She Lives!

My apologies for the gap in time since my last post on Monday. I've been busy working while also trying to find time to ready my home for guests this weekend. There's no way to hide the evidence of a thriving yarn venture under my roof, but I feel the need to at least get everything organized and ensure there are at least some surfaces in my home that are not covered by bags of yarn, stacks of labels, or other tell-tale signs of the omnipresence of Fearless Fibers!

Despite scurrying around like a lunatic this week, I have found a bit of time for knitting as well as a couple of new colorways. I've continued working on the edging of the lace shawl for my niece's prom. I thought I'd have that done in a jiffy, but it turns out that 80+ repeats of even a brief 16-row pattern takes time and perseverance. The halfway point is finally behind me, so I'll have it finished before too long.

In the meantime, I took the plunge and began the ripple-stitch throw blanket that I'm planning on slowly knitting on and off throughout the spring and summer. Here are the colors I'm using:



The yarn is my FF Sportweight Superwash Merino dyed in semi-solid shades. I'm knitting on a US #5 needle, which is a bit larger than I usually use with this yarn. I generally recommend a #3 or 4, since a tighter, solid knit is usually better for superwash merino as it has a tendency to stretch over time due to its slippery nature. For a blanket though, a bit of stretching won't hurt and it also won't have quite as much of that stretching tendency in a blanket, where the weight of the fabric won't continually pull the fabric the way it does in a worn garment such as a sweater.

Here's the work in progress.



It doesn't look terribly appealing in the photo, but I think the final product will be very nice indeed. The work in progress isn't particularly attractive because the heavier, springy yarn bunches and puckers with the lace ripple stitch, so it's going to take a serious blocking job to flatten it out. When I pull it and stretch it flat though, it looks as though it's going to look fine in the end.

On the yarn front, I also have two new colorways in my FF Laceweight Merino to show you. The first is called Feeling Blue. It's a straightforward blend of subtly varied blues that will show off lace stitchwork nicely. Although it's a simple colorway, I like it quite well. The blue is soft and springy, yet it has a good deal more oomph than a "baby" shade of pastel blue.



The second new laceweight is a doozy! It's called Notorious and it's a fabulous blend of burnished, reddish browns and bronze.

I can't resist showing you the closeup as well, so you can see the infinitely complex, yet subtle and harmonious variation of tones.

Enough yarn talk for the moment. There are toilets that need to be scrubbed! Everyone have a wonderful weekend!

Every Toe Has a Home

For today's Monday customer project, I have a pair of toe socks made by Kristen to show you. These are made with FF Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Kildare colorway.



Kristen designed the pattern for these socks herself, knitting them toe up with a provisional cast-on, with the toes knit the way fingers for a glove would be. She began the toes on different rows to get the right shaping for a better fit. When the toes were done, she picked up the cast on stitches and finished up the socks using the Magic Loop method. Clever girl! Aren't they a hoot?!

Kristen also has her own Etsy shop where she sells the stitch markers she makes. Her shop focuses on small and lightweight markers that can be used for sock knitting and other small-needle projects. They also come in sets of eight markers, which is quite a generous supply at a great price. Check it out!

That's all for today. Another week begins. Everyone enjoy!

Needle Talk

I'm not picky about my needles. I prefer wood, but a simple bamboo of almost any kind will do me just fine. I barely notice the difference in feel from one wooden needle to another and am pretty happy with anything I use. If I experimented with a wider variety of needles, I think I might find myself developing stronger preferences for some, but I really don't need another knitting-related obsession right now. As it is, I feel as though I buy new needles for every project, despite the fact that I have around 9 million in my possession already.

Today, I picked up a new 32-inch circular #5. I'm not entirely certain, but I think this is the size I'll need for the ripple afghan I'm planning on starting soon. The needle I selected is an addi Natura. I have a few of the addi Turbo's but I haven't seen the Natura's before. It's a lightweight bamboo, which is my preference, and it has a very pliable cord which appeals to me. I'm sure it will be fine, but perhaps I'll try to pay more attention to the needle with this project to see if I can pick up on anything noteworthy. I'm amazed at some of the needle reviews I've seen online. Unless a needle falls apart in my hands or splits and snags the yarn, I really don't have much problem with any of them.

