Phat Fiber Box Wrap-up - September 2009

Phat Fiber Sample box - September 2009
Originally uploaded by Project Pictures

Well, we're all done with Phat Fiber and there's nothing left to discuss... or is there?

Here's a line-up of all the yarn I spun from the samples. There is milk, linen, domestic wool, bamboo, Merino, Wensleydale, Shetland, alpaca, sparkle and who knows what else. They were prepared as commercial top and carded batts in braids, coils, twists and poofs. Most of my spun samples are 2-ply, but there is one 3-ply in there, and one single.

I have them lined up in a row because I'm considering knitting them for a project in this order. The single, and the linen, are off to the side because they simply don't blend in with the rest of the yarn. They are lovely in their own right and might become a beaded bracelet or something else that is fun. When totaling the skeins I have picked out to use, there is just over 460 yards. I've already designed a project and will probably knit it sometime this month. We'll see.

Because I'm a bit of a numbers girl, I can't help but sit down and figure out what exactly I paid to get.
If we total what everyone included we have:
5.2 + 6.8 + 2.5 + 6 + 7.8 + 9.9 + 5.4 + 12.2 + 8.9 + 7.4 + 9 + 10.2 + 5.5 + 14 + 6.6 + 28 = 145.4 g or 5.1 ounces. Those that sent in larger samples seem to have outweighed those that didn't. (Otherwise 16 samples at 1/4 ounce each should be 4 ounces).
The box was $33 so it comes out to about $6.60 per ounce. That's a little steep compared to what I can buy a carded batt for on Etsy if all we are looking at here is fiber but that doesn't take into account the discount coupons and little extras that were put in the package as well, nor the variety and other intangibles that came in this box.

Considering how many different and wonderful things I got to try and how many new shops I got to try out through this sampler, it was worth every penny.