Tag Archives: fiber friday

October 5, 2012 · 5:46 am

Fiber Friday: Fiber Packs,a Great Way to Learn About New Wools !

My goal this month, besides lots of knitting, is to learn about the British breeds and to spin a few new fibers that I’ve not really explored yet.

I recently enjoyed a wonderful mini-online class by Deborah Robson, co-author of The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook, called Know Your Wool . In this class, Deborah explores breed-specific wool characteristics, discusses where and how to look for any type of yarn, and how to determine the right wool for any project.  This mini-workshop is free and available online at Craftsy.com.  So if you are interested in learning more about different breeds, I encourage to sign-up and  Even though this class is short, its packed full over great information!

First on my list to spin this month is Finnish Wool.  I like to start small and decided that a sampler pack would be the best way to go to explore this particular wool.  There are quite a few shops that offer a variety of sampler packs, but after much searching I found a great sampler pack from Woolgatherings.

This pack features 2 oz each in Black, Brown, Gray, White  and Humbug (mix of brown & white).   Woolgatherings also carries a variety of other sampler packs as well as lovely hand-dyed fiber.   I can say that on first touch, this wool is very soft, so I look forward to seeing how it spins up.

Finnish wool is very similar to Blue Faced Leicester wool in appearance, it is approx 28 – 30 Microns, average length of 80mm, making it a good felting wool. This is available in 4 natural shades. Perfect for hand spinning, hand felting and many other craft uses. – World of Wool

I made my first purchase from a UK shop and ordered a British Breeds Sampler pack from Hilltop Cloud.  This pack includes a 1/2 oz each of 4 shades of British Shetland, 2 shades of British BFL (Blue Faced Leicester),  2 shades of North Ronaldsay and shade of British Jacob.  Katie has other wonderful fibers in her shop, so be sure to take a peek.

If I spin this well, I will created enough mini skeins to knit Kate Davies Sheep Heid pattern, so that’s my goal!

Sheep Heid Hat Pattern – Photo courtesy of Kate Davies

If you’re interested in learning about different varieties of wools to spin, do be sure to check out The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook.  Before taking the plunge in ordering a ton of fiber to spin, order a fiber sampler kit.  This is a great way to learn about the wool, it’s characteristics for spinning and you can create fun mini skeins for various colorwork projects.

I think this month will be a fun adventure in spinning and I’m up for the challenge!

So, what’s on your wheel, spindle or needles?

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April 13, 2012 · 5:11 am

Fiber Friday: A Few Indy Dyers to Share

I love the adventure of finding new Indy dyers and today, I want to share what I found.  I know that a few of these may already be known to you, but if not, I hope you enjoy!

Fishknits offers a lovely selection of hand-dyed lace, worsted and kettle-dyed yarns.  I love the Autumn Sunday Drive, a 100% merino worsted weight that comes in a 220 yard skein.

Courtesy of Fishknits

I’ve mentioned Plum Street Fiber Art before, but her colorway Stardust on Creme de la Creme Silk is simply gorgeous!  This is a mouth-watering must have yarn perfect for a single skein lace shawl project.  This particular skein is 437 yards and a luxurious blend of 60% silk and 40% cashmere.

Courtesy of Plum Street Fiber Art

 

I love Puddles by the Copper Corgi Fiber Studio.  This yarn is 245 yards of 100% merino wool in fingering weight.  Two skeins is perfect for socks, a shawl or even a scarf!

Courtesy of the Copper Corgi

Erica Jackofsky is known for her designs, but did you know that she also hand-dyes yarns!  I love her new collections of fingering weight, especially her Blood Orange, a 438 yard skein in a blend of 75% superwash merino wool, 20% nylon and 5% stellina.  Erica’s shop is Fiddle Knits Fibers & Designs.

Courtesy of Fiddleknits

For those of you who enjoy spinning, check out Spinneretta’s Studio.   I’m in love with Subdued, a hand-dyed blend of fawn Alpaca and silk!

Courtesy of Spinneretta

Sherwood, a 400 yard skein of fingering weight in a blend of 80% superwash wool and 20% nylon , by Cakewalk Yarns would be perfect for socks!

Courtesy of Cakewalk Yarns

 

Do you have a favorite Indy Dyer? If you do, please let me know who they are, I would love to spotlight them too!

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!

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November 4, 2011 · 6:17 am

Fiber Friday Spotlight: Yarnie goodness!

It has been quite a while since I’ve posted a Fiber Friday Spotlight but thought today might be a good day to share a few lovely yarns and fibers that you might want to add to your stash.  Yes, I’m enabling today!

