Winners!!

Ravelympics are drawing to a close- perhaps you're furiously knitting/crocheting/spinning tonight and need a little Go Go Go! Rah Rah Rah!!
I'm jangling my cowbell for you!

Here are this week's winners!

Desired Haven Farm Kaleidoscope Fiber- EVA SB

Spincerely Yours fiber- JC

Kathleen's Spin Angelina pack- Anett Kiefer


There is still one giveaway this week I haven't drawn yet- the mulberry silk I'm giving away to whomever names my new wheel! There are so many just amazing (and perfect!) names for her, I'm having a really hard time deciding. But, I promise I will decide this weekend and post the winner!

Have a wonderful evening.

Kathleen's Spin Sparklie Giveaway!

Would you like to know Kathleen's Spin on things? Visit her shop on Etsy! Coming from a person who is partial to the sparkle, Kathleen's Spin is a great place to get little bits of sparklies for all kinds of projects!

That's what we're giving away today! An angelina sampler pack! 10 different colors totalling 20z of shine! I wonder if anyone has spun a 100% angelina yarn? It would be sparkly, but probably not very soft. At any rate, you could definitely amp up the glitz by visiting Kathleen's Spin.

Remember any purchase made at Kathleen's Spin between now and midnight Feb 28th will be eligible to win the giant phat fiber super box! Just post your purchases here: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/phat-fiber-sampler-box/1009328/326-350

Please visit Kathleen's Spin, find something you like, and post about it in the comments section below. We'll be giving away this sparkle sample pack in a couple of days, so be sure and let everyone know about it! We'll count your extra facebook entries, plurks, tweets, rav posts as extra entries!

Spincerely Yours Giveaway!

The Ravelympics are winding down and I'm nearing completion on my project. My challenge was to take 8oz of fiber, spin it, and then knit the resulting yarn into a shawl. A sort of shop-to-shawl project. I chose to use Spincerely's 50/50 merino/tencel blend fiber in a gorgeous bright-yet-earthy colorway and I'm so glad I did! No pictures yet, so I had better stop talking about it, eh?

I'm seriously in love with Tamara's fiber! It's not just the fantastic blends (which are both shiny and soft-so yummy!) but her sense of color is just amazing. She seems to dye with finished knits in mind!

I feel so honored to be giving away this beautiful 4 oz of merino/tencel blend fiber in the most luscious purple you've ever seen! Just visit Spincerely, find something you love, and write about it in the comments section below. We'll be drawing in a couple of days, so go now! Make sure to get those extra entries by letting everyone know about Tamara's beautiful shop!

Desired Haven Farm Roving giveaway!

Misty from Desired Haven Farm has sent in this beautiful, and LARGE (4 oz!) Kaleidoscope roving for a giveaway! I would love to see how this spins up!

Visit the Desired Haven Farm shop and look for things that you like. When you're ready, post them in the comments section below to be entered to win. We'll be drawing for a winner later in the week, so you have time to facebook, plurk, twitter about this giveaway for extra entries.

Misty is bottle feeding 2 (or 3) lambs that were just born during a harsh Michigan winter. She appreciates all of you supporting her shop at this time and has marked several things on sale to help feed the bottle babies.

Thanks for taking time to look!

Name that Wheel - Giveaway!

I am squealing with delight! By some fortuitous, lucky, magical, karmic reasons, I am now the proud caretaker of a pre-loved Majacraft Rose spinning wheel! I have wanted this kind of wheel for quite some time, it's been a "dream wheel" for me! Well, there are still the Golding Wheels I lust after, but this one was right up there!

Help me celebrate this good fortune!! My wheel needs a name! For more info about the Rose, you can read a little about it here. I am giving away a full 3.2 oz of Mulberry Silk Sliver dyed by me in a beautiful, deep burgundy/maroon/wine. Since I live in Saluki Town
I immediately thought "Saluki Silk" when this came out of the dyepot!

All you need to do to win the silk, is have your name suggestion be chosen for my new wheel.
You can leave your comment here or in the Ravelry group. This contest will last the entire week, so put your thinking caps on!

Phat Fiber Spin in/Knit in Retreat!

photo taken Giant City State Park Nov. 2008

So, what are you doing the first weekend in October 2010? Why not come to Southern Illinois for a Phat Fiber Spin-in! Nah, I'm not trying to sell you tickets, or charge you for teaching you things you'd probably be able to figure out on your own- just come as you are- fiber fun with no pretenses. A fiber Woodstock if you will... only I don't think there will be a a muddy mosh pit (sorry!).

Where: Giant City State Park, Makanda IL
http://giantcitylodge.com/lodging/
You'll have to either book yourself a cabin (there are some left ask about the knitting retreat when you call 1-618-457-4921), camp out in one of the very nice camping areas, or drive in from a local B&B or hotel ( email phatfiber@yahoo.com for a list of those)

When: First Weekend in October- Friday (arrive)- Sunday (depart)

What: A Phibery Phellowship of Phantastic Phatties! Rub elbows with famous Phatties! Lots of excellent knitters/spinners/dyers to create with during the weekend. Want to learn a new technique? I bet you a dollar someone will know how to do it, and be willing to share! Saturday we will have a nice catered/potluck lunch provided for you, but everything else you'll need to bring yourself. Of course, you'll also need to bring your fiber/knitting/crochet supplies too!

We're having a discussion in the Ravelry group about it now: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/phat-fiber-sampler-box/964428/26-50 and if you think you'd like to come, feel free to email me with more details!

Giveaway winners this week!

Wow, what gorgeous giveaways we had this week!

Congratulations to:

Lampyridae Sock Yarn- Patience Ann (millarca!)

Extreme Spinning Batt- Chrystee

MamaJudes Plant dyed yarn- TuttleDB (Donna!!)

I've got a special announcement coming up later, stay tuned!

Lampyridae Sock Yarn Giveaway!

Ooooh pretty!! Lampyridae has dyed some sock yarn inspired by William Holman Hunt's depiction of "The Lady of Shalott" I also particularly love how in the painting she's all tangled up in yarn! This is truly some pretty yarn, Lampy! You'll see this and her beautiful stitch markers in this month's sampler box.

Lampyridae also has some beautiful lace-weight yarn in her shop right now- I am really tempted by the cornflower one! Lampyridae must also be the first shop I've seen with a MOVIE sock club where you get the movie and the sock yarn + extras.

We're giving away this beautiful sock yarn skein (400 yards superwash merino) to a lucky commenter. Just visit Lampyridae, find something you like, and write about it in the comments section below. We'll chose from those comments later in the week to draw a winner. Get extra comments by twittering/facebooking/plurking/ravelating about this giveaway!

Thanks for sharing your beautiful yarn with us, Lampy!

Extreme Spinning Art Batt Giveaway!

So last month for our love of books theme, CJ from Extreme Spinning chose to depict a children's book called "Papa get me to the moon". Inside her samples shipment was this batt-o-gorgeousness and I thought for a moment to drop it into a random box, but my partialness to the sparkles overcame me and I decided to feature it here. I hope you don't mind, CJ!

This batt is as soft as it is shiny. And lucky lucky you! We have the fortunate opportunity to participate in CJ's buy 2 get 1 sale! Buy 3 items and she will refund your third lesser item back to you! Baby is on the way, and she needs to clear out!

We're giving away this batt-o-lusciousness to a lucky commenter. Just visit eXtreme Spinning and find something you like, write about it in the comments section below and we'll be drawing for this batt later in the week. Remember we'll count your extra social networking (twitter, facebook, plurk, ravelry) as additional entries! Just let us know where you did it.

Mama Jude's Plant Dyed Giveaway!

I'm a huge Mama Jude's Plant Dyed Stuff fan! I'm telling you, this stuff has a wonderful 'vibe' to it, when you handle it. Using Judy's yarns is like using good handmade soap, it has a rustic elegance to it, and can become addicting.