I have, however, had a problem with this:



This is a set my husband bought for me a couple of years ago. It was such a thoughtful gift that I will always appreciate purely for just that: the thoughtfulness on my husband's part. The gift itself is a big lemon. The set has 4 circulars of different lengths along with 6 sets of sizes 5 through 10 points to interchange.

Like all interchangeable needle sets, it sounds great, right? The problem with this set, you ask? Well, I'll show you:



This happened with the first circular within days of using it for the first time. I've tried every type of glue imaginable but after any length of time knitting with the needles, the glue unseals and the damn thing comes apart again. Two of the other three circulars have also now come apart in this same way, rendering the set entirely worthless (unless of course you are seeking to use it to torture a knitter, in which case you've got yourself a winner with this set!).

I wish I could warn you about the brand, but I've long since tossed the original box it came in away and it has no labeling on it.

On the topic of needles, I also have this rather bizarre photo to show you:



This is one of my frequently used sets of sock needles. In this case, they're #2's. You'll clearly see in the photo that one of the needles is significantly bent into an arch shape. This is so strange to me. All of my sock needle sets eventually end up looking like this. The bizarre thing is that it is NOT all of the needles in one set. It is always just one. This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. As we all know, the needles are cycled through the sock, each coming into play as a lefthand stitch holding needle, as well as as a righthand live needle. Why would just one of every set bend in this way? Yes, I can see one bending if I'm grasping it too firmly or holding my hand in some odd way, but why only one needle per set? It is one of the great mysteries of life that shall never be answered.

Enough needle banter for today. Time for me to get some knitting done!

Sore Brain Syndrome

I’m one of those people who is always early for any appointment, whether it’s an important meeting, a dental appointment, or a just a casual lunch with a friend. If I’m just on time, I find myself apologizing for being late. My parents were the same way when I was growing up, so I suppose it’s in my genes . . . or in my upbringing at least.

Knitting against a deadline is no different for me. Although I’m in good shape on meeting my deadline to complete the Print O’ The Waves Shawl in time for my niece’s prom in May, I still feel the need to push forward quickly.

Several days ago, I completed the second side of the center motif and then grafted the two sides together. I then firmly resolved to continue to motor forward and pick up and knit the dreaded 640 stitches around the perimeter to begin the inner edging. I really dreaded this task! Picking up stitches in any great quantity is definitely not high on my list of Fun Things To Do on A Friday Night, but the thought of picking up 640 stitches was enough to set my mind to busily concocting excuses. I really should vacuum inside my car first. You know. That sort of thing. But I overcame my own excuses and stuck with the plan and dove right into the dreaded task without allowing days of procrastination to pass, serving only to increase the magnitude of the task in my mind.

It turned out not to be so bad. I picked up the 640 stitches and finished up the four rows of inner edging in short order and set my project aside with the plan of beginning the outer edge border the following evening.

That’s when the trouble began. I think perhaps I was too tired and fuzzy-headed to knit more than simple stockinet that night.

The outer edge is a 17 stitch X 16 row repeat that undulates gently in and out, as many shawl patterns do. I knit the first 8 rows without a hitch, but when I got to the 9th row I had an extra stitch. I backed up, thinking I’d inadvertently added a yarnover or missed a decrease. I knit it again, but still came up with an extra stitch. Back, back, back I go. I re-knit rows 6 through 8 just to be sure I hadn’t made an error further back than just the previous row. Nope. Still an extra stitch.

This is where the sore brain syndrome came into play. Rather than stepping back and looking closely at the pattern, I just knit it again, ripped back, and again and again, four or five times total. Not much of a testament to my brain power!

By this time, I was muttering and grumbling quite a bit. I tore back the 8 rows of the outer edging and decided to try it without joining it to the main body of the work. I thought that perhaps it was the awkwardness of completing the first few rows of edging when the edging that was joined to the main body was so narrow and flimsy compared to the fairly massive overall piece. I cast on 17 stitches and knit away. Nope. One extra stitch.

At that point, I began to get irritated with my husband. How could he just sit there quietly watching television while I was on the verge of tearing my hair out? (I don’t know what I expected him to do. Perhaps he should have quickly learned to read a knitting chart and deciphered the problem for me?)

My brain began to hurt.

I set the knitting aside and decided that I was just too tired to deal with it. When I was feeling fresh and sharp the next day, I finally came to my senses and stopped trying the same thing over and over. (Isn’t that a sign of madness? When you do the same thing over again and again and expect a different result?) In the light of the day, when I looked at the chart, I realized that perhaps it was an error in the pattern and not my faulty brain that was to blame. Unless I’ve completely lost my mind, the chart in the pattern is wrong.

