October Phat Fiber Sampler Box – Ex Libris

After a long summer hiatus, the Phat Fiber box is back in business! October’s theme is Ex Libris, and for all of those book lovers out there, that means it’s a box totally dedicated to bibliophilia. As a fellow book lover, I decided to go kitsch this month, and immortalized my favorite “reading” tv show, A Reading Rainbow, in stitch marker form.

These Reading Rainbow stitch markers are inspired by the show’s theme song, and feature charms illustrating all of the wonderful places books can take you. It’s kind of funny, but still to this day two of my favorite kinds of books are about dragons and spaceships!

Don’t forget, if you purchase anything in my store from Sep. 20 – Nov. 13 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), you need to join the Phat Fiber group on Ravelry and then post what you’ve purchased in the incentive thread.

“Butterfly in the sky / I can go twice as high / Take a look / It’s in a book / A Reading Rainbow…”

February Phat Fiber Sampler Box – Chocolate and Coffee

This month I couldn’t make up my mind so I made two different stitch marker sets for the February Phat Fiber Sampler Box. These are perfect for beating away those winter blues (chocolate makes everything better, right?).

These stitch markers are made with vintage Lucite beads – Chocoholics Anonymous features five different chocolate-drenched charms, from an chocolate English toffee bar, a chocolate-frosted doughnut, a chocolate sprinkles cookie with the word “Love” frosted across the top of it, to a classic chocolate bar and even a huge chocolate cupcake topped with a tiny strawberry.

The Doughnut Shop features five different flavored doughnuts, each topped with frosting and cheerful sprinkles, from chocolate and vanilla to strawberry and maybe even maple? This set comes complete with a tiny resin Starbucks mug full of cocoa or coffee (whichever you prefer imagining is in it). Yum!

Happy February!

November Phat Fiber Sampler Box – Rust and Roses

As soon as I heard about this month’s Phat Fiber Sampler Box theme, Rust and Roses, I immediately knew what I was going to do. I have so many ideas rattling around in my head, and it’s hard to find the time to raise these inspirations out of the dark. So thank you, Phat Fiber, for giving me the opportunity to bring another beauty into the light.

This design began by pairing together the colors of rust – copper – and a sweet, unusual color akin to copper and topaz blended with bittersweet melon:

Now, I’ve never really been a fan of the traditional red rose. It always bored me, quite frankly, and growing up I was usually attracted to the more unusual varieties of flowers, like hibiscus, orchids or calla lilies. As I have grown into adulthood, however, I’ve become more aware of the roses that exist beyond the grocery store florist – like the wild rose, with it’s gorgeous knock-out blooms, or unusual heirloom varieties with colors like smokey bronze, chocolate-red, rusty apple-orange or spiky green. Wow. I want a whole garden full of unusual roses!

So without further ado, here are my brand new La Vie En Rose stitch markers, gold-dusted pink topaz rosebud Czech beads paired with gorgeous copper accents to create a look so realistic it’s like you are knitting with miniature roses.

The name was inspired by the haunting cabaret melody of the same name, which was written by the famous French singer Edith Piaf in 1945. It’s a melancholy post-war tune that is as much a classic as Moon River, and very evocative of the time period. Here’s a modern rendition of it that I find absolutely gorgeous:

Don’t forget, if you purchase anything in my store from Nov. 19 – Dec. 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 $100 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 Rust and Roses 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!

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!

Celebrate Customer Appreciation Week with Exchanging Fire!

Late one night at the beginning of August I had an idea. It suddenly occurred to me that it might be nice to give back to my faithful customers in a big celebratory way. I’m close to reaching 3,000 sales, after all, and I want to reward all of the awesome people that have helped make my hobby into a job I love. So I thought, what if I held a Customer Appreciation Week, with a coupon, free gifts, and lots of love and confetti?

I may have been feeling a little brain freeze from the air conditioning and perhaps too many hours spent winding minis while sitting Indian-style on the floor, but whatever the reason, my idea turned into a full-fledged brainstorm – what if I invite the Phat Fiber members to join in with me, to have a big, blow-out spectacular? I wasn’t sure they would like the idea, but my worries were unfounded – everyone thought it was great, and so in just under a month the Phatties over on Ravelry and I have put together a huge shopping spree for all of our loyal fans.

From Sept. 1 through the 7 you can shop at most of your favorite Phat Fiber-participating shops and find deals and gifts just for you! And of course, stop by Exchanging Fire, where I’ll be giving away special gifts to new and returning customers. Use the coupon CustomerLove to receive 15% off your order this week!

