No one, not a single person, has entered the Robert Smith Look Alike contest. So, I’m counting it as a bust and I’ll be doing a contest anyways. Same prizes, new details.

Announcing the “No One Wants to Look Like Robert Smith” Contest! (Except me and I didn’t have time to get all dolled up like Robert, it takes a long time to tease my  hair like that.)

Details:

Comment on this blog entry about who your favorite rock star is and why. Give as much detail as possible, including pictures if you can in case I don’t know who you’re talking about. Keep in mind I’m asking for rock stars only, no offense to country, hip hop, gospel, etc. but I’m looking for rock n’ rollers this time around. The time will come for those other categories. Extra credit points if you DO dress up like the rock star and share a photo of yourself looking like them, I will add a super secret SUPER SPECIAL prize for anyone who does this. (Some of my handspun perhaps? Or a braid of my hand dyed roving?)

Contest closes April 8th 2009 sometime in the evening-ish. That’s about a week from today. Winner(s) will be picked on how well they go into detail, how much supporting material they provide (pictures, videos, mp3 files, etc.) and how clever they are.

The Rock Your Socks Off club yarn for April has been dyed and is currently drying in the excellent Vegas sun on my back patio. The suggested listening playlist has been complied (I’m listening to it right now, as a matter of fact) and the goodies have been divvied up and are ready to go. Packages should ship by the end of the week!

I also need your help guys. I spun up these great batts from Foxyie last night and I just left it unplied because I wanted to knit something lacy with it. I don’t know what to knit though, so I need pattern ideas for about 300 yards of lace/fingering weight(ish, it is handspun) slightly sparkly purple, gold and maroon wool.

I really love this. I’m not selling it, I want to make something for myself out of it. I haven’t made myself anything out of my handspun since I did that mug cozy out of very over spun yarn when I first started spinning. So, what do you think? A cowl? Scarf? Hat? Give me some ideas! Specific patterns are better than just concepts, I’m so frazzled with school and work that I don’t have the time to design something.

I’m having a rough week(s)/months. School is absolutely kicking my butt, I’m worn out, worn down and quickly getting burnt out in general. I only have 2 more months until graduation and then the worst of it is over (no more math/science classes EVER!) but it seems the weeks just drag by. I haven’t been able to spin anything pretty much since last weekend and I’ve barely been able to knit because I’ve been so busy with school, work, puppy sitting and house cleaning/repairs.

It’s Sunday, which should be my relax and spin/knit/watch movies day but instead it’s my ‘cram for Political Science midterm’ day because the test is tomorrow at 9 a.m. However before I crack the books and start rehashing the last 8 weeks of class notes I decided to take a tour through some of my favorite things. I also thought I’d share them here, in case anyone else is having a crap week and needs some yarn/fiber/funny stuff to make their load a little lighter for a few minutes.

We’ll start with a collection of my favorite things in one little favorite thing: Moonwood Farm alpaca + spinning + bright colors + free stuff.

This is a mini hank of hand spun from Roo’s wonderful drum carded alpaca/soy silk batts. She sent them as samples when I ordered a bracelet from here and while the separate batts weren’t really meant to be used together because they were very different colors I thought they were very fun next to each other and spun them all up together and then plied it against itself. I love spinning alpaca by the way.

Next favorite thing: yarn/fiber window shopping. Each of the pictures below will go to a listing where you can buy them if you want. I recommend buying them and having them shipped to my house for safe keeping.

Zebisis Designs Merino/Silk roving in “Spectrum”. LOVE IT. It’s like happiness in a roving.

A felted soap kit combining 2 favorite things: organic hand dyed batts from eXtreme spinning and delicious wonderful soap from the Lote Tree. Also look at that mandarin color next to the mint! So fresh and springy.

BFL top roving in color way ‘Acid Burn’ from Sweetpea Fibers.

Gorgeous handspun in color way ‘Spices’ from Black Tie Fibers. This gal also makes really gorgeous stitch  markers that are totally worth checking out.