Normally, I would just pop an e-mail over to the address provided at the bottom of the pattern, but I still have this nagging doubt that perhaps it is in fact a problem with me and not the pattern. Perhaps I just have a blindspot about this?

I would greatly appreciate it if someone can verify for me that I’m not missing something. The pattern is a free pattern on Eunny Jang’s site, linked in a PDF document over to the right side. The chart in question is Chart B. If you look at the chart, you’ll see that it increases one stitch every other row for the first half of the chart and it should then decrease one stitch every other row for the second half of the chart. The problem is that the decrease rows on the second part of the chart seem to be missing one decrease. When I look at the number of YO’s versus the number of decreases, I get a balanced number. No net decrease. Am I insane or is this the case?

Please, oh please, some lace-knitting, chart-loving, kind-hearted, too-much-time-your-hands soul out there take a peek for me and let me know if there is, in fact, a problem here! Either way, it’s really not such a big deal, but I would like to know whether I am just a flat-out knitiot. I will, of course, let Eunny know about it if it's an error since I'm sure she would want to correct it, but I really don't want to bother her if I'm just misinterpreting something in my addled brain.

I finally just decided to add an extra K2TOG to each row that should have a net decrease and now I’m moving along swimmingly. But I still would like to know whether I’m reading something wrong. It seems clearly off to me, but at the same time I find it difficult to imagine that nobody has pointed out this error yet. The pattern has a 2005 copyright and there’s even a gallery of photos of shawls folks have knit from the pattern. Did everyone revise Chart B as I have or am I just making some type of rookie error in reading the pattern?

After all this rambling, I wish I could reward you with lots of photos, but at this point, with the outer edge in progress and most of the main body still crowded onto a long circular needle, it’s rather difficult to get a shot that looks like anything more than this:



I can spread it out a bit and focus on one side, so you can see a bit more of how the edging is progressing. It will take some “aggressive” (that’s the word used in the pattern) blocking to transform into its final form but you can get a little of the idea of how the edge will look from this shot.



Overall, despite my sore brain, I’m now progressing well and have little fear remaining about making my deadline of completing this in plenty of time for my niece’s prom. Hallelujah!

Thoroughbred Socks

For today's customer project feature I have this perfect pair of socks by Anne of KnitSpot.

Anne used FF Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Thoroughbred colorway, combined with her Sock Pattern to End All Sock Patterns (available through the KnitSpot product catalogue). The pattern is designed to create a custom fit and includes a worksheet for determining size based on the gauge of the yarn you are using. It's also customizable for different stitch patterns for the cuff. How handy is that? For Anne's Thoroughbred socks, she used a simple 3X3 rib and a slip-stitch heel.

A big Thank You to Anne for sharing her photo . . . and my usual Monday morning plea to everyone to keep those photos coming! Just e-mail them to me and I'll give your project its moment in the spotlight.

Watch Out - I'm Going to Gush!

I posted a message in Etsy's forums this morning and afterward thought that it's really something I want to share with all of you most. I'm cutting and pasting it directly here. Watch out though . . . there is uncharacteristic, effusive gushing coming your way!

Here goes:

"Today is my Etsy one-year anniversary! As I sat in front of my computer this morning, sipping my coffee and answering e-mail, I got to thinking about this first year on Etsy and all of a sudden, I had an “I get it!” moment that I thought I’d share with all of you.

I thought I got the idea of Etsy all along. Buy handmade. Quality items, made with care. Unique items you can’t find anywhere else. A sense of community. All that good stuff.

The part that I think I never fully appreciated was the idea of a connection between buyer and seller. I certainly understood this in its most basic form, but it wasn’t until this morning – looking back over the course of the year – that it really hit home.

When I started Fearless Fibers I was torn between selling wholesale to B&M’s and selling directly to the consumer myself. I didn’t want to do both for a variety of reasons I won’t go into here and I finally settled on selling directly to the consumer as the better way for me to go. I thought it would be more satisfying but I had no idea at that time just how satisfying.