For those of you who are Madelinetosh lovers, did you know she has an Etsy Shop?  I discovered this little secret a short time ago and every now and then, she has awesome deals, including free shipping.  Be sure to favorite her shop and to stay informed on all the latest deals, colorways, etc… be sure to join the Madelinetosh Lovers Group on Ravelry.

Courtesy of Madelinetosh - Colorway Logwood

For those of you who love to knit shawls in lace weight, which that is really becoming my thing of late, I want to share with you  an Indy Dyer that has beautiful lace weight yarn.   Dale’s Light Brown Hare .  You will find a beautiful array of gorgeous dyed lace weight yarns in a yummy blend of kid mohair and superfine merino wool.

Courtesy of the Light Brown Hare - Colorway: Chasing Sky

For those of you who love knitting socks or using fingering weight sock yarns for shawlettes, check out Plum Street Fiber Art.  This Indy Dyer has a wonderful collection of hand-dyed fingering weight yarns in blends and superwash merino wool.

Courtesy of Plum Street Fiber Arts - Eggplant on Devine

 

For the spinners, there are so many fantastic dyers, but I really love the colorways and blends from Three Waters Farm.   This Indy Dyer features a large selection of blends for spinning,  as well as  beautiful hand-dyed yarns ready for knitting.

Courtesy of Three Waters Farms - Couture

 

For those of you who like to support the farms and knit with wonderful wools, you must visit Solitude Wool.   This online shop has a variety of wools for knitting, including Border Leicester, Shropshire, Tunis/Alpaca, Dorset  and more.  They also carry fiber for spinning.

Courtesy of Solitude Wool - Border Leicester Sport

 

I hope I inspired you all a bit and that you learned about a few new Indy Dyers.  Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!

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July 29, 2011 · 5:29 am

Fiber Friday Spotlight: Briar Rose Fiber

Today’s Fiber Friday Spotlight features Chris, the owner and operator of  Briar Rose Fibers, who has been offering gorgeous  high quality “hand painted” yarn, and fiber, in wool and wool blends, as well as handcrafted buttons and patterns,  since 2004.   Briar Rose Fibers rich vibrant colors reflect seasonal palettes in a variety of tones and colorways that is sure to please any fiber enthusiast.

For those of you looking for hand painted fiber for spinning, be sure to check out Chris’s  Roving and Top selections featuring  BFL, Cormo, Merino and Polwarth, and available to purchase in 1 ounce, 2 ounce, 4 ounce or 6 ounce weights.  There are many gorgeous colorways available, making it very hard to decide exactly which one to choose,  but it’s all the more reason to keep coming back for more.

I recently had the pleasure of spinning 3 oz of Polwarth that I absolutely love!  This will be spun into a single and then knitted up in a lovely scarf or a pair of fingerless mitts.

For those of you looking for scrumptious blends of yarn, there is a large variety of weights, fiber and tempting colors to entice you.  You will find quite a few patterns on Ravelry that have been designed using Chris’s yarn, especially by Anne Hanson of KnitSpot.

Patterns include:

You can find Briar Rose Fibers online at Facebook and online at Ravelry.

 

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June 24, 2011 · 5:25 am

Fiber Friday Spotlight: Beesybee Fibers

I discovered that when I hold a skein of yarn I have spun, I get a feeling of conclusion, and the knitting process becomes almost secondary to me. I like to think about the histories intertwined in a skein of yarn. The people, the animals, the places even the weather and my thoughts. All becomes present and important while I prepare the fiber before I spin it. ~ Patricia

Today’s Fiber Friday Spotlight features Patricia of Beesbybee Fibers.

This native of Yucatan, Mexico discovered working with wool as a matter of necessity when she moved from the warm tropics to the cold weather of the north and soon began dyeing wools and blends.

Courtesy of Beesybee Fibers

With an eye for color, this Indy Dyer brings spinners a collection of fibers in warm, rich tones, with a few that are often vibrant.   In Patricia’s shop you will find a wonderful collection of hand-dyed wools in BFL, Corridale, Merino and Polwarth.

If you enjoy spinning  blends,  you will like the  blend of 60% Merino and 40% Bamboo and if you want to try something new be sure to check out her Milk Fiber.

Courtesy of Beesybee Fber

If you are not a spinner, Patricia does carry  hand-dyed sock yarns in a blend of 80% Superwash Merino and 20%  Bamboo that are available in gorgeous colors with skeins measuring 420 yards.

You can find Patricia online at Etsy, FaceBook, Twitter and you can follow her fiber adventures online at Beesybeefibers Blog.

I just purchased a very soft blend of BFL and Tussah Silk that I hope to spin during the upcoming Tour de Fleece!

