Fiber Club

The first rule of fiber club is you must spin the fiber from Fiber Club. I guess that's the most important thing about any club whether the shipment is yarn or fiber. If you don't use the shipments, you end up with a growing stash that can quickly get out of control. That's fine if you want a stash, but I think part of the fun of a club is seeing what everyone does with the same yarn or fiber, kind of like an informal knit along.

I've been a part of at least two different sock yarn clubs and I'm not going to count all the fiber clubs I've joined and quit. But now, I'm currently a part of four different fiber clubs. I thought I'd share a little bit about my current fiber club lineup and their latest shipments.

Up first is Hello Yarn. I joined the club back in February 2008 and like everything Hello Yarn - the club sells out quickly. You sign up for a three months/shipments at a time and pay upfront for all the shipments. After the three shipments are done, a new round opens and if you are a current member you get first chance at sign up and then the remaining slots are opened to everyone else. There is a waiting list for future open slots.

The usual club shipment is 4 ounces but I signed up to get a double does of fiber and my cost for the three month round starting in February was $120 including shipping. Color and fiber selection are a surprise every month too.

The selection I have pictured here is the December 2008 shipment. The color is called Night Sky and the fiber is Super wash Bluefaced Leicester. I have loved all the colors and fibers I've gotten from the club so far and look forward to the new round that starts this month, so my spot won't be open anytime soon. If you want to see more of the club fiber and creations, check out the Hello Yarn Fiber Club Flickr Group.

This fiber is from my membership in the Black Bunny Fiber Club. I'm currently in my second round. Each round consists of 3-4 shipments and payment is due before each shipment goes out and each shipment is spaced out by about 6 weeks. The shipments for this current round are being billed at just under $26.00 per shipment. I've always thought this club was a great value for the money.

One of the unique things about this club is that everyone gets the same fiber but a different color. The color is based on the answers to give in a questionnaire. Shipments usually consists of 6-8 ounces of fiber depending on the type of fiber selected.

This fiber was sent in January 2008 and it is a Cormo/corriedale cross. I've liked most of the shipments from this club. There has only been one shipment that I wasn't crazy about the color selection, but the fibers selections have been varied and interesting. We've gotten fibers like Wensleydale, Peruvian Merino, and a baby alpaca blend.

This fiber is the January shipment of the Spunky Eclectic - Spunky Club and my first shipment. I joined the club during the open sign ups in December. The club is paid for on a month by month basis so you can opt out at any time.

There were a tone of options available at sign up. You could get the minimum 2-4 ounce (depending on fiber selection) dose of fiber, a double dose of fiber, all the way up to a whopping pound of fiber. There were also several combinations of fiber and yarn that were available. I went with the double dose at $34. You can sign up now for the next shipment.

This fiber is organic merino and it is really soft. This color is called Twilight. It reminded me of a tie-dyed I got at a Grateful Dead concert one year. Both pieces of fiber in the photo are the same size - one is just wound up in a ball.

And last, but certainly not least is my first shipment from the FatCatKnits Mixed Blessing Fiber Club. The idea behind this club is there will be two colors in each shipment that are distinctively different, but coordinate. There was a four ounce and an eight ounce option. And if you couldn't guess, I signed up for the eight ounce option.

There is also a fiber goody with each shipment. Each round of the club is three shipments and paid for in full at the beginning. This round cost me $106 with shipping. The fiber types for the three shipments in this round were listed in the beginning; although the colors will be a surprise.

This month was some sparkly bling to add into the fiber as you spin or ply. The fiber itself is 60%merino and 40% bamboo. I've spun this blend before and loved it! I like the idea of the two colors as well. I'm still playing around with how I'll combine the two colors while spinning and plying. The fiber goody this month is some sparkly bling in colors that work well with the fiber. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the rest of the club incorporate everything.

This is probably more information than you ever wanted, but if you are interested in joining a fiber club I think any of these four would be a great place to start.