Glam Gloves

It does not get terribly cold here in NC, but sometimes when I walk my dog, or am running around town, I want something to keep my hands warm. Full gloves and mittens are too hot so I asked a designer to come up with something "unique" to keep my hands warm.
Shawn Glidden designed these gloves. We both used beads from Earthfaire for the bracelet and thumb ring, and a special bead, or button we had in our stashes for the ring finger.

These gloves can be made glamorous by using subtle colors, or you can be really funky with wildly colored yarns and beads, and a fun bead or button, at the ring finger.

Gift Certificates

Gift Certificates are now available, just in time for the holidays. These make great gifts for the knitter in your life! Or perhaps you might casually mention to your loved ones that you wouldn't mind one yourself. There is a button on the home page to order one in whatever amount you would like. Please let me know if you encounter any problems placing your order.

New Patterns!

Thats right, not only do we have new yarns and new colors, we also have new patterns!


Twinkle

Isn't this the cutest baby sleeper? We suggest using Super Wool for a soft, warm and washable outfit for your special little one.




Chunky Cable Socks

These are my favorite "house socks". Imagine- soft, thick and warm, knit out of a luxurious blend like alpaca, silk and merino or a crisp, cool bamboo/merino yarn. Knit out of DK weight yarn, the Chunky Cable socks knit up quickly enough that even I was able to get a complete pair knit up in a couple of days! The simple cables give it just enough interest to keep you from getting bored, but not enough to make it difficult.



Faux Cable Socks

Looking for a slightly more complicated sock pattern? The Faux cable socks actually look more difficult than they really are. The "faux" cables are created with simple knit and purl stitches combined with YO and k2togs!

The Faux Cable Socks can be knit out or any of our fingering weight yarns: Leili, Verve, Sushi Socks or Tinsel Toes.








Cabled Neck Warmer

Perfect for chilly mornings, the Cabled Neck Warmer is a quick knit and ideal for both men and women. This is the perfect project for a small amount of luxurious yarn that you can't stop cuddling! My personal favorite for this project is Wild Thing.







Fern Lace Scarf

This lace scarf knits up quickly on size 7 needles out of DK weight yarn, but the lace pattern keeps it elegant and feminine. I recommend using Silk Twist for good stitch definition matched with the luxury of silk!







Glam Gloves

What is the one problem a fashionable woman has when wearing gloves? She can't wear her fancy jewelry, of course. Problem solved! The Glam Gloves has its own jewelry knitted right in. Choose your own special beads and buttons to add rings and bracelets in your own, unique style to these tip-less gloves for an elegant way to warm your lady like hands.

This yarn was dyed to send to Charlotte's Fibers in Brevard, NC. One of her customers wanted something colorful to give to her Mom.

It is Leili in color-Primary Ink.

A New Neckwarmer

I made this neck warmer when visiting family in VT over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. It sure was nice to be able to wear it as it was cold and snowy during our visit!

I used SuperWool in color- Blackberry Sauce.
Make your own using our pattern!

Hi all--

If you have been here before you may have noticed some changes have been made. We are pleased to announce that Kelly, of Liisu Yarns, and Laura of The Unique Sheep have decided to become partners. Liisu Yarns base yarns will now live under the Unique Sheep brand.

This is an exciting step for both of us. We believe that by becoming partners our complimentary business and artistic skills will be better utilized than if each of us continued working separately.

We hope to make The Unique Sheep a brand that gives you quality yarns as well as great service. Please visit our site (you will find a link button on the left) and visit the retailers and e-tailers that carry our yarns.

Our first big project together is the Seven Deadly S(p)ins yarn club, check it out!

We look forward to making the Unique Sheep yarns your favorite handpainted yarns!

New Yarns!!!

Lots of new yarns have just been added!!