How lucky am I to create something that I love and to be able to sell it to those who not only love it also, but with whom I share a common passion in the love of knitting and all things fiber? Every day, I get notes from customers telling me about the things they’ve made with my yarns. They send me pictures of their finished projects. I hear about how much their sister or mother or best friend loves the gift they knit for her. We share an occasional laugh or knitting tip or story. They actually thank me for doing what I do. Imagine that? They thank ME when it is they who deserve my deepest gratitude (which they also have!).

I knew that making a living doing what I love would be satisfying. I also knew it would be much harder work than most people would imagine. But I didn’t expect this added bonus of interacting every day with some of the finest, kindest, overall loveliest people imaginable. It’s added something amazing and unexpected to my life and I am eternally grateful.

After about 15 months in business (one year of that including Etsy as a venue), I have a long list of B&M shops that want to carry my yarns. I can’t imagine that I’ll go down that road any time soon though. I could grow my business exponentially in that direction, but at this point, I would not give up the direct relationship with my customers for anything!

Yes, I think I get it!

Enough gushing from me. Just had to share these thoughts on my big anniversary day :) Back to work now."

THANK YOU ALL!!

Hugs, Deb

Lots of Good Things!

I have quite a number of good things to choose from right now to fill my knitting time. Nothing motivates me so much as having knitting projects calling out me. My knitting time is generally in the evening, after 8 p.m. or so when my husband and I usually settle in for a bit of quiet time in front of the TV. When I know there’s a project awaiting me, I seem to be more focused on getting lots of work done during the day, so I can knit without any nagging feelings of guilt about other things that I should be doing.

Last night, I spent my knit time finishing up the Delicato Mitts by Anne of Knitspot that I started a few weeks back using the glorious handspun yarn (also by Anne). I won this yarn in a KAL contest, but ran a bit short before I finished the mitts. Anne was her usual gracious self and sent me enough yarn to finish up the project.



I just love how these turned out! You can really see the beautiful details of the pattern, yet the handspun yarn gives them a slightly rough-hewn (for want of a better description) look that really brings them to life. They are a bit large on my hands, but they're destined to be a gift for a friend who is not afflicted with stunted-growth-hand-syndrome as I apparently am, so I think they’ll fit her well.

As if it wasn’t enough to receive the additional yarn I needed to finish this project, Anne also sent me a glorious surprise treat in the package.



That’s right! Another handspun gem from Anne. I must have done something grand in a prior life to deserve such riches! Anne’s spinning is just amazing!



This yarn is sitting on my desk right now, so that I can periodically pick it up and give it a squeeze. It springs back from my grasp with an energetic bounce that delights me.

Once I got over my burst of excitement at the unexpected treasure, I suddenly realized that the color looked familiar. I checked in with Anne and found out that indeed this yarn was spun from some superwash merino roving I had sent her some time ago. How cool is that?! I’m inclined to knit one of Anne’s sock patterns with this yarn, as that just seems to be such an appropriate way to create the ultimate joint project. I dyed the roving, Anne spun the yarn, Anne wrote the pattern, and I shall knit it. It almost makes me want to knit the socks and then send one to her and keep one myself. Of course, that makes no sense at all, but you get the idea. For the time being, however, I will just leave this skein perched happily on my desk so I can continue to enjoy it in its current form a while longer.

In the meantime, I’ve continued working on Eunny Jang’s Print ‘O The Waves Stole in my FF Laceweight Merino. I need to move quickly on this to meet the deadline for my niece’s prom in May and am making great progress so far. A few more pattern repeats and I’ll have the second half of the center back completed. Then it will be time to graft the two halves together and then pick up stitches around the perimeter to begin the inner edging. I must admit, this is the one part of the project that I’m not looking forward to. 640 stitches around. EEK! But it must be done. When I get to that point, I’ll post another photo.

Another project that’s ready to start any day now will be a spring sweater. You may recall the Anny Blatt viscose/cotton yarn that I boomphed a bargain on recently?



I noodled a bit on what to do with this yarn and finally came up with a pattern from a Spring 2004 Filati publication that I thought would work nicely. Sweater is probably the wrong word for it. It’s a slightly oversized top that’s knit loosely with openwork. Although in the picture it’s worn alone, I would be more inclined to wear it over a tank top or camisole. The pattern calls for a heavier weight yarn, so I experimented with knitting two strands of this yarn together. The pattern stitch works up nicely this way, as it masks the irregularity of the yarn itself (which is not irregular exactly, but just a bit uneven and textured). Well, it doesn’t exactly mask it really, but it just works. The open stitchwork is not meant to be smooth and perfect the way stockinet or something of that sort would be.