This month, Judy sent in some amazing plant dyed mohair locks- they were incredibly soft and lustrous and the colors were so vibrant, it's just hard to imagine those bright colors coming from plant dyes!

Last month for our favorite book theme, Judy dyed some beautiful yarn based on Laura Engalls Wilder books. We have a full sized "In the Big Woods" fingering weight yarn in "harvest green". Love those golden yellows! Just visit Mama Jude's Plant Dyed Stuff, find something you like, and write about it in the comments section below this post. We'll draw for a winner later in the week, but you should be sure and use twitter, facebook, rav etc to let everyone know about Judy's shop- and we'll count that as an extra entry.

Thanks so much for sharing with US Mama Judy!

Lots of Winners!

We'll get right down to it!
Congratulations to:

YouAreCreative (Anne) you won the Goddess Tea!

Angie- You won the Color Bug Yarns fiber !

VeloCC- You won the wabi sabi yarn !

And to: Stephcat, elaine and knitmit you 3 won issues of knitcircus magazine!!

Woo hoo!!

Look for some gorgeous giveaways this week!

Wabi Sabi Yarns giveaway!

Are any of you going to Stitches West? Well, if you are, be sure and find Wabi Sabi Yarns at booth 643. Wabi Sabi will be sharing a booth with Poppy Flower Fibers because they are both the fruits of the same indie dyer!

Wabi Sabi is not in February's box, but many of you will be able to experience the amazingly rich color of these yarns in March. Lisa, the dye maven behind Wabi Sabi yarns has sent in a special giveaway called "Iris Patch". This colorway is available in her Etsy shop and you might want to bookmark www.wabisabiyarns.com as it will be launching very soon!

We're giving away this skein of Tallulah sock yarn to a lucky commentor! Just visit Wabi Sabi Yarns and find something you like, write about it in the comments section below, and we'll draw for a winner Sunday. Remember to twitter and facebook about this for extra entries!

February Sneak Peek Video!

Guest Blogger- Knit Circus Editor Jaala Spiro! And giveaways!

Wow, the last stop on the tour! Thanks so much for hosting, Jessie.

Today, for a change, let's have an interview with you rather than me! This profile of one of our favorite fiber businesses originally ran in Knitcircus Issue #6(link: http://www.knitcircus.com/issue6.html).

Phat Fiber

How did you get the idea for Phat Fiber?

In the summer of 2008, my husband and I both came down with Mononucleosis. If you've ever had it, you know that your entire body is wracked with pain and accomplishing simple everyday tasks become near impossiblities because of it. During my convalescence, I picked up some knitting needles and yarn after a long hiatus from needlecrafts and was amazed at how my pain seemingly melted away. At the time, gas was over $4.00 a gallon and I was still in a great deal of discomfort, so making more than a once monthly trip to my LYS (30+ miles away) was pretty much out of the question. I began shopping online for my yarn and was absolutely amazed at the plethora of gorgeous yarn and fiber from independent businesses available to me. I made several purchases, some I was thrilled with, others I was almost angry with disappointment about. Wishing there was a better way to shop for something as tactile as yarn and fiber, the mental seeds of Phat Fiber began to sprout and grow. After months of preparation, our first box was released January 15th 2009.

What's the philosophy behind it?

Phat Fiber's goal is to bridge the gap between the products and services of talented independent fiber artists and companies and today's conscious yarn consumers. We all want to support independent businesses as well as treat ourselves to incredible goods. Phat Fiber makes it easier for both indie yarnies to market their wares and for the rest of us to experience, swatch, fondle the fiber while planning larger purchases.

How has the service been received by crafters/customers?

I think both parties are extremely pleased so far. We have only done 2 boxes (Jan and Feb) and both have sold out immediately and much of the feedback has been incredibly enthusiastic from both the customers and the artisans Phat Fiber represents. We have an amazing group of contributors who are extremely supportive of each other. The comraderie displayed within the group of participants makes me very proud to be considered a part of this endeavor.