In the not fiber/yarn category we have:

http://www.icanhazcheezburger.com lolcats always make my day better

http://www.cuteoverload.com when lolcats doesn’t work, cute overload has the cure for what ails me

http://www.loudandmouthy.com My two besties and co-authors. While we haven’t updated much on the site lately, I can assure you the In Real Life Loud and Mouthy is in full effect.

http://last.fm Music. Music soothes this savage soul. I have several playlists, can check out what my friends are listening to and find new music through the ‘recommendations’ feature. I’ve been using last.fm for several years and am a paid member because I love it so much.

This guy is the light of my life and can make me smile no matter what horrible things are going down around me. I mean look at him; wouldn’t you giggle like an idiot if you lived with him?

My three favorite 4 legged girls. (clockwise from top: Buhunkis, Allie Mae and Dixie Lee) They always know just when I need snuggles.

My siblings! (and cousins are in there too) I am so proud of all of them. From left bottom: Christina the youngest of the girls and is pregnant and will be giving me my first niece of nephew to spoil rotten! Ashley, my cousin who married a soldier and is doing her best to be a strong and supportive Army wife, which I admire. Katrina my sister who I’ve spent the most time fighting with, but also the most time bonding with, is living independently, holding down a great job and has rescued a pup. She’s one of the smartest, clever and talented people I know. She can fix just about anything with McGyver-like skills. (Me. We already know about me.) The boys on top start with Jim on the left there; who has a memory like a steal trap, an intellect and wit that can rip you to shreds and the opinions of some kind of bastard child of Bill O’Reilly and Anne Coulter (okay, not quite that bad) and yet, despite that fact we still manage to get along and I can say I genuinely like him. He’s also at college on academic scholarship that he worked his ass off to earn, has a black belt in Tae Kwan Do (maybe 2nd degree now? Not sure) and can hold his liquor better than his brother or I. In the middle is Jacob, Ashley’s brother, who is a pretty funny and awfully smart kiddo too, I haven’t spent much time with him in recent years because I’ve been so far away but what little time I’m around him I’m always surprised by how well spoken and thoughtful he is. Then there’s Jonny, my Jonny baby. Jonny is my baby brother, and out of all of my siblings the one that probably makes me laugh the most and also want to tear my hair out the most. He’s ridiculously smart (sense a theme? We’re all smart.), funny, talented, athletic, good looking AND I taught him to knit last year and he got super good at it really fast out of nowhere. He’s one of those kids that is good at just about anything they pick up. He plays instruments, he plays football, he’s smart (also has an academic scholarship to college), he’s funny, he’s tall and handsome AND to top it all off he can knit. While the rest of his siblings are all very smart and talented in their own ways, we often struggle with social interaction; not Jon. He’s Mister Smooth Talker and is comfortable in just about any situation. Not pictured is my older brother Erik who recently got engaged and is the one who taught me how to make coffee like a pro.

See? I feel better already, just writing about how awesome my family is put me in a better mood. And because they’re all counting on me graduating from college in May I better get those books open and start studying for that test tomorrow. Also, the new wheel should be here this week!

Don’t forget we’re approaching the deadline for the Robert Smith look-alike contest and so far I haven’t gotten any submissions so it’s still wide open, anyone can win!

One of the things I love so much about the art of spinning is that you take something in a fairly raw form (for those of you who actually take the fleece and turn it into processed fiber for the rest of us you REALLY know what I’m talking about.) and turn it into something beautiful that you can now use to make something else with. It’s just one more step away from our overly commercialized and mass produced world. Spinning my own yarn means not only do I get to make a beautiful one of a kind hand crafted item, but that the materials that item is made from are also one of a kind and hand crafted. I love that I can create something that can never be exactly replicated. Hand spun yarn is that thing. Every fleece is as unique as the animal it came from, the person who processed it, the dyer who dyed it and the spinner who spins it. It’s a remarkable journey that fluffy stuff takes from sheep to spun.

That said, I’ve done a lot of spinning the last few days. I hurt my back awhile back and it’s just now getting to the point where I can stand to sit at the wheel for any length of time and not be in excruciating pain. I’ve taken advantage of that fact and have managed to produce a few little hanks of yarn. I also rearranged the area of my room that I use for spinning. My wonderful better half Mike bought a new flat screen t.v. this week so we got rid of the monolith that we had before and it’s freed up a whole bunch of space in our bedroom. Here’s the new spinning space:

It’s not much but it’s a dedicated space and it’s better than what I have been working with. That’s my Ashford Traditional wheel that I am tolerating politely until the new hottness (the gorgeous Majacraft Pioneer) shows up next month.

