Where is Knick?

Knick has been pretty quiet lately. He did arrive back from his vacay in GA in time to hop inside of a July Phat Fiber box.
While Knick was away, he had April (his host Mom) forward a few notes to let me know he was ok. Here are his updates:


Knick here. I thought I'd send you an update. It's been pretty laid back here at the Rose house. I've poked in her small stash, checked out her WIP and met a couple of knitted folk. They made an Ikea run this weekend. I went along. A little bit of cheap Europe is better than no Europe at all, I suppose, but we did have fun. I also found a small fairy house in their backyard. Apparently the fairy likes fiber as well.

I had April take a few pictures.

I'll write again before I have her mail me home.

Love,
Knick








Hello.

Not much to say really, it was pretty low key again. I tagged along with April and her kids to a nearby park that has a real caboose for the kids to play in. We took a small walk in the woods behind the park to check on some wild honeybees who were living in a sawed off log. Sadly, the hive had been destroyed. We hope they moved away to higher ground.

They went to Chattanooga for the weekend and invited me along. We had a great time. Took a ride on a steam train. Visited April's favorite coffeehouse. They make a killer oatmeal there. We walked across the Tennessee river via a pedestrian bridge for supper.

I've attached some photos of the last few days.

I think I will be coming home this week. I'll have April e-mail you the tracking number of my vehicle-cum-box when she gets it.

Love, Knick

Where are you, Knick?

Knick is still MIA in the April Boxes- for those of you who haven't gotten theirs yet, please keep watch out for him!
Last month, he took a short trip to Washington state, where his host Mom ( Hi Turtle!) kept really good care of him and created a new scrapbook for him to travel with! How sweet!!

Totally random info, I know- but a few weekends ago I attended a small sheep and wool festival and that photo is of me realizing this is the woman who taught me to knit several years ago. I decided on a whim to drive to a fiber fling a few hours away in Missouri and this woman literally held my hands and taught me to knit ( I was a rabid crocheter before this point). As I told her while I was there, she has no idea what monster she created *grin*
Her reply was "I'm glad someone gets it".

You know who else "gets it"?
The wonderful 98 year old Italian grandmother who was trapped in her home for days after that deadly earthquake a few weeks ago. She knitted to pass the time:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aNG4uvhteLoI&refer=home

Knit On.

Where in the World is Knickolas?

Knickolas spent several sunny days in Florida last month, and didn't really want to come back to cold, gray, Illinois. I'm glad he did because we sure missed his bright, albeit a bit sarcastic humor around here.

Carly, his host Mom, showed Knick about her back yard and he got to bask in the warm Florida sun, by her Koi pond. He told me later that he now considers feeding fish a favorite activity. Carly had a slide in her back yard too, Knick was sure to take full advantage of that.

Since fiber and yarn is what Knickolas loves most, Carly and Knick spent several evenings evaluating her stash and current knitting and crochet projects. Carly is involved with the Snuggles Project on Ravelry which donates "snugglies" to animal shelters. Knick tested one out and confirmed it's snuggliness. He also posed next to a small knitted bag made from a February Sample (Vines Handspun).

Carly took very good care of Knick and is now expecting her Free box for March!

Knick is en route to a mystery destination (we box all the boxes and then attach labels to the tops) and we are all anxiously awaiting word back that he has arrived safely! In the meantime, another magical creature as appeared from fiber artist, Myfairbaglady.

I had intended to post this yesterday but, well laid plans- you know :)

For your giveaway enjoyment: A hand felted leprechaun!! Inside his coal black pot is not gold, but a felted ring! I tried it on to gauge size and it is approximately a size 7. All you have to do to win this lucky leprechaun, is tell us about something "lucky" happening to you below in the comments section! I'll draw for this guy on Friday, so leave a way for me to find you!

Oh, and for those lucky people who get a Myfairbaglady sample in their March boxes- they are filled with "lucky llamas" and "lucky lambs!" Each one of the 50 she sent in were different and if you send her a little story about yours, you'll get a discount in her shop!

Myfairbaglady and *Giveaway*

I'm sure you all were intrigued when you saw little Knikolas Knickerbocker the Knitting Knome on the video... I'll give you a little background information before we delve into Knick's story.
I approached Myfairbaglady about felting me a little gnome (I can probably quote you "Amelie" word for word en francais, I've watched it so many times!)to travel the world via the Phat Fiber boxes. I didn't know the project would soon take on a life of its own.
First, I received the most amazing gift... a hand felted Spinning Sprite (yes she is spinning on a drop spindle)! I don't know how many hours/days/WEEKS? It took Kathy, the Fair Bag Lady to make it for me! Not only did I receive the sprite and Knickolas, but an entire story has been created, a magical land called Yarnovia birthed, and hopefully- an entertaining serial will be published here on the blog and the website as we track Knick's progress as he pays visit to random Phat Fiber enthusiasts!
I'd like to post the first chapter in Knick's life here (he's old now, so this happened a long time ago) , and we will get to the giveaway afterwards.

The Story of Knickolas Knickerbocker

Chapter One
The Beginning, A Very Good Place to Start

One day, a very long time ago, a young woman knelt upon a tattered piecemeal blanket, spreading soft batts of creamy white wool across her lap. She quietly mused about her day, happy at the thought that her life was about to change. In just a few days she would leave the work of washing and carding wool to become an apprentice spinster in the guild. How amazing that now, while she was busy with her daily chores, she spied a particularly beautiful fleece. She smiled and wondered if she dare set at least a few rolags of the delicate fibers aside so she could herself experience spinning it.

"Anna!" the crackling and gravely voice of old Miriam pierced the quiet evening and startled the young woman. "If you don't finish soon there will be nothing left of supper but crumbs and a few sips of broth!"

Anna snatched just two small rolags of the lovely fleece and tucked them under a fold of her old quilt. She quickly loaded each of the worker baskets with the rest of the wool batts, covered them with muslin, and then scurried off to gather her things. The secreted rovings were folded into the quilt now cradled like a child in Anna's arms. All the while that Anna finished her work, old Miriam hobbled toward the kitchen. Now in a few quick steps Anna was at her side and the two women slowly proceeded to their meager supper.

Supper finished, Anna unrolled her blanket and smoothed it on the straw tick that served as her bed. Old Miriam was already asleep. Her chest quietly moved her own blanket up and down in a slow but rhythmic pace. Anna placed the two batts of wool neath the ticking, between the muslin covered straw mat and the stone floor on which it lay. Finally she lay her head down, closed her eyes, and softly breathed her evening prayers till sleep overtook her.

Her dreams were magical that night, filled with wild colors and strange creatures. Nonsensical sounds sung by angelic voices softly cooed musical notes. All through the night her ears were filled with the noises and her countenance grew paler and paler. By the time the morning sun creased the horizon and began to send shots of gold through the muslin cloth that covered the window slits of the old stone quarters the young woman's body had soaked the ticking with feverish beads of sweat. The strange music had transformed to pounding noise, her mass of brown curly hair, matted and wet, tangled about the beauty's head as she thrashed her body to and fro. Old Miriam sat nearby, mopping Anna's brow and murmuring pleas to heaven for mercy. Day waned into evening and evening to night, and still the young woman did not awaken from the feverish sleep.

All the while the secreted batts lay neath the woman's ticking, but now their fibers began to seize. Pressed together and moistened by poor Anna's sweat and the spills of Miriam's medicinal teas the once lovely fleece began to press itself into a felted roll. Anna would not-nay, could not waken. Old Miriam kept her vigil all through that day and well into the night. Finally Miriam's old bones could not sit another moment. She retired to her own pallet, leaving Anna to fight whatever demons had invaded the women's lives.

I am a bit of a collector of stories. Fiber folk are full of them, aren't they? Kathy emailed that to me shortly after Knick arrived here. Whomever receives Knick in their box this month will be entitled to a FREE BOX next month, if he is taken care of properly and sent back home here.

Myfairbaglady, was also gracious enough to send along a beautiful aqua- colored felt bead necklace for a giveaway!! This is a large, chunky necklace and it is just beautiful! It has small seed beads that separate the large felted ones, and I really want to keep this for myself! Please visit Myfairbaglady's Etsy shop and find something you like. Post about it below here and you will be entered to win on Friday! Make sure you leave a way for me to find you, in case you win. I always count plurks, tweets, forum posts, blog posts etc twice when drawing for the giveaway so you can have more chances to win!

Big thank-yous to Kathy from Myfairbaglady!