Silver Sun Batt Club Giveaway!

Have we got a giveaway for you!!!

We're doing it again! Ricky of Silver Sun Alpacas is giving away a 3 month batt club subscription this weekend! You'lll get 2oz of deliciously carded fiber each month for three months!

As a special Phat Fiber promotion, Ricky is offering 20% off storewide, just for you! Just enter the code: phat7 during the checkout process.

And, to help those of you who have been wanting to learn to spin, For this weekend only, Ricky is offering double the fiber in her famed drop spindle kits! The kits aren't subject to the 20% off, but what an amazing deal! You'll get 8 oz of fiber instead of the normal 4 oz!

This special sale ends Midnight 7/12!

All you need do, is visit Silver Sun Alpacas, find something you like, write about it in the comments section below and be entered to win! Remember, I will always count your plurks, tweets, facebook updates and Ravelry posts as second entries- so go ahead, spread the word!

Ricky, we thank you for your amazing enabling abilities. What would we do without you?!

Winners this week!

Thank you all so much for commenting this week!

I had a tough time deciding on a name for the wheel and I had to go with felt good in the gut!
I chose Dani's suggestion "Orb" because that fits her personality, sort of pays homage to where she came from, and my Louet's name is "Luna" and it just fit!

There are still winners to be had with this giveaway though! I chose the first runner up name to be "Moonbeam" so Joanna, you have a choice between the handspun or the batt!

Second runner up was "Kaiora" from Kathleen so you'll get the second prize!

Again, Thank you all for helping me!

On to the other prizes this week!

Smoky Mountain Fibers roving: Campbell (Anna)

Into the Whirled Batt: Spindipity

Goodness Gracious bag and handspun: Autum (@autumnsflame)

My8KidsMom sock yarn: SKARO964

If you've won, please email me at phatfiber@yahoo.com with your addresses and I'll send them out asap!

We've got another big giveaway this weekend!!

My8KidsMom Giveaway!

So a couple of weeks ago, I had the stomach flu. It wasn't just me, it spread through our entire house everyone overlapping each other. It wasn't much fun. After I came to, I thought, Wow. What if I had more than 2 kids? What if I had 8 kids like Rachel Peck of My8KidsMom?! I have even more appreciation for this woman all the time! I have often found the women I draw inspiration from have kept a sense of themselves through the tasks and trials of motherhood. They have an identity that they have kept true to.

There are many facets to the jewel that is My8KidsMom. Rachel's range of products is fantastic. She has different weight yarns, spinning fiber and tools all in one place, so there is really something for everyone. The spirit of her shop is one of colorful happiness- everything from Gingerbread houses to Parrot Fish (who knew yellow could look so soothing?).

I have 8 oz of crocodile green BFL from Rachel and I was so pleased with my purchase! It shipped like lightening and she included the sweetest note of thanks and to tell me that the funds from my purchase went towards aquiring animal feed (did I mention she is a shepherdess too?!).

Rachel has generously offered up a skein of sock yarn for a giveaway! Please visit My8KidsMom and find something you'd love to have! Tell us about it in the posts below, we really want to know what tickles your fancy! We're drawing tomorrow, so hurry and twitter and facebook about this wonderful shop! I'll count those efforts as extra entries!

Rachel, thank you for inspiring me with your blog, your steadfastness, and your beautiful products!

Goodness Gracious Giveaway!

What could be better than wearing a cool cotton batik t shirt on a hot day? Wearing one with your favorite fiber animals on it of course!
Grace Gooding has a shop full of shirts, bags, handspun and other fibery related goodies you've got to have. I purchased a llama shirt from Goodness Gracious for my mother a few weeks ago and she just loves it. She wears it every Friday (it's casual on Fridays at the office lol) and it really gets her in the mood to have a fun weekend.
The animals Grace batiks are just so adorable! How can you resist those cottony puffy sheepies? Grace has sent in several baglets for the last couple of months. I have used the bag she gifted me as a sock knitting bag- it is small enough, you can put it inside of a larger knitting bag to keep your projects separate.
Grace donates 10% of her t-shirt sales to Heifer International! So go ahead, get that t-shirt! You know you want one!
Above in the first pic is a sneak peek of what you might get in your July box! Tie Dyed cotton yarn- like ribbon candy!
Grace sent in an adorable baglet with a big hank of Pale Seas Handspun inside for a giveaway! Very squooshable! Just visit Goodness Gracious and find something you like. We'll draw for a giveaway on saturday! Be sure and tweet and facebook and plurk and ravelate to get extra entries!
Grace, thank you so much for contributing to the group. We love your shop!

Into the Whirled and *Giveaway*

I think it was Rumi, who said "Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment".
Every time peek into Cris' shop Into the Whirled, I seem to sit here with my jaw hanging as I scroll through her listings. No cleverness and extra distractions there, just simple and abundant beauty.

If you've purchased a batt from Cris, you'll understand when I say they are really huggable! I really love that she uses a lot of Falkland (I'm off to buy just a soon as I finish this post tee hee). More than the softness of the wools and neatness of her batts, her deeply saturated colors truly speak to me.

Cris has so generously sent in a big huggable batt of Falkland (4.4 oz) called "Mercer's Peir" for a giveaway! I know I'm asking a lot (hee hee!) but I need to you to visit Into the Whilred and find something you like. Write about it in the comments section below and we'll draw for a name on Saturday! Please help us get the word out about this stunning shop, by tweeting, using facebook and ravelry- remember I always count those as extra entries!