I spun up that beautiful roving I got from Feeling Sheepish and plied it with some brown wool top from local yarn shop Wooly Wonders. I really love how it turned out.

I’m calling it Ninilchik and it’s available in my Etsy shop. Ninilchik is a small town in Alaska that I used to drive through on my way to spending summers in Homer, Alaska.

Then I did this super squishy bulky hank out of some Ramboulliet and BFL rovings I got from Vines awhile ago.

This one is Sprung and is also available in my shop. It’s really fun colors and very squishy.

Currently I have some great drum carded blended batts from Moonwood Farm on the bobbin. I got a package from her today with some other things I had ordered from her (including a new shipment of milk fiber and bamboo that I will be dying and should be up for sale in the shop next week!) and she had spoiled me as usual by including samples of her new batts in the box with me. I of course took two minutes to throw away the box and finish my sandwich I was eating when I opened the box and then promptly plopped myself down in front of the wheel to start spinning. I should hopefully have some finished yarn and pictures in the next day or so.

I think I may include samples of my handspun in an upcoming subscription of the Rock Your Socks Off club. And speaking of the club, remember to get your photos in for the Robert Smith Lookalike Contest!

The time has come! I’ve hinted and promised enough, here are the details for the Robert Smith Lookalike Contest.

Entries:

To enter you will need to send a picture of you, a friend or family member, your dog/cat/ferret/goat/whathaveyou, baby or whoever else you can get to sit still dressed up to look like Robert Smith, the lead singer of the Cure. Robert has a very specific look to him and I’m looking for as much attention to detail as you can get. I will only accept pictures of living beings posing as Robert Smith; so no dolls, mannequins, plants, etc. You can enter as many times as you like but each entry must be unique. Extra points if you do a video or montage of some sort depicting a certain song, music video or time period in the Cures career.

Judging will take place sometime in the afternoon on April 1st 2009 and the winner(s) will be notified by email no later than April 3rd. There will be 2 winners picked, the grand prize winner will get a hank of Malabrigo Chunky Merino in colorway Hummingbird from my stash, a copy of my Bebeh Earflaps Hat pattern, a jar of the Rock Star Detox body scrub from Angel Face Botanicals, and a lip balm and bar of soap from The Lote Tree. 2nd place will win a hank of Whirlwind Handspun from my stash, and a lip balm and bar of soap from The Lote Tree as well.

I am reserving the right to add winners and prizes at will or add extra prizes to each of those prize packages for truly outstanding entries. Entries should be emailed to daniella@danido.com no later than 9 a.m. (PST) on April 1st. If you do a video and host it on YouTube or other hosting site you can just send me the link, you do not need to send me the actual video file.

I will do a secondary contest to run concurrent to this which will be a prize drawing, you will be entered to win if you blog, twitter, plurk or other wise promote this contest. To be entered to win in this drawing please email me or leave a comment on this blog entry with the URL to where you wrote about the contest. If you use twitter to promote the contest you can link me in the tweet by using @danidocrafty and I will see that you twittered it. The winner of this drawing will receive a hank of stash yarn as well. I’m not sure what it will be, but probably either a ball of Wisdom Yarns Deluxe Worsted 100% Wool or a hank of Berrroco Trilogy or Jasper. This contest will run through March 30th and the winner will be drawn on April 1st.

There you have it folks! Let the Robert Smith-iness begin!

First of all I have to rave about how awesome the March Phat Fiber box is. I just got it today in the mail and I must say the contributors are really stepping up their game and contributing really stunning and high quality work. I for see a whole of money leaving my bank account in the near future. So pictures!

Just opening the box is always a treat. You get this great microcosm of fibery goodness.

Yarn samples:

From left to right:

Knit It Up Yarns contributed 30 yards of her Extravagance sock yarn which is a Superwash Merino/Silk/Nylon/Silver in colorway Cordelia. So luscious. I will probably be buying a hank of this in the future. It’s so soft and that little tiny bit of sparkle is just gorgeous.

(top) Wildhare Fiber Studio sent in some really great handspun, I have to say this is probably my favorite thing from the box this month. I’ve been oogling her samples from other peoples boxes. This color way is ‘Druid’ in domestic wool.

