dark charcoal, but with a hint of light the subtle variations of tone shine through.




Hmmm . . . perhaps the Venerable deserves a close up to give you a better look at the variations of tone:






In knitting news, I am ever so excited to report that at long last I have finished knitting the above-mentioned never-ending shawl in the now-named "Inner Sanctum" colorway!! I'll be blocking it when I find a moment in the next few days and will then have pictures to share. Oh Happy Day!

Everyone have a fabulous day!

The Sock Addiction Continues!


This Monday morning, I have more sock photos to share with you. Wow! We all love our socks, don't we?!

Here are two completed pair of socks and a work in progress, by Suzy. The pink and brown socks are made with FF Superwash Merino Wool Sock in Chocolate Pink Cherry, the bluish green socks are made with FF Mohair/Wool DK Yarn in Hudson with complementary details in a coordinating yarn, and the sock in progress uses FF Alpaca/Wool DK Yarn in Wisteria. What a lovely array of goodies for the feet! Fabulous job, Suzy!





You may also want to take a moment to visit Suzy's Etsy shop, Dragons Chest. She's having an inventory clearance sale right now, so there are bargains to be found on little handmade treasures. These are not knitted goods in her shop, but rather necklaces, pins and other small handmade items.

Thank you, Suzy, for sharing the pictures of your lovely socks! Everyone keep knitting and keep the photos coming. Have a great day!

Faster, Faster . . . The Lights Are Turning Red!

Sometimes, I'm quite a dolt. But hey, I recognize it, so isn't that sort of like the concept that you can't be crazy if you're sane enough to wonder whether you're crazy?

Why am I dolt you ask? Here's an example for you. I've started working on another pair of Delicato Mitts from the fabulous KnitSpot pattern. I mentioned in last week's post about the mitts I already finished that I really wanted to make another pair using a slightly heavier yarn and size 2 needles as called for in the pattern, so that the beautiful details of the lace pattern would be more pronounced and visible.

The gorgeous handspun that I won as a prize in the Red Sweater KAL was just crying out to be turned into a pair of mitts. I knew going into it that I might not have enough yarn to complete the mitts. Normally, I wouldn't risk it, but the wonderful Anne of KnitSpot had actually mentioned to me when she sent the prize that there might not be enough for a pair of mitts and that she would be happy to send me a bit more if I needed it. (Yes, she's an angel!) But still, I really hoped to have enough yarn.

And so I began. The first mitt progressed quickly and I found myself beginning the second mitt within a day or so. I won't show you the first mitt yet, as that would be spoiling the punchline for when they're complete, but here's a photo of the second mitt-in-progress.



I just love it! I've never worked with handspun yarn before and I must say it's really a treat. The yarn is beautifully spun and yet still has those very subtle variations of thick and thin that add a bit of texture and a true "handmade" feel to the knit fabric. Yes, yes, my husband frowns and says that I'm knitting sloppily, but he just doesn't get it. The yarn is alive and full of character and it comes through in the knitted product. I'm not sure who the recipient of these mitts will be (they're normal size, so they won't fit my tiny hands properly), but I hope it's someone who can appreciate the life of the yarn and not just think, "Hmmm ... Deb's not a very good knitter."

As I progressed into the second mitt it became apparent that Anne was correct and I won't have enough yarn. It's not a big deal, as I will certainly take her up on her offer and humbly ask for a bit more. However, before I do that, I am first displaying my doltish-ness.

The more obvious it becomes that I won't have enough yarn, the faster I knit. I've done this before. Why do I do it? It's as though my subconscious believes that yarn is consumed at a fixed rate per hour and so if I can only knit quickly enough, I won't run out of yarn. Obviously, I'm not such a complete moron as to believe this . . . and yet, I continue to knit faster and faster as if I may be able to outrun the inevitable.

Of course, when it becomes absolutely undeniable that I will indeed run out of yarn, I suddenly slow down to a snail's pace, again thinking that maybe the yarn will somehow last. Perhaps it won't notice that I'm using it up if I just pull small quantities at a time from the diminishing ball? That's where I stand right now. Three quarters of a mitt to go and a tiny ball left. Maybe if I just knit one row at a time, it will hold out?

Perhaps I'm not the only one who does such ridiculous things. Please, someone out there tell me that I'm not the only dolt!

Delicious Socks to Start the Week

For this morning's customer project feature, I have a pair of delicious socks knit by April. She used FF Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Chocolote Pink Cherry colorway. Great job, April! They look good enough to eat!



For more information on April's knitting endeavors, check out her blog.

In case you're wondering whether the Chocolate Pink Cherry colorway is gone forever, the answer is NO! I have none in stock at the moment, but there will be more before too long. As mentioned in my previous post, I'm working furiously to replenish my stock of Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn. There are already several colorways back in stock and lots more on their way, so keep your eyes peeled for more to come.

Everyone have a great week and keep those great photos coming to me by e-mail!

