Phat Fiber Boxes on Sale This Sunday!

Do you know about Phat Fiber? This is one of the coolest ideas for knitting-related business ever. What it is is a sampler box that includes all sorts of cool yarn, fiber and other yarncraft-related goodies.

You get things like little skeins of yarn, samples of fiber to spin, stitch markers, patterns and all sorts of goodies related to whatever the theme is that month (for July, it’s Seaside Cottage). The idea is that you get to sample all these independently produced yarns and fibers and then you can decide to buy more from those people whose products you really like.

I got the lovely Jenn to send me a sample of the sampler box a few months ago and wrote about it for About. (She was also kind enough to do an interview with me about Phat Fiber.) I’m enchanted by the goodies I got and wish I had time to play with them all. Maybe someday, when my book is at the publisher’s and I can knit for fun again!

Anyway, the boxes go on sale once a month and supplies are very limited, so you really have to be on it if you want to get your mitts on one. This month they’re going on sale on Sunday, July 15, with some available at 11 a.m. and some at 6 p.m. Central US time. Even if you can’t get your hands on a box, check out the videos on the blog (that’s the first link above) to see all the eye candy for yourself.

Have you ever scored a Phat Fiber box? Spill it!

[Photo is a peek at the sample I received. Yum!]

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long.

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders.

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well.

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn.

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions.

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table.

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter.

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.

Have you read?