(bottom) Aurora Fiber Arts another Alaskan fiber artist! She sent in her Fireweed Worsted in the color way Eire which is a very soft and squishy merino. I just bought some roving from this shop and I’m looking forward to getting more of her goodies in the future.

Jags Funky Fibers contributed some really gorgeous tweedy yarn, that I assume is handspun but there isn’t a name/content tag with it. It’s really nice and soft though and I love the tweed look.

Abstract Fiber sent in some of her hand dyed Mighty Sock in colorway Sangria. It’s a merino/tencel blend and is shiny and soft. I have a feeling this sample is going to turn into a Bun Bun. This is a very generous sample!

Last but definitely not least is the freaking gorgeous sample from Oriri Draco Design, it’s 100% Bamboo (LOVE!) in color way Prosperity. I’m guessing it’s sock/fingering weight because the recommended needle size is US 2-4. This yarn would be perfect for a light summer scarf, tank top or even a pretty knitted skirt. Very silky.

Fiber:

(from left to right again)

Spincerely Yours sent in a great bit of merino/tencel roving in color way Caireen. I love her packaging! It was the first thing that really jumped out at me from the box. The amount of roving is very generous as well.

(top) Feathers and Fleece Farm sent in a sample of her raw natural colored Border Leicester/Corriedale blend. It’s a very rich and natural brown. I look forward to playing with this, I just dug out some hand carders and haven’t tried carding yet.

(bottom) East Kentucky Fibers sent in several little samples together, which I think is fantastic! There are five different color ways and then a small bit of undyed merino top.

Altered Visions sent in 1/2 oz of BL locks (Border Leicester?) in a vibrant lime green, sunset orange and purple/blue. I don’t know what to do with locks so I’ll have to ask my fellow Phat Fiber folk to figure out what to do with this sample.

We Love Thor (so do I! Go Norse mythology! I’m a big fan of Freya mostly.) sent in a little sample of her merino in color way Lia Fail. Very soft and bouncy.

Lastly a very generous batt from Hampton Artistic Yarns (H.A.Y) in color way “Birthday Party” which is a blended batt consisting of alpaca, mulberry silk top, angora, NZ wool, domestic wool, bamboo and fire star. That is a party!

Other goodies:

Another great sock pattern from Lynne Wardrop of Avalon Fiber Arts (you can also find her patterns on Patternfish), this pattern is called Lacy Waves. This is the third pattern of hers that I’ve received and I’ve loved each of them. Very pretty, and very easy to follow patterns. I love the glossy paper and large chart on the back so you can easily reference it while knitting. I like that the patterns I’ve gotten from her have been sport to worsted weight sock patterns. They are hard to come buy and I like knitting up quick comfy house socks in pretty patterns.

Baa Hurrah sent in sets of knitting needles. Gorgeous knitting needles! The ones I got are a US 11 with really pretty turquoise tops with purple polka dots. These needs have a really nice sharp point on them as well and are butter smooth.

One of the coolest things I’ve gotten out of the three months I’ve been getting the box is this great shawl pin ( I was looking for one just last week!) from Dawning Dreams. A very simple and delicate silver shawl pin. It will go perfect on the shawl I’m knitting.

Ruddawg sent in more of her great KIP bags. I am the proud owner of three of these now. Two I’ve got from the Phat Fiber box and one full sized one that I bought from her last week. The small ones are great for sock/toy projects and the larger one I have is big enough for parts of a sweater to fit in and it has pockets inside to put notions, needles, stitch markers etc.

BISCOTTI! It took all the willpower I possess to take a picture of this before I horked it down. Jessica from Matilda Chiapparelli’s Italian Cookies sent in this pistachio biscotti.

There was also a magnet from Banana Migraine and a stitch markersfrom Sparkle Shan and Ballees a bunch of great discount cards for several shops.

This was seriously the best box I’ve received to date. Each month gets better and better as we all figure out exactly how to perfect our samples to accurately present ourselves to the rest of the world.

Now, I’ve been making a little headway on my Graduation Shawl as well and finally snapped a picture of it in progress this afternoon.