Knit Talk with Deb

At long last, I have some of my own knitting progress to share with you, but first I want to take a moment to get a bit of business out of the way. Many of you have noticed that my selection of Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn has been a bit scant of late. This is because the base yarn I use has been on backorder. I'm usually very good about ordering well in advance, but my vacation in January caused some timing issues with the delivery and so I waited a bit longer than usual to order. I got a call from my supplier while I was on vacation with the bad news that the yarn was on backorder.

There's a rather long story here about the nightmare and magnitude of the backorder, but suffice it to say that I now have a whopping 150 pounds (that's enough for 600 skeins!) in my hot little hands. The truly miraculous part of this is that the supplier actually only had a total of 400 pounds, with hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pounds more on backorder. This supplier works with just about every big name in handpainted yarns out there, but through some miracle of good fortune little ol' Fearless Fibers was first priority on their list for filling the backorder. (I know the reason for my priority position is almost certainly because my order was likely the first one on the backorder list, but I would prefer to think that I am The Chosen One. Ha! I know I certainly felt that way when I learned that I was getting such a large chunk of such a scarce commodity!)

I received the yarn on Monday this week and have been dyeing furiously ever since. You'll start to see the Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn filling up my shop again in the coming days and weeks. Once I've replenished the stock of my standards, you can count on some new colorways coming. I'll be sure to highlight a few here for you.

And now, on to Knit Talk . . .

Some of you may remember the Red Sweater Knitalong that I joined some months ago. I started with plans for a sweater, which then dwindled down to a simple felted vest when I found myself not loving the yarn I selected. When I got close to finished with the vest I had to face the fact that I just hated it. It's been draped over the back of a chair for ages now. I keep thinking that one day I'll be inspired to finish it, but that's looking less and less likely each day.

Given that I totally abandoned the project and then snuck quietly away from the KAL hoping nobody would notice, I am totally undeserving of the reward I received. That's right! I won a prize! I am so thrilled to have been chosen to receive Anne's (of KnitSpot) handspun yarn prize. If I were a truly good person, I would have meekly and apologetically declined and allowed someone more deserving to receive the prize, but I have to admit that getting my hands on some of Anne's handspun was too good to pass up.

I received the yarn, along with a copy of the KnitSpot Cloverleaf Mitts pattern (available in the catalogue on the KnitSpot site) and a bar of chocolate to boot, earlier this week.



I'm really looking forward to knitting with this yarn and also trying the Cloverleaf Mitts pattern. Last week, I began another of Anne's patterns: the Delicato Mitts. I meant to post a work-in-progress photo but have been so busy that I never got around to it. And now, the Mitts are done!



This photo definitely doesn't do justice to the wonderful pattern detail, but you get the idea. The Delicato Mitts pattern is a real gem! It's a small project and so you get that nice sense of satisfaction in completing something in a relatively short space of time, but it's not something I would categorize as a "quick knit." The pattern has just the right amount of detail and intricacy to make it interesting and to give it a more substantial feeling than most quick projects. Just as you become comfortable with the lace rib portion and can see the pattern emerging, it's time to move on to the main lace pattern. As that portion of the pattern begins to take shape, the increases to shape the thumb gusset begin. A bit further and it's time to return to the ribbing to finish the edge that wraps around the fingers. A little more work to finish the thumb and Voila!

The detail of the lace really is lovely, but it's not as visible in my mitts as it could be. Part of that is my rather blurry photos, but part of it is also that I used a different yarn and needle size than the pattern recommends. My FF Classic Merino Wool Sock Yarn is one of the recommended yarns for the pattern and I did play around with that a bit and it worked perfectly. I decided to go with the Superwash, which is a thinner yarn and I knit on a size 0 needle, because I have rather delicate hands (OK, OK . . . they're freakishly small) and I also prefer quite a snug fit on any handwear. The yarn and needle size worked perfectly for fit, but the smaller needles meant the yarn-over details of the lace are smaller and more closed so you lose some of the beauty of the pattern. I'm thinking of knitting some of these mitts for my nieces and will look forward to seeing the pattern detail as it was meant to be with slightly thicker yarn and a size 2 needle.

In other knitting news, I've been making slow and steady progress on my Faux Russian Stole from Meg Swanson's book, A Gathering of Lace. I'm too lazy to take another photo, particularly since it looks the same only about twice as long, but here's a reminder from the last update on this project a month or so ago:



I've now finished 4.5 pattern repeats out of the 5.5 the pattern calls for. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! I used a smaller needle than the pattern recommends (yes, I do that a lot!), so I may have to go a bit further than 5.5 pattern repeats, but I am definitely nearing the home stretch. Now if I can only get myself to knit more than a few rows in one sitting maybe I'll actually finish it!

In yarn news, I should let you know that I've added a couple of the colorways designed for my new Laceweight Merino Yarn to the Worsted Weight Merino options. The Worsted Weight Merino would be an absolutely divine yarn for sweaters. It's also great for hats, scarves and the like of course, but the soft, plush feel of the yarn just screams SWEATER! to me.