BFL and Tussah Silk Blend

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June 10, 2011 · 6:06 am

Fiber Friday Spotlight: Black Trillium Fibre Studio

Black Trillium Fibre Studio is a one-woman operation. I love knitting, and I consider wool to be one of the most ingenious materials in the world. Dyeing seemed like a natural extension of all that sock knitting. ~ Melanie

 

Today’s Fiber Friday Spotlight features Melanie of Black Trillium fibre studio.

For those of you who love to spin, Melanie carries a nice selection of hand-dyed rovings in blends of Merino wool and Bamboo, as well as Superwash Merino and Blue Faced Leicester.

If you enjoy knitting socks or shawls, you will love the collection of sock yarns in scrumptious colorways with an average of 437 yards for Merilon Sock (75% superwash Merino 25% Nylon), 370 yards for Trinity Sock (80% superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon), 380 yards for Pebble Sock (100% superwash Merino), 400 yards for BFL Sock (100% superwash  Blue Face Leicester Wool) and 430 yards for Lilt Sock (85% superwash wool and 15% Mulberry Silk).

Melanie also carries lace weight with an average of 990 yards in Merino Wool and 430 yards in 100% Baby Alpaca.  Her worsted weight  has an average of 215 yards in 100% Wool, 240 yards in a blend of 60% Merino Wool and 40% Silk, and 220 years in 100% superwash wool.

I just received 8oz of Blue Faced Leicester roving in a gorgeous colorway called Columbia.  This mix of blues, greens and a slight rusty colors are awesome and the fiber is super soft!  I can attest to the fact that the colors viewed in Melanie’s Etsy shop are true to form and you won’t be disappointed.

Blue Face Leicester

Melanie has a summer sale going on now until June 14th!   Be sure to use the “Summer30″ as the coupon code to receive 30% off at checkout!  This is a great time to stock up on hand-dyed roving  for Tour de Fleece and yarns for socks, shawls, mittens or scarves!

You can find Melanie online at Twitter and on FaceBook.

Enjoy and Happy Fiber Friday !

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June 3, 2011 · 4:47 am

Fiber Friday Spotlight: At Bullard Farm

Since moving to our beautiful Bullard Farm, in rural Massachusetts, I have become a fiberholic! I knit, spin, dye or play with wool of all kinds every spare moment.   Hopefully I can share my passion with you through Etsy! ~ Andrea

Andrea is not only a fabulous hand-dyer of yarns and fibers, she’s also a very dear online friend who has been very motivational and inspirational.   Without her giving me a gentle push to try new fibers,  I would not quite be where I am today when it comes to spinning!   With that said, today’s Fiber Friday Spotlight features Andrea Frost  of At Bullard Farm.

Andrea offers a variety of  gorgeous hand-dyed yarns in lace weight, fingering/sock weight and DK/Sport weight, as well as fiber for spinning that includes BFL (Blue Faced Leicester) Wensleydale, Falkland, Alpaca, Silk and Cashmere mixes.    Andrea hand-paints her fiber using professional acid (vinegar) dyes that create remarkable colorways.   I can honestly say that the photos provided by Andrea are true to color and the fiber is incredibly soft.

Violets and Peacock - 100% BFL Wool

Like many spinners, BFL is one of my all time favorite Long-wool breeds to spin due to the quality, sheen, drape and of course softness.  Like many wools, BFL also is wonderful to use for any type of felting projects.  If you are a new spinner, BFL is perfect for you to learning spinning with.

You can find Andrea online at Etsy and you can follow her online at  Twitter .

I know that many of you are gearing up for the much anticipated 2011 Tour de Fleece on Raverly and due to this, I thought I would start reviewing scrumptious fiber that can be found online to satisfy your spinning needs.

Until next Friday’s Fiber Friday Spotlight, happy knitting, crocheting and spinning!

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May 6, 2011 · 5:45 am

Fiber Friday Spotlight: The Plucky Knitter

One-of-a-kind hand-dyed yarn coming to you from my little cottage on a lake in the midwest ~ Sarah Dimond

It’s been ages since I’ve done a Fiber Friday Spotlight but today I had to tell you about a new  favorite among my long list of Indy Dyers, Sarah Dimond a.k.a.  The Plucky Knitter.   I have to say that this Indy Dyer truly knows her stuff and her yarns, well they are simply tempting and luscious!

Sarah yarns are gorgeous, vibrant and always come in a beautiful array of hand-dyed colors.  I must warn you though, Sarah’s yarns sell out quickly in her Etsy Shop, which tells you that others are in love with her yarn as much as I am.

Today I am reviewing Sarah’s Primo MCN.  Each hank is 385 yards (3.56 oz/101 g), a blend of 75% merino wool, 20% cashmere and 5% nylon, and a suggested needles size of US 1 – 3 (2.25mm – 3.25mm).

