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!

Serendipity Skeins

Sometimes we end up with a skein that isn't quite right. Maybe it only weighs 80g when its supposed to weigh 100g, or the color isn't exactly what we were going for (like that time I accidentally used blue instead of purple dye in a batch of Mystic Purple...). Or maybe the skein has a few knots in it. Often the yarn is perfectly usable, it just can't be sold as one of our regular skeins. So it ends up in the Serendipity box and these "irregular" skeins can be purchased at a discount price on our etsy shop.

I just added a bunch of new skeins to the listings and will be adding more over the next week. And remember, these great deals will not be repeated. So if you see something you like, buy it before someone else does!

Introducing...The Secret Garden Knitting Club

Join us as we walk along the hidden path and enter the Secret Garden. No one knows what waits inside, bit whispers of lace and hints of color becken us forward through the maze. Holding hands we'll venture forth, around each corner to see what lies beyond. What will you discover at the end of the path?

Lovely Emma

Earlier this week the summer issue of Knotions, a free online knitting magazine, went live. And one of the many lovely designs featured is Emma. Emma is a light and lacy short sleeved cardigan knit out of Eos, our silk/merino lace weight yarn. When designer Janine le Cras first told me about her design my first reaction was "a sweater in lace weight yarn? really?" but then I stopped and actually thought about it. I love knitting lace and though I usually prefer fingering weight, Eos is fairly substantial for a lace weight. A lace shawl, my usual project, is a pretty large project when you consider the square footage. And finally, my least favorite part about sweaters are the sleeves. So really, a lace weight cardigan makes perfect sense. It is actually a smaller project than a shawl, doesn't have those pesky sleeves (the cute little cap sleeves can't possibly take much time to knit), and can you imagine how great it will feel during those hot hot summer days? Needless to say, I've already dyed up a skein of Eos for my own Emma. Won't you join me?