The two colorways I've added to the Worsted Weight Merino options are both rainbow dyed, while the other colorway options I already had available on the worsted weight are handpainted. As with my sock yarns, the rainbow dyed yarns won't pattern or stripe when knit. On the worsted weight yarn this makes for a nice option for a project with a bit more detail to the stitch work since color patterning won't mask the detail of the stitches.

Golden Olive is now available on Worsted Weight Merino:



And so is Hendrix:

Alright. I think I've rambled on long enough for today. Everyone have a wonderful day!

It's Customer Project Time Again!

This morning, I have a great pair of Embossed Leaves socks to share with you. These socks were knit by Sara for her KnittyBoard sock exchange pal. She used Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Raspberry colorway.



The detail on these socks is just lovely! Since they're a gift for someone else, we don't have the benefit of seeing a picture of the socks on the foot, but you can easily imagine how pretty the lacey leaves will be when stretched around the calf and foot to reveal the details. Wonderful job, Sara! To see more of what Sara's up to with her knitting pursuits, check out her blog.

Please, please: Keep the photos coming! You can e-mail them directly to me.

It's The Responsible Thing To Do!

In perusing blogland lately, there has been much talk about de-stashing. This got me to thinking about the term "stash" when referring to one's yarn supply. I'm sure others have said it, but I'll say it as well: I really don't like that term. I admit, I use the term myself, but I need to break that habit. It brings to mind images of a junkie's hidden supply of his or her drug of choice. That's not the image I want to associate with my cherished yarn!

There's a new movement afoot to think of one's yarn not as a stash but rather as a "collection." This is certainly a more pleasing term than stash, but it still doesn't quite hit the mark for me. Although there are some positive connotations to a collection, such as a collection of art, rare books, or something else of value, there are still some unpleasant associations that come to mind. Many "collectors" are people who hoard items of no real value. You know the people. When they eventually die, those who care about them spend weeks or months of their lives sorting through giant stacks of newspapers or endless sets of NBA-themed plastic cups from fast food restaurants. I'm satisfied enough to have my yarn viewed similarly to a priceless collection of art, but not so happy to think of it on a par with thirty years worth of TV Guide magazines!

I prefer to think of the accumulation of yarn as the responsible thing to do. I am knitter and that will never change. Just as any responsible person will do their best to build a nest egg for retirement years, shouldn't a responsible knitter build a fiber nest egg? My plan is simple: To accumulate enough yarn so that in my golden years I can happily knit whatever I choose without consideration to whether I can afford to spend money on yarn.

My idea of a beautiful retirement dream is to have a room in my house entirely filled with yarn. When I want to start a new project, I want to be able to view my stash . . . uhhhh, collection . . . I mean nest egg . . . and select the yarn I will use just as I would if I were in a yarn shop. I want to be able to lavish knit gifts on people I care about without having to dine on canned dog food to afford it. I want to smile as I reminisce about that beautiful spring day when my husband and I went for a drive on the coast with the convertible top down and the radio playing, and we stumbled on a yarn shop where I bought that gorgeous laceweight alpaca in colors that reminded of the ocean we had been enjoying all day.

Some may say I have too much yarn. I say that I'm planning ahead and doing the responsible thing. That's my story and I'm sticking with it!

Gentleman's Fancy Socks for a Monday Morning

For this Monday morning's customer project photo, I have a wonderful pair of socks to share made by Micki.



Micki made these lovely socks with FF Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Deepest Forest colorway. The pattern is the Gentleman's Fancy Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush.

Here's a closeup of the lovely detail where you can see Micki's perfect little stitches. Fabulous job as always, Micki!



If you'd like to see more of what Micki's up to with her knitting, pop on over to her wonderful blog, A Thing for String.

Keep the project photos coming. I never tire of seeing the fabulous things you're all doing with your Fearless Fibers Yarn.

Now go have a wonderful week and get some knitting done!

Spreading the Word

Instead of my usual knitting and yarn content, today I want to introduce you to an Etsy shop that's well worth a look. The shop is California Crafts. Now I know that all of you either knit or crochet yourselves and likely wouldn't normally have much interest in a shop that sells knit items, but this is a very special shop. Remember the wonderful machine-knit scarves by Sandy that I featured a few times on my blog? Come on kids . . . you cannot have forgotten the spectacular Elephant Sampler, for exampler!



Well, Sandy now has her own Etsy shop full of lovely scarves as well as a hat or two, ranging from simple and elegant right up through the famous Elephant Sampler! Even if you have enough knit items of your own to last a lifetime, this shop is definitely work a look just for the drool factor, or perhaps you might know someone who doesn't knit but would love this shop. If you know someone who might be interested and want to help spread the word, the direct URL is http://californiacrafts.etsy.com.

Sandy's California Crafts shop is going to be my new standard Go To when I receive those inevitable requests from people I barely know to knit them something. You know the ones? Your friend's cousin who you met once and encounter in line at the movies. She comments on your lovely scarf and when you tell her you knit it yourself she responds with: "Oh! Can you knit one for me? I'll pay you for it." Flattering, yes, but there's no way you have the time or inclination to knit for a stranger. My new response will be to refer them to Sandy's shop!

