May Phat Fiber Sampler Box – A Horse of a Different Color

This month’s theme for the Phat Fiber Sampler Box was a little unexpected, and I really didn’t think I was going to participate until one night when I was laughing over posts in the Rubberneckers group on Ravelry.

Like a lightning bolt, I thought of the funny Internet expression, “teal deer,” which references a post where someone has pontificated themselves into oblivion. Respondents are forced to reply with “tl;dr” (too long; didn’t read) or run screaming from the computer. Or both.
“A teal deer, eh?” I thought to myself. “Well, that’s a horse of a different color, all right!” After all, the idiom “a horse of a different color’ usually isn’t talking about horses at all.

So without further ado, here are my brand new Teal Deer stitch markers, handpainted by moi in a gorgeous sparkly teal color so that you can chuckle over the inanities of life while knitting away on your newest project. Enjoy!

Don’t forget, if you purchase anything in my store from May 18 – June 20 you are eligible for the Phat Fiber Superbox Giveaway! To win this month’s Phat Incentive, which includes the contents of this month’s Video (aka The Superbox) AND A $150 Gift Certificate to one of the participating shops, you need to join the Phat Fiber group on Ravelry and then post what you’ve purchased in the incentive thread.

Want to know how you can get one of these boxes? For a Phat Fiber community edited guide to snagging a box, visit this thread in the Ravelry group. The cost of the box is $36 including shipping. Good luck!

Enjoy the new design, which is up in the Exchanging Fire shop!

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November Phat Fiber Sampler: The Queens’ Jewels

For the November 2013 Phat Fiber box, which has a Renaissance theme, I was inspired by the wives of King Henry VIII. The Queens’ Jewels Collection represent three of King Henry VIII’s wives who were either beheaded or died tragically, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour and Kathryn Howard. The queens, or “queen consorts” as they were called, actually shared their jewelry. Well, not so much as shared by were given their predecessor’s after their death. So often in state portraits (which you can find online), you’ll see Catharine Parr wearing a necklace that once belonged to Katherine of Aragon, or even Queen Elizabeth I wearing her mother Anne Boleyn’s “B” necklace.

Anne’s Rubies

These stitch markers represent Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII’s mistress, wife, martyr, and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I.

Jane’s Sapphires

These stitch markers represent Jane Seymour, King Henry VIII’s mistress, wife, saint, and the mother of Edward VI.

Kathryn’s Emeralds

These stitch markers represent Kathryn Howard, King Henry VIII’s fifth wife, mistress, and their jealous May-December relationship.

 

Don’t forget, if you purchase anything in my store from November 15 – December 17 you are eligible for the Phat Fiber Superbox Giveaway! To win this month’s Phat Incentive, which includes the contents of the November Video (aka The Superbox) AND A $150 Gift Certificate to one of the participating shops, you need to join the Phat Fiber group on Ravelry and the post what you’ve purchased in the incentive thread.

Enjoy the new designs, which are up in the Exchanging Fire shop!

Meet My New Chevron Blanket!

I commissioned my friend Katie to make me a chevron cut chenille throw blanket and it arrived today! It’s absolutely gorgeous and I’m over the moon about it. I love the bright aqua chevron stripes with the contrasting sunny yellow edging and chenille-style backing. I was inspired by the work in her Etsy shop, Mr. Kitty Is My Name, and knew I wanted one of her fabulous blankets!

For those of you who have never seen this style of cut chenille, it’s created by a very time-consuming but worthwhile process. You sew half-inch to one-inch lines along a set of fabrics that have been layered together (a pretty fabric for the front and different colors of flannel fabric for the back), and then cut the flannel channels made with the sewing. When the blanket is washed and dried, the flannel creates the chenille because since it it is cut on an angle (the bias) it fluffs rather than frays.

