Lavender and Plum

My shipment from Knit It Up (I didn't realize they had a longer name, the etsy site is just called Knit) came today!  My spoils:

2.5 oz of BFL fiber in the Plum colorway, and one pound(!) of Provencal Lavender buds.  That bag that you see?  There are TWO of them.  I know what I'm going to do with some of this, but lordy, I shall never want of lavender again.

So now I have more fiber to practice with on my spindle, and the picture is a pretty accurate depiction of the color so it's going to be some gorgeous yarn! 

Speaking of more fiber:  do you remember that Phat Fiber box I got in January?  The one that led me to Knit It Up (and so many other wonderful shops)?  Well, if you head over to the blog, there is a giveaway for 4oz. of some great superwash merino, a scarf pattern, and a cute pattern holder/reader!  All from Samantha In Stitches Yarn.  Check it out!

As for me, I'm off to spin up some of this fiber and plan out a way to contain this lavender in my stash.

 

P.S.  If this post has led you to buy something from Knit It Up's etsy store, please put my etsy name (ZombieEatsSam) in the comments section.  She has a pretty kick-ass referral program.  Thanks!

I've Got a New Drug

I finally broke down and tried my hand at spinning.  I had avoided trying it out because I knew that I would probably really like it (a lot), and therefore it would be cutting into my yarn budget.  However, Maura had given me the drop spindle I gave her for Christmas a while back (she has a wheel now) and I had some roving lying around that I had won in early January (a giveaway on the Phat Fiber blog), from Desired Haven Farms.  It's the "waste not want not 2."  She took all the thrums from her spinning and carded them with some wool and angora, then dyed the whole thing sky blue.  The staple (or fiber length) is very short, and so it made it a little bit harder to work with.  I think it turned out ok though, especially for being my first try.

It's a thick & thin, sort of by accident, but also because there were slubs of other fibers in it.  Some of the twists are a little tight, but I think after a little more practice I can even it out.

Speaking of practice, I will soon have some more roving to practice on.  Yes, it has begun already.  I found 2.5 oz of BFL for $7 on Knit's etsy shop.  It's the plum colorway.  I think this will be a little easier to work with and will help me work on consistency.  I also picked up 1lb of lavender buds to use in sachets for my stash (I've been meaning to do this for a while).  Maura and I went to the fabric store today and I found some really cute fabric in the quilts section.  The next project is to sew them into pouches to use with the lavender coming my way.

One last picture of my "special creation" :

Love and Left-overs

 

A lovely bouquet of flowers from my Lovely.  I didn't take a picture of the half-eaten (by me) box of chocolates he also gave me.  I don't really want photographic evidence of that deed.

Even though we both worked yesterday, it was a very good day.  He made dinner of Cajun Roast, fried potatoes, and steamed asparagus.  I provided dessert from Fayzes in the form of a seven layer bar and an apple pie square.

It was delicious and there are plenty of left-overs for us to dine well again tonight.

Speaking of "left-overs" (would you believe I didn't even plan that segue?), I've been working on a project to use those samples I got in the January Phat Fiber box.

These are mostly Phat Fiber samples, but there are also scraps and left-overs from other projects.  These are all the sock-weight samples, which were the majority.  I have piles of samples (plus my own) in worsted and bulky weight.  I think I may do knitted squares of those, or try for a scrap yarn scarf or something.

If you're interested in obtaining a Phat Fiber box (which you should be, you have no idea!), the theme for February is Romance & Chocolate.  Here is a link to the video on the Phat blog for all the goodies that will be in the February box (which goes on sale on Monday Feb. 16th, email her- Jessie at phatfiber at yahoo dot com- for the times!).  There are lots of really cool items (patterns and magazines), lots of gorgeous fiber and yarn, and there will even be chocolate!  As well as a few special extras that weren't in last months box.  All this for only $33, shipping included!

I'm passing this on in the hopes that someone I know will get one and I can oogle over theirs.  I can't get one this month, but am very hopeful for the March box. 

 

p.s. the squares up there are done using this pattern.  it's fast and super easy!