Buzzfeed is Blowing Up the Exchanging Fire Shop

Sometimes on a cold, wintry Friday morning, you just need a little…clickbait!

Apparently Buzzfeed was feeling French today, and decided to dedicate a listicle to all the wonderful ways to feel more Parisian when your outdoors looks like a grummy North America day in March (like mine does).

Image courtesy Buzzfeed

I was pleased to discover that Exchanging Fire was featured today as a headliner in the listicle, showing off the stellar mini macarons I offer as stitch marker holders in my shop. They are actually really great for holding anything small and delicate, from jewelry to pins and other little notions.

Six of these awesome little fellas, who are the exact size and shape as real French macarons, can fit inside one of my large French macaron notion cases. There’s just something so entertaining about packing small things into a larger container – like those matryoshka Russian nesting dolls. Only here you can nest macarons!

Ok, now I’ve made myself hungry. I’m going to go eat a Milano cookie and stare at the falling snow, which is as close as I can get to eating French pastries in Paris today.

 

March Phat Fiber Sampler – Inspiring Women Series

March is Women’s History Month and in honor of women all over the world we contributors to the Phat Fiber Sampler Box chose the theme of inspiring Women. I suggested this theme originally about a year and a half ago because I had a fabulous idea for an inspiring woman and I wanted to share her with everyone.

My inspiring woman is none other than Marie Curie, the Polish physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity and discovered the elements Radium and Polonium. I’ve been intrigued by her since I was in 7th grade and had to do a very in-depth book report about a historical figure – I chose Marie Curie, and the rest, they say, is history.

These stitch markers are awesome because they glow in the dark just like radium does! Marie Curie used to carry test tubes containing radioactive isotopes in her pocket because of the faint blue light that the substances gave off in the dark. Stick these stitch markers in your pocket and use them to help light up your projects in the night.

One of the first radium laboratories and refining plants in the United States was actually about 15 miles from where I live – Marie Curie supported it and toured it on her visit to the US before her death by radium poisoning at the age of 54. After they discovered how radioactive the material was, the entire complex had to be razed and buried under a mountain of dirt in the 1950s. The site is blocked off with a high fence and every so often the government comes by to check out how radioactive everything still is!

Don’t forget, if you purchase anything in my store from March 15 – April 15 you are eligible for the Phat Fiber Superbox Giveaway! To win this month’s Phat Incentive, which includes the contents of the March 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!

Here I am in featured at the 10:50 mark in the Phat Fiber Preview video for this month:

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

Ravelry lunch date at the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival

I always enjoy talking to people in real life situations. As much as I love reading and writing and conversing with others online, nothing compares with the subtle hand and facial gestures we all subconsciously make and implicitly understand. That being said, I got to meet up with some fellow Ravelers this weekend at the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival. So, HiMyNameIsPurple, me (LadyDanio), samie1914, scf1270 and junebug2285 met up in the hotel lobby where this pretty picture below was taken. We had a quick lunch date in the middle of a busy Saturday and it was wonderful getting to know everyone in real life.

Sam (pictured in the pink top) and I (with the ginormous Mini Mania Scarf) met up first. Unbeknownst to me, she had just sent me a Rav message, and I was in the middle of reading a text from Lindsay (pictured in the purple and grey scarf), so we had a hilarious who’s-on-first conversation at the beginning! Once we figured out who we each were, everyone else arrived. We headed off to the hotel bar, which was serving a buffet.

Sam and Heather (in the blue) had just come out of the festival, so they showed off all of their goodies, which included some dynamite SpaceCadet Creations yarns and a handturned wooden nostepinne for ball winding. Lunch was tons of fun as we got to know each other. We discovered that most of us knew the same people from similar knit groups in the area and I think I have been roped into joining them for an evening! 😉

Since Sam and Heather had already shopped and were heading out, they were so kind as to sneak their $15 handtags to Lindsay and I so that we could slip into the festival for a few minutes without having to pay. Lindsay had been there the day before, but hadn’t been able to stay because her toddler is going through the terrible twos, and so she kindly gave me a grand tour so I didn’t waste time (yes, I had the booths I wanted to see mapped out). I think we were only there for 20 minutes, but I definitely plopped down a bunch of money on yarns!

Of course I stopped by SpaceCadet to see the dyer, Stephanie, who’s a friend of mine, and stumbled into friend and fellow designer Sara Bench, aka CelticQueen, who was the Knitty Surprise design feature for their winter issue. Her pattern Love Actually (is all around) is an absolutely adorable heart-patterned cowl.

Then I headed over to Highland Alpaca, whose yarns I love so much that I began their Ravelry database listings several years ago and try to update them whenever I see them at a new show. I was running out of time but I hit Blue Heron Yarns to tell the dyer about my favorite yarn of hers, Blue Heron Silk Merino, which I have in two different colorways. I wear the Hayworth Shawlette that is made out of that ALL THE TIME. It’s my go-to scarf for both indoors and stylish wearing in light winter weather. The dyer confessed that she loves that yarn to death as well, so much so that she keeps a private stock for her own dyeing purposes! But she let it slip that if you contact her personally she’ll do a custom order for you. If you’ve been looking for some high-end silk merino sportweight that is really fab, you should get in touch with her and ask. She also sometimes dyes it on a whim, and there were some skeins she had in kits, so you may be able to get your hands on it that way.

We had wrapped up the day by 1:30 p.m. and were heading out. I think I could have sat and talked for another hour with everyone but we’d just run out of time! It was great seeing everyone and great meeting in real life. Next time I’ll be out and about will be the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this May. Maybe you’ll see me there!

Win Free Stitch Markers from Exchanging Fire!

So during TNNA this January I met Lisa Bogart, who is the author of Knit with Love. She saw me wearing my Mini Mania Scarf and sort of pointed at me and said, “The Scarf! I get to meet The Scarf!” Yes, she had recognized The Scarf from Ravelry, and was thrilled to see it in person. I was just thrilled she knew what the heck it was! I felt a little famous, I must confess. She very kindly signed one of her books for me and then we concocted a plan…a grand plan! And that plan was for me to participate in one of her monthly giveaways on her website.

So I’m very pleased to announce that this month, March, you can enter to win a BRAND NEW set of stitch markers that I have released especially for the occasion! They are called Orange Blossom Special, and are an ode to the fabulous bluegrass folk song of the same name. Funnily enough, they also happen to be the Pantone color of the year, which is Tangerine Tango. Ha! Anyways, I just love oranges, which in ancient times were called  “golden apples” by Europeans because they were so joyfully bright and lush and delicious. There’s some magical about them, and I hope you enjoy their juicy delight as much as I do.

And, not only could you win a these fabulous stitchmarkers, but if you head over to Lisa’s giveaway page you’ll also find a SUPER SPECIAL discount code for 10% off anything in my shop! This only lasts until the end of March, so you’ll want to hop to it!

Want to hear the song that inspired these gorgeous stitch markers? Check it out below: