Holiday Hours....

We will be closed beginning Wednesday, December 23rd through 27th. We will return with shortened hours December 28th through January 4th. Afterwards it will be business as usual.
We wish everyone happy holidays and a fabulous new year!!

ooh la la!! New Sari Ribbon colors are here!

When we introduced Sari Ribbon in 2005 it quickly became one of our best selling items. We added semi-solid colors in 2007 and the response has been overwhelming!
In order to keep up with demand we're now sourcing several different types of fabric remnants. The result is a silkier, more refined ribbon that drinks up the dye for more brilliant colors. Available in 9 colors, including the multi-colored, 5 colors are matched to shades of Hand Picked Hues recycled silk yarn.
From the top left: Plum, Emerald, Sapphire, Sand, Fuchsia (these 5 preceeding match HPH of the same name), Ruby, Spruce, and Coral (Pink, which coordinates nicely with the "Spiced Chai" of our Hand Picked line).

FIBERS MAKE US HAPPY! A gallery of items made from our fibers:

A toddler hat made from Patina, 2-ply handspun. (yep, that's our little troublemaker!)

A wet-felted hat by fiber artist Dawn Edwards done with Cottage Garden merino.
(photo: Ryan Lindsey)

A lace scarf knit by Carol Knox, also from Cottage Garden. She divided the top down the middle, spun 2 singles, and plied them together to create a stripe effect.

A simple hat from 2-ply Redwood Forest.

An headwrap done in Cabbage Rose, the pattern is"Quant" from Knitty.com.

Entrelac is fablous from handspun!

We'd love to see *your* finished items! email: stephanie@frabjousfibers.com

Felt featured in Fons & Porter's Love of Knitting

You may know Fons & Porter's for their quilting magazine. Recently began publishing a knitting magazine. The Fall 2009 issue features 35 (very knitable and wearable) projects--several of which are for little ones, one place other magazines seem to fall short.
A couple of our felt bags are made famous on page 12.

2010 Knitting Calendar

It may only be August, but 2010 calendars are already hitting the shelves. The 2010 "Knitting" desktop calendar from Accord Publishing has replaced the typical "pattern-a-day" they've done in previous years. This version features 117 patterns and lots of delights you'll want to knit--really, its nicely done.
Check out January 4-6th for our "Bucket Bag" pattern.

Weaving Face Cloths with Hemp or Nettle

Often we get asked what to make out of our handspun Hemp and Nettle. Knitted facecloths are the obvious answer, but what about woven facecloths? This site recently featured a project using hemp or nettle yarn to weave loop-pile cloths on a rigid heddle loom--although nearly any loom would work.

What if you don't weave? then what should you make? Often Hemp or Nettle can be substituted for linen in patterns where you can get the same gauge. Like linen, the yarns will soften with wash and wear. Another idea similar to a facecloth is a little drawstring scrub bags for your favorite soaps--add a loop to hang when wet so the soap dries out. Or crochet hats, little pouches and purses, embellishments--like flowers to embellish your knits with, market bags, and even simple placemats and other home decor items take on a whole new aesthetic when knit with hemp or nettle.

Check out our free pattern page for two patterns, Farm Market Purse and Hipster, that use nettle or hemp as a carry-along.

Four free patterns added for download...

Ring-around-the-peak Hat

Between the Lines Hat

Banana Beret (crochet)

Ballia Bag


Check our free patterns page to download.

New felt bags and a new yarn just listed on the website!

" Retro" Petals



"Dot-to-dot" Medium Needecases --more sizes and colors available

"Bloom" Medium Needlecases --more sizes and colors available

If you didn't see us at TNNA, then you probably haven't seen our newest series of felt needlecases and notions bags. Check out this page for all the details on colors and sizes available.

Hand Picked "Stripe"

This yarn has been spun one color at a time so that it randomly self-stripes as you knit. Brightly colored in fuchsia, lime, yellow, turquoise, red, and purple. Find it here.

Check back here, or email to get on the mailing list to find out when more new items are released.

A new free pattern has just been listed....

A new free pattern has just been listed: Okranana. With only one skein of Banana Silk yarn you can create the smaller size, 3 skeins makes the larger size. I used a skein of Sari Ribbon to finger crochet the strap on the larger size, however there is enough Banana Silk yarn leftover to do i-cord if you prefer.

I’ve always hated math—but somehow when knitting is involved, I find it can be really interesting! This bag experiments with the idea that geometric shapes can be knitted from the outside in by placing decreases in the right spots. No matter the number of stitches, decreasing at an average of 4 stitches per row will keep the work flat as you work toward the center. How you line up the decreases determines the shape and number of sides.

To create this bag you start at the outside edges and work inward, forming a pentagonal shape. Work the second side from a provisional cast-on, and this will make the bag seamless. When you knit handspun Banana Silk yarn at a tight gauge, it creates an ideal fabric for bags.

Okra-nana? Okra is pentagonal, banana is the yarn.

we're back...and blogging!

We're back from our first trip to TNNA! It was fabulous!

It was our first trip to Ohio, to TNNA, and our first time to exhibit. We met people we've known for years, but had never met in person...and made several new friends, too.

If you stopped by our booth, you couldn't miss the huge jar of our felted baubles--seen below. We had a contest going to see who was closest to guessing the total number of balls. No one guessed exactly, but many got very close. K. Miller was the very closest to guessing the mystery number of 1099. A box of goodies will be on their way to the lucky winner.

Watch our email newsletter for our next contest--email me to get on the list. Giving away free stuff is fun! (even if we don't arrive in a limo with a huge cardboard check)