Check out the official Customer Appreciation Week thread on Ravelry to find out what goodies and gifts you could get by shopping with your favorite Phatties. Most shops, including me, are participating by using the coupon code CustomerLove, but there are a few other secret codes out there so make sure you read the thread well.

Orphans of the Empire – April Phat Fiber Sampler

My Tea Party themed stitch markers arrived in the Phat Fiber headquarters yesterday, so I feel pretty confident about unveiling these now. Meet Orphans of the Empire, my ode to the bygone era of the British Empire when the sun never set and teatime was de rigueur.

When I was a small child I found, buried in a flower bed in my front yard, a small shard of porcelain from an English teacup. I was enchanted, convinced there was some unknown story behind this lost and forgotten piece of the past. When I saw these beads it took me right back to that time, and I knew that it was the perfect way to celebrate my own love of tea with all of you.

Remember! Any purchases you make this month in my shop, ExchangingFire.com makes you eligible to win the contents of the April Video (aka The Superbox) AND AN EXTENSIVE NATURAL DYES KIT AND 1LB OF ORGANIC MERINO! to a randomly drawn poster in the Phat Fiber group thread on Ravelry. Don’t delay because you could win big!

Phat Fiber’s Shearlock and Sonata stop by for a visit

Hey all, Phat Fiber’s Shearlock and Sonata have been hanging out here at the Exchanging Fire headquarters and they wanted to show everyone how much fun they have been having! They arrived the same day as my brand new extra large Stanwood Needlecraft umbrella swift did, and after I installed it (over the kitchen sink, gotta love those space-saving tricks) they took a ride on it while I wound 11 balls of yarn!

My new swift is a killer.

After we wound the yarn, we went to take photos in the afternoon sunlight and visited with my cat, Mittens, who, it should be known, hates having his photo taken. Shearlock found the cat very frightening and refused to get too close. Sonata was annoyed that he kept huddling up against her and keeping her from stomping the cat. I told her that while she might be in charge of Shearlock, he was not a herd, and the cat was not a fox out to eat him so she should keep her hooves safely tucked away. She wasn’t pleased by my decree (I think she’s a little bloodthirsty!). Read more about guard alpaca here.

That face says, "I am bored with you."

The photoshoot went very well, though Shearlock was rather surprised that “behind-the-curtains” in this situation was literally behind the curtains! I told him they were sheers, not curtains. Sonata just sniffed that behind-the-curtains was much messier then she had expected. I told her that utter neatness was the sign of a disturbed mind. 😉

The pair of them did beg for one favor from me, however. They insisted on getting to hang out with this yarn that they had been hearing about, Wool-meece. After Sonata heard Shearlock pronounce it she got a little nervous. Said she wanted no part of it if there were mice involved, so it took a little convincing, but in the end they both got themselves photographed with some Wollmeise. Sonata thought it smelled heavenly, though Shearlock said it wasn’t wooly enough for his taste.

This yarn is going to be a future Mini Mania Scarf!

After dinner I typically wind yarn and make stitchmarkers, and both Shearlock and Sonata were thrilled to explore my stacks of beading supplies and piles of yarn ready to be miniskeined. Sonata loved how old frozen sushi trays have been repurposed for holding different selections of beads paired and waiting to become stitchmarkers. Shearlock just enjoyed bouncing in the piles of yarn. We watched some Jon Stewart, too.

"There is no sushi here! I am deceived!"

Mmm, Jon Stewart makes life more funny.

To be fair, it wasn’t all play for Shearlock and Sonata. They helped me on a super-secret quest to make up a set of the most perfect honey-toned miniskein colors for my Mini Mania sets. Sonata’s knowledge of color-matching was impressive (I imagine that’s from all of the great dyers she has visited) and Shearlock even helped sort the yarn! I’m very excited about those brand new Honeycomb sets. I couldn’t have done it without their help!

"Sonata, you could be helping, you know, instead of just sitting there like a lump." "I'm guarding the yarn, Shearlock!"

Shearlock and Sonata had so much fun taking photos with me that they insisted on getting their own professional portrait done as well. Shearlock especially wanted to show off his new bell that I made for him out of one of my beads. And both of them were tickled pink with the results:

Sonata and Shearlock, Partners in Yarn and Fiber

I will say that we did forget to take photos at church on Sunday – I took them so they could help out with Operation Christmas Child, but we forgot the camera in all of the excitement! They were thrilled to help dedicate the 107 boxes that we are sending all over the world this winter, though. and they were happy to have such a nice visit here at Exchanging Fire. They are winging their way back to the PhatFiberLady, whom they say that they have been missing. I think they need a cuddle.