Anyhow, I did a gauge swatch using two strands of the yarn and it worked perfectly, so I set about beginning the project. The top is knit in one piece, from side to side, beginning with the bottom edge of one sleeve. I had just about exactly twice the yardage called for in the pattern, which seemed perfect given that I was knitting with two strands. Alas, it was not to be. What’s with patterns and required yardage? Sometimes the yarn requirements seem so far off that it makes me wonder if the designer just grabbed a number out of the air and plugged it in. Or are they doing it to torture us? Or is it a conspiracy of some sort, and if so, what is the purpose? All of that aside, the point is that it quickly became apparent that I was not going to have anywhere near the amount of yarn I needed.

I solved my yarn shortage dilemma by deciding to use just one strand of the Anny Blatt yarn, but to add another yarn to the mix. For that purpose, I picked up a couple of skeins of this bamboo yarn at my favorite LYS last week.



Now I’m all set to start this project any day now. I’d like to get to the point on my niece’s shawl where I’ve finished picking up those 640 stitches around the edge and then I’ll let myself start this new project. If I begin a new project before reaching that dreaded phase of the shawl, I fear I will never bring myself to do it!

As if this weren’t enough to keep me happily occupied for some time to come, I have another project that’s in the planning phase. My husband has been asking for a small throw blanket/afghan for a couple of years now and I think it’s finally the right time for me to start that. If I begin now, I can work on it slowly throughout the spring and summer, knitting a few rows here and there to keep me from going mad with boredom, and have it finished in time for the fall/winter weather.

I have some sportweight superwash merino that I dyed some time back in colors that should work nicely in my living room. I’ve just been undecided on what type of pattern I want to use. In the back of my mind, I’ve had an itch to do something in a ripple stitch. When I think of ripple stitch afghans, the first thing that springs to my mind are those crocheted afghans everyone’s grandmother or aunt seemed to make in the 60’s and 70’s. You know the ones? Undulating ripples of bright, cool shades of yellow, blue and red? Generally hideous crochet stitches that look nothing like the lovely crochet I see around today. Well, anyhow, that’s definitely not what I have in mind. I’m thinking of a more elegant ripple stitch and the colors I have are warm and lovely shades of varied browns - rich, rusty, golden and mossy.

From time to time, I’ve thought about this project and my ripple stitch options. There are the usual Go To’s such as Fishtail Lace or Feather and Fan, but I really wanted more choices. Then, on an excursion last week to a yarn shop about 45 miles from my house, I found this little gem.



The book has both knit and crochet ripple stitch patterns, so my choices are not quite as vast as the title suggests (unless I suddenly get the urge to learn to crochet), but there’s still plenty to choose from here. I’ll keep you posted on this project-to-come.

That’s all for today. Knit on! (I had the urge to type “Knit On With Your Bad Self” there, but perhaps that’s too geeky even for me. Oh, wait a minute. I guess I did type it, albeit parenthetically. Forgive me.)

Behold the Bountiful Hypoteneuse!

For today's customer project, I have this lovely shawl knit by Lynne. The pattern is Hypoteneuse by KnitSpot. Lynne used my FF Alpaca/Wool DK Yarn in the Bountiful colorway.



Isn't is just smashing?! Wonderful job, Lynne!

Lynne did an extra repeat of the stitch pattern in each row for added width, as well two extra repeats for length, creating a generous size shawl to wrap oneself for warmth. She reports that the pattern was just hard enough to hold her interest while still being straightforward enough to knit with the company of the TV without having to pay constant attention to intricate pattern details. Sounds like a perfect project and Lynne's results certainly are lovely!

Before I sign off for today, two minor bits of business. First of all, my usual reminder (or shall we call it a plea?) to send me your project photos. I'm usually a week or two ahead on photos, but right now, I've got a clear slot for next Monday. It's been many months now with new customer project photos to share every Monday, so please help me to keep the ball rolling by sending me your photos!

The other minor bit of business I want to mention is that some of you may have noticed that the prices on some of my FF yarn crept up a little bit this weekend. This was a necessary adjustment as the prices on many of the base yarns I use have risen over the past few months. The increases on my yarns are not huge (in most cases around 10%), but I did want to mention it here and assure all of you that I remain committed to providing quality yarns priced for value. You won't be seeing any $28 per skein sock yarn in my shop anytime soon!