Simply Socks, our 100% superwash merino fingering weight has been replaced with Verve. Verve is also SW Merino and fingering weight but has a GREAT twist that I just couldn't resist. And since I couldn't really justify having two fingering weight, SW Merino yarns, Simply Socks simply had to go.





Leili is also fingering weight, making it perfect for socks, shawls and just about anything else you can imagine (need a larger gauge? hold two stands together!) but this one is a blend of mohair and SW merino. The mohair gives it a great sheen, extra warmth and a slight halo of fuzz. Plus the mohair is stronger than Merino and helps it hold up to use.


Super Wool is soft, squishy, superwash wool in a dk weight. This yarn is perfect for hats, scarves and even thick (washable!) socks. I've been wanting a yarn like this for a while for my own personal use and have finally found it.






Anna's Yarn is the big sister of Leili. A DK weight mohair/merino blend it has the same sheen and halo as Leili but in a thicker yarn ideal for sweaters, hats, warm cozy wraps or even thick socks.





Last but not least, Chasca, our newest Lace weight yarn. Chasca is 100% superfine alpaca and has a whopping 1240 yards per 4oz skein, plenty for almost any lace stole or wrap. Because its alpaca, its warm, fuzzy and soft.

Yarn Harlot

My first "celebrity" order is going out in the mail today. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, i.e. the Yarn Harlot, ordered a couple of skeins of my Doctors without Borders colorway. Drs without Borders is her charity of choice as well and she even has a page set up on her blog all about it. Thanks to her order of three skeins, I will be donating $30 to Doctors without Borders. Thanks Stephanie!

If you would like more information about Doctors without Borders, the colorway I've created to support this great organization, and what you can do to help, I have a page all about it on the website.

Holiday Treats

As a knitter myself, I have a lot of knitting friends. People that I only see at knit-night, but that I feel close to because we share a hobby that we both love. But how do we handle these types of friends when it comes to holiday gifts? I can't knit something for everyone of them- there are too many- plus they are knitters themselves so it seems silly to knit something for them that they could knit themselves (and probably get more enjoyment out of the process). I have a solution. For all the knitters on your gift list who you want to recognize, but not invest a lot of money in, get them a Mini Sock or Mini Sweater kit! Each kit comes with a mini-skein of hand painted yarn (you choose the yarn and color) and pattern, packaged in a reusable vinyl bag perfect for organizing notions in your knitting bag. And the best part-- they are only $3 each (including shipping in the US)!! For added holiday cheer, choose one of our Holiday Colors!

Let it Snow

Needle Felted Snow-People kits are now on sale!!!! Kit contains White, Red and Green roving, a special felting needle, foam mat and instructions--- everything you need to make you own great winter decoration!

Christmas must be soon because look at what I'm packing up to send out to a California yarn shop, Knit This, Purl That, tomorrow-- 10 skeins of Sweet Tooth!

Coolest Gift Ever!

A family friend just gave me the greatest gift-- a handy canvas tote with the Unique Sheep logo on it! The bag is from Land's End so you know the quality of the bag itself and the print are top notch. And its full of pockets, which I'm obsessed about. You can see the nice pocket on the outside back that I have my notions pouch (from Lexie Barnes) stuck in-- it actually fits all the way in but I wanted you to be able to see it. On the inside are multiple pockets including one that might work for patterns and notes and such. And a zipper on the top which is perfect for me because it means that a) the dog can't get into it when I'm not looking and b) I won't spill balls of yarn and notions all over the place when I knock my bag over during knit night. I immediately stuck a couple of project bags in to see how they would fit- perfect!

The Seven Deadly Spins

A wonderfully intriguing new way to look at Yarn Clubs! Want something different than just the regular sock club shipment every other month?
Are you looking to try new and exciting projects in a variety of yarns?Well, Kelly Eells of Liisu Yarn came up with a brilliant idea!A bimonthy yarn club based on (are you ready for this?) the Seven Deadly Sins. Every other month a fun kit will arrive -- seven colorways of a variety of Liisu Yarns, seven designs by seven amazing designers and gloriously different knits each time.
Fun accessories will also be included to compliment the yarn, patterns and themes!