It’s the Zetor Shawl done in my handpainted lace. I’m really liking it so far. I just finished the first repeat of the second chart and so far no major issues. I did put in a life line though just to be on the safe side. This is the first time I’ve used a life line but I’m hoping I won’t need it since it’s there, but if I didn’t put one in I’d definitely need it and be screwed.

I also cast on for some socks using a really bright color way of Noro Kureyon. I haven’t decided if I’m going to do just straight stockinette or the Toe Up Jaywalkers. I’m still working on the toes so I have a few inches to go to think about it.

That’s right, Mike and I are expecting…

A NEW WHEEL! To come in the mail in a few weeks. It would be really cool if we could get a stork to deliver it though. The new addition to my little fiber factory is going to be a beautiful brand new Majacraft Pioneer.

Look at that hot little number! We’ll be naming her as well, so if you have suggestions for a name let me know. I name everything and something this important needs a good name. A strong name. Oh sweet Jeebus it’s beautiful! I got a spectacular deal on her too, and was able to buy it from a fellow Phat Fiber contributor, Stephanie from WC Mercantile in Texas.

Also I added a ‘buy now’ link for the Bebeh Earflaps Hat pattern here on the site so you can buy it directly from me and not through Etsy (which saves me about 20 cents each pattern) though it’s still listed on Etsy as well for convenience. I’m getting  a pretty good reaction to this pattern so far so I’m really excited about it. I’m going to be resizing it for larger sizes too.

I will be announcing the details for the Robert Smith Look Alike contest this coming weekend so get your lipstick ready!

Oh my goodness it’s been a busy couple of days! I have so much to share! First and foremost though I want to prove that I do still knit in between classes, blogging, twittering, dying, spinning and whining.

This is the Frock Camisole pattern from Interweave Spring 2008. It’s knit from Ella Rae Shibu (which you can buy at Knit Las Vegas by the way.) and took only about 5 balls on US 8 needles. I made a few modifications as well to accommodate my unique shape.

Mods: I did the 3rd size (Medium?) and used the cast on numbers and knit in the round for 5 1/2 inches before doing waist shaping (pattern calls for 4 inches for that size) because nothing is ever long enough for me. Followed waist shaping as in pattern, and the front top as in pattern, but altered the back and straps. I added about an inch to the strap length and instead of doing the second set of decreases on the back, I did the first as written and instead of working the k2tog across for the second dec. row, I did k2, k2tog across. It wasn’t entirely even but close enough and made it not quite so tight across the back. I also did a stretchy bind off for the back so it wasn’t as tight. As you can tell I also omitted the 2 st purls in the middle of the tank.

It’s really quite comfy and soft! I’m looking forward to this being my favorite summer top.

Do I have a horrible and unflattering picture of myself in this? Why yes, yes I do.

I have also cast on for the Zetor Shawl in some of my hand dyed lace weight, it’s going to be my graduation shawl. I’ve never knit a shawl before and I’ve never done this complex of a lace pattern before, nor have I ever knit with lace weight before. So this is all kinds of firsts for me, and I figured it would be a fine way to show how far I’ve come, I’m graduating college and graduating into more complex knitting patterns. Appropriate, no?

I added a few things to my shop this week as well. Last night I listed my first for sale pattern in my Etsy shop, it’s the Bebeh Earflaps Hat that I designed for a customer’s newborn pictures. The pattern is for sale thru my Etsy site for a $1.50 and I’m hoping it will show up on Ravelry too, but I’m having a hard time figuring out the Ravelry pattern distribution thingy. This pattern is also available thru Phat Fiber, but is accessible only to the mailing list members for free. If you’d like to be apart of special coupon codes, patterns and other inside information about Phat Fiber and it’s contributors be sure to sign up for the mailing list!

Speaking of coupon codes I’m having a sale! I’m offering 10% off any regularly priced item in my shop now through April 15th. This is good for Rock Your Socks Off club memberships too! Here’s the deal, if you buy something thru Etsy put code “Spring Cleaning” in the notes to the seller for your 10% discount, if you buy one of the sock club memberships thru this site either put the same code in the notes to the seller section on Paypal or Google Checkout or pay and then email me with the discount code. All discounts will be refunded ASAP through whatever service you pay through.  Just a reminder too, for those of you on the mailing list you get sale announcements about a week earlier than I announce it here AND you get a bigger discount. I sent out a newsletter last Wednesday so if you were signed up for the mailing list before Wednesday of last week than you got a different discount code a bigger discount. If you’re not signed up for the mailing list, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! Sign up, it takes two seconds, I don’t bombard you with spam or sell you email address and the only thing you’ll ever get from me is information about the shop, contests, sales and upcoming events.

