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…”
Well, my goodies arrived last week at the Phat Fiber headquarters, so here is the big reveal for the stitch markers I made to coincide with this month’s Egyptian theme. Flight of the Butterfly is a very limited edition design, primarily composed of vintage beads, so don’t hesitate to nab a set today!
Butterflies were very rare in Ancient Egypt because of the harsh climate, and not much is known about how the Egyptians perceived them. There are some tantalizing clues, however, found in the tombs and hieroglyphics of Ancient Egypt, so I had a wonderful time researching this connection. My inspiration comes from the inlaid silver bracelets that were found in the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I. Made of silver, turquoise, carnelian and lapis lazuli, some researchers and scholars believe they were designed to protect her and help her to fly into the afterlife.
Butterflies, with their ability to “rebirth” themselves after “entombing” themselves as caterpillars, may have been greatly honored by the Ancient Egyptians. Ancient Egyptians may have seen a parallel between the linen wrappings on their dead and the chrysalis of the butterfly. When butterflies were featured on wall reliefs, their images tended to be overly large and placed close to the heavens or other symbols of life everlasting. This indicates not only their importance but also shows that they may have reinforced the Ancient Egyptians’ concept of the afterlife.
Butterflies did not always stay in Egypt year-round, and often migrated from other more friendly climates, making a sighting of one a rare and beautiful thing indeed. The most common Egyptian butterfly, the Plain Tiger butterfly, is believed to be one of the first butterflies used in art in the world, making its way onto a 3,500-year-old wall design in Luxor, Egypt. Today, that fresco shows us a glimpse of the rich wildlife that was found in Egypt when the Pharaohs still ruled it.
I had great fun digging into this relatively unknown history about Ancient Egypt. If you are interested in finding out more about the beliefs that the Egyptians may have had toward butterflies, I highly recommend reading this master’s thesis by Dawn Haynes from Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
Don’t forget, if you purchase anything in my store from Oct. 18 – Nov. 15 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 two Gift Certificates 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 current incentive thread.
My stitch markers were featured at the 13:22 minute mark in the video:
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!
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!
My past month was sort of crazy, and I had to work very hard to get my samples into Phat Fiber headquarters in time for the box this month. I really wanted to be a part of April’s garden, because I had so many ideas floating around in my head. In the end I think I was a bit inspired by the volatility going on in my life, because I chose a Wars of the Roses theme, continuing my Tudor series at Exchanging Fire.
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic wars fought between supporters of two rival branches – the Houses of Lancaster and York – for the throne of England. Both sides were descendants of the House of Plantagenet, which had ruled England during the Middle Ages. The symbol of the rose came into being during these battles for control of the throne of England, when the York supporters wore white roses to show their loyalty. The origins of the Rose itself stem from Edward I’s use of “a golden rose stalked proper” as a badge of England’s Royal House.
The White Rose of York
The wars ended when a relative unknown Lancasterian living abroad, Henry VII, the father of the infamous Henry VIII, was raised up to be the next king. He married Elizabeth of York, uniting the two dynasties together and creating the House of Tudor, which ruled for the next 120 years.
The Red Rose of Lancaster
Don’t forget, if you purchase anything in my store from April 20 – May 17 you are eligible for the Phat Fiber Superbox Giveaway! To win this month’s Phat Incentive, which includes the contents of the April 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.
I’m thrilled to unveil my new superhero-themed stitchmarkers – the Silver Centurion, now available at Exchanging Fire!
The Silver Centurion
The Silver Centurion is an abstract take on Iron Man, with these amazing vintage stitchmarkers from Cold War era Eastern Europe creating a “mask-like” feel with their bright silver lines etched across the lucite beads. I love how they look very “grown-up” but can still feed your inner geekery!
Here I am in featured at the beginning of the Phat Fiber video for this month!
Don’t forget, if you purchase anything in my store from May 18 – June 15 you are eligible for the Phat Fiber Superbox Giveaway! To win this month’s Phat Incentive, which includes the contents of the May 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.
Take a look at these awesome Christmas-themed stitch markers and other goodies I’ve got up in the Exchanging Fire shop:
A few of these designs are old favorites,like the one of a kind Jingle Bell Rock markers (only two left in stock!), but I’m especially proud of my newest creations. They are the Wonderful Christmas tree lights ones:
“The party’s on / The feelin’s here / That only comes / This time of year / Simply having a wonderful Christmas time…” – Paul McCartney. “Wonderful Christmas Time”
…and these gorgeous Silver and Gold ornament stitch markers:
“Silver and gold, silver and gold / Mean so much more when I see / Silver and gold decorations / On ev’ry Christmas tree…” – Vanessa Williams, “Silver & Gold”
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.
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.
Exchanging Fire 