I’d been lusting after this blanket since seeing the online tutorial for it about a year ago. However, I’ve loathe sewing machines since I was “taught” to use one in a 7th grade Home Ec. class back in the ’90s, so getting my dream blanket seemed like a far-off wish. Until Katie started her cute little shop and I realized my dream could be a reality! For this blanket, Katie went the extra mile, sewing along the lines of the chevrons to create a lovely zigzag pattern on the chenille side.

As you can see from the images below, I laid this out on the floor and went away to find my camera. By the time I had returned, someone had ensconced herself on the blanket. She didn’t believe me when I told her that white and blue do not match black kitties, promptly rolling over to show me her belly as a response. Sigh.

I love my new blanket, it’s totally awesome, and the perfect size for me to wrap myself in it and take a nap. Which I may or may not have already done. 😉

June Phat Fiber Sampler – Tron

I’m pleased this month to unveil my new villain-themed stitchmarkers – Tron, part of my superhero series, now available at Exchanging Fire!

Tron

Tron is an abstract take on the eponymous 1982 movie, using awesome geometric-shaped acrylic beads that represent the computer generated realm of Tron. Four cool blue stitch markers represent the virtual game Kevin has been trapped in, while the large bright red bead represents the evil Master Control Program, out to take over the real world. Just like last month’s superhero stitch markers, these too look very “grown-up” but can still feed your inner geekery!

Here I am in featured halfway through the Phat Fiber video for this month (at minute 6:15)!

Don’t forget, if you purchase anything in my store from June 15 – July 15 you are eligible for the Phat Fiber Superbox Giveaway! To win this month’s Phat Incentive, which includes the contents of the June Video (aka The Superbox) AND A $150 Gift Certificate to one of the participating shops, you need to join the Phat Fiber group and the post what you’ve purchased in the Incentive thread.

Sign up now to be entered into the giveaway!

A pocket, a posy…

…a ring around the rosy…

Obviously I have  pattern design on the brain now. This week, it’s the contemplation of the perfect shawl for my grandmother. Well, I suppose I’ve been building toward this. First I had to acquire the perfect yarn:

Check.

Then I had to find some inspiration:

Check.

Then I had to find the perfect pattern:

Uhh…

See, the problem is that the yarn’s colorway is called “Forget Me Not.” The yarn itself looks like the flowers from a forget-me-not, and I was immediately drawn to the idea of creating a shawl for her that looked like forget-me-nots. At first I thought Miriam Felton’s Seraphim Shawl would be divine, but hers used fingering weight yarn and I really wanted something a bit more flowery. Unfortunately, the only flower-like shawl patterns are either ugly, or, in the case of the Forget-Me-Not shawl patterns on Ravelry, look nothing like the petals of this flower.

So I’ve done some research today. I wandered through my favorites first, looking for something that might look like a flower, and then through the other flower patterns on Ravelry. And I found something! As I was wandering through one of my lace books, Victorian Lace Today, I noticed a really intriguing edgework that implemented a design feature that looked like the six petals of a forget-me-not flower.. “A Curved Shawl with diamond edging” apparently uses the traditional Shetland lace stitch “cat’s paw” with some success. I think the best picture of the edging can be seen here, on jeanneknits2’s Ravelry project page. I don’t think “cat’s paw lace” looks anything like a cat’s paw. Well, ok, it remotely resembles a cat’s paw, but what it really resembles is a small button-type posy of a flower. After seeing it knit up on some other shawls I’m excited by the idea of a whole shawl knit out of it:

Photo courtesy the blog, "Knitting Through the Looking Glass" by Pamela Lee

I tried to find a pattern that used the petals like I wanted them to be used (starting at the shoulders with just a few and eventually scattering outward until the shawl is covered with them), but that pattern just doesn’t exist – except in my mind. I’m not sure I’m experienced enough yet to actually physically design this pattern, as currently my only lace shawl, the Ishbel, is sitting in purgatory until it learns to behave itself, but…we shall see. My grndmother is old, and doesn’t have many years left, so that should spur me into learning how to do this quickly!