Congrats and good luck to Sandy on the opening of her new shop!

Now I'm off to start another day of dyeing. My supply of the new laceweight merino yarn I added to my shop just two days ago is already almost gone, so I have lots of replenishing work to do. You may also have noticed that my selection of Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn is rather limited these days. Unfortunately, that's because the undyed yarn is on backorder right now and I'm running frightfully low on supply. The new yarn should be in any day now, so it won't be too long before stock is replenished and the usual sprinkling of new colorways returns.

Everyone have a fantastic weekend!

New Yarn!!

At last the day is here to unveil the new yarn added to my Fearless Fibers line! You will find a new category in my shop for Laceweight Merino Yarn.

I am absolutely in love with this new yarn. It's a top quality 100% merino wool that's soft and lovely with a wonderful drape. It weighs in at 410 yards per 2-ounce skein, which is (in my opinion) I perfect laceweight. It's not so thin and unmanageable as a cobweb yarn, yet it is most assuredly a laceweight. It makes for a comfortable knitting or crochet experience and the finished products are light and airy without being so diaphanous as to be impractical.

Although you'll want to check your own patterns for yarn requirements, the rough guidelines for this yarn are: 1 skein for a scarf, 2 skeins for a very wide scarf or shoulder wrap/stole, 3 skeins for most triangular shawls, 4 or 5 skeins for a square shawl.

In addition to being a lovely laceweight merino, this yarn is priced for value at just $9 per 2-ounce skein!

To get started, there are five colorways now available. There will be more coming, but these five are a nice start to this new shop section. I love these new colorways so much that several of them are also now available on FF Classic Merino Wool Sock Yarn.

Without further ado, here's a sneak peak at a couple of the colorways. Visit the Laceweight Merino section of my shop to see the rest.

Here's Hendrix (midday update: the Hendrix laceweight has sold out, but don't worry . . . there will be more listed soon!):



And Golden Olive:



I'm so excited to offer this new yarn to all of you who love to knit lace! For those of you who have been contemplating your first lace project, it's also a perfect opportunity to give it a whirl without much of an investment of your yarn budget.

The best part about this yarn for me is that I love it so much that I can't wait to knit with it myself. That means that I have a new motivation to get my butt in gear and make some progress toward finishing the Faux Russian Stole that I'm knitting now. I won't get a new project on the needles with this lace yarn until that's done and now perhaps I've found the motivation I needed!

Everyone have a fabulous weekend!!

Polar Bear Socks

For today's Monday customer project, I have a pair of lovely knee socks to share with you. Don't let the post title fool you. These are not polar bear themed socks. Rather, they are socks by Tess of Polar Bear Patterns.

Before I show you these grand socks, let me introduce the maker. Tess is the knitting instructor extraordinaire at my favorite LYS. She also designs, writes and sells her patterns under the name Polar Bear Patterns. Unfortunately, Tess is having technical difficulties with her website at the moment, so if you pop over to buy the pattern, you will find that the Polar Bear site is temporarily down and in its place for the moment is her local website with class information and such. You can, however, click on the "About Us" link on her site for contact information. I'm sure if you would like to purchase the pattern, Tess would be happy to provide you with information or notify you when the site is up and running again.

Without further ado, here is the lovely sock made with FF Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Marrakesh colorway:



If this sock looks familiar to you, that's because it is a collaborative effort between Tess and me. Some months back, you may recall the similar knee socks I knit in the Deepest Forest colorway. I wore these socks to knit club one day and Tess fell in love with the elegant simplicity of the socks, which is very much her style. Since I'm no designer or pattern writer and also had taken very poor notes when knitting the socks, I passed along what I could recall about the pattern to Tess, who then reverse engineered them and turned them into this polished version, with one of her well-written patterns to boot. Tess is an engineer by training and this comes through in her patterns, which are known for being straightforward and easy to follow. As with most good engineers, Tess leans toward elegance and simplicity of design.

Wonderful job, Tess, on both the knitting and the design!

And to all of the rest of you: PLEASE E-MAIL YOUR PHOTOS OF FINISHED PROJECTS TO ME! The steady flow of photos I've been receiving for the past several months has suddenly dried up. I get so many notes saying how much you all enjoy seeing the finished project photos, but I need your photos to keep it going!

Before I sign off for today, I want to be sure to let all of you know that I have some exciting news to share later this week. Well, it's exciting to me anyway and I hope it will be for you too. Okay, okay! I'll tell you a bit more: It's a new type of yarn coming to my FF line! I am rather ridiculously excited about this new yarn and very much looking forward to the unveiling later this week. The first batch of colorways will be ready for listing in a few days, so tune in later this week for details.

Everyone have a wonderful week . . . and get some knitting done!