Want to see what I have in stock?

I got a big order of roving this week, and have more on the way. I will be dying that up this week and should have it listed in the shop by early next week. I’m trying to clear out some room, so if you’ve been eying some yarn or roving that I currently have in stock now’s the time to snap it up. I’ll have new kinds of roving in stock too; including a wool/bamboo blend, bamboo, milk fiber, BFL and then the old stand-by: superwash merino. More sock yarns will be coming into the shop as well in nice spring/summer colors.

So I’m a bit of a narcissist. I’ll admit it. It’s Friday night, I’ve had a long hard week and I’m waiting for my muscle relaxer to kick in because I started physical therapy this week and my back is extra hurty. So what does one do on a Friday  night when they’re waiting for drugs to kick in so they can pass out?

Google yourself of course!

Now normally this is an entirely fruitless endeavor which usually just leads me back to my own sites and the sites of my nearest and dearest. However this time I found this great little blurb about me in a local weekly newspaper. It’s no Interweave Knits write up or Knitty.com plug, but you know what; I’m small potatoes and I’ll totally take it.

You know what? I’m so impressed with this tiny little thing right now I’m considering creating a new static page over there in the side bar for ‘Media Coverage’ or ‘Press’ or something equally ridiculous. It’ll only have the one little thing in it, but it’s a start right?

Okay, enough tooting of my own horn. I have another long day tomorrow and a lot to get done, so I’m going to let the medicine do it’s job and turn on the heating pad for a bit.

Okay, two things: first of all the new Knitty is up and it has a little feature in the articles section on Phat Fiber which is AWESOME.

Secondly if no one buys this before this coming Saturday I’m taking it out of the shop and casting on the Ripple scarflette from the new Knitty in it. I’m going to California for a few days to spend my spring break with my grandparents and aunt/uncle/cousin(s) and I know I’ll want a quickie project to work on while I’m there that doesn’t require a whole lot of attention.

Also, we’ve had a few more sign ups for the Rock Your Socks Off club so I want to welcome our new members! Hello new sock rockers! Make sure to sign up for the newsletter too by the way (the form for the newsletter is in the left hand sidebar under the blog roll and just takes 2 seconds to join) because I’m going to start sending out super secret discount codes for my shop to everyone on the mailing list in the next few weeks. I’m going to have a sale and I’m going to announce it first to those on the newsletter.

Start thinking about our upcoming contest too! It’s going to be a Robert Smith look-alike contest which will require you to make yourself (or a loved one) look as much like Robert Smith from the Cure as possible. Extra points for getting the really nitty gritty nuances right (Cure fans, you know what I’m talking about. Nikes, lipstick, etc.) Prize details will be announced later this week but I’ve already  made arrangements with the Lote Tree to get some stuff from her, and I think I’m going to offer up some hand dyed and/or hand spun yarn as well and maybe depending on how awesome the winner’s picture is some Cure swag from my trip to Coachella later in April.

Until the Rock Your Socks Off April sign ups close! Get ‘em while they’re hot! I just tested the body scrub goodie that will be going out with Aprils yarn and it’s FANTASTIC.

I announced this on our RYSO Club Ravelry Board but I’ll announce it here too: Aprils sock yarn will be inspired by The Cure. I will also be holding a Robert Smith look-alike contest here on the blog and details for that will be up later this week. Prizes may include anything from a free hank of Aprils RYSO yarn and/or a hank of my handspun to bath and body care yummies from either Angel Face Botanicals or another one of my favorite bath and body Goddesses, The Lote Tree. I haven’t decided yet what I’m going to put together for the winner, but since it will involve more than just leaving a comment for me to draw your name later I want to make sure the prize is a GOOD one.

So this is a short post this time because I’m super busy with school but next week is Spring Break so I’ll be able to update more details on the new contest and may even a sneak peek of some new hand dyed and hand spun that I’m working on.