Nuts and bolts-how can people find you, how often are boxes sent out, how much do they cost?

Our Main site is www.phatfiber.com there you will find links to most all of our contributors and more information about the boxes.

The boxes go on sale once monthly (mid month) in our Phat Fiber Etsy shop here: http://www.phatfiber.etsy.com

To be notified of the exact time of sale, sign up for the Phat Fiber newsletter here: http://www.phatfiber.com/notifyme.htm

The boxes are $33.00 USD which includes domestic shipping.

We have a group on Ravelry, as well as our own forum which can be found here: http://www.phatfiber.com/phatforum We love to share pictures of our boxes, what we've done with our samples, and larger purchases made from discoveries found in the box.

We also profile the contributors to the box and host many giveaways on our blog here: http://www.phatfiber.blogspot.com

What's next for Phat Fiber?

More boxes! We are currently creating special pages full of discount coupons, patterns and articles just for our newsletter subscribers. Many of our contributors have suggested a Phat Fiber gathering of sorts. That would be amazing and I hope it happens.

Tell us your favorite Phat Fiber story.

Oh, there are many!! One of our customers wrote on our forum that she felt like she was a part of a movement and she had never felt that way about anything before. That really touched me and made me want to work even harder for our wonderful artists/contributors. I also love that every month I get excited emails from participants letting us know about new orders that were generated from the box. It's very rewarding!

--JS, Knitcircus #6

For the Grand Finale of our Blog Tour, let's do something really grand--like giving away three Grand Slam collections of Knitcircus! Please leave a blog comment, and three lucky winners will receive all of the available back issues of the print magazine (Issues 3-8) plus a free pdf download of the Spring Pattern Collection for Issue #9. Phat Fiber will keep the contest open until Sunday evening then we’ll let you know if you’ve won and your collection will go out in the mail Monday morning.

This has been a blast, Jessie; since Team Knitcircus joined up with Team PhatFiber for the Ravelympics, it’s going to be a fun couple of weeks with lots of knitting for everyone!

Keep doing the great work bringing fiber lovers and independent businesses together and rock on.

Jaala

KnitCircus is now an online publication! On the web at http://www.knitcircus.com

Fluff box giveaway!

In about 12 hours, I'm going to have one of my wisdom teeth pulled. It's not going to be a fun day for me, but I wanted to make sure everyone has a little fun in the Ravelry Group.

Take a minute and post your favorite painting in this thread: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/phat-fiber-sampler-box/992004/1-25 and be entered to win this Fluff box from September!

Only one entry per person please.

I should be back Thursday with another fun giveaway, and I'll be a little less "wise" I guess ;)

Color Bug Yarns- Fiber Giveaway!

As promised by the weather-man, I woke to a nice fresh blanket of snow this morning. Although still is inspiring and beautiful, I'm growing weary of the bleakness and wishing for the bright greens of my garden to appear.

If you're needing some color therapy like me, please check out Color Bug Yarns! I think Ann's store is the fiber equivalent of a candy shop! Many of her colorways are so cheerful and colorful, you can't help but be a little happy while looking over there.

Last month, Ann's inspiration for her Phat Fiber samples, was Eric Carle's books. We're giving away her "Beautiful Butterfly" corriedale cross roving as a giveaway! All you need do, is visit Color Bug Yarns, find something you love, and write about it in the comments section below. Extra entries will be awarded to those who use twitter, ravelry, facebook, or other social media networking sites to help spread the word about Color Bug Yarns.

Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful dye-work with us, Ann!

Goddess Tea Giveaway!

I am so excited about Goddess Tea, I could squeal! Goddess Tea debuted in the Phat Fiber box in January, and look for some delicious smelling tea bags in the February box as well!