Oasis Socks

I know many knitters can juggle multiple projects at one time and in many cases even thrive on it. I'm not one of those knitters. If I have too many projects in progress at any given time, I'm destined never to finish any of them. Perhaps it's because I enjoy the beginning of a project most, when I'm just getting a taste of how the finished product will look. Or perhaps it's because I tend to stray from patterns or not use a pattern at all, which - when combined with my lack of good notes when knitting - makes it difficult to pick up a project after a hiatus. Whatever the reason, I know my weakness and so I try to stick with one larger product and one or two smaller projects on the needles at any given moment.

The larger project I've been working on for what now feels like an eternity is the Faux Russian Stole from Meg Swanson's A Gathering of Lace. I won't bore you with another photo, since it looks pretty much the same as last time, except a wee bit longer. Progress on this project has definitely reached my least favorite part. It's that point where the excitement of the early part is gone, good progress has been made, but the end seems a million miles away and not getting any closer despite continuing efforts.

The truth is my "continuing efforts" have not been all they should be, to say the least. I do love the pattern and it's not difficult at all, but it is painstaking. The center motif is 81 stitches by 96 rows, so there's no way to cast the book aside and roll forward falling into the blissful rhythm of knitting-on-a-roll. The chart must be referenced continually and stitches counted frequently.

I've now finished 3.5 of the 5.5 chart repeats that the pattern requires. (I may actually have to go to 6 repeats since I used a smaller needle than recommended, but I'm not going to think about that right now.) I've reached the stage where I become a math machine. With each mini milestone in the pattern, I beginning calculating. "I've finished 3.5 repeats out of 5.5. That means I'm 63.63% of the way through the pattern, excluding the edging." These are the kind of thoughts that go through my head.

Then there's the bargaining. "I can only watch Top Chef tonight if I work on the shawl while I watch." Or perhaps ... "I don't have to clean the bathroom until later if I complete 10 rows right now."

When I reach this stage in a project, the only solution is to give it a rest and allow myself to knit something small and quick to give me that sense of satisfaction and reminder that it is actually possible to complete something! I started a pair of dark brown socks with a textured rib a week or two ago, but I ended up ripping those back as the pattern just didn't show up enough with the dark yarn. I also realized when I started those socks that what I really needed was a small project that takes absolutely no thought whatsoever. Enter the Oasis Socks.

I think of them as my Oasis Socks because they call out to me and lure me in like a mirage in the vast desert of endless, eye-strained, chart-following, intensely-focused lace shawl knitting. They are the simplest socks imaginable with a 2X2 ribbed cuff and stockinet body. If there were a power outage, I could probably have knit them in the dark.

For the Oasis Socks, I used my FF Classic Merino Wool Sock in Sand and Sun. I haven't knit with the Classic Merino Sock Yarn in a while and had forgotten how much I love it.



I know most of you are diehard fans of my Superwash Merino Sock Yarn, but I must admit that I actually like the classic merino better. Yes, the socks must handwashed, but that's not such a big deal. The yarn itself is just a tad heavier than the Superwash. The superwash has 550 yards to 4 ounces while the Classic Merino has 410. For me, it's a perfect knit on US #2 needles. I think my knitting is quicker with this yarn than any other I've used. It's just a perfect weight for me and the knitting flows effortlessly. The knit fabric itself is also absolutely wonderful. Look at the perfect little stitches, so neat and straight and lovely.

The knit fabric is in a way even softer than the Superwash, although at the same time it's also a bit sturdier. It's soft in a different way than the Superwash. The Superwash has more of a squishy and slightly silky feel, while the Classic Merino has a matte finish and more of a traditional wool softness. It feels softer in the finished knit form than it does in the skein.

I began the Oasis Socks on Friday and here it is six days later and they're done. Admittedly, they are short ankle socks (I used a partial skein of the Sand and Sun yarn and wanted to be sure I had enough to finish without breaking into another skein), but still six days from start to finish, while continuing to make some progress on the lace shawl and spending a great deal of time working is pretty good.

Without further ado, here they are! The colors in this photo are totally off, as the sun is not cooperating with me today, but you can get the idea. The actual colors of the sock are far more accurately represented in the photos of the yarn and stitch closeup above.



And now I'm faced with the decision of whether to bite the bullet and dive into the lace shawl again with renewed vigor or whether to allow myself another small project on the sticks as I continue to make slow progress on the shawl (which I do still love, by the way!).

Knit On!

Socks for a Monday

For today's Monday customer project, Kirsten's wonderful socks made with FF Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn are in the spotlight. She used reinforcement thread on the heels and toes, which not only provides a sturdy sock that should hold up well over time but also adds a nice little design touch. I love this photo too! The feet look so comfy and happy in these cheerful socks. Great job, Kirsten!



I also want to remind all of you about the Knitspot contest drawing on February 3rd. If you haven't entered yet, be sure to get your entries in soon! There are several yarn and knitting prizes to be won, including some FF yarn in the mix. One of the prizes is a skein of FF Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn paired together with a copy of the just-released pattern by the brilliant Anne of Knitspot for these amazing "Smokin' Socks."



Everyone have a great week!