That's all for today. Tune in later this week for more knitting news and chit chat. Great week to all!

Spring is in the Air and a Middle-Aged Woman's Thoughts Turn to Prom

At long last, it seems that spring is beginning to peek through the gray, rainy days here in Oregon. The sun shines from time to time and there's a scent of all things green beginning to pervade the air here. Only one thought can enter the mind of a middle-aged woman when spring pokes through. Prom time!

Okay. Not really. I had no interest or thoughts of prom even when I was a teenager. I was one of the few girls in my high school who chose not to go to my prom. (Perhaps that's because my boyfriend at the time was a stockbroker in his mid-twenties who probably would not have enjoyed a high school prom much, but that's another story altogether and so far in the past that it seems like another lifetime.)

My mind is on prom time because my oldest niece has her prom coming up in May. Needless to say, during my visit to see my sister and her family in January I found that prom was a topic of constant conversation amongst my three nieces. At the time I didn't think of it, but after finishing knitting the Faux Russian Stole a week or so ago, it suddenly occurred to me that perhaps my niece would like a shawl to wear to her prom. I promptly e-mailed to find out and indeed she jumped on the offer.

And so, after having only just completed the seemingly never-ending Faux Russian Stole, I am already knee-deep in another lace shawl project. And this one has a DEADLINE! The prom is May 18th, which means I really need it done by the end of April so I can ship it off to her and still leave her enough time to find an alternative if she doesn't like the way the shawl works with her dress.

I chose the Print O' The Wave Stole from Eunny Jang's site. It's a free pattern (you'll find the link on the right side of her site) and just lovely. If you haven't discovered Eunny Jang's site yet, you are in for an amazing treat. When I first visited her site 9 months ago or so, I was nothing short of stunned by her work. Looking at the photos of her knitting - particularly her own designs - was to me like gazing at a work of art in a museum. She is extraordinarly talented and her taste is impeccable. Her designs are intricate and detailed, yet have a classic simplicity that appeals enormously to me. Although her designs have a classic and timeless feel, there is also a modern and innovative feeling to them. I've been visiting her site regularly since discovering it, watching her grow in popularity, reading about published patterns and book deals coming her way, and then earlier this month learning that she has now been named the new editor of Interweave Knits! I'm so excited to see how her fingerprint will translate to IK. If you haven't visited Eunny's site before, set aside a nice chunk of time to explore, go get yourself a cup of coffee, sit down and prepare for a wonderful experience. Go to the links at the left and scroll through her posts by date and you'll see an endless array of the most amazing work.

Alright. Enough hero worship from me. On to more about the Print O' The Waves Stole for my niece.

The stole is knit beginning with the center motif. The pattern is very simple to follow, as it's only a 12 row repeat and each row of 80 stitches includes four repeats of the same stitch pattern. This is infinitely easier to follow than the 81 stitch X 96 row pattern repeat of the shawl I just finished. The chart for that shawl looked like schematics for the space shuttle!

I'm knitting the Print O' The Waves Stole in my FF Laceweight Merino in the Hush colorway. My niece's dress is an ice blue color and so the gentle, slightly silvery gray of the Hush yarn should work nicely.



The center motif pattern is knit first, with two pieces knit separately and then grafted together at the center back of the shawl. It's done this way so that the two sides of the shawl will flow in the same direction when worn, creating mirror images of one another. I cast on for the shawl one week ago today and I've already finished one side of the center motif and just cast on for the second side. Here's side one:



It may look small now, but I think the size will work out fine. It's curled on the edges in the photo, so it looks a bit smaller than it is. Once the two center motif pieces are grafted together, I'll need to pick up stitches all the way around the edges and knit a few rows of an eyelet pattern for the inner border. Then, the outer edging will be added, knit in horizontal rows with each each row joined to a live stitch from the inner border. This will add a few inches to each side of the shawl and then, of course, blocking will further increase the size.

Here's a closeup of the pattern detail:

I'm really excited about this project. I haven't knit anything but a little test piece with my Laceweight Merino yet and I find that I absolutely love it! It's just the weight that I like in a laceweight: definitely a "laceweight" but also not a cobweb. It has just enough weight that knitting with it is a breeze. I have none of that feeling that I'm creating "The Emperor's New Clothes" as can sometimes be the case with a cobweb yarn. The finished shawl will be light and airy, but not impractically diaphanous.

