Sock Summit 2009

We are so excited that we will be involved in Sock Summit 2009! We will be in booth 1018 and will be involved in several of the exciting things planned for the weekend, like the demonstration area and Color Me Crazy booth and we will be attending the Luminary Panel, Sock Hop and Opening Night Reception.

If you'll be attending Sock Summit, please stop by the booth and say hello. If you have one of our Unique Sheep buttons, or a button from one of our many clubs, wear it on your shirt or knitting bag-- that way we'll all be able to recognize each other! People are coming from all over the country and we can't wait to meet everyone.

Stephanie and Tina, the organizers of SS'09 have done so much to make this a fun event. And they keep announcing even more great "extras" to add to the fun. One of these is the Dyeing for Glory colorway contest. They have invited all of the dyers selling at SS'09 to come up with colorways inspired by the Sock Summit and there will be a vote towards the end of July. We had already created two new colorways inspired by the event, one is a Gradiance colorway and the other is a regular/single skein version, but this is a fun way to share them with others. We will be bringing a bunch with us to the show, of course, but if you want to make sure to get a skein for yourself we are accepting pre-orders for pick up at the show. If you aren't attending the show don't worry, the colorways will be available for sale on the website after SS'09 is over!

Big Shop Update at Eat. Sleep. Knit.

Eat. Sleep. Knit. just received a huge box of Unique Sheep yarn and has more on the way. Though we always appreciate your orders on our website, we also love it when you support our retail partners. Plus you are likely to receive your order much faster since its already been dyed and is ready to be packed and on its way!

Shipping Changes

We have just made a couple of small changes to our shipping policy. Canadians are now included in the free shipping over $40 offer. It doesn't cost much more to ship to our northern neighbors anyway. We've also increased our standard shipping cost for orders under $40 to $3.50 for all US/Canadian orders. We've had it set at $2.50 but it almost always costs us much more than that, especially when you factor in the envelopes and other packing material we use. Customers located outside of North America will still be charged the exact shipping cost in a separate paypal bill after we receive your order.

Speaking of shipping, have you ever wondered why you often receive your orders in parts? Its because Kelly and I actually live across the state from each other and so we only get together in person once every month or two. We each have our own colors so if you place an order with some skeins in Kelly's colors and some in my colors we each dye our separate parts and then usually ship them separately. If you are ever curious about whose colors are whose, look at the ballband. All of Laura's colors have an L in the dye lot number. The exceptions are roving and cotton or cotton/bamboo yarns. Laura dyes almost all of the roving and Kelly dyes all of the cotton and cotton/bamboo yarns, regardless of the color ordered! Its a little different, I know, but it works for us and allows us to be partners even though we live over an hour apart.

Look Who's Talking

We may have been quiet lately, but others having been talking about The Unique Sheep all over the internet! Ivy Reisner talked about the Ram Club and Fiber Fetish Club on her podcast (Knit Spirit) on May 29th and on her June 12th offers a contest to win a free kit for the first Fiber Fetish project (entries are due by June 24th). Lime & Violet reviewed the first Fiber Fetish Club shipment in Episode 89 of their podcast. And David at Sticks & String gave us a lovely mention of the Gradiance collection in show 104 of his podcast. We have been a bit blown away by all this attention! Have you heard us on any other podcasts or blogs? If so, we'd love to include links, so leave us a comment!

Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm

First, let me apologize for my lack of blog posting recently. The problem is that in order to blog, I have to take my hands out of the dye pots or away from the skein winder and lately I haven't had much opportunity to do that! Thanks to all of our wonderful customers we have been very busy lately! We've also been planning a little surprise in conjunction with Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm. Check out their blog to see all the details! And while you are there, make sure to take a look at their LambCam and all their great farm photos. The baby goats and sheep will melt your heart!