Super soft and a pleasure to knit with, this fingering weight yarn will truly show off  any lace and cable work quite nicely, as well as create a gorgeous pair of socks.   One skein will would almost be enough for many sock patterns but I would highly recommend two skeins for larger projects such as scarves and shawls.

I’m currently swatching lace patterns for another shawl design and I can honestly say that the depth in the colorway, along with the blend of yarn, truly shows off the stitches, which seems to hold true with most of the lace designs I’ve seen using the Plucky Knitter line of yarns.

Patterns that would be perfect to use with this particular yarn include the following:

To keep informed of her sales and listings, be sure to join her email list, as well as her Ravelry Group.  You can also find Sarah online at her website, Etsy and FaceBook.

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February 25, 2011 · 4:49 am

Fiber Friday Spotlight: At Knits End

There is something magical about dyeing for me, I love watching whatever I’m dyeing transform itself. ~ Kim

 

I was very much amazed when I received a box in the mail containing three lovely skeins of  gorgeous sock yarn for review.   Super soft, incredible colorways, a pleasure to knit with, this fingering weight yarn will truly show off  any lace work and will create a gorgeous pair of socks.   I must say this Indy Dyer has a great eye for color and I love where she draws her inspiration from!

So, today I’m excited to announce a  fiber artist that has just opened up her Etsy shop online and is ready to entice all of you sock and shawl knitters.    So please welcome  New York Indy Dyer Kim Hartmann of  At Knits End to the wonderful world of fiber!

Drawn to the allure of colors magically changing before her eyes,  Kim began acid dying yarns but did not care for the process, so she decided to switch to Kool-Aid dying and sets the color with steam.   Due to limited colors in Kool-Aid, Kim loves the challenge of mixing lots of different colors to achieve one of a kind unique colorways for her yarns.   Most of her fingering weight yarn is a blend of merino wool and silk, but she has also started expertimenting with blends of merino wool and bamboo. 

Available in a blend of 70% Merino Wool and 30% Silk, each skein of  fingering weight is approximately 440 yards with a  suggested size US 3 knitting needle.  This weight of yarn is perfect for socks, scarves, mitts or even light weight lace hats.   Kim also offers  hand dyed fiber ready for spinning in a lovely blend of merino wool and bamboo.

When Kim isn’t busy dying her lovely creations, she enjoys drinking tea,  nibbling on chocolate, knitting socks or lace shawls, and sharing her adventures with her eight year old daughter.  You can find Kim online at Twitter and find her gorgeous creations in her Etsy Shop.

Stay tuned for a design coming featuring Kim’s scrumptious “Ewe Need Cake” (featured in the above photo to the far left) !

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February 18, 2011 · 2:54 pm

Fiber Friday ~ Favorites from Etsy

Today I’m showcasing Indy Dyers that sell their lovely hand-dyed yarns and fiber for spinning on Etsy.   Over the years Etsy has been a perfect venue for knitters, crocheters and spinners to find unique one of a kind hand-dyed creations.  As the fiber industry continues to expand and grow, so does the Indy industry bringing us a wide range of fibers.  From common merino wool to highly sought after rare wools and fibers, you are able to find just about anything to satisfy your adventure in yarn and fiber.

With that said, please let me introduce a few Indy Dyers that have gorgeous wares:

  • Beata of Hedgehog Fibres offers a wide range of gorgeous hand dyed yarns and fiber for spinning.  This Indy dyer truly has an eye for color and it is shown in her lovely creations.  You can find Beata online at Etsy, join her group on Ravelry or follow her adventures on her blog.  If you visit her blog, please take a look at her free sock pattern, Sprouting, that features cablework.
  • Rachel of On the Round  offers both fiber for spinning and hand-dyed yarns for knitting or crocheting in a variety of weights, as well as a few handspun novelty yarns.  You can find Rachel online at Etsy,  Twitter, FaceBook and can follow her on her blog.
  • Patricia of Beesybee Fibers brings spinners a beautiful collection of hand-dyed quality fibers and is also Phat Fiber contributor, offers a wonderful variety of Polwarth, Corridale, BFL, Milk Fiber and Merino.  If you are an avid spinner, this is a shop well worth checking out.  You can find Patricia online at Etsy, her Blog and on FaceBook.
  • Stephanie of Lunabud Knits  brings spinners vibrant colors in hand-dyed fiber,  knitters and crochets a beautiful selection of fingering weight, lace weight and sock weight yarns, as well as handspun novelty yarns.  You can find Stephanie online at her Blog, Etsy, FaceBook and as Lunabudknits on Ravelry.  Stephanie will be phasing out her Etsy shop, so be sure to visit her website for large selection of quality hand-dyed yarns, fiber for spinning, spinning wheels and notions.

 Enjoy and Happy Knitting!

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