My “in progress” video is up at The Fiber Factor! I filmed outside two different Frank Lloyd Wright homes up in Manchester, NH. Many thanks to Donna, Jen, and Jen’s daughter Emily for their help, patience, and support — I find talking to the camera daunting, but they made it a lot easier. Em read questions to me off camera — she was awesome!
Category Fiber Factor
CO Monday: a Plethora of Interim Projects
I’m done with my project for Challenge #2 of The Fiber Factor! I still have to film the video for judging, and mail the sweater off … but for all practical purposes I’m done. So, time to catch up on some neglected projects, right?? Wrong. Time to cast on three new projects, yay!
For what it’s worth, I also pared down my Ravelry queue and went through my stash and put a LOT of things up for sale — see something you like? PM me on Ravelry!
Here are my new projects, in order of casting on. (I cast on TWO after midnight, the night I finished my FF project.)
#1 — My very own Oswin, using A Hundred Ravens Alfar. Oswin is a crochet project. No, really!
#2 — I’m using Malabrigo Mecha in Arapey to make Hester’s Hope, a shawl from the latest “What Would Madame DeFarge Knit?” book.
#3 — After a false start with a too-colorful yarn, I settled on The Fibre Company’s Road to China Light in Malachite for Sivia Harding’s new cowl pattern, Lorelei.
Fiber Factor: Challenge #2 in progress
It’s been just over a week since we “Swatchers” received our yarn for Challenge #2. I chose Simplicity, in seven different colors. My main color is gunmetal grey, to act as a background canvas for some extreme intarsia colorwork, using garter stitch and slipped stitches to achieve the look of a stained glass window. I was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s amazing stained glass windows, that incorporate natural themes while still being very mathematically appealing.
Want a sneak preview of my Challenge #2 Project? Go see photos at the Fiber Factor forums …
Some friends and I drove up to Manchester to tour the Zimmerman house, a FLW home that is almost 100% preserved as he designed it. Only 12 people may tour at a time, and you have to buy tickets in advance. Once on site we wore booties while in the home, and were instructed to TOUCH NOTHING. We were literally walking through a work of art – what an amazing building! I’m not sure I could do as the Zimmerman’s did, and live for decades as part of this work of art … but I surely admire them. Many aspects of the home reminded me of the house my Grandpa Bob built, by hand, out of local limestone in Cannon Falls, MN. The local materials, the wide-open living spaces, and the blurring of inside and outside … here are some photos I took in 2000, when we visited when my oldest son was a baby.
Fiber Factor: Evolution on Ravelry
We’ve been given permission to put our Challenge #1 patterns for The Fiber Factor on Ravelry! Obviously this is just a placeholder for now — the pattern isn’t available for purchase just yet.
Go check out Evolution!
Skacel has exclusive rights for a while, but when rights revert to me I will publish on Ravelry. If you’d like a PM when the pattern does become available (either through Skacel or, later, through Remily Knits), please leave a comment on the pattern page.
Thank you!
P.S. Challenge #2 details will be out an 9am Pacific time — the video will go up on the Challenge #2 page at the same time that the competitors get the information.
Fiber Factor: Challenge #1 Results
Have you watched the judging episode for The Fiber Factor? My presentation is at about minute 14 …
Of course I’m sad that I didn’t win, but I’m looking forward to using the feedback from the judges in the next challenge. Of all the projects, my top three were Talitha’s striped top (with rocks), Jodie’s big blue throw, and Jennette’s cabled coat. I’m glad that own of my faves won! Congrats to Tal!
Now that Challenge #1 is over, I’m allowed to share a few more photos of my project. To see them, go to my forum on the Fiber Factor website!
Fiber Factor: Goodies for Challenge #2
My box for Challenge #2 of The Fiber Factor came Saturday!
We have a choice of two yarns for Challenge #2: Simplicity, and Simpliworsted. The package included full color cards and two skeins of each yarn. Thank you to Skacel for the little extras! Heartstopper end caps for the Addi Click sets — hooray! And a nice 4×4 gauge measuring device too.
I’ve already played a bit with both weights of yarn — I will likely choose the finer gauge (Simplicity), unless Challenge #2 is “king size blankets” or “yarnbomb your home.”
This is all helping me stay calm while I wait (hrrrmmmmmm waiting is hard!) for the Results Show for Challenge #1 — debuting at 4pm PDT, aka 7pm at my house. I have some knitter friends joining me in person and via the phone to help me survive the waiting!
Fiber Factor: In Progress
So … my “in progress” video is up on The Fiber Factor!
Go ahead, watch it, I’ll wait here … did you watch a couple other videos too? I’m starting to get excited/anxious about how the first challenge will go, judging-wise.
I’ve actually already finished my Challenge #1 project (last Thursday) and my “designer notes” for the project (last Friday). Both have to be done and sent tomorrow, so it was nice to be ahead of schedule.
But, now I have nothing of pressing deadline to do! It’s so relaxing to catch up with a few neglected projects …
Fiber Factor: Swatch Sharing
The forums are up and running over at The Fiber Factor — I’ve posted photos of my swatches for Challenge #1 — Knit Your Life! Go take a look-see and tell me what you think! 🙂
Fiber Factor: Yarn & Needles
It’s here! It’s here!
Fiber Factor: Goodies
Oh yay, we have permission to share a bit more about The Fiber Factor! I was SO SO excited to get the first box. You may have seen some of the sample yarns in the Knit Your Life Challenge video, but trust me when I say they are even more lovely when you can pet them and squeeze them and call them George.
I was already familiar with a few of the yarns, but some were brand-new to me! I have a serious crush on the Schoppel Leinen Los. It’s like twine on the ball, but it softens considerably with just a single swatch & block (hmm, wonder how I know that?). I adore every long-color-change yarn on the planet, so of course the Shoppel Laceball 100, Shoppel Zauberwolle, and Zitron Unisono appealed to me quite a bit! The Zitron Finest Royal Alpaca is incredibly delicious to touch … I really must find a project that will use it! The other yarn that really caught my eye (and fingers, let’s be honest here) was Zitron Filisilk.
Besides “just” the yarn, the good people at the Fiber Factor also sent us lucky semi-finalists a cool project bag (really excited to fill it with the first challenge project!), a binder full of color cards, the latest Skacel mag, and a #2 Sock Rocket circ. I’ve somehow not heard of Sock Rockets — are they new?? am I just that dense?? — but they are great: extra pointy tips, nice flexible cable (hello, Magic Loop!), and that slick Addi Turbo finish.
I have swatched, I have ordered my yarn for the first challenge and selected my interchangeable needle set, and now I’m biding my time until the package arrives tomorrow! We’ll be able to share in-progress photos in the forums on the Fiber Factor website (they’ll be up later this week), so look for swatch and WIP photos from me there.
Remily Knits 