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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!

It finally feels like spring again. Last night a spring storm rolled through, knocking off a branch from the fully-blossoming magnolia tree. This morning I found magnolia petals trapped between the screen and the window where the wind had blown them in the midst of all that thunder and lightning. So in honor of spring, I’m adding to the Farm Fresh Series I started last year around this time.

These newest limited edition stitch markers are made using vintage mid-century beads from the Baltics. They look particularly like sky blue berries (the kind that have little drupelets on them). When I was looking at the types of berries that are related to the raspberry, I was tickled to discover the unassuming cloudberry, a mainly European species of berry that is rare but well-known in the Scandinavian and Baltic regions. Yes, the real cloudberries are actually a light to reddish orange color, but I like to think this is a “tip of the hat” to them. Enjoy my take on cloudberries.