Yarn Photos + Nonsense

It’s been a while since I’ve posted pictures of new colorways for you, so I thought I’d do a bit of that today. I also have a bit of nonsense to share with you that might give you a giggle. First the yarn …

You may recall that I recently added a Worsted Weight Classic Merino Wool Yarn to my FF line. I began with three colorways but have since added a couple of new ones. Here’s one that I particularly like, called Clear Sailing. The first batch was snapped up right away, but there’s more listed in my Etsy shop now.



I’ve also recently added more Sportweight Cashmere to the shop. For a while, I was dyeing the sportweight cashmere mostly by special request, but I managed to find some time to build a bit of stock and so there are now a number of colorways in stock. Most of them are the same colorways you’ll find on my Laceweight Cashmere. Here’s Exotic Wood in the Sportweight:




One more yarn photo for you: Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in Kildare. This is one of my earliest colorways on Superwash Sock Yarn that I put on the backburner for a while since I sold so much of it that I thought everyone had probably had enough of it already. I whipped up a small batch of it recently, thinking that it might be fun for St. Patrick’s Day socks and it’s been snapped up pretty quickly, but I still have a skein or two available at the time of this posting.



Alright. Enough yarn for today. Now on to the nonsense! This has absolutely nothing to do with yarn or knitting, but since I think of all of you as my own little knit club, I’ll just chit chat for a moment. During my visit with my family last week, my mother told a story that made me giggle so I thought I’d share it with you to give you a smile on this Saturday evening.

The story my mother told was from when she was around six years old. In Sunday school, they were learning about sins and reviewing what they were. When they got to adultery, the Sunday school teacher looked uncomfortable and said something about how that was very bad and we don't talk about it in public. My mother thought about it and decided that it must mean farting in public (pardon my blunt language, but that’s the word my usually rather genteel 84-year-old mother used). Needless to say, her priest must have been very surprised indeed when little six-year-old Ruthie confessed the next week to committing adultery. I know that what one confesses to her priest should not be shared, but I would venture a guess that the priest had a good laugh with his fellow members of the cloth about that one!

Have a great weekend!

Back To Work!

I've been back from vacation a few days now and am working to get myself back up to speed. It's amazing with a small business how just a few days away can create such a backlog of things to do. My apologies to all of you for my rather scant blog postings of late, but as I'm sure you can imagine, dyeing comes first on my list of catch-up activities!

My vacation involved a trip to Pennsylvania to visit my family. My sister, her husband, their five children, and my mother live together in Pennsylvania. For me, the trip was rather exhausting despite the fact that all we really did was hang around their house, play cards and games, eat too much good food, and laugh riotously at just about anything and everything. Just being around the five children always enervates me. At this moment in time, they are all teenagers. Yep. That's right. Five of them, ranging in age from 13 to 19. Just being in proximity to all that youthful energy is enough to exhaust me!

I did manage to knit a bit during the trip, on the plane and during a few rare, quiet moments at the house. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera with me and so I can't even manage a bit of knitting content for you by providing a picture. I followed Katy's lead in knitting the Reversible Scarf from the Yarn Harlot (posted in my Monday customer projects a couple of weeks ago) and I made one for my mother. A straightforward project that required little attention was just the ticket for knitting on the plane. The scarf turned out very nicely, but you'll have to trust me on that since it is now in my mother's possession and I have no picture to share.

I also finally gave my sister the cashmere scarf/wrap that I made ages and ages ago. Some of you who have been visiting here for many months may remember it:





I'm pleased to say that it was a big hit! My sister ooooh'ed and aaaaaah'ed appropriately, but I knew for certain that she truly liked it when she brought it to work with her the next day to show to her work friends. My sister's a fair-skinned redhead and so the green color is lovely on her.

The highlight of my trip was when my oldest niece suddenly - with no prompting from me or her mom, I swear! - expressed an interest in learning to knit. The two younger nieces then chimed in to say that it sounded like fun and they'd like to learn too. I had actually thought of bringing extra needles and yarn with me on the trip in case I could rope them into learning to knit, but I decided against it since it seemed unlikely that they would suddenly take an interest in knitting and I thought I would regret carrying the extra baggage for no reason. Now I know better and will be sure to plan that for the next trip.

That's all the news that's fit to print today. Again, my apologies for my negligence in blogging these last couple of weeks. I promise to do better going forward and thank you all so much for not forgetting all about me while I was gone!

Monday Customer Projects

For today's customer project feature I have two fantastic new machine-knit scarves by the prolific Sandy.

Here is Sandy's "Elephant Sampler Scarf" knit primarily with Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in a wide variety of colorways, along with a bit of other yarns from other sellers. How's this for over-the-top fabulous?!



And here are a couple of closeups showing some of the pattern details. WOW!

Next is another Fair Isle patterned scarf by Sandy in FF Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in Nearly Black, Stormy Gray, Vapor, Golden Mustard and Brick House.



And a closeup of the gorgeous detail:



I am just amazed at how beautiful these scarves are. They just get better and better!

Keep the photos coming everyone. And don't forget the Orphan Skein Sale in my shop today. Many of the orphans have already found good homes this morning but there are still quite a few available.

Great day to all!