Cris, I am truly spellbound by your store. I am proud to have you a part of our group! Thank you, Thank you!

Smoky Mountains Fiber interview with AnneMarie Walter and Giveaway

What follows is an interview with AnneMarie Walter of Smoky Mountain Fibers. We're giving away some of her delicious roving! Details to follow the interview.


Where do you draw inspiration for your work?

I don’t draw inspiration from any one place – rather from the world all around me. Right now, my garden is in bloom and quite happy. I know that the reds and gold and oranges of the daylilies are finding their way into my rovings. The recent ‘Ocean’ Phat Fiber theme gave me a good reason to play with blues and greens. My Andromeda Shades series of rovings came out of a brainstorming session with a fellow artist.


What is your favorite fiber to work with?

I really like wool. It takes color well, so it’s fun to dye. The many breeds of sheep have so much variety, so that I am never bored. Whether it’s the subtleties of Shetland or Jacob, the sweetest Finn lamb, or my own dyed merino, I enjoy the diversity. And wool is easy to spin, so that when I am spinning for calm, a natural color roving is what I choose.


Do you have a least favorite?

No! They are all good, just different!


I have long wanted to visit Asheville, NC. Tell us what it is like working in an environment that supports your craft.

Pretty wonderful! I have been in Western North Carolina for about 10 years. I made a number of life changes at that time and found myself in Asheville, and I’ve never been sorry. There is a vibrant craft community, several local yarn shops, great hiking, as well as a solid music and dance scene. I live in the city (walking distance to the 3 downtown yarn shops), so I can’t keep animals (the angora bunny is no longer with us). But there are people who raise sheep, goats, alpacas and llamas not too far away, so you are never far from raw fleece. I am a board member of the Southeast Animal Fiber Festival (SAFF) , a regional festival that celebrates the fiber arts and the animals that make it possible. That’s work, but the fun kind.


Tell us more about your various teaching efforts.

I teach an occasional fiber workshop: Knitting, felting and dyeing. A few years ago, I taught an ongoing knitting class but I find I much prefer teaching individuals to knit rather than groups. One of the local yarn shops has a Friday evening ‘Sit and Knit’ where I frequently help people who are real beginners, or need very specific help - picking up heel stitches, for example.

In real life, I teach computer technology classes at a small college, so breaking down complex processes into simple steps is common to all teaching. I really like it!


We've all enjoyed the Phat Stripes hat pattern you submitted for the June site. Are you working on writing any more?

Thanks! I have 4 patterns in my Etsy shop and several more in my head. They are all fairly simple and straight forward – these are the hats that I make and sell in the area craft galleries. Since I am now set up as a designer on Ravelry, I plan to write them up and make them available to anyone who would like to knit them. Some are so simple I’m embarrassed to call them patterns, but I haven’t seen them online or in books, so I guess they are my own designs!


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

Hmmmm….This is tricky! Just as my grandmother liked the faces in her pansies, I like to think of my wheels of roving as the ‘face ‘of Smoky Mountain Fibers. Yesterday I was very hyped and a bit anxious and would have told you to refer to my ‘Fire‘ roving . Today I am feeling mellow and somewhat reflective, so I’d suggest ‘Blue Planet.’ Whoever I am, it’s just a dyepot away!

Just a final note: I want to take a moment to thank you and Marcus for making the Phat Fiber phenomenon happen. More than simply buying and selling fibers, the way that we are contributing to the boxes and sharing what we are making, allows fiber people around the world to connect and build community. I am tickled to be a part of it!


We're giving away a full sized roving (similar to 'Blue Planet') here on the blog! Just visit Smoky Mountain Fibers and find something you like. Post about it in the comments section below! We'll draw for a name on Saturday! Remember, let me know you've twittered/facebooked this and I will count those as extra entries.

AnneMarie, I really appreciate you taking the time to do this interview. We love having you in the group!

Name that Wheel and Help a Phattie !

So to give a little background info on my newest wheel: it's an Ashford Kiwi purchased from a phattie ( Star Spun Fibers ) who sold her shop so that she could focus on quilting. My friend and fellow Phattie, Dani of DanidoCrafty Etsy and DanidoCrafty Artfire has purchased this kiwi's half brother the drum carder!

Dani and I both need your help! I need a name for this kiwi- mainly because I would love to trick it out with a custom paint or woodburn job and I need somewhere to start from.

Poor Dani spent her 4th of July with a sick pup in the emergency room- and if you all have pets, you know how costly these incidents can be! Please help Dani recover from the expense and trauma of the event, and help pad your stash! Dani is offering a store-wide 15% discount (including the clubs!)! Just mention "Phattie!" in the notes to seller.

This giveaway will have two winners! First, Danido Crafty has sent in a delicious handspun mug wrap kit (pattern, button and yarn)! Please visit Dani's shops and find something you like write it in the comments section below! If you also throw in a name suggestion, Dani will send a carded fiber batt to the name I choose! You could potentially win both prizes! We're going to hold the drawing on Saturday this week. Make sure you tell all of your friends on twitter, facebook, plurk etc about Dani's sick puppy sale!

Dani, I hope your baby gets better really quick!