That's all I have to share with you today. I actually finished another pair of fingerless mitts that turned out very nicely, but I packaged them up and shipped them off to their intended recipient without thinking of taking a photo for you. Ah well. Not to worry. I think fingerless mitts will take the place of socks for me for a while, with a pair almost always in progress. I have a list of folks I'd like to gift a pair, so there will be more coming soon.

Everyone have a fabulous day and get some knitting done!

The Envelope Please . . .

Today is drawing day for the blog contest drawing I announced a week or two ago. Thank you to everyone for your entries. I received an even 100 entries for the contest!

The winners were drawn this morning by my husband and I sent each winner an e-mail to let them know and to get shipping details. First prize (sock yarn, tote, pattern) goes to Kris. Second prize (felted bag kit) goes to Tonia. Third prize (Manos del Uraguay yarn) goes to Jocelyn.

Thank you again for your entries. It was great fun watching them roll in and reading some of your funny notes about your head-standing antics!

Congratulations to the lucky winners!

Socks and A Creepy Creature

For today's Monday customer projects, I have some socks to share with you, along with a rather creepy (although very cute) little creature.

First up are these stripey socks by Valerie. She knit these with FF Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Kildare and Citrus colorways. Absolutely darling socks, Valerie!



Here's a photo of the socks off the foot, where you can see the detail around the cuff a bit better.



Valerie also used some of her FF yarn to create a creepy little twist on a Knitted Babe from Claire Garland's book.



To learn more about Valerie's adventures in knitting, pop on over to her blog.

Next up we have these Monkey Socks by Michelle. These are knit in FF Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Sublime colorway. Great job, Michelle ... and I love the socks posed in front of the sock monkey!



For all the scoop on her knitting fun, you can visit Michelle's blog.

That's all the news for today, other than one last reminder to get your contest entries in to me! Tomorrow is the deadline for entries and the winners will be announced on Wednesday.

Everyone have a great day!

BOOMPH!

When I was a teenager, we used to use the word "boomph" in much the same way you might hear the word "score" used. We used it as a verb (ie., "I boomphed this great sweater at 70% off!") or a noun (ie., "I got a real boomph with this sweater at 70% off!"), but most often as an interjection of sorts (ie., "I got this sweater at 70% off. BOOMPH!")

In the past week or so, I boomphed twice. Yes, that's right, I got two boomphs. Boomph, boomph!

The first boomph came in the unlikely setting of the supermarket. I was standing in the checkout line with my cart, minding my own business, when a checker came along and hijacked my cart and pulled it into the self-checkout line. I really hate it when they do that! The self checkout line in my supermarket is almost never used. In fact, it is so universally avoided that the new store practice is to have a wandering employee hijack people from the regular lines and bring them to the self checkout, where the employee then does the checking. Not much of a "self" checkout line at all. This irritates me to no end as it would be so much simpler to just give up on the idea of the self checkout and use that wandering employee to open another register. But I digress . . .

I was situated in the self checkout line, quietly watching my alter-ego-checker-self scanning my groceries in the inexplicably small and awkward self-checkout area, when out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a table of discount books. Normally, I wouldn't even glance at them, since most of the books I've seen in the supermarket are either romance novels or books of 25 Ideas for Meals to Prepare in Under 90 Seconds, neither of which is of interest to me. There was something on this bargain table, however, that drew my eye instantly. Poking up a few inches above the tops of the other books, I saw this:



Could it be? Was it possible? Right here in Albertson's? I plucked the book out and found that indeed it was!



I've long been intrigued by Kaffe Fassett's work, but not enough to buy one of his books. The patterns and colors are fascinating, but I've never seen one pattern that jumped out at me as something I would really want to knit. I would have to really, really, really love a pattern to go to all the trouble of an intricate exercise in intarsia. The last time I knit intarsia was around two years ago when I made this jumper for a friend's baby:



There are sixteen intarsia chickens around the bottom of that little dress ("little" dress with something like 350 stitches around the bottom if I recall correctly!). It's very cute, but it was a pain in the rear to knit. And please don't ask me where I got the pattern. I know it was online and free, but it was so long ago that I have no recollection now and I just searched but couldn't locate it again. But again, I digress from the boomph I was telling you about . . .