ORPHAN SKEIN SALE TODAY AND TOMORROW!

I'm back from vacation now and wanted to remind everyone that I'm having an Orphan Skein Sale in my Etsy shop today and tomorrow. All of the orphan skeins are now listed. The first few have sold already, so be sure to pop over and check them out before they're all gone!

I'll also be posting my usual Monday customer projects here on my blog later this morning, but wanted to take a quick minute to give you a quick reminder about the sale.

Happy Bargain Hunting!

Two Great Projects Plus More on the Sale!

For today's Monday customer projects, I have two terrific ones to share with you. First, here's Micki's Pomatomus socks in Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Brick House colorway.



I've seen so many pairs of Pomatomus socks and have to admit that I was never blown away by the pattern. The socks I've seen from this pattern in the past were all made with handpainted/variegated yarns. They were certainly very nice socks, but it wasn't until I saw Micki's rendition that I really picked up on the lovely, swirling details of the pattern. You can find more details and pictures on Micki's blog, but I can't resist sharing one more of her photos that really captures the lovely detail. Great job, Micki! You may have swayed me to finally knit my own Pomatomus.



Next up is Katy's scarf in FF Alpaca/Wool DK Yarn in the Bountiful colorway. This scarf is the Yarn Harlot's Reversible Scarf Pattern. When I knit with handpainted yarn, I often change the pattern by a few stitches as needed to avoid pooling and patterning, but in this case, the patterning really works well. Isn't it lovely?!



I like this scarf so much that I think perhaps I'll start one myself this week, while I'm on a long plane ride. That brings me to the next topic of today's post ...

I'm taking a brief vacation from Wednesday through Sunday this week. During that time, all items in my Etsy shop will disappear. The items will reappear on Monday morning. As a reward to all of you for your patience while I'm gone, there will also be quite a number of Orphan Skeins on sale on Monday morning. There will even be some orphan triplets and perhaps even quadruplets! The sale will be two days only. Items will be listed Monday morning January 22nd (sometime around 8:00 a.m. Pacific) and any unsold orphans will be removed Tuesday evening.

I'm off to gather up the orphans now in preparation for next week Monday's sale!

Great week to all!

Good Things Coming!

I have two good pieces of news to share with you today. First, there's the blogiversary contest over at Knitspot. Anne, the design and knitting genius behind Knitspot, is approaching the first anniversary of her wonderful blog. To make the anniversary even more momentous, her blogiversary is also her birthday!

To celebrate, Anne is having a drawing with several yarn and goodie prizes. You can enter through February 2nd. Among the prizes are a couple of Fearless Fibers goodies paired with Anne's wonderful patterns. Pop on over to Knitspot and check it out!

The second good thing to share is that I'm planning my second ever Orphan Skein Sale. It's my chance to clear out odds and ends and make room on my shelves, and it's your chance to pick up some great bargains. My tentative date for the orphan skein sale is Monday January 22nd. Once I have plans firmed up, I'll share more information.

That's all the news that's fit to print for today. More soon!

A Bit of Progress

As usual, I haven't spent nearly as much time as I would like knitting, but I do have some progress to share with you at last!

Here is a photo of the shawl I'm working on. This is the Faux Russian Stole from Meg Swansen's book, A Gathering of Lace. I'm using my Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn. You won't find this colorway in my shop, since it's a one-of-a-kind that I dyed for myself.



Although I don't feel as though I've spent much time on the shawl lately, I've somehow managed to come pretty close to the halfway point. The yarn is a heavier weight than called for in the pattern and I also used smaller needles, so I'll be curious to see how it looks when blocked. That is, if I ever get there!

In other news, I've got a new pair of socks on the sticks. I'm using a leftover skein of superwash merino sportweight yarn that I suppose is from another project that I've long since forgotten. I kept the cuff short, as I'm not at all certain that I have enough yarn to finish the pair.

You can't really see the pattern in this photo, but it's the best picture I could get on this gloomy day. The pattern is a little odd anyway. It's a speckled/broken rib of sorts, that up close looks like a rib peppered with mistakes, sprinkled with a knit where a purl should be, a purl where a knit should be. From a distance the pattern becomes visible though and looks a little like a mock cable. It's definitely not something I'm in love with by any stretch of the imagination, but I like the way it looks enough to proceed. These are just socks for me, so they don't need to be a work of art.



I also managed to finish the knitting of the "Thingamajig" that I mentioned in a prior post. It needs some serious blocking and a bit of finish work to be complete. I'm still not sure whether it's going to work out or not, but I'll know as soon as I get around to blocking it. I'll report back on that soon.

It feels good to have made at least some progress on my current projects. I'd love to start another sweater soon, but with so little time for knitting I want to be sure it's a project that I really, really want to do before I begin. We shall see.

Everyone have a wonderful week! And please keep those finished project photos coming to me!

A Bit of Lace

For this Monday's customer projects, I have a bit of lace to share with you. First, here is Kathleen's lovely shawl, made with Fearless Fibers Sportweight Cashmere in the Endless Night colorway. The pattern is Susan Lawrence's Forest Canopy. Kathleen says that the shawl "flew off the needles and the colorway was extraordinary." Well, I can certainly say that the results are extraordinary! How lovely!