Daniella Cortez, the Tea Goddess, is more of a Goddess of all things Crafty. You remember her from buydanido.com where she sells her original patterns, knitwear and hand dyed yarn. The Phat Shop currently has a nice sock yarn selection dyed by Dani, and each Goddess inspired yarn comes with a Goddess Tea sample!!

I might have stopped writing this post no less than three times. We're expecting another 3-6 inches of snow today and I keep watching the skies, all gray and bubbling with crystallized moisture. It's a perfect day to take some time to stop, make some warm tea, and enjoy a quiet meditative space. I hope you'll consider trying Goddess Tea for yourself. You'll be supporting a wonderful indie craft person, and you'll be nurturing your own spirit.

We're giving away this delicious 2 oz bag of "Krishna Herbal" Goddess Tea. Here is what Dani wrote about it:

Krishna is the Hindu Goddess of love and divine joy, she is the destroyer of pain and sin. She is also a trickster and a lover. She is sweet and dangerously spicy as well.

Krishna's duality is celebrated in this blend of sweet and spicy flavors. This spicy and floral blend features rose buds and leaves, cardamom, star anise, ginger root and cinnamon. This tea needs little else added to it but hot water for an entirely enjoyable (and caffeine free) cup.

Sounds divine to me! Please visit Goddess Tea, find something you love, and write about it in the comments section below. We'll be giving this away this weekend, so be sure and tweet/facebook about this giveaway to receive extra entries. It makes it so much easier on me if you leave an identifying mark too- rav name/ Twitter name/ etc.

Thank you so much, Dani! You know I love you!

Spinner's Lap Cloth Winner!

Congratulations- A. Hiscok! @owldaughter!

Please email me your address!!


As we approach the next box, I have lots of more exciting giveaways! One coming up right away...

Dawning Dreams Spinner's Lap Cloth Giveaway!

January's Shearlock's choice award went to Dawning Dreams! By the end of this post, I think you'll realize why!

Dawn is a woman of many talents. Her February samples are patterns. A 'dark and lavender' leaf inspired by a painting. An ingenious little pattern you can use your Phat Fiber samples to create! These patterns were in a recent box of wonders I received earlier in the week.

Also in the box, (besides Shearlock) was my first installment of Dawn's fiber jewelery club. I love love this pin! Beautiful wire work, beautiful beads, and look at the packaging! The pin was cradled in hand-dyed spinnable cotton roving! I can't wait to see what my next shipment will be!

Next, was my Gorgeously Gothic SAL batts!! Oh, I'm breathless just talking about them... so soft, so sparkly and beautiful!

And now, something for one of you lucky commenters- a hand sewn Spinner's lap cloth! I really think this a wonderful idea! Basically, you lay the cloth in your lap while spinning, and it a) catches flyaway fuzz on the cloth and not your pants b) has either light or dark sides you can change to help you see your drafting zone easier c) has pockets to hold things like, add-ins, scissors, spindles, or whatever else you might need within easy reach. One of the aspects I love about them, is the fabric. Dawn didn't skimp on using high quality and beautiful quilting cottons!

We're giving away this spinner's lap cloth to a lucky commmenter- Just visit Dawning Dreams, find something you like, and write about it in the comments section below. We'll be drawing for a winner on Monday, so be sure and use your social networking powers to let everyone know about Dawning Dreams. We'll count your extra twittering, facebooking, ravelating etc as extra entries- just let us know where you did it!

Dawn, thank you for my amazing package! It made my week!

Winners This week

Yay you special winners, you!!

Less giveaways than I had planned, but they are still coming, I promise!


Light brown Hare sock yarn- Black Squirrel Knits !!!

Cool Climates Melanie Handspun- Anna B !!!


I've got a really really really really cool giveaway this weekend for all you spinners- stay tuned!!

December Superbox Giveaway!

Remember the Fall competition? Our knitting category winner was Kira from Kira K Designs. She would like us to host another giveaway drawing, this time to support the Mercy Corps Haiti relief efforts. The Mercy Corps were already on the ground when the quake happened, and have been in one of the better positions to help out.

