Phat Phamily Reunion 2010

This past weekend, I made the whirlwind trip to visit my online fiber friends in Southern Illinois. We all have known eachother for sometime online talking through fiber forums on Ravelry and Yahoo. Never have I been with a group of people so uplifting and inspiring that I feel completely refreshed, even after 20 hours of driving in one weekend. We talked, spun, dined and generally just enjoyed the company. Check out the photos for yourself!

Dark and Lavender Leaf Knit Pattern

Dark and Lavender Leaf
By Dawn L.E. Riden

Inspired by Georgie O’Keeffe’s “Dark and Lavender
Leaf” this simple knit simply showcases the beauty
already found in nature. Knit it up to use on hats, bags, as
an ornament, or even sew it onto a shawl pin back for a
nice accessory.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Length: 4 inches
Width: 3 inches

MATERIALS
Light Brown Hare Jackrabbit Fingering Yarn
[100% Superwash Merino; 400 yd/m per 50g skein];
color: Sunken Treasure; scraps ~10 yards

Recommended needle size:
1 set US #3/3.25mm straight/circular/double point
needles

PATTERN
Row 1: CO 1
Row 2: KFB (2 sts)
Row 3: K across
Row 4: KFB (4 sts)
Row 5: K across
Row 6: K1, yo, k2, yo k1 (6 sts)
Row 7 and all odd: K2, Purl to last 2 sts, k2 (6 sts)
Row 8: k2, yo, k2, yo, k2 (8 sts)
Row 10: K1, kfb, k1, yo, k2tog, yo, k1, kfb, k1 (11 sts)
Row 12: k5, yo, k1, yo, k5 (13 sts)
Row 12: K6, yo, k1, yo, k6 (15 sts)
Row 14: K7, yo, k1, yo, k7 (17 sts)
Row 16: k6, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k6 (17 sts)
Row 18: k6, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k6 (17 sts)

Divide sts into 3 sections of 8, 1, 8

On the right side:
Row 20: K1, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1
Row 21: K2, p3, k2
Row 22: BO knitwise

To make matching bind off on the left side turn work over:
Row 20: P1, p2tog, p1, p2tog, p1.
Row 21: K across
Row 22: BO purlwise

For the stem st, k the st 4 times.
BO and weave in all ends reinforcing stem and sides.


Copyright 2010. Dawn L.E. Riden. These patterns are for personal and non-profit use only. You may not sell items made from these patterns. You may make them for yourself, as gifts, or for donation to charity sales or auctions. And these patterns love being used for knitalongs or other organized knitting events that are free of charge.

Merchants may not download or print these patterns for sale, free distribution, or class use without prior written permission from the author (that’s me, Pam). If you received one of these patterns directly from a yarn store, or are taking a paid class using one of these patterns (even if you downloaded it yourself), please verify that the store has written permission from the author.
Printing or downloading a pattern constitutes agreement with these terms.

Gorgeously Gothic Spin-A-Long Coming!

My son started reading “The Series of Unfortunate Events” after receiving the first “The Bad Beginning” book for Christmas. Since then, those bothersome books have brought nothing, but leisurely laziness to my home. With so many ill-fated adventures, one must take events into their own hands by stopping to spin a tale using a frenzy of fibers from my Gruesomely Gothic Spin-A-Long! Samples of some of the colorways are headed out in January's Phat Fiber Box, which you can find more information at www.phatfiber.com/.

THE DASTARDLY DETAILS:

Listing for the fiber will go up for sale on my Etsy Store the day Phat Fiber boxes go on sale. I will either card two beastly batts of 2 oz each, or I will dye 4 oz of Superwash roving that is inspired by one of the 13 books. Some of these sinister sets can be viewed and purchased right away. Others, you will have to wait and see what comes in the mail.

The awful batts boast lots of texture and dark colors. The possibilities are endless with angora, Angelina, Firestar, wool, mohair, and other dreadful fibers. (NOTE: if you are allergic to a particular fiber, please let me know ahead of time.) I will also include extra goodies to add-in, which could include sequins, locks, ribbons, or a number of different items.