Let's hear it for Greed, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, Pride, Wrath, and Lust![Notice that nary a one of the sins is Hoarding so it is safe to sign up. :P

To find out more about what this great new club offers, click here.

p.s. Guess who is going to be dyeing some of the yarn? Yep-- yours truly!!

new FREE pattern

I just typed up the pattern for a pair of basic mittens in dk weight yarn. The pattern hasn't been tested yet, but if anyone is interested its posted at http://theuniquesheep.com/basicmittens.htm. I'll be adding photos of the finished mittens, in Silk Twist, soon.

Tis the Season...

Its time for new holiday colorways!


"Lights" is inspired by a photo submitted by Kristen.




The inspiration for "Old Times" comes from a photo submitted by Sara Lou



And "Traditions" comes from a photo submitted by Phyllis.



Sweet Tooth, of course, required no photo inspiration.

Knitting for a Cause

Now you can get the Unique Sheep yarn you've been craving and at the same time donate money to a very worthy cause. Doctors without Borders is an organization that sends doctors and health care providers to parts of the world suffering from health disparities. When disasters impact the health of people across the world, whether they be natural disasters or those caused by war or politics, Doctors without Borders comes to the rescue. Health care and education seem, to me, to be the two things that every person deserves. And education isn't very helpful if you or your family are too sick to attend school. Without health, you've got nothing.

If you would like to help me support this organization, simply buy a skein of yarn in the colorway I've developed based on the Doctors without Borders logo. I will donate 50% of sales from any base yarns in this colorway. I will keep a tally of how many skeins have been bought and how much has been donated on the page for the colorway.

Steal my Button

Fan of the Unique Sheep? Show your support by placing a button on your blog or website! Save one of these images and post it on your site with a link to http://theuniquesheep.com Thanks sooo much for your support. You are what this company is all about.


p.s. I am trying to post instructions on how to add a button to your blog, but when I try to type out the html that you need to cut and past into your own blog/website it turns into a button. How do I inactivate the html, anyone know?

I'm on the Mobtown Review!!!

"
Check out the lovely review that Mama E gave me on her site, The Mobtown Review. Check back every Wednesday for a review of another indie yarn dyer.

Coming Soon...Needle Felted Snow People!

Look what my resident needle felting designer has come up with us now! And easy-- you don't need any experience with needle felting. The kit will include all the materials and tools you need plus illustrated instructions taking you through the needle felting process step by step. Kits will be listed on the website towards the end of November.

New Ad

I'm trying to come up with a banner ad to place on the winter Knitty. What do you think? (click on it to see it full sized)

Tips on using Foot Prints

I have had several customers ask for suggestions on needle size and sock patterns for Foot Prints since its a sport weight yarn, which isn't as common as fingering weight sock yarn. So I've put together a bit of information that may be helpful. I will be adding more pattern suggestions and photos as I (and my friends, family and customers!) knit more socks! If you have knit a pair of socks out of Foot Prints and would like to recommend the pattern (or advise against it) and/or share a photo of your socks please email me at laura@theuniquesheep.com

Dyeing with White

There has been a discussion going on on Ravelry about using white as a color (i.e. on purpose) in yarn dyeing. I usually try to avoid white but after this discussion I've started throwing it in a bit more, for example in this yarn. But when using a lot of white its really hard to keep it pure white without the other colors bleeding into it. If it even gets close to a strand of yarn with dye on it it soaks the dye right up. So when it came time to dye this red and white yarn for my Spirit collection (they are school/team colors-- can you guess which one?) I had to be creative. This is the technique I came up with:


Yep, thats saran wrap. And rubber bands. They were left on until after the yarn had been rinsed and most of the water squeezed out. I didn't want any pink tinted water to come close to that white!