The printed retail price on the back of this Kaffe Fassett book is $24.95. I picked it up at Albertson's for $3.99! Yep. That's right. BOOMPH!

The other boomph I recently experienced was this set of 10 skeins of Anny Blatt yarn. I picked this up from someone who was destashing and I got all 10 skeins for $30! The retail sticker on the yarn is $8.95 a skein. BOOMPH! It's 60% viscose and 40% cotton. I can't say I'm crazy about it though. The ply is sort of uneven. Not intentionally and obviously so, as with a thick-and-thin yarn, but just rather sloppy. I do like the coral color though and I think it might make a nice little spring/summer sweater. I just need to come up with the right stitch to use that won't highlight the unevenness of the yarn.

And so, those are my two boomphs. Very good indeed!

In the meantime, now that the Faux Russian Shawl is complete, I've cast on for a new project that I'll tell you about next week when I have a bit of progress to share.

Wishing you all a grand boomph or two this weekend!

Call it a DONE!

My Faux Russian Stole from Meg Swansen's A Gathering of Lace is complete! Now if only I knew what to do with it! Perhaps I should wear it to the supermarket?



Or maybe the bowling alley? Will this be the view of me from the rear as I head toward the approach?



Maybe I'll spread my wings a bit so the detail is visible as I stand in line at the Post Office.



I suppose I could wrap myself in it for a bit of warmth as I watch my husband's softball games this spring.



I really enjoyed knitting this shawl and I do like it very much, but I fear I don't have much of a shawl lifestyle. It may end up as a gift. Who knows? Whatever its fate turns out to be, for now I shall simply revel in the satisfaction of having completed it.

At Long Last!

I mentioned a few posts ago that I've finally finished knitting the Faux Russian Stole from Meg Swansen's A Gathering of Lace. Well, at last I found a moment to block it. Once dry, it will at long last be done!

Pardon the odd cropping of the photo, but I couldn't bring myself to show you a picture with my piles of boxes stacked as a backdrop.



Here's a closeup that shows a bit of detail. Of course, I obviously didn't think this through enough to use a solid white towel so that my photos would show the detail nicely! Instead, I used a striped towel and the photo-implications of that didn't dawn on me until it was too late. Sigh. But you get the idea.



In other news, I want to let all of you who have expressed interest in the new Superwash Sock Yarn colorways that I posted last week know that there will be more coming soon. Most of the initial stock I had available sold within the first day or two of listing, but I have more drying in my workshop that will be posted in a few days.

In the meantime, here are a couple of others to keep you warm . . .

This is a new one called Lavender Whisper. I just added the first skein to my Etsy shop today.



And here's another that is simply labeled as "Limited Edition" in my shop. This one will not receive a name nor will it become part of my standard colorway options. It's very similar to the popular Marrakesh colorway and so I decided that it would just cause confusion to add it to the line. It's particularly difficult to distinguish between the two colorways in a photo on a computer monitor, but in person this Limited Edition colorway has a bit more of a heathery, sage color that's slightly less intense than the rich olive of the Marrakesh colorway. The highlights throughout are also more of a golden bronze than the somewhat mustardy shades in the Marrakesh. The two colorways are definitely very close to one another though, so once the four skeins I've listed in my shop today are sold, there will be no more of this colorway listed.



That's it for today. I hope to have the blocked shawl photographed and ready to share with all of you in a few days.

Oooohhh . . . and of course, don't forget to get your contest entries in if you haven't already!

The Sock Marathon Continues!

Before I dive into today's "Monday Customer Project" I want to remind everyone to be sure to get your contest entries in. Scroll down to my prior post for contest details.

Also, for those who can't get enough of blog contests, pop on over to SockPron for a great contest with tons of prizes, including a gift certificate to my Fearless Fibers Shop.

Alright. Enough contest talk. Now on to today's project! Here we have Lynne's version of the Heartstrings Rainy Day Socks. She used FF Classic Merino Wool Sock Yarn in the Saltwater Taffy colorway.



What a great pair of socks! Lynne also reinforced the toes and heels with Woolly Nylon to help ensure a long life for her precious socks. Fabulous job, Lynne! The socks look terrific!

As usual, I'll close with a plea to all of you to keep the project photos coming! Just e-mail your photos to me and I'll post them in a future Monday Customer Project Feature.

. . . 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!