phat fiber September sampler hat
I signed up for one of the Phat Fiber (etsy:PhatFiber) sampler’s, and was very blown away by all the fun stuff in the box.
So, I set myself a challenge to spin all the fiber into one yarn, and then knit that up into a hat with the yarns that were also included in the sampler.
The theme was fairytales & folklore: the yarns & fibers were beautiful.
It was a fun project & it’s a very smooshy, soft hat.
This is a great creative mood enhancer; I tend to have very rigid plans for fiber, so it was fun to have a very loose idea of what to do & just flow with it. I definitely recommend signing up for Phat Fiber’s monthly sampler, if you’re a knitter or a spinner. There’s so much great stuff out there that isn’t really known about. I think I found out through a banner ad on Ravelry, and I’m really glad that I did.
A spinning FOOL
I recently saw a vest that someone on Ravelry had knitted, and it really grabbed my attention, but the recommended yarn (Noro Kochoran) is reputed to be very…shed-dy…that can’t be a word. The yarn sheds mightily. So, I grabbed my giant tumbleweed of stashed roving, got out the Blue Steel (4 oz.) and Camo (4 oz.) blue-faced leicester wool from Zarzuela’s Fibers, and went to town.
I’ve been spinning ever since, and just finished setting the twist in the wool long enough for the stupid rain to come back AGAIN, and drive me inside to dry it over the fire. I’m more appreciative than ever of the wood-burning stove.
In other news, key lime cupcakes were baked & consumed…and the lime/cilantro coleslaw was shredded, mixed & consumed…and now I’m looking for a few more recipes, so I can use up all of the organic lime juice, because it’s just that f***ing good.
And I’ve been installing more garden fencing…we’re looking even more Englishy-cottagy, now that the rains have increased our green lushness to at least 400%. I mean, it’s usually very verdant and pretty around here well into fall, unless we get a drought, but this year, it’s vivid & dark & amazing.
We also have mushrooms coming up everywhere:
Unidentified mushroom
I really wish I knew what some of them were: I’m too afraid to eat any of them, though.
Tomorrow holds much of the same glorious boring stuff: spinning, knitting, cooking, garden work, walking…I have no complaints at all.
My Dad’s Pet Fig Trees
real food challenge
my awesome cousin