When you have finished spinning your atrocious yarns, photograph them and send the picture to me at dawningdreams@gmail.com. I will then post pictures on the Dawning Dreams “Gorgeously Gothic SAL” Thread for final voting.

THE PRIZES:

1^st place - Complimentary 4 oz choice of batt or roving and handmade orifice hook

2^nd place - Complimentary 2 oz choice of batt or roving

3^rd place - Handmade orifice hook

THE TIME FRAME:
January 17th - Ordering available

February 1st - Batts will be sent out.
March 2nd - Final yarn pictures due by for contest consideration
March 8th - Winners announced!

Feel free to take pre, process, and post photos of yourself spinning. The more pictures we have to choose from, the better your chances. You will also receive double entries for finished yarn AND finished object photos.

If you would like to join this Spin-A-Long please feel free to purchase this listing (or more if you feel so inclined) and join the fun at http://www.ravelry.com/groups/dawning-dreams

THE QUESTIONS FOR SURPRISE BATTS:

Please, include the following devious details for your bad batts in a message, so that I may make your package as perfectly personalized as possible.

What are your top two color choices?

emerald green, amethyst purple, ruby red, topaz yellow, sapphire blue, tourmaline green, and turquoise blue

Include your selection of add-ins (you will receive a variety of those you choose, though not necessarily everything):

Buttons, ribbon, lace, sequins, locks, metallic threads, beads, faux pearls, fabric strips, feathers, silk flowers, or if there is something else you have in mind that I may be able to find.

Here's a preview of the samples Phat Fiber will be distributing, which includes 3 of the 13 available colorways:

August Phat Fiber

Meet Me at the Fair!

This months Phat Fiber box was most definitely one of the best months so far. It was full of many types of fibers in bright, glorious colors to spin. Some were art batts full of lumps and bumps that gave the resulting yarn more texture. Some fibers were silky smooth that perfectly held the locks in place.



I know some spinner's don't like rough textures, and when I'm spinning a lace, I don't want a lot of texture either. Every once in a while, though, I have to spin something crazy and fun to break the monotony.

With all these fibers, I spun a fun single interlaced with locks. I used mostly materials from the box with the addition of some locks I had stashed. I can't help but smile when I see it.

July Phat Sample Peek

For July, we all all going non-wool. So no fluffy BFL batts or Merino lovelies, but this time around we are sending in cottons, silks, alpacas, and angoras. I'm very excited about what treasures and sensations will be up for grabs in this assortment.

For my samples, I revisited my knit jewelry. I actually made the samples themselves about a month ago. They have been sitting in my desk awaiting the proper adornment for their trip around the world. (Yes, lots of the Phat Boxes find their way overseas. Isn't that great!)

I finally saw these little boxes for wedding favors at the store. They were perfect for putting my pins in. Unfortunately, I did not spend the money to buy them there. I didn't partially because I was on vacation, and didn't want to tote around the buggers for the remainder of the trip.

Boy, I feel like an idiot now. I looked online at the cost of purchasing the little favor boxes. Outrageous! The boxes cost more than I thought they would. So, being the crafty individual I am, I grabbed a stack of stock paper and a template, and I cut out and folded 50 little cute boxes. It took 4 hours to get everyone of them finished. When I had finally packed my goodies in a mailing box along with a batt, I was exhausted. I'm surprised I didn't get a paper cut!

So here they are! Someone will receive one of these designs in their box. Now, don't be upset if you don't wear shawls. I get that sentiment a lot, "Aww, they're pretty, but I don't wear shawls." The beauty of these is that they can be worn many, many different ways. Pin it to the front of a cardigan to keep it closed, use it as a accessory on a purse, pin it to a winter knit hat. . . the uses are endless!




So, if any one you get one of my beauties, I love to see a picture of it in action. You can post here with a link or on my Ravelery group at http://www.ravelry.com/groups/dawning-dreams-devotees

Thank you!