Here's a closeup of the stitch detail.



Next up is Sandy's shawl, from the same pattern as the shawl above. How's that for coincidence? I misposted the source pattern earlier, as you'll see in Sandy's comments submitted. (THANK YOU for the correction!). And yes, this is the same Sandy who's been making all of those gorgeous projects on her knitting machine that you've seen in past Monday postings. As you can see from this hand knit shawl, Sandy's knitting talents extend beyond machine knitting. She knit this shawl with Fearless Fibers Classic Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Sunday Brunch colorway. Isn't it delicious?



And a closeup for the lovely detail:



These project photos are just what I needed to get me motivated to move on the lace shawl I've been working on. I must admit that I haven't worked on it nearly as much as I would like, but I have made some progress and will share a photo with you later this week.

Please keep your photos coming! Just e-mail them to me and I'll put them in the spotlight in a future Monday blog post. Thanks!

Vogue Shmogue

I can remember how excited I used to get when my copy of Vogue Knitting arrived in the mail each season. It would remain in its protective plastic wrapping until I had a clear space of time to sit and give it the attention it deserved. I'd make a fresh pot of coffee and sit curled up in a favorite chair, with no television or other distractions. The patterns at the back of the magazine were usually the first place I'd look, although occassionally I would start from the beginning and slowly make my way through every page of the magazine, savoring the anticipation of the patterns - the real "meat" of the magazine - to come.

For several years, I stopped my subscription to Vogue Knitting. I'm not sure why. Perhaps just laziness with the renewal process. Perhaps I let my subscription go at some point when I was moving from state to state every few years. My subscription began again two years ago when my sweet hubby got me a two-year subscription as one of a shower of a knitting-related gifts for Christmas. Oh joy! Oh happy day!

But alas, the excitement of Vogue quickly waned. Maybe I've just become hopelessly unhip? Or perhaps my standards for knitting patterns were not quite so high several years ago? Whatever the case, I know that now I will likely not renew my subscription.

If you have a copy of the latest VK Winter 2006/07 edition, follow along with me and tell me if I'm just nuts. If you don't have a copy, sit back, close your eyes and imagine this. (Wait. No. Don't close your eyes. You can't read this and close your eyes, now can you?)

The patterns begin with three that might be classified as "romantic." I classify them as pointless. There's a lacey sweater that's gossamer all over, but looks pulled and strained at the bodice, even on a model's figure. Topping off this light, lacey look is a bulky turtleneck. Huh? Then there's a shrug with a cable pattern that's mildly interesting, but the shrug itself looks bulky and uncomfortable.

Skipping a few pages to page 72, we come to a sweater with big sloppy cable and bobbles everywhere. The neckline is shapeless and unfinished looking with bobbles spotted along the edges. The bobble madness continues with a chain of them down each sleeve. The cables are interspersed with bobbles as well. I think perhaps it would look more appropriate if the model herself had a giant bobblehead!

The skirt on page 74 is so bizarre and so incredibly ridiculous that I can't even find the words. Forget the pattern. Just make a bunch of irregularly shaped sample squares with various stitches and then do your best to patch them together into something that you can loosely call a skirt. That will do just as well as this pattern, in my opinion.

Then there's page 75 with a short cardigan in Fair Isle. The Fair Isle pattern is pretty, although I personally don't care much for the colors chosen. But the sweater itself is a bit of a mess. It looks pulled and ill-fitting. It's held closed at one point only, low in the sweater, and if you look for more than a second or two you will quickly see that the closure is placed about an inch off from one side to the other. You know the look. The way a sweater skews if you miss a button. How could they not correct this before going to press?

Then there's a hat on page 76 that looks as if one would have to hold one's head perfectly still to avoid having the thing just pop right off. Is it that ill-fitting or is this some new style that I'm unaware of? The pinhead nature of the hat is only accentuated by the big pompom on top. The hat on the following page is no better. Yes, we all like a quick-knit from time to time. But a hat knit with #15 needles at a gauge of 2 stitches per inch? Not only that, but the hideous thing folds into a cuff around the bottom, meaning it's double-thick. It's so chunky and bulky that I'll bet if I wore one, it would double the circumference of my head!

Oh my. I don't think I can go on. It's just too painful. Was VK always this way and I never noticed? I can't remember ever actually knitting any of the patterns from VK, but I do recall finding several in each issue that I planned to knit at some point. Now I'm lucky if I can find one that I might be willing to knit if someone held a gun to my head.

I suppose I should have seen it coming. Does anyone recall an issue a couple of years ago with a long coat of some sort made with chunky novelty yarns? It was so ugly I can't imagine many would have read the pattern but if you did you would have found that the instructions for attaching the furry trim along the edges directed that one glue it on. Yes, you read right. GLUE the edging on.

Oh my. Sad times indeed. I fear my VK days are truly over now. I can bear no more.