How to enter the giveaway drawing:

For every $5 donated to Mercy Corps
You will be given a number to be entered in the drawing.

Please forward your receipt of payment to sooperbox@live.com

Within a few days, you should get a reply back with your numbers. Please keep that email until the beginning of March when we will hold our drawing.

Thank you for continuing to help out the Haiti relief efforts and a big big thank you to Kira K Designs for donating her prize to help!

Natchwoolie

It's time, dear friends to "circle the wagons". I received news last night that our friend Natchwoolie lost her husband.

Natchwoolie has been in every Phat Fiber box since the beginning. She's been a supporting member of our group for a long time. Many of you have received her samples in your boxes and can attest to the superior quality of her fibers.

As a favor for me, please visit the Natchwoolie farm store today and consider making a purchase or two. Natchwoolie is a working fiber farm with feed and heat bills to pay. I can't imagine what it is like to lose a husband, but I do know what it is like to worry about money, and it would be so nice for Brenda (Natchwoolie) to have a little time to breathe and grieve without that added stress.

You'll love her fiber, so treat yourself this week! I am putting together a care package that will go out later this month, more details can be found here.

Thank you everyone, for lending an ear!

Cool Climates Handspun Giveaway!

When does yarn become Art-yarn? I wonder this sometimes as I look through etsy listings that entitle themselves as such.

I personally consider fine crafts like handspinning, an art form. But, like all art forms, mastery, technique and a certain need for expressing an idea are what separates the arts from the crafts. Don't get me wrong, there is also good art and not-so-good art, but I think intention is what separates art and craft.

They say, all you need to appreciate good art is a chair. When you first happen upon art yarns like the ones in the Cool Climates shop, you might wonder how will I use this? What can I do with this? But, perhaps these are the wrong questions to ask. Instead, consider looking (or better yet, experiencing in person!) at the yarn and deciding for yourself if the execution of the piece was successful. I'm going to use Rachel's "Mongolia" hanspun as an example of what I mean. Browsing her shop, I was immediately drawn to this listing. I did not read the description, I just studied the photo and thought to myself "what a pretty yarn" and then "What could I possibly do with this?" Having some basic knowledge of Mongolia, I felt the yarn was a wonderful interpretation of the country, especially with Rachel's add-in choices like bone beads and fur. The colors very much reminded me of the indigenous dress as well. Now, reading some background information in the description about Rachel's extensive research on the Mongolian culture, I understand why I feel this was a well-executed piece. This piece of artwork, like all art yarns, are ones that I consider "interactive". Rachel is inviting us to finish the journey to articulate Mongolia with her, by using her work. This opens up lots of exciting possibilities for the yarn, doesn't it?

I did want to mention before closing that Rachel has another shop where she sells her art batts. Check out the Coollight shop.

I'm inviting you to take a look at Cool Climates, find something you like, and write about it in the comments section below. We'll be drawing for this "Melanie" art yarn giveaway later in the week. Please consider gaining extra entries by using twitter, facebook, or ravelry to let everyone else know about Cool Climates.

Light Brown Hare- Giveaway!

Let's start the week off right, with a good yarn! I am a big Light Brown Hare fan, and it pleases me to no end that we are able to give away this beautiful skein of "Jackalope" fingering weight yarn.

I mean, look at this dye job! So painterly! And with this month's theme being "master painters" this really fits well, doesn't it? If you love this colorway, it's called "Sunday Dreaming" and you might be able to convince lightbrownhare to make some for you. Look for more gorgeous Light Brown Hare samples in February's box!

We're giving away this beautiful 100g skein of Light Brown Hare Jakalope this week! Just visit the Light Brown Hare shop, find something you love, and write about it in the comments section below. We'll draw for a winner later in the week. Be sure and use your twitter and facebook powers to gain extra entries!

Thank you for the opportunity to sample your yarns, Dale!