Winners This Week and reminders!

This week's Winners are:

rumplestiltskin82 ! You won the Spin to Shawl project from Garilynn

Tara ! You won the Strangefruit Bag !!

Helenlam ! You won the WPI tool necklace!!

Please email me at phatfiber at yahoo dot com with your addresses!

IMPORTANT REMINDER!

Today is the last day to make purchases that qualify for the July Buy Phat Incentive Superbox- this is your chance(s) to win a big giant box of all the samples in the July Seaweed Ships and Scallywags box. Check it out: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/phat-fiber-sampler-box/1223283/1-25

Stash Enhancement Silver WPI gauge giveaway!

I very much love the idea of functional art. I can really get into the beauty of tools and the art of the everyday. This is what I love about this wpi gauge that Jessie of Stashenhancement has made.

This wpi tool was crafted from a solid silver half dollar coin (1944) and strung on a handspun bombyx silk cord. Would you be the envy of everyone at spin night with this? Yes! Is this pretty enough to wear all the time, even when you're not spinning? Yes!

Take a little time today and visit StashEnhancement's shop, find something you love, and come back and write about it here. We'll be drawing for a name very soon, so don't forget to use twitter or facebook to help spread the word and gain extra entries!

Strangefruit Spindle Pack Giveaway!

For a couple of months now you've all been getting these adorable stitch markers in your box from Strangefruit- but did you know that proprietress Kim also makes custom fiber bags? She's graciously giving away this beauty of a bag here on the blog!

Shopping online- I can't think of a better way to spend a hot sticky summer Wednesday!

A random question for all you stitch marker addicts- have any of you turned them into charms for necklaces or bracelets?

Please visit Strangefruit, find something you love and write about it in the comments section below. We'll be drawing for this beautiful bag in a couple of days so don't delay!

Gulf Oil Spill Benefit Box!

Several of our Phatties have sent in fibery and yarny goodies to benefit Audobon.org All you need to do to win this big beautiful box of full-sized items is donate to Audobon.org . Every $5 you donate will get you a number to be put into the drawing. Forward your donation receipt to sooperbox@live.com and within a few days someone will get back to you with your number(s). The drawing will be held late August.

Not featured in the video but included in the box is also this beautiful braid of bamboo fiber from MoonwoodFarm:




Phat Fiber would like to thank the following artists for their activism:

Spincerely
WildOrchidsFiberArts
RuleOutFiberAddictionNOS
Farmgirlchic
SheepyKitty
LightBrownHare
ZooCreations
Giffordables
ByRebekahwithLove
FiberFancy
StrickenSmitten
NorthStarAlpacas
GalesArt
Mamajudes
FleecemakersFibers
Garilynn
Winemakerssister
Woolgatherings
StoriedYarns
TheCritterRanch
StarandCrossBones
MoonwoodFarm

Spin your shawl kit giveaway!

I dare you to say "Miranda's Sea Shawl by the Seashore" 3 times fast! July, Garilynn came up with a beautiful and versatile shawl pattern- I think this pattern will become quite popular in the next few months when the weather begins to turn cooler and folks need a little something extra about them. I love the idea of spinning your own shawl and Garilynn has included fiber from WCMercantile for you to try in this kit.

In this pattern, Garilynn talks about how she notices that in Waterhouse's depiction of Miranda, she's not wearing any sort of shawl though the weather is obviously violent- see above picture from www.jwwaterhouse.com and I think it's very cool that she would notice this! Maybe it was intentional- showing how vulnerable the Miranda character is when the shipwreck occurs?

At any rate, this is an easy and versatile pattern and I think you'll thoroughly enjoy it!
Visit Garilynn today, find something you love, and write about it in the comments section below. We'll be giving away this kit to a lucky commenter this week- you can gain extra entries by twittering, facebooking, plurking etc! Just remember to let us know you did ;)

Lots of winners!

Congratulations winners!!

Chris won the great Northern Yarns cashmere yarn

Kim R. won the Spinnerette Fibers stitch marker set

KillDxM won the Farmgirlchic batt

Rebekah won the Everimprovingme batt

Turtle won the Wild Hare Fibers batt!!


Please send me a note at phatfiber at yahoo dot com with your addy and i'll get these out to you!

Tomorrow we'll be filming the Gulf Relief Giveaway box- look for updates on Twitter and Facebook about how you can watch a live taping!

Intereview with Melissa Yoder Ricks of Wild Hare Fiber and Giveaway!

Melissa of Wild Hare fiber was inspired to create a wonderful batt this month for a giveaway- it goes along so well with our "Seaweed Ships and Scallywags" theme! This 'Moby Dick' batt has lots of different fibers including ecospun which is recycled plastic from things like soda bottles.

Melissa is a very inspiring woman and she was gracious enough to sit down for a few and answer some short questions I had for her. I miss doing interviews on the blog, so I hope to bring them back more often. Here is what she had to say:

Where do you draw inspiration for your work?

The beauty of the natural world inspires many of the colors that I choose, although I'm also inspired at times to create colors based on certain moods or feelings. I also loosely follow color trends to keep everything fresh and relevant.

What is your favorite fiber to work with?
I love wool! It is so versatile, and there is such variety between breeds.

Do you have a least favorite?
I love most natural fibers, and tend to steer clear of synthetics.
There is one fiber that I like but which I find difficult to work with because it makes me sneeze, and that is angora (it's ironic, since often people seeing my logo assume that I'm selling angora)

What is it like to be a full-time fiber artist?
Amazing! I feel really blessed to be able to focus on doing what I love to do! This has been my dream since I was young. Having a flexible schedule so that I can adjust to my children's needs is a huge bonus too.

Tell us more about your favorite products you offer.
All the products I carry were chosen because they are my 'favorite' in some way! I search out fibers that I love to spin myself, and create handspun yarns that I would want to use. I recently added hand-dyed yarns, and search high and low to find the best mill spun yarn that I could find as my base. I also carry Spinolution, Louet and Nancy's Knit Knacks fiber tools and equipment - the same brands I use for my own work.

What is your favorite way to use yarn?
To hold it and squeeze it ...? Gosh, each and every skein of yarn is so full of possibilities that it can be challenging to commit it to just one project. I knit, crochet and do some simple weaving, and usually look to the yarn and let it tell me what to do with it. I do more knitting than anything else because it's so portable.

If you were to do a self-portrait in fiber, what would it look like? What
materials would you use etc?

My 'self portrait in fiber' would have to be a mixed-media piece that combines lots of different fiber and techniques -- so it would have perhaps a woven or wet-felted base with knitted appliques, some free-form crochet, and needle-felted and embroidered details. All in a range of rich natural colors (hey, this sounds like a fun project!)

We're giving away "moby dick" today- visit Wild Hare, find something you love, and come back here to write about it in the comments section. We award other social networking pings with extra entries, just let us know you did it!

Everimprovingme Batt giveaway!

Isn't this batt, just carded perfection? I don't know what it is with me and pink lately, but much of what I have spun during Tour de Fleece has had pink in it! It's just happy, I guess! Speaking of happy, Johanna of Everimprovingme is just a happy person that I am glad to 'know' online! I adore her- she's just a gem!

I am eagerly anticipating my Pirates and Princesses SAL shipment to arrive- I requested that she surprise me because I just have complete confidence in her artistry I want Johanna to just be liberated to create something special, which I know she will!

Today we're giving away this gorgeous "Titania upon Waking" batt!! Just visit Everimprovingme, find something that speaks to you, and write about it in the comments section below. We'll be drawing for a winner later in the week and any extra social network pings are greatly appreciated and awarded with extra entries.

Farmgirl Chic Batt Giveaway!

When I took a peek at the Farmgirl Chic shop today I knew I had to go ahead and feature it on today's post- it's just chock full of color, fiber, texture and fun! What an amazing selection of mohair and costwold locks! It's always so wonderful to see these dyed up in rainbow colors- since I'm not very skilled at dyeing, it's so interesting to ponder how it's done!

The fiber is so gorgeous, but what is really capturing my attention are the adorable hand sewn knitting bags made from vintage fabrics! They're just beautiful! It reminds me of a bag I would take to an afternoon tea with friends- so light and fresh!

We're giving away this gorgeous Citrus batt from FarmGirlChic! Just visit the Farmgirlchic etsy shop and find something you love- come back and write about it in the comments section below and be entered to win this beautiful summery batt! Remember we will reward your extra twitter, facebook, plurk pings because you're helping spread the good word about this beautiful shop!

Spinnerette Fibers Giveaway!

As the boxes are starting to arrive, I know a few folks really wanted to have a special message in a bottle from Spinnerette Fibers. Nicole had an beautiful idea of putting stitch markers inside corked glass bottles this month! The markers are made from semi precious stones and will surely jazz up your next knitting project!

I am constantly blown away by the Spinnerette Fibers shop- everything is exquisitely dyed and the product photography is spot on. How cool is it that she named that sock yarn Derecho- I had never heard the term before actually going through one last year.

We're giving away a full set of these sea worthy stitch markers. Just visit Spinnerette Fibers, find something you love and write about it in the comments section below. Be sure and take a little extra time to tweet and